Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-01
THE CASE GOES ON
Third Week of Holt Will Trial Coll
menced.
RELATIVES ON The STAND
Moro Letters the Dead Man Wrote
to His Friends.
A LII EG ED LATER WILL

The third week of the long-drawn-out
Holt will case began at 10 o'clock this
morning in Circuit Court No. 1. 1t is diff
cult to tell how much longer the case will
last. but 1t Is doubtful If it is given to the
jury much inside of three weeks from now.
The length of the trial is likely to depend
somewhat on the ruling Of the court should
the caveatees offer any expert testimony in
rebuttal as to the genuineress of the hand
writing in the alleged WILL In the opening
Of the case Judge Bradley decided that it
was incumbent upon the beneficiaries under
the will to introduce all their evidence as 70
the authenticity of the document, and 1t
VIII be a delicate question for him now to
decide II they should call experts to rebut
the testimony of DR.. Frazer. If such evil
dence Is admitted, it would naturally pro-
long the trial considerably
W men court opened this morning Nj.
NorthinSton called Ellen Foster, Judge
Holts colored cook, 10 the stand for fur
ther examination
She testified as to the domestic arrange
ments of the Holt household and the vac
Gus visits that the judge made to his rela-
tlves in Kentucky. She said that on the
Friday before he died Judge Holt told ner
that If anything should happen to him he
wanted her to secure his watch and keys
ioS.A 1iieHl up untll Mr. NaShlnSI
Holt came. He said that were 1t not for
the fact that Mr.. Holt was in bad health
he would have sent for him before
Ellen said that Judge Holt told her often
that ,1 she must not get out of patience at
his many calls upon her; that he was not
long for this world and that she would be
properly cared for in his will.
Col. Sterett, she said, was frequently at
the Judges house during the week before
the latter's death, and Mrs. Sterett reached
the bedside within ten minutes of the
judges death and stayed there the remain
der of that night
She said that she did not know anvthIrp
about any papers being destroy ed or re-
moved from the judges house after his
death. On the stand this morning she was
shown the alleged will. She said she had
never seen 1t before had not the slightest
idea how it got burned, nor how it reached
the office of the register of wills. She said
that she remembered the day a piece of
paper was found by little Willie Sterett In
made copy of 1t. She could not read, and
he read 1t to her. She said that II was
dated January l, 1856.
This Is the piece of paper with reference
to which witnesses for the caveators have
testified. on it were the words, Date of
WILL January !, 1856" and some other
Words. 1t has been used to give the i'm
preston that there was a will of later date
than the one that is now being contested
The paper was afterward lost; the cavea-
tors insist that it was stolen. together with
number OF other papers in a valise, while
IN the possession of one of the caveators
en- route from Keentucky to this city
The witness was croSS-eXamined by Mr.
Darlington along the same line, but little
OF anything of significance was developed
She was questioned especially as to the
people who were in the judges room dur
Ing his final Illness She said that she did
rot see any of the drawers or closets open-
ed or any papers destroyed. She was also
as ked as TO Miss Josephine Holt Throck-
mOr1nn'S visits q he. hnr md
as to the time when she came and the
Judge declined to see her. She said that it
was mainly at her solicitation that the
Judge finally agreed to see her. She went
down ana told Miss ThrockmortCn that the
judge would see her, but only for five min
utes
The witness said that on the piece of
paper which was found in the judges
closet was written the name "Roundtree."
but she did not remember any person Of
that name ever calling at the house. nor
had she ever heard of any such person.
After the Judges funeral, she said. Mr..
ana Mrs. Wash. Holt lived at the house
fer some time, but she did not know inst
how long.
On redirect examination the witness said
that from what she saw at the house she
was convinced that the Judge was fondar
OF Mr.. Wash. Holt and his wife than he
was of any one else on earth. Special
cups ana saucers were set aside SO that
each or the Holt family might have his
no one else was allowed to use them. In
other ways like this the judge showed his
fondness for the family.
The Judges Niece.
The next witness called to the stand
was Mrs. Margaret E. Bowmer one of
Judge Hollis nieces, and an heir-at-law
Her mother, she said, was Mrs. William
Sterett the judges sister, and Col w G.
Sterett is her brother.
Mrs. Bowmer testified that she had
known Judge Holt ever since she was q
chlid. lie often visited at her mothers
house. The judge alone excepted. ali the
1amiiy were sympa thiZers with the south
in the late war. This fact however. seem
ed to make TO difference in the relations
a,, enat existed between them. During the
early years Of the war he visited at her
mothers house, and at no time did he show
any feeling toward the family
In 1878 or 1919, the witness said, she had
1ailins out with Judge Holt, and never
saw him after that. Prior to that time she
corresponded with the judge. She did not
preserve his letters, but her daughter, 90
ing over some old papers recently, came
across some seven or eight Of them. They
bore dates from 1872 down TO the time
of the falling out. They were produced in
court this morning, and offered in evil
dence. They were formally objected to by
Mr.. Darlington on the same ground that he
has taken in the case of all such letters
but the objection was overrued
The letters were then read to the Jury
They were all of personal nature on sub
jects of family interest, and showed that
he entertained warm feeling toward all
his Kentucky relatives.
Mrs. Bowmer said she and her uncle eX-
changed letters about half q dozen times
year. The letters that have been DESTROYED
were all of a friendly and affectionate char
acter. She said that while on her way
to the centennial in 1876. with several
friends, she stopped off in Washington
Mr.. and Mrs Holt were in the party They
called at the judges house, and at his in
vitation the ladies in the party, four in
number, stayed at his house while they
were in the city. Mr.. Holt and Mr.. Bow
mer stayed at a hotel. Her uncle, she said
treated her in I most kind and affectionate
manner. He said that it seemed like hav-
ing his dear sister, her mother with him.
Mrs. Bowmer was then shown the al
legged will. She said that she had never
seen it until recently. She said that the
handwriting in the paper did not seem ia
miliar to her, and there was some thing
about it that made her think he never
wrote it.
On cross-examination Mrs. Bowmer again
said that the war made no difference in
the relations between Judge Holt and the
members of her mothers family For a
while after the war he did entertain some
feeling toward Mr.. Thomas Holt and his
family. She did not remember that Mr.
Wash. Holt WAS ever the cOpfe5erota O