The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-06-16
RELIGIOUS RASCALITY.
Pertaining to a Peoria Pas
tors Proclivities.
Wine Women and Wicked
Ways.
Developments Devoted to Divine'e
Downfall.
RELIGIOUS RASCALITY.

A short time ago, a young minister will
female companion arrived in this city
from Kewanee. and put up at one of the
leading hotels. The couple gave fctic
uous names and pretended to be brother
and sister. The actions of the couple soon
attracted the suspicious of the proprietor,
and saying that everything was not as il
should be, the proprietor ordered the guilt
/ ly couple out of his house. This expul-
| sion occurred about midnight, during a Sc
we're storm. The affair was kept very
quiet, but finally leaked out, and the min
listers name was ascertained to be George
Francis Meredith
| HIS HISTORY.
is given in the Peoria Journal as follows:
! About six years ago the Methodist con-
ference having jurisd.. ction over this sec
| ton appointed a young man named George
Francis Meredith to the Second Methodist
| Episcopal church on the corner of Madison
and Morgan streets in this city. The
young preacher possessed remarkable abil-
| ity as pulpit orator. Young, for he
was scarcely out of his teens, of attenu-
ated figure, pallid countenance, and mag
| netic temperament, with rapid flow of
ideas and an almost marvellous gift of Ian
guage, he rapidly acquired notoriety and
succeeded in packing the church every
! Sunday night
WHISPERS.
At times whisperings were heard of
cratic and unministerial conduct on his
part but they were ascribed by his fair
devotees to the pique and envy of those
less favored with natural gifts and consign-
ed, with contempt, to oblivion. Suisse
quent events, however, have proven that
these ominous mutterings were but the
precursors of a storm that was, even then,
slowly gathering and increasing in volume,
and which burst at last with all the fury Of
a Missouri cyclone The first occurrence
of any magnitude that obtained publicity
was during the centennial exposition,
which Meredith attended. The affair
caused considerable talk at the time, but
as nothing of eliminating character was
developed it was soon forgotten. After
that event he was more circumspect, and
confined his attentions to the maturer
members of his congregation. At the end
of his second year he was removed to
Washington, Tazewen county, where
he became even more popular than in this
city.
AT KEwANEE.
Nothing out of the way was observed
during the one year of his ministry over
the river and at the next conference
session he was appointed to take charge of
a church at Kewanee. There his popular
ity was such that the old church proved
too small to accommodate the crowds that
fiocked to hear him, and larger and hand
Somer structure was soon erected. 1t was
III e
the principal woman in the case, and
entered with her on a course of degrading
debauuchery that has eliminated in his
ruin She is a married woman, of prepos-
sessing features and voluptuous figure, and
is, however, of that emotional tempera
ment easily moved by passions appeals,
and peculiarly susceptible to the wiles of
the destroyer. Meredith cannot fall back
on the grovelling excuse of his old ancestor
Adam, THE woman gave me and | did
eat" for she regarded him as but very
little than an angel, and he, taking advant
age of the blindness of her idolatry, caused
her to waiver in her allegiance to her hus-
band and violate the sacred VOWS of con-
nubiallty.
HIS CONDUCT.
He held this woman IN a state Of secret
concubinage for several months and on the
expiration of his ministerial term in that
city he absented himself from the confer
ence, and sent letter to that body saying
that sickness prevented his attendance. 1t
is now proven that on the very day he
mailed that letter he was well as he ever
was in his life, and rode over in buggy
from Kewanee to Galva were he took
train for Kansas City. Right here another
evidence of this rascality comes to the sur
face One merchant of Kewanee had a
tailor bill against the bible-banging seducer
for $50, and another man bill amounting
to $50 for cigars. Meredith had shipped
all his effects the day previous to Galva
and promised these creditors that he would
meet them at the depot and pay the bills
in full. The men were at the depot as
agreed upon, but no Meredith appeared,
and after the train won't out, they
repaired up town only to find that
Meredith had hired a buggy 10 Gal
va for which place he had departed
got the bills. Meredith then went to Kan
sas City, Mo, and was to have been admit
ted to the southern conference this coming
fall. In the interim he was offered and
accepted the pastorate of q Presbyterian
church in that city. He has been engaged
to marry the daughter of I'll. p. Westerman
of Pekin aud his trips from Kansas City
were frequent. His betrothed is a young
lady of great personal beauty and culture,
and they were to have been married week
or two ago, had not the recent disclosures
been made. 1t now appears that those
trips which were supposed to terminate in
Pekin were extended to this city, Kewanee
and Washington It further transpires |
that during his ministry in each of these
places he had succeeded in seducing sever
al married women in each city, and that on
each trip he positively worked circuit of
systematic villainy and wholesale debauch |
cry He was smart enough to restrict
himself to mrrried women and thus avoid
the many Inconvenience that would surely
occur to women unprotected by the MARI
age certificate.