Penning, Frank, 1842-1925

PENNING, KERTEN

Posted By: Lydia Lucas - Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 20:33:35

From the Alton Democrat, October 30, 1925:

FRANK PENNING 1843-1925
Pioneer of Sioux County Passes On

Frank Penning, born at Niederfeulen, duchy of Luxembourg, passed away on Tuesday evening, October 20, shortly after seven o’clock. He had been bedfast for fourteen weeks. All that skilled and loving hands could do was done to prolong his life, but to no avail.

Mr. Penning’s life was a long and useful one. He was 82 years, 9 months and 23 days of age when he departed this life. We remember Mr. Penning as a kind neighbor, conscientious church worker in St. Anthony’s parish at Hospers, and dear to his family and numerous friends. In our frequent visits with the deceased we had ample opportunity to realize how he prized the trait of honesty in the character in his fellow men. We remember his kindness and thoughtfulness for children and his loyalty to a friend in need.

Many of Mr. Penning’s friends will recall that on April 22, 1923, Mr. and Mrs. Penning celebrated their golden wedding. The children born to this union numbered five, three of whom died when a contagion visited the family in 1882. The surviving children are Anna and John, who with their mother, mourn the loss of a kind father and husband.

The funeral services were conducted on Friday morning at 10 o’clock from St. Anthony’s church by Rev. Fathers Dries and Thoenissen and were attended by a large concourse of sorrowing relatives and friends. Interment was made at St. Anthony’s cemetery.

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From De Volksvriend, October 29, 1925, Hospers news:

Overleden, Frank Penning, na een tidjland gesukkeld te hebben. Frank werkte in zijn jeugd te Parijs, Frankrejk. Dat is meer dan een halve eeuw geleden, het was voor den Fransch-Duitschen Oorlog. Hij hielp de kuilen graven op het Pere Chaise kerkhof toen de cholera in Frankrijk zoo vele slachtoffers eischte. Frank was een goed vader en een goed burger.

Deceased, Frank Penning, after a period of struggle. Frank worked in his youth in Paris, France. That's over half a century ago, it was during the Franco-German War. He helped dig the pits at the Pere Chaise cemetery when the cholera in France claimed so many victims. Frank was a good father and a good citizen.

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RESEARCH NOTES

The Hospers newspaper for 1925 is missing.

The Sioux County Cemetery Index has Penning, Father, b. 27 Dec. 1842, d. 20 Dec[sic] 1925, St. Anthonys Cem, Hospers IA.

FindaGrave.com shows him born Dec. 27, 1842 in Neiderfeulen, Canton de Diekirch, Luxembourg; died Oct. 20, 1925 in Hospers; buried in Saint Anthony’s Catholic Cemetery; wife Susanna Kerten Penning (1848-1928); daughter Anna Penning (1884-1950). There is a photo of his headstone.

His death certificate shows him as 82 years, 9 months, 23 days old, born in Nieder Fähling, Luxemburg; wife Susanna Kerten; father Franz Penning, mother’s name not known to the informant John Penning; died in Hospers Oct. 20, 1925 at 7:30 p.m.; cause of death apoplexy, duration 1 month 13 days (although the doctor had attended him since July 7, the probable date of his stroke).

His will is available on Ancestry.com. In it, he leaves his personal property and a life estate in his real property to his wife Susanna. Upon his wife’s death his son John F. Penning is to receive the SE¼ of Section 22, Township 96, Range 43W, for which he is to pay Anna Penning $12,000. His daughter Anna Penning is to have Lot 1 and the south 35 feet of Lot 2 in Block 24 in the town of Hospers. The residue of his property is to be divided equally between them.