SMART HEIRS SEEM NOW TO BE A MYTH
New York Times
No Mention of Widely Sought Children in Will of Wealthy Man Lost on Titanic
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HE NEVER SPOKE OF THEM
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His Friends Recall Now After World Search That They Merely Thought That He Had Two
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Two children, a boy and a girl, the former 20 years old and the latter 18, for whom a world-wide search was made after John Montgomery Smart, a lawyer and President of the American Cold Storage and Shipping Company, went down on the Titanic last April, were not mentioned at all in Mr. Smart's will, which was filed yesterday in the Surrogates' Office for probate, although the children were supposed to be his only living relatives. The absence of any mention of the children in the will aroused the suspicion for the first time in the minds of Mr. Smart's many friends here that perhaps he had been childless.
Those who had always supposed him to be the father of two children, whom he was educating in European schools, recalled that they had not heard Mr. Smart speak of them, and that their belief that he had two children was based entirely on what amounted to no more than gossip.
Mr. Smart's wife was supposed to have died ten years ago, and he, at that time, when his supposed son and daughter were still small, was presumed to have placed them in European schools with the idea that by moving them from country to country he could assure to them an intimate acquaintance with the languages of Europe.
That was Mr. Smart’s history, as his friends had come to believe it, but when they questioned themselves they found that the lawyer, always a reticent and retired man, had never been sponsor to their beliefs. Nevertheless, when Mr. Smart died, the world-wide search for the children was instituted. Consuls were asked to start inquiries in the countries to which they were accredited and advertisements were inserted in many papers abroad, asking information of the missing heirs.
For months these inquiries brought no results, but last August word was received from Belgium that the children were supposed to be there, that their names were believed to be George and Annie. They were said to be in a Belgian convent. The American Consul at Brussels was asked to complete the investigation, but no further trace of the children was found.
Now that Mr. Smart's will has failed to make any mention of his children, the belief is generally adopted by his friends that he never had any children. The will was dated in 1897, when the children would have been 5 and 3 years old, respectively. Yet their existence was not indicated by so much as a mention of them.
The will decreed that after all debts had been paid one-third of the estate should go to Jeremiah Twomey and the remainder to Annie Frances Brown, friends of Mr. Smart, living in Melbourne, Australia.
---
HE NEVER SPOKE OF THEM
---
His Friends Recall Now After World Search That They Merely Thought That He Had Two
---
Two children, a boy and a girl, the former 20 years old and the latter 18, for whom a world-wide search was made after John Montgomery Smart, a lawyer and President of the American Cold Storage and Shipping Company, went down on the Titanic last April, were not mentioned at all in Mr. Smart's will, which was filed yesterday in the Surrogates' Office for probate, although the children were supposed to be his only living relatives. The absence of any mention of the children in the will aroused the suspicion for the first time in the minds of Mr. Smart's many friends here that perhaps he had been childless.
Those who had always supposed him to be the father of two children, whom he was educating in European schools, recalled that they had not heard Mr. Smart speak of them, and that their belief that he had two children was based entirely on what amounted to no more than gossip.
Mr. Smart's wife was supposed to have died ten years ago, and he, at that time, when his supposed son and daughter were still small, was presumed to have placed them in European schools with the idea that by moving them from country to country he could assure to them an intimate acquaintance with the languages of Europe.
That was Mr. Smart’s history, as his friends had come to believe it, but when they questioned themselves they found that the lawyer, always a reticent and retired man, had never been sponsor to their beliefs. Nevertheless, when Mr. Smart died, the world-wide search for the children was instituted. Consuls were asked to start inquiries in the countries to which they were accredited and advertisements were inserted in many papers abroad, asking information of the missing heirs.
For months these inquiries brought no results, but last August word was received from Belgium that the children were supposed to be there, that their names were believed to be George and Annie. They were said to be in a Belgian convent. The American Consul at Brussels was asked to complete the investigation, but no further trace of the children was found.
Now that Mr. Smart's will has failed to make any mention of his children, the belief is generally adopted by his friends that he never had any children. The will was dated in 1897, when the children would have been 5 and 3 years old, respectively. Yet their existence was not indicated by so much as a mention of them.
The will decreed that after all debts had been paid one-third of the estate should go to Jeremiah Twomey and the remainder to Annie Frances Brown, friends of Mr. Smart, living in Melbourne, Australia.
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John Montgomery Smart
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