The Kemper herald. (Scooba, Miss.) 1875-1908, 1905-03-09
'He told me s21, 900 was coming

him from his fathers estate and l
must prepare to leave for Germany
with him the next night. He said he
had no money for the voyage and
asked how much | had. | told him
$500 in the Illinois Trust and Savings
bank.
"He asked me to draw it out and
give 1t to him for our "trip to Germany.
Just to show that he was on the square
with me, he said, he made his will in
my favor. Then We went to the bank.
I drew out the money and gave it to
him. At the same time he handed me
the will he had made out. Then he
hurried away to buy the tickets. That
is the last / have yer seen of him."
Calls Police "Foolishnesses.v
Hoch, when approached regarding
his alleged multi-marriages, emphat-
ically denied ever having INDUCED in
such an ~escapade as bigamy and in his
quaint German way indicated that the
very thought of such a thing was ex-
tremely repulsive to his highly toned
character. He strenuously denies mar
rying as many persons as have ap-
peared claiming Mr.. Hoch as their
long-lost life companion. In broken
English he said that there were 5000
deserted wives in Chicago, and if the
police persisted in connecting him with
so many, they must be "big foolish
nesses." Mr.. Hoch gives the follow
ing version of his trouble: That's all
humbug about 1881. How could l be
running around marrying women when
| wasn't here? came to this country
in the first week of July, 1895.
when | first got to Chicago |
opened a saloon. l paid 81, 900 for it
to, a man named Louis Witte, but my
trade is sheet metal working, and |
found out in a few months that the
best thing I could do was to go back
to it.
"After that l worked for the Pullman
company and the Northwestern rail
road and the Rock Island. In 1900 |
married Mary Hendrickson, and | had
trouble with her. l guessed then 7
wouldn't stay home any more.
Last December | got lonely, and>I
got my eye on a widow that | thought
would make me a good wife. That was
Marie Welker. I was told Mrs. Hen.
erickson had got a divorce, and SO l
got tied up again, but no sooner did l
get tied than Marie died, and am
just the same as before.
"Then | said to myself: I'll marry
her sister, and | asked Emile If she
liked me. She said she did, so | mar
ried her, and here | am.
But l am not afraid, Let them
come on, all these other women, 81,
81, 101. Let them all come who have
been deserted and robbed by me-"
What about the arsenic, then, that
the Chicago police say they have dis
covered in the stomach of your dead
wife?"
Hoch fidgeted.
arsenic? Pooh! 1t was her kid
neys that killed her. She was sick"
One Woman Hypnotized.
Mrs. Leo Prayer, 1910 Cortez street,
has been added to the list of Mrs.
Hochs." When she married Hoch,
some time ago, it is said that he gave
the name Of Leo Prayer. Mrs. Prayer
secured $6 $500 through. the death of her
former husband, and shortly after the
marriage to Prayer" she gave him
$500, with which he started a second
hand furniture store at 704 Sixty-third
street. They fitted out a fiat at 4431
State street.
One day Prayer" purchased $1,000
worth of rugs from the A. S. Klein
Carpet company, and when the goods
were delivered the Sixty-third street
store was found closed. Prayer" dis
appeared and has not been heard from
since.
Amelia Holm, 5122 Princeton avenue,
declared she was married to John
Healy" December u, 1900, and desert
ed by him after he had secured 500
of her money. She believes from the
description that Healy was Hoch.
The story came to light through the
good memory of Policeman Ward, of