Colt historian William Edwards wrote that Samuel Colt had married Caroline Henshaw (who later married his brother, John) in Scotland during 1838, and that the son she bore later was Samuel Colt's and not his brother John's.[1] In a 1953 biography about Samuel Colt based largely on family letters, Edwards wrote that John Colt's marriage to Caroline during 1841 was a way to legitimize her unborn son as the real father, Samuel Colt, felt she was not fit to be the wife of an industrialist and divorce was a social stigma at the time.[1] After John's death, Samuel Colt cared financially for the child, named Samuel Caldwell Colt, with a large allowance, and paid for his tuition in what were described as "the finest private schools." In correspondence to and about his namesake, Samuel Colt referred to him as his "nephew" in quotes. Historians such as Edwards and Harold Schechter have said this was the elder Colt's way of letting the world know that the boy was his own son without saying so directly.[2] After Colt's death, he left the boy $2 million by 2010 standards. Colt's widow, Elizabeth Jarvis Colt, and her brother, Richard Jarvis contested this. In probate court Caroline's son Sam produced a valid marriage license showing that Caroline and Samuel Colt were married in Scotland during 1838 and that this document made him a rightful heir to part of Colt's estate, if not to the Colt Manufacturing Company.
References:
[1] Edwards, William B. (1953). The Story of Colt's Revolver: The Biography of Col. Samuel Colt. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Company.
[2] Schechter, Harold (2010). Killer Colt: Murder, Disgrace, and the Making of an American Legend. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-345-47681-4.
References:
[1] Edwards, William B. (1953). The Story of Colt's Revolver: The Biography of Col. Samuel Colt. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Company.
[2] Schechter, Harold (2010). Killer Colt: Murder, Disgrace, and the Making of an American Legend. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-345-47681-4.
Colt historian William Edwards wrote that Samuel Colt had married Caroline Henshaw (who later married his brother, John) in Scotland during 1838, and that the son she bore later was Samuel Colt's and not his brother John's.[1] In a 1953 biography about Samuel Colt based largely on family letters, Edwards wrote that John Colt's marriage to Caroline during 1841 was a way to legitimize her unborn son as the real father, Samuel Colt, felt she was not fit to be the wife of an industrialist and divorce was a social stigma at the time.[1] After John's death, Samuel Colt cared financially for the child, named Samuel Caldwell Colt, with a large allowance, and paid for his tuition in what were described as "the finest private schools." In correspondence to and about his namesake, Samuel Colt referred to him as his "nephew" in quotes. Historians such as Edwards and Harold Schechter have said this was the elder Colt's way of letting the world know that the boy was his own son without saying so directly.[2] After Colt's death, he left the boy $2 million by 2010 standards. Colt's widow, Elizabeth Jarvis Colt, and her brother, Richard Jarvis contested this. In probate court Caroline's son Sam produced a valid marriage license showing that Caroline and Samuel Colt were married in Scotland during 1838 and that this document made him a rightful heir to part of Colt's estate, if not to the Colt Manufacturing Company.
References:
[1] Edwards, William B. (1953). The Story of Colt's Revolver: The Biography of Col. Samuel Colt. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Company.
[2] Schechter, Harold (2010). Killer Colt: Murder, Disgrace, and the Making of an American Legend. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-345-47681-4.
References:
[1] Edwards, William B. (1953). The Story of Colt's Revolver: The Biography of Col. Samuel Colt. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Company.
[2] Schechter, Harold (2010). Killer Colt: Murder, Disgrace, and the Making of an American Legend. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-345-47681-4.
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