The Scandal of the Episcopal Rector
An Episcopal minister in Clarkston resigns his pulpit following a public admission of his affair with a parishioner.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Rev. C. A. Home, who has just resigned from the Episcopal ministry in Clarkston, has admitted his intention of marrying Mrs. J. W. Kellinger as soon as he can secure a divorce from Mrs. Home and Mrs. Kellinger from her husband. Home left here Wednesday, and is supposed to be in Spokane. Both Mrs. Home and Mr. Kellinger deny suspecting any undue intimacy between Home and Mrs. Kellinger, though others were not so charitable. Rev. Home was brilliantly successful in his work here, building up a strong church, but stated he loved Mrs. Kellinger and would marry her as soon as divorces could be secured. Both families were considered people of refinement and education.
“Rev. Home confirmed it, stating that he loved Mrs. Kellinger and would marry her as soon as divorces could be secured.”
In 1903, the dissolution of two marriages and a minister's career over an affair was a social earthquake that occupied columns of newsprint. Today, while no longer a scandal warranting public resignations and press coverage of 'guilty love,' these narratives highlight the immense social pressure clergy faced in the early 20th century.
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