Who was his wife?
Where are his children?
Who knows his life story?
Who has the record of his private affairs?
Who are his living relatives?

During his active life Jay Montgomery smart was a man of mystery.

Now that his bones lie in the sunken Titanic his past is a greater puzzle than ever, and so far it is unsolved. Usually when a man dies, even though he may have been of distinction, his hidden history is buried with him. But smart was a man of wealth, and it became necessary to try to discover vital facts of his intimate personal life. 

That's again a worldwide search that has served only to make the case of J. Montgomery smart all the stranger. He was an honoured and successful man of business whose transactions were international in scope even extending from New York to Australia. He gathered a fortune and was at the zenith of his career when he joined the thousand and more perished with the Titanic. The end was characteristic of the man. He would have chosen and unmarked grave and feet left the choice to him. 

Having left money it became necessary to find his heirs. It was remembered that this man of silence never described his family. It was known that he had been married and that his wife had died 10 years before. Vague words dropped here and there were gathered and it became apparent that smart had two children, a boy of 20 and a girl of 18. It was declared that they were being educated in luxury in a foreign country, that Smart had had them tutored in France and Belgium and Germany in order that they might become acquainted at firsthand with foreign languages and gain the polish that comes from travel. A few persons even said that they had seen their pictures, and that the girl was apparently unusual in beauty and grace. The boy was described as remarkably forward in his studies. 

But no one could be found who had any definite idea of their whereabouts. Every little scrap of information was lacking in anything that suggested a clue. Not a letter could be found that told of his family. He had buried everything about himself in New York, and the city of a million mysteries kept his secret only too well. So this personal was published:

Will anyone having information of the whereabouts of George and Annie smart, children of J Montgomery smart, who was lost on the Titanic, kindly communicate with Curtis, Mollet-Prevost and Colt, No. 30 Broad Street, New York City? Papers in France and Belgium please copy.

Into three countries of Europe the filaments of inquiries extended. The American consuls of many ports were asked to aid in the hunt. That was in May, 1912. In the following August a cablegram came from Brussels declaring that the lost ones were thought to be in a convent in the interior of Belgium. Various circumstances gave rise to the hope that this was likely true. The search was pushed with renewed vigor. But all in vain. The clue was as baffling as all the rest. 

One fact was discovered in the course of the Belgian hunt It was asserted that the children were in charge of a Mrs. Cook, who was a great friend of Mrs. Smart, and that Smart was paying her liberally to care for them. But who was Mrs. Cook? Her identity was also impossible to discover, and the hunt settled down into a hope that the guardian would write for funds, thus solving the riddle. But she has been swallowed In silence. No word, no letter, has come from the children. At every turn mystery! 

As President or the American Cold Storage and Shipping Company, Smart had made many acquaintances among prominent businessmen in New York. London Berlin, Paris and many other cities throughout the world. Many believed that they knew him well. But when the test came they were surprised to find that only the barest information was obtainable about his personal affairs. His personality was inviting and his influence with men of importance was a stimulus to his business plans. But Smart had two sides, one to face the world with and the other he kept cloaked even to those who believed themselves to be his personal friends. 

Smart was a hermit in the great city and he was a hermit In His many voyages and travels In foreign countries. His habits were most precise; his comings and goings were controlled by a schedule that he would allow to be broken only by exterior influences that were beyond his control. He was seldom seen in the theatres or other places of amusement, and then only when he felt bound to entertain a business associate with whom he was negotiating a deal of Importance. When in this city, Smart made his home in the Victoria Hotel, and when he closed the door of his room he left the world behind him. Nobody was ever asked to visit him; his hours of seclusion were to him the happiest. 

Smart always kept his private papers' in a leather portfolio and never failed to carry it with him on his journeys. These trips were necessary because his company had cold storage plants in Southampton and Manchester in England, and a great part of Smart's business consisted in supplying John Bull [i.e. the British market], with American eggs and foodstuffs. Hs was a pioneer in the business of supplying refrigerated meats and the like to England. That portfolio was with him on the Titanic and the ocean holds still more secrets that will never he divulged. 

Frederick K. Seward of the law firm or Curtis, Mallet-Provost & Colt was with Smart on the Titanic. He had gone abroad with the capitalist as his personal counsel in the biggest deal that Smart had ever engaged in. Mr. Seward was favored by destiny, for he survived the great calamlty after a dreadful experience. To the lawyer was intrusted [sic] the task of trying to discover the truth about his client's personal affairs, but every lane of inquiry has ended in a blank wall. Mr. Seward had known his client for eight years and had thought he was intimately acquainted with him. The fact that he was really in ignorance of the essential facts of Smart's life only became apparent when he attempted to lift the veil. From his many talks with Smart, Mr. Seward inferred that he was born in Massachusetts, and that he was about fifty years old. He was astonished to find that all ha knew about Smart was that he was tall, robust and had a florid face and a gray mustache, and that he knew how to be very attractive to men when he cared to be. 

Then another confusing fact developed. Smart was on the passenger list as John M. Smart. He had always been known as J. Montgomery Smart and as "Jim" to his associates. But an old directory was found that gave his first name as James. That was when hit wife was alive. The next step was to find out about his wife. Surely, it was argued, her family could tell everything that was necessary to know. 

But Mrs. Smart might as well have never existed so far as they could learn anything about her. 

Who she was and whence she came was unknown to everybody that was questioned. Now entered into the case Lawyer Frank J. Ryan of No. 111 Broadway, who had known Smart when he lived at the Viotoria. His acquaintance lasted for ten years. Mr. Ryan became convinced that the lost children really existed. Also he had personally often heard Smart speak with great pride of his offspring and of the splendid way in which they were advancing in their studies. 

"I have tried every means to find the children as a matter, of justice and out of respect to my dead friend," said Mr, Ryan in discussing the mystery. "A night clerk of the Victoria told me that Mr. Smart had once given a package to a porter to deliver to his children, who were then stopping on West End avenue with the woman who was acting as their guardian. But the porter, who renumbered the incident could not recall the address; It had happened so long ago. 

"Mr. Smart told various persons that when his wife died she left the income of her estate to him, and that after his death it was to go to the little girl and boy. The father said that he had never touched a penny of the estate's earnings, and that it was to be permitted to roll up so that the children would be sure of a handsome fortune on reaching maturity. He also declared to a man whom I know to be reliable that he had set aside $200,000 for his children. Mr. Smart also once said that he was a relative of Cardinal McCloskey, and I have tried hard to establish the relationship, but without the slightest success. 

"It is possible that the heirs were so handsomely provided for during Mr. Smart's life that they and their guardian have preferred to remain silent for a reason that cannot be explained." 

Still another complication was introduced when the will was filed. There was no mention of the children, and this added to the general astonishment of Smart's friends. Then came forward Constance H. Baldwin, who filed objections to the probating of the testament. She charged that the signature was not written by Smart. She swore that she knew this well because she had been a partner with him in various business enterprises. The will Is signed "John Montgomery Smart," and is asserted to vary in character and formation from his known signature. 

In his world-roamlngs Smart had become friendly with two residents at Melbourne, Australia; he liked them, but, as events proved, he never let them know anything about his secrets. But to these two persons, Annie Frances Brown and Jeremiah Twomey, he left his estate, two-thirds going to the woman. They were as much surprised as anybody else, and they too knew nothing about the children. 

"It is the most amazing case I ever came in contact with, says Lawyer Ryan. "I fear the mist never will be lifted."