PENNING'S TROUBLES

What It Was That Killed the Old Man at Ashland.

HAD PUT TRUST IN A WOMAN

But She Had Fled With $600 After Finding Him a Bigamist.

Special to The Journal.

Wahpeton, N.D., Jan. 11.--Adam Penning, who committed suicide at Ashland, Saturday, with something like $4,000 in his pocket, was well-known here, having operated the Wahpeton House, a second-rate hotel, for two years. He came here from South Dakota about that time with the young woman whom he introduced as his wife. Until last spring the couple apparently lived together happily; but some time in May the young woman demanded of him, because of his advanced age, that he make some provision for her in case of his sudden death. He accordingly deposited for her in one of the city banks $800. This seemed satisfactory to her and things moved along smoothly until September, when, one morning, it developed that the woman had taken the money out of the bank and eloped with a mulatto porter.

Since then it has been learned that he had a legal wife and family living in Grand Luxemburg, Germany, and that wife No. 2 had probably married him for his wealth only. When he left here about six weeks ago, he stated that he would go to Chicago to hunt up his fleeing spouse, and them return to this city and resume business. Penning at one time was very wealthy, but lost heavily in real estate speculations in South Dakota. He also had a fortune left him in Germany which he partly lost in this county. He disposed of his hotel effects after the woman left him, and at times appeared greatly excited and despondent, but no one here expected he might commit suicide. He was over 60 years old, and leaves no relatives here.

Friday night, he went to the home of a German, John Heoft, at Ashland, Wis., whom he had never seen before, and after apparently testing Hoeft's honesty wrote a letter giving Hoeft power of attorney and went to bed. The next morning he killed himself. Besides a bank book showing an account in favor of Emma Penning, his second wife, he had about $4,200 in cash and credits. He told Hoeft that he "had troubles that money could not heal."

Minneapolis Journal, Minneapolis, MN 11 Jan 1897