The sun., 1890-11-01
WHERE ARE THE NEPHEWS?
THE MYSTERY OF JAMES n. EDeAR's
DEATH IN THE GETTY HOUSE

THE MYSTERY OF JAMES n. ED9ARS
DEATH IN THE GETTY HOUSE
Not Even the Nephew who Informed
Broker sumner OF His Uncie's Death
Can be Found-Ths Messing Satchel. II
IL Nos Uniikely. Contained e5.oOo-A
Rnndie OF ClothinE which Edgar Did
Not Own Found IN His Room.
There are some circumstances connected
with the death Of James H. Edgar. the wealthy
Enelshman who was found suffering from
tho effect OF dose Of poison in his room at the
Getty Hotel in Yonkers Monday afternoon,
that Inspector Byrne's men are going to try
and clear up. These circumstances give IN
air OF mystery to tho whole thing. and make
some persons think that Edgar was foully dealt
with, and did not commit suicide. as the note
which apparently he left indicated.
Edgar went to Yonkers Saturday afternoon
and asked Policeman Lent where he could
find . good hotel. He had with him q leather
satchel and q bundle. He was dressed i4a
suit OF fine material He looked like wealthy
old man. Lent directed him to the Getty
House. Clerk Hall was at the desk
there. and Edgar told him that no wanted
. room but would take his meals at
q restaurant He registered Geo. Smith,
N. Y" He got room on the third floor. Be-
fore going to It he told the clerk that he ex-
pected two men to call on him Sunday after
noon. They did not call or II they did they
got In and out Of the hotel without being seen.
Between Saturday afternoon and Monday
afternoon. when he was found dying on the
sofa In his room, he loft tho hotel four
times. Each time he went around the
- cto INT nj mt n ~
tea and plate Of toast On mono OF these
times was he seen to take the leather satchel
with him. When he was found dying Monday
afternoon tho satchel was missing. There was
bundle OF old clothing in the room and note
addressed to Clerk Hall. which read:
II ask pardon for causing you or your
guests any trouble. but tho inhumanity Of GER
tain persons has driven me- to despair and
DEATH"
There was another slip Of paper on which
was written "The College OF Physicians and
Surgeons is or was at Fifty-ninth street and
Tenth avenue" Neither Of these notes were
signed
There was also pistol 1s inches long and
fully loaded. lying on the table in the room.
There was no bottle In the room which might
have contained the poison Edgar had taken. but
there was small medicine glass. such as can
be bought In drug store for 10 cents. There
was only 66 cents found in Edgar's pockets.
Clerk Hali remembered the satchel. and looked
for it. He questioned the maids and the bell boys
aboutit They had all seen the satchel in the
room on Sunday. but none Of them could
toll what had become OF 1t. Hall told Police
Captain John ManGin about 1t, aud the police
made search for 1t, but couldn't find 1t. The
fact that Edgar had no money made the case
uninteresting for the authorities. They didn't
think very much about the missing satchel. A
Coroner's jury was impsnellsd and immedi-
ntely returned a verdict that George Smith
committed suicide by taking poison"
The man would have been buried Snt, at the t eX
by the proprietor Of the hote! asking / for de-
southwest corner Of i25tn street and Madison
avenue. Tho funeral was delayed in hopss
that friends might be found who would pay the
Thursday afternoon Perry H. Sumner: a real
estate spseua@,Gr tor whose ON Office is a, loo Broad
Soay % c he at % once identinsd it a. that Of James
II. Edgar. He had a receipt with him for S. 900,
which he said was signed by Edgar himself.
ing OF tho name George Smith" on tho hotel
register. ,sumner. asked t1r tho letter and
s%osnu @sen he saw them % he that they wero
not In the handwriting OF Edgar. Then he
asked if George r. Edgar who s h. said, nc Wa VI +
said that Edgar called on him at his office at /
1ssSk AK ss assE and put copy OF The EVEN
no said: Uncle James is dead there.
IT was ia his uncls % James. ana he replied: i'ye
had correspondence with fonkers and know. p"
6 5pn aS he be secH aH @ Ga s s %Sa
later. perhaps at 8, O'Clock. The young mnn
said he would meet him at the Grand Cent. al
sia Hsr So he s ss saH sem asked 1s
sss ssd 1s thu hrssd tina" s
afdn's 5f1na bseve they os!onsed to Edsar q that
sumner looked al them and said that he knew
they dd 6eopg to adSr aga ne
Wen % as q, handsome black leather wal
Hall mentioned the disappe aran5 Q OF the black
satchel. and then Sumner said that he believed
Edgar had boon ioully, dealt with. and that the
notos were written by some one else as q
lie waited until midnight for George H
WhaI no had said Stirred up the authorities.
Coroner Mitchell tore the leaf with summers
handwriting out Of the hotel register and took
It and the letter and memorandum and the big
pistol and medicine glass away with him and
brought them ,a to In lbnspeetor Byrness office yes
toru0y. he tOlQ tue WHOIo Story 10 LuS lnSI0c.
tor, The Inspector expressed no opinion.
SUN reporter saw Mr.. Sumner at his Office
yesterday afternoon: He said that Edgar was
q wealthy dlugcis, OF Chiswick, ENGLAND. That
s9o000 with him. Me, had two nspheWs. one
efsss In peesmber isss be- called At The oce at TBS iss
broadway with his nephew George and $4,000
In cash. He said he was interested in stock
speculation with the nephew and the owner-
ship Of tho sis 900 was in dispute. The nephew
agreed that that was the case, and both ask cd
that the money be held in trust until the dis
pute was settled.
lit was understood. said Summer. that the
money was not to be touched without both
mon were present. On Oct q. 1852 they came
70 the of1ice again and asked for $4,000 Of the
and James Edgar signed as a witness. On
cot the other $1,000. The uncle signed the re-
ceipt this time and the nephew signed as a
witness"
call on him Thursday andihis visit to Yonkers.
as related above He said that he had seen
the EhGnrs often In tho three years they, had
10000 acres Of land IN the West. but had not
succeeded. They lived in this city q while,
s,se ~ said hear in Ninth A't avdnue in hs hsd
been through tho, West with them