Ex-Evanston Man Presents Estate to Wife

Mr. Howard Cole, who formerly resided at 1018 Greenwood boulevard, Evanston, arrived in Chicago Saturday with his wife, who was formerly Mrs. Jarvis Hunt, well known in Chicago and north shore society as a social leader and horsewoman before her divorce from the prominent architect. They will make a short visit in Evanston before going to Madison, New Jersey, to take possession of Florham Park, one of the widest-known [illegible] show places in America, which the former Evanstonian bought for his wife as a Christmas present.
Florham park is an estate of 600 acres, and was founded by the late Dr. Leslie P. Ward, one of the organizers and first vice-president of the Prudential Insurance company. Ward is said to have spent upward of $1,000,000 in building and furnishing the thirty room mansion and an equal amount on the grounds, stables, garages and other buildings. Owing to the desire of the Ward administrators to dispose of the place, Mr. Cole was enabled to purchase it at approximately a seventh of its cost, or $200,000. He estimated that its upkeep will amount to about $40,000 [unclear] a year at the rate of about $1,000 a week.

To Lead Quiet Life
It is the intention of his wife and himself, Cole says, to [illegible] at Florham Park the quiet life which they have led since their departure from Chicago. They will do little social entertaining in their new home, and will devote themselves to [illegible] pursuits. They will purchase a string of thoroughbred horses and a kennell of pedigreed dogs, and also attempt scientific agriculture and stock raising. Mrs. Cole saying that she will milk the cows and churn her own butter as well as manage her household on the latest domestic principles. [illegible] planned by her [illegible] aviary of rare songbirds.

A Romance of Business
The way which led Cole to a [illegible] to buy one of the fine country houses of the United states is [illegible] romance of business. Yet [illegible] years ago, at the age of [illegible] he left his home in Parkersburg, West Virginia, [illegible] in debt and with $100 in cash and a gold watch as his only possessions. His debts were due to his becoming involved in oil speculations which he admits now he knew nothing about.
He went to Fort Worth, Texas, and passed through a period of hardships during which he often went hungry and more than once found it necessary to pawn his watch. his fortune turned when he persuaded several wealthy men to form a real estate loan company and employ him, on a commission of $1 a share, to sell stock. He made $500 and went to Houston to repeat the operation. In a few months he saved $3,500 and with this sum was able to seize upon an opportunity which beconed him to Lousiana.

Buys "Wild Land"
Reserving $1,500 for expenses, Cole bought from the levee board options upon 4,000 acres of wild land at 25 cents an acre. His first customer was a northern banker, whom he took to Louisiana in a private car and who paid him $4.50 an acre for his options. The profits were at once invested in other options which were as quickly sold.
Lousiana becoming too small for him after a few years, he found a new world to conquer in agricultural lands inFlorida, where his biggest transaction was one involving 900,000 [unclear] acres. Then he took up timber lands in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas, following them with deals on the same huge scale in British Columbia. He rarely made less than $100,000 a year, and today estimates that he is worth $1,250,000. In 1909 he opened a main office in St. Louis.
By cutting up 100 acres in Florham park into city lots he expects to recoupthe entire purchase price of the estate, and will have 600 acres left as his residence.

His Third Wife
Mrs. Cole is Cole's third wife. They have no children. His first wife was a childhood sweetheart who died at the birth of their second child, a boy. The boy and an elder child, a girl, live in Atlanta, Ga.
After his wife's death Cole married here sister. The union proved unhappy, and in December, 1909, she obtained a divorce. In the same month, Mrs. Hunt divorced her husband, and in January, 1910, married Cole at Jacksonville.
The second Mrs. Cole soon afterward brought suit in Kansas City against her successor for $350,000 alleging the alienation of Cole's affections. The suit was dismissed in March 1913 [unclear]. It was understood that Cole set aside $100,000 for the support of his second wife and his children.
Mrs. Cole was Miss Louise Coleman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Coleman of CHicago, and is wealthy in her own right.