Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-01-20
WITH TEN WIVES
MAN STILL SMILES
MODERN RIVAL OF KING SOLO
MON HAS BEEN DISCOVERED
IN GOTHAM.
is ONLY 80 YEARS OLD
Joseph Kohler With Whom Half .
Score of Women Have Married
is Hale and Hearty and Hasn't
Gray Hair.

King Solomon had 1000 wives. But
he couldn't have had much more
trouble because of 'em than Joseph
Kohler, whose matrimonial headquar-
tiers are at No. 1917 First avenue,
New york, has had because Of his.
And Kohler has only ten-so far.
Kohler is 80. His step is elastic
his cheeks are ruddy. There's not a
gray hair in his head. f.
When not busy getting married, or
serving time in prison as a conse'
quence thereof, he tends bar. But
he would throw up job any time
to get married, according to two or
three of his wives. -
Kohler was arraigned in the York.
vile court on charge of abandonment
preferred by his tenth matrimonial Sc
lection. Mrs. Martha Schmidt, who
lives at S12 Westminster avenue, the
Bronx.
When detectives called for him he
hated to leave his first wife. He told
the detectives that he had set his
heart on spending the week end with
her and her seven living children. Her
60 years haven't cooled his ardcr for
her bit, he said. Besides, she's a
grand cook. g.,
The visitors proved obdurate, Kah-
Ter skipped over a couple of fire es-
capes, through few windows, back
into the hall and down to the street
door. Having learned to dodge num-
erous wives, he found lodging two
detectives easy. But at the door Mrs.
Kohler No. 10 was waiting.
There's no sense in going into the
details Of that meeting. Kohler went
to court like lamb and was held in
$4,000 bail for examination in the do
nestle relations court Monday morn
ing. Then the charge will be changed
to bigamy-or decamy or whatever
term is proper for a man with ten
wives. a..
When the magistrate heard the tale
of the two wives his eyebrows arched.
When Mrs. Schmidt said she'd heard
that Kohler has still another one at
Staten island the magistrate said
''H'm-m-m! A good many men have
all they can do to take care of one"
Court attendants looked wistfully at
kohler as it became more and more
apparent that neither matrimony or
matrimonies are a burden to him. In
fact, he smiled cheerfully when re-
minded that he had been sent to Sing
Sing in 1907 by Judge Mulqueen in
general sessions for four and one-half
years. He had nine better halves
then. Three appeared against him.
It was set forth in court that Koh-
Ter left prison in August, 1912, and
married Martha Schmidt In Hoboken,
Nov. 20 Of that year. To show he was
on the level, he married her once more
in a church in East One Hundred and
Forty-first street.
eff you'd like to have a third cere-
mony, Pm game" he told her.
"He certainly did enjoy getting mar
ried," Mrs. Schmidt said to a reporter
for The World. eff he married every
wife twice, and there really is an 18th
in Staten island, then he's been mar
red % times"
Mrs. Schmidt has also charged koh.
Ter with taking her savings of $500.
She said he needed all the money he
could get to support his first wife and
her seven children.
There's an interesting feature about
the first wife-Mrs. Caroline Kohler.
She was married and had five chill
dren when she met Kohler % years
ago. He was IT,, she SO. They went
right back to Germany on their honey
moon, and Mrs. Kohler No. 1 was
promptly arrested for bigamy.
That adventure showed the youth
full Kohler how easy matrimony is.
So he made it his life work He be-
came the father of II children by his