The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-04-03

| the sensation tnaI arose q Few weeks Ia
. ter. when the widow assigned to Judge
Hilton the great business OF A. T. Stew
art, then housed in the building now oc-
cupied by Wanamaker. There was gossip
TO the effect that Mrs. Stewart was prae-
tically a prisoner In her own house when
she signed away this great property. but
the mystery has never been solved.
Then began the period Of disaster which
has stretched over many years. FIRST
came the robbing OF A T. Stewart
grave in St Marks Churchyard The
whole world rang with this story q des-
ecration for the sake of ransome
The ghouls who stole the body wrote to
Judge Hilton, and he offered them So 0Ol
as the price of its return. Before tn ar
rangements were completed the robbers
too fright and the body has OF been seen
from that day 70 this
Then calamity attacked the fortune
that A t. Stewart had built W so bril-
liantly- His business, the greatest of its
kind in this hemisphere went 10 the dogs.
Hilton, Hughes & Co. Slid along the
downward path for years until the crash
came. and their creditors scrambled for
what could be saved from the wreck.
Claimants from many quarters caused
| the sQuandering of more millions in de-
| tense of the will The wonderful are OBJ
jects that filed the Thirty-fourth street
house disappeared gradually, no one
knew how. The widows own fortune
vanished SO completely that when she
died. ten years after her husband. Judge
| Hilton was able TO prove that she was
actually in debt to him
As for the hotel for working girls, Judge
/ Hilton supplied it with bars and billiard
rooms until the working girls ali left, and
| since that time it has been run as an or
! binary hotel, despite thespecihc provision
| in the merchants will
Nor did calamity spare Judge Hilton
| himself The failure of the business was
| aggravated by the extravagance and no.
toriety of his sons. whose debts cost him
| pretty penny. He had mortgaged the
Stewart Building and the dry goods house
in an effort to keep the business going
Hetty Green loaned him 81, 250, 900. charg-
ing him 6 per cent. interest and per
cent. for the accommodation-for money
was tight just then. He had sunk 81. 800
600 in the business before ii went under.
No; the Stewart millions brought no
luck to Henry Hilton, nor to his children;
and when he lay dying last August, an
aged and broken man, it is doubtful IL il
cost him a single regret to be near the
end.
1t is not necessary TO tell of all the
Stewart relatives real and alleged. who
attempted to wrest the old mans for
tune from Judge Hilton's hands They
Hrfo %
counsel seldom excelled for its strength.
AT its head was Joseph Choate. now Am
bassador at the Court Of st. James. With
such defense Hilton triumphed every
time.
Now comes energetic Mrs. Hoffman and
this is the tale she tells:
MY father was nephew of A. T
Stewart He was a proud man and
thought that every one should be able to
make his own way in the world. and con-
sequently did not try to make much of
his kinship with the merchant prince of
New York. He died Door but not with
out telling US that some day We might
be glad that we bore the name of Stew
art
His name was James Stewart Me
Cracker. His mother was a sister of A
T. Stewart. Early in the sixties he came
to Boston from Coot's Hill, Ireland, and
soon after his az -ival married. l remem-
Der once that father told me he had re-
ceived letter from relative who was
worth millions. We were all In the sit
ting-room at the time, all my brothers
and sisters, and he said: Perhaps at a
future time you may have share Of his
great wealth. 1 have never asked him
for dollar and never will, but when
am dead he may consider pour interests
soon after that my father died. 1t
was then that my mother felt the need
OF money. She had xix small children 70
support, and one day while feeling bluer
than usual she wrote to my fathers aunt
a sister Of \. T. Stewart. but no reply
came. Once again my mother wrote Of
our need of money, and again the letter
remained unanswered. She was too proud
to try a third time. and now that she
does not need help lays that no power on
earth will make her touch one cent of
the money.
I'VE feel differently. however. and have
decided TO take immediate steps 10 prove (
our title and right There will be but
little difficulty in proving that the della
tionship exists as I have told you. a. all /
the marriage records and other dat1 have /
been carefully traced. AID this, backed 1
up with the family traditions. all of /.
which can be authenticated leads me 10 ]
believe that our case Will prove a strong /
one. We are, I thiPk. the only contest !
ants save one who can prove the blood /
relationship Our lawyers lead US 10 be |
Iieve that we are on strong ground.
The other children Of James Stewart !
McCracken who will Join Mrs. Hoffman |
in the contest are Mary Louis. William i
Stewart. Margaret Stewart. Annie Louise 1
and Alexander Stewart McCracken. Il IS !
said that Mrs. Hoffman has geinty OF /
financial backing.