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Show J - i - : : i. J . i .1 . 1 . U W ' 1 V. Ik-' k- x u . S A IMSul r-4 . li y lJL'L BPOSAJO!, WuL, Feb. 21 In a Ut-. tie' room of Gnnand building, Ejmgne avenue and Lincoln street In which cosy retreat she has long enjoyed an immunity im-munity from newspaper publicity and even that more searching gossip of the neighbors, Mrs. Eiaa Nesbit, grandmother grand-mother of Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, whose husband, Harry Thaw, is now on trial In New York for the murder of Stanford White, has been living in Spokane for six months. She Is here visiting her daughter, Mrs. Isaac J. Galbraitn,-wlfe of the well-known architect and aunt of Evelyn Nesblt Thaw. Mrs. Nesbitjs 74 years of age, but her faculties are unimpaired.. She takes a keen interest In the trial of her grandson, grand-son, Harry Thaw, reading with great avidity the newspaper accounts of the rase.- She is much perplexed to know how the trial will terminate and speculates specu-lates much over every bit ' of evidence that is introduced. Prefers to Live Alone. Mrs. Nesbit says she is living alone because that was her expressed wish, even - though her-daughter, Mrs. Ga4-braith, Ga4-braith, importuned her to eome to their home, 1317 Fifteenth avenue, and stay. She has reached an age where whims are permissible, and. says it is one of her whims that she may live alone.. To the other residents of the Germond building she was known as Mrs. ?e-bit, ?e-bit, but few of them even in idle speculation ever traced a coincidence of names with that of the mother of the New York actress. When asked last night if she was re lated to Evelyn Neebit" Thaw Mrs. Nesbit smiled and said: "Yee, I am her grandmother but then I can't help that," she added, mrre by way of deprecating the publicity pub-licity that would follow such ah admission admis-sion than to repudiate the relationship. Mother of Girl's rather. ' "Yes, I am the mother of her father," she continued, slowly. "Win-field "Win-field Nesbit was my second son. He was a lawyer in Pittsburg when, he married Evelyn McKinney, the mother of Evelyn Thaw." Mrs. Nesbit 's hnsband, William-Nesbit, died thirty-two years ago, leaving the mother with thirteen children. This large family wss supported largely by the efforts of Mrs. Nesbit and her two eldest sons, . Samuel - and Winfield. The children were educated, and when the struggle toned down Winfield studied law. He had built up a large clientele when he met the preeent Mrs. Holman, formerly' Evelyn - McKinney, the woman wo-man who was to become his wife. Mrs. Nesbit, possibly .with a mother's moth-er's jealousy of her son's affection, is inclined to blame her daughter-in-law ! foi the notoriety into which the family has been plunged. - ; "There never was any trouble in the family before Winfield married the mother of Evely Thaw," said she. "I didn't think she was exactly the right sort of a woman, and I believe that she was more or less to blame for the life that Evelyn Thaw led. "I saw Evelyn when she was a little girl 15 years old. At that time she was as nice a girl as you would want to meet. My son was dead at that time and Evelyn was living with ber mother. . "The two were in Pittsburg for some time and then the mother took Evelyn to New York- to have her placed . on the stage, and to make money by her I believe. There she met Stanford White." Never Saw-Her Afterward. Mrs. Nesbit did not see Evelyn after the visit to New York and knew little about her until .last year, when .the murder of Stanford White occurred and accounts were published of the life the principals of the tragedy had led. Mrs. Nesbit read many of these stories, scarcely knowing what to believe df her granddaughter. Her faith in the little- irl whom she had seen not many years eft) re remained strong, Mrs. Nesbit 's opinion of the tragedy is more perplexing than partisan. Although Al-though it is her grandson that faces the jury in New York, she is not prepared to say that he is' not guilty as certainly cer-tainly she is not ready to say that he is guilty. - ' "What do you think of the easel" she asked, as if she would weigh the opinion of others before she took sides herself. When the verdict is brought in there will be few readers in the country more interested than Mrs. Nesbit. After concluding the visit here with her daughter, Mrs. Galbraith, Mrs. Nesbit Nes-bit w.ill return to Pittsburg, where two of her sons are living. |
