The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-15
WILL CONTEST DEFERRED.
A Curious Alleged Claim Upon
the Estate of Calvin w.
Kellogg.
HIS LAST LOVING LETTER.
Peculiar Coincidence of Dates in
the Recall of an Invi-
tation.

1t was a surprise to the general public
when the purported will of Calvin W.
Kellogg, the aged capitalist, formerly of
the firm of J. Wilmerding & Co., was yes
terday admitted to probate without the
filing of contest. Attorney L. E. Phil
lips. associate counsel with Delmas &
Shortridge for the daughter, Mrs. Gilroy,
appeared in Judge Coffey's court and Of
fered no objection to the proceedings.
Mrs. Mary Kellogg, the widow, was SUBJ
sequently appointed administrative OF the
estate by the court.
From Attorney Phillips it was subse-
quently learned that there is an obstacle to
be surmounted before any contest can be
filed. This obstacle appears in the form OF
claim for $3.50 900, to which is attached a
curious history. The claim is represented
by suit by Peter Dean, as president of
the Merchants Exchange Bank of San
Mateo County.
1t appears that in 1875 Calvin w. Kel-
| logg was president of that bank, and for
! temporary accommodation among the
directors in the manipulation OF collateral,
ETC., gave his note for $25O,OOO, it being
| merely a paper" transaction. Mr.. Kel-
|
of 1877 he became bankrupt and the follow
| ing year went through the insolvency
court.
1t was at this juncture that, it is claimed,
this note became estopped. On November
IA, 1877, a petition in the matter of Calvin
W. Kellogg. was tiled In the District Court
of California. On January IL, 1878, at
meeting of creditors, III. G. Hyde was ap-
pointed assignee, and on February u
certificate of final discharge was granted
by order of court.
Previously to this, however, a formal
notice to creditors of the estate had been
kept published in the Alta California
against the estate of Calvin w. Kellogg to
present their claims. This included any
possible claim the Merchants Exchange
Bank might have, but the bank presented
no claim for payment of the $3.50, 600 note
and, the attorneys claim, by the discharge
of the bankrupt was forever estopped from
establishing such claim.
In 1879, notwithstanding the bank
ruptcy proceedings and the formal notice,
the bank commenced proceedings to re-
cover the value of the note, but the action
was never pressed. The affair was mere
farce. Attorney Phillips commenting on
it said:
For sixteen years not paper was fled in the
suit which was commonly believed to be mere
| Matchmaking suit and TO have been dropped as
it failed of its purpose.
But during the sixteen years the attorneys
for the bank, without his knowledge, had been
obtaining every half year six months extern
sion of time, and now that the old man is dead
| there appears an inclination on the part of
Peter Dean, the president of the bank, to press
the suit 1t is curious that in the Insolvency
| proceedings Dean presented claims on KEEL
fogg aggregating $13 200, from which he was
| barred by the discharge of the bankrupt, but
now Dean has just presented claim against
! the Kellogg estate Tor only $1,000.
It is stated that the will has been per-
mitted to go to probate to allow the ex-
ecutors, Thomas Cole, Joseph N. Loewe
and Mrs. Mary Kellogg, to fight this obso-
lete claim of the bank. Delmas 81 Short
ridge and l.. Z. Phillips will participate to
have it dismissed.
In the meantime Mrs. Ella GiIroy, the
daughter of the capitalist, is unchanged in
her faith in the loving intentions of her
father toward her at the time of his death
She possesses chain OF letters, only
broken by peculiar circumstance short
time before her father died, breathing
nothing but the most devoted affection.
The last of these letters, addressed to her
in Europe, ran as follows
December z, 1894.
Ng Darling EllG-I am just in receipt of your
letter OF November %, land have just cabled
you &20 l also sent you q like amount on the
Sd of this month, and on the Attn wrote you
asking you if you would like TO come home and
keep house for me and be everything to me,
but do not want you to come unless you
think it would suit you and be pleasant to you
to do as l would want you to. You would have
to be- for while at least, very quiet and not
at all conspicuous. I said, in case 1t would
suit you, you would cable Eyes," and would
send you money to come, otherwise you can
write.
Well, my darling love, have at last made
my arrangements to continue the business of
Wilmerding d Co. by taking in new partners.
The heirs did not allow me to draw one dollar
for three months, which accounts for my not
being able to send you money. Adding all my
love, am yours, c. w. K.
In reply to this letter Mrs. Gilroy cabled
eyes" and an ocean steamship company
informed her that her passage had been
paid across the Atlantic and through to
San Francisco. She prepared to start, and
strangely enough in the middle of January
of this year received word from the steam
ship people that the passage money had
been withdrawn. There were no more let
ters, and Mrs. Gilroy only heard from a
San Francisco friend in April that her
father was very i'll. She came over at once,
and reached the city just three days before
his death. The attorney continued:
The peculiar point is that it was in the mid
die of January that Mrs. Massey who after
ward became Mrs. Kellogg, went to live with
Mr.. Kellogg. Thereafter there was a regular
succession of significant dates. Mr.. Kellogg
was divorced from his second wife January %.
married Mrs. Massey February 90 made the
alleged will and deed March Z, made subse-
quent deed on March %, and died on April IL,
of Brights disease of the kidneys.
The contention of the attorneys for the
prospective contestants is that Mrs. Mas
sey first induced Mr.. Kellogg, whose mind
was impaired by age and disease, to break
off relations with his daughter, then secure
divorce from Mrs. Sutton kellogg, the
second wife, and subsequently to make the
obnoxious will and deeds. Mrs. kellogg
had in her employ Attorney d. 2. Belk-
nap.
1t has not yet been positively announced
whether the only son of Kellogg will make
contest. Mrs. Gilroy is on excellent
terms with the young man, and the only
object she has in view is to secure the real
ization of what she is sure were her faith
er's last wishes as regards his children.