The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-04-21
her $40 HUSBAND
Mrs. Renk Advertised For
No. 2, and Caught a
Noble" Teuton.
He TALKED NICELY TO Her
So She Parted With Her Hand
and Cash Then His Wife
Turned Up.

| pretences. The complaining witness was
| Mrs. H. D. Renk buxom and loqua-
cious German, WHO keeps a little store at
| No. 1176 Summit avenue, and supports
herself and her daughter from the profits
of the store and by dressmaking. Mrs.
Renk, when she was on the witness
stand, yesterday, convinced everybody
that she was thorough business woman.
| She lost her husband on May % last, not
| by death but by divorce. In the follow
| ing September, feeling the need of COM
| panionship, she advertised in the German
edition of New York morning paper for
a husband. Out of number OF appll-
cants for the place she selected Won
Grovenhorst, partly on account of his
aristocratic name, chiefly on account of
his distinguished air and manner and
partly because he was a man of ability,
ambitious but in hard luck. After giving
her name, address and business, when
she seated ..erself in the witness chair,
Assistant Prosecutor Van Wrinkle said,
interrogatively:-
You are widow, Mrs. Renk?''
Yes, SIR replied the witness.
"And you were desirous of being mar
ried again?''
Yes, SIR
"And for that reason you advertised in
a New York paper for a husband?"
Eyes, / advertised for a GOOD respect
able man."
"This defendant applied for the posi-
tion?"
YES; he was one of good many who
wrote to me. l answered his letter and
invited him to come and see me. He
nn+ O 1,11f
didn't have time to see him then because
I had company and was very busy. He
came again the next day and we had a
conversation. He told me that he was a
single man and an architect, but that
he was out of employment. He said he
was ambitious to do something and I
felt very sorry for him."
"He made a good impression on you,
I presume said Mr.. Van Wrinkle, ''and
you felt satisfied that he could fill the
position?'
Yes, I saw from his conversation that
he was ambitious and / made up my
mind to give him chance
When were you married?'
1.-THE next day. We went to New York
and were married by the Rev. Mr.. Schnei-
der, pastor of church in Second ave-
nue.,
At this point Lawyer Weller objected
to the witness giving any more testi-
mony, on the ground that a wife cannot
testify against her husband, and as the
State had not proved any previous mar
riage, the witness, SO far as was known.
vas the defendants wife.
Mr.. Van Wrinkle settled that difficulty
by calling Mrs. Margaret Weissensell, OF
No. 1893 Spring street. West Hoboken, who
testified that the defendant was married
to her step-sister on January II, 1897, in
New York. Her step-sister is now living
in West Hoboken The witness also tes-
titled that Mrs. Renk, after Won Groven-
horst left her, had him and his wife ar
rested on charge of living together IL
legally. When it was proved that they
were legally married they were dis
charged.
Mrs. Renk returned to the witness stand
and testified that the defendant wrote
her number of letters. She had them
tied up in neat package, and at Mr..
Van Wrinkles request she translated two
of them into English. This was for the
purpose of proving that the defendant
had pretended to be single man. In
the first letter. according to Mrs. Renk's
translation, the defendant said that he
had seen her respectful announcement
in the paper and 1T was so short that
he was pleased with it." One sentence
contained the statement that he was sin>
gle. Mr.. Weller questioned the correct
ness of the translation and the Court In
terpreter was called on to settle the mat
ter He said that the expression was
standing alone" and he understood that
to mean that he was single man, Inc
letters were written from Islip, L. l. One
of them began with Honored LADY,
have been considering your advertisement
of the 18th of this month and | permit
myself to write these lines to you. /
am forty-five years old, stand alone, and
I am ambitious to do something. have
been three years In this country and
hays ft always wobaed psed haTa put nave hao
You said you first saw him on Sunday,
October 9?'' asked Mr.. Van Wrinkle.
''Yes, SIR replied Mrs Renk.
"And his appearance was acceptable to
sYes, and he talked nice to me"
He said the things. that were proper
for such an occasion?
And you were married the next day?"
"Yes, SIR
You YOU didn't want to lose any timea"
The witness said that she and the de-
fendant lived together until October 81.
He told her that he was ambitious to
make life little easier for her. She
gave him $40 to buy the wedding ring
and pay the minister, and afterward she
gave him S26 to buy clothes and pay his
debts.
You are not a widow, are you, Mrs.
Renk?' asked Mr.. Weller on cross-exam-
ination.
Yes. sir, am" she replied.
isn't your husband living?'
We'll, I'm divorced: that's just the
same thing. | was divorced on May 2S,
last year. ! the Court of Chancery''
The witness testified that the defend
ants wife came to her store and saw her
husband there, but they did not recog-
nize each other. The visitor wanted to
hire room in the house The visitor
said:-"I see you have help The wit
ness said:-'No that is my husband
Somebody suggested having some beer
and Mrs Renk asked the defendant to get
some in a can. The defendant refused,
saying that he preferred to drink 1t out
of a can.
Mr.. Weller did not put the defendant
on the stand. as there is a charge Of
bigamy pending against him in New
York Judge Blair found the defendant
guilty.