Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-26
CORDIAL RELATIONS
Judge Holt Shown to Be Fond of
His Family.
TESTIMONY IN COURT TODAY
The Throckmortons Were Not Re
ceived at the House.
THE FAMOUS SIGNATURE

The Holt will case was resumed today
| the usual interested crowd of lawyers and
| spectators being present. Mr.. Worthington
| started the bail rolling with a deposition
| from Robert s. Holt of Tacoma. Wash.
Mr. Holt's statement was to the effect
that he was nephew of the late Judge
| Holt, and one of the caveators, but he
never met Judge Holt but once. about 1876
warm friendship existed between Judge
Holt and the deponents father up to the
| une Oh the death Of the latter in 1861,
| winch was not affected by the feelings
| growing out of the late war
Mr.. Holt said that about 1888 a corres-
! pondence began between him and his uncle
| Appended TO the deposition were a number
| OF letters from Judge Holt These were
| read by Mr.. Worthington and all were
| couched In friendly terms. The first was
| IN answer to letter from Mr. Holt and
was comparatively formal in tone In the
| second letter he expressed a lively interest
| IN me welfare Of his nephew and the posi-
| ioh the latter was winning for himself in
| the legal profession. He spoke pleasa ntlv
OF the relationship that existed between
| them, aud in this well as in succeeding
| letters he wrote in charming stVIe of con-
| temporary events. as well as Of incidents
| IN ms own earlier career which brought
nlfn INTO contact with some of the most
| famous men of the times. Judge Holt was
leler writer of the old school. and his
| eplsueS, the reading of which ocr,Inied con-
| siderable time this morning were rather
| FORMAL, but they gave an interesting in
| slght INTO the warm feelings that he en-
terlalhed toward his far-away nephew.
| "nom he had never seen but once
| lhe reading of these letters was oh
| JeCttd to 10y Mr. Darlington on the ground
that they had no bearing on the question
OF the genUineness of the nanlW,ritine- of
the alleged will or on the question Of ro,,o-
| cation. The objection was overruled
IN one OF the letters Judge Holt acknowl-
edsed the receipt of a photograph of his
nephe" ana the latters brother. He said
that he would give the picture 1,rouinept
| place In his home. and that he always felt
an enduring interest in their progress and
happlness.' Again he spoke of trin he
had taken to Florida and said rba+ tho
| enjoyment he had received from the outing
| was greatly enhanced by the companion-
ship of his nephew and niece whose names
he did not mention.
| Judge Holt had nothing good 10 saw of
| the state of Mississippi, where HIS nephew
| lNed when the correspondence began He
| said that were he given every acre in the
| state In fee simple it would not compen-
| safe him were he compelled TO make IL
| his permanent abiding place When HIS
| nephew removed to Tacoma he hailed the
| move with every expression of approval
! and told the younger man that had he
| toiled as hard the Pacific coast as he
| had done in Mississippi his success would
have been assured long before. where all
| he had to show for his arduoIs and thank
| less iabors in the south was his broken
health. In one of his letters he gave his
nephew some very sage advice on the sub
ject of matrimony. He chara c5erized IL as
a legaliZed method for the perpetuation of
the human race, a noble purpose il the
race be worthy of perpetuIuon Still, he
advised his nephew to remember that mar
riage is a lottery, in which there are vastly
more blanks than any one is likely ever
to know. In another he urged his nephew
to take an active part in the social life Of
lDr,1 otal sol
gret that he himself had lived so much the
life of a recluse.
The letters ran over a period of some
fourteen years When the reading was
concluded Mrs. locke Iglehart of Evans
vile, Ind, was called as witness.
Another Relative.
Mrs. Iglehart testified that she was q
niece of Judge Holt, and a sister of the
Robert S. Holt whose deposition was read
this morning. She first met her uncle in
1874, when she was in this city on her
wedding trip. Judge Holt entertained her
and her husband, and treated them most
courteously. On another occasion, about
1854. she came to Washington with her
husbands father and sister. Judge Holt
called in his carriage at the hotel for her
and took her 20 his own home. He
pressed regret that the state of his health
precuded him from entertaining Judge and
Miss Iglehart well. On that trip east,
the witness said, she went over to Phila-
delphia to see an invalid sister, who was in
a hospital there. On her return he inquired
most kindly as to her sisters condition
and also 10 the expense TO which the
family was put through her stay in the
hospital The witness said that in every
possible way he showed himself a kindly
and generous uncle.
Mrs. Iglehart said that from 1873 on
there was an occasional correspondence be-
tween her and her uncle. All these letters
that she had preserved were turned over
to the counsel for the heirs-at-law. and she
identified them in court this morning In
one of these letters, which were mislaid
Mrs. lglehart said he asked her to furnish
MIN with the full names of all the members
of her family. Her letter I'm reply, giving
the desired Information, was found among
Judge HoltS papers after his death and
was produced in court this morning
Mr.. Worthington then read a number Of
letters addressed to Mrs. Iglehart. as wei
as to her father, who was the judges
brother, Robert.
in all these letters Judge Holt showed
that he took a deep interest I'm all the de-
tails connected with the lives of his various
blood relation $. Though he lived here
alone, he seems TO have followed closely
all the doings of his nephews and nieces
and expressed regret that he could not
see them more frequently.
Mr.. Worthir gton concluded the reading
of each letter about as follows: d" AS ever, .
your affectonate uncle, ]. Holt with a
jab on the j. /"
In reading a letter dated in 1850. Mr.
Worthington said simply: Ever your af-
fectionate uncle, ]. Holt
Mr.. Worthington," said Mr.. Darlington,
you omitted your usual reference to the
jab on the J."
Aye" replied Mr.. Worthington, in an
oratorical voice, because the Jab is not 3
there. That letter was written about the /,
time when he was beginning to make his
Us without the jab, but the man who
forged the alleged will does not seem to
have been familiar with that fact"
In one of l. 5 letters Judge Holt spoke
of one of Mrs. Iglcharts sons, who was
named Joseph Holt Iglehart, and expressed
the hope that lie was named after the head
Of the family, his grandfather, Instead of
himself. He thought 1T unwise to name a
child after living person, for there is then
no telling what the future of the person SO
honorcd may be.
"A man." said he. lis like a snake, in that
he cannot be properly measured until he is
dead"
After reading all these letters, Mr. Worth
ington said that 1t was hardly necessary to
ask her IL she was familiar with Judge
Hollis writing. He then handed her the
alleged will and asked her what she thought
of 1t.
II should say 1t was not in his hand
writing" she replied. Continuing, she said
| that she was unable to point out any par
ucular points Of difference; 1t was the gem (!