St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-04-30
WHY ROB pAGANIzED.

The Rev. JOHN lNGERSOLL, father Of
lnfidel BOB, was Presbyterian clergyman
and was pastor of a church at Madison, O.,
where he Numbered anathemas against in
tidels and infidelity. His son ROBERT is
said to resemble the father strongly; the
same ruddy face, smoothly shaven, the
same full, large round head, and the same
quick, impassioned manner of speaking.
The Reverend INGERSoLL had three wives,
and to the unhappy disposition of the third
wife can probably be traced the cause of
ROBERTS apostasy. She was the means of
getting her husband into trouble with the
church authorities and the extraordinary
treatment he received at their hands instilled
prejudice into the mind of the boy against
all sorts of church governments. A cor
respondent Of the New York Tribune, in a
recent letter from Madison, gives the fol-
lowing history of Mr.. ING ERsoLL's church
trial:
The third wife of Mr.. INGERsoLL made hin
a deal of trouble. She preferred charges
against him in the church and trial was had
which lasted several days and caused dissen-
sion among the members. The charges were
They were, perhaps, the most frivolous
charges ever brought against a clergyman,
yet the church saw fit to investigate them,
and he was tried before committee of min
listers. The Hon. S. S. OSBORNE, lawyer of
gainesville, o., now living in Chicago, de-
Tended him. He was charged with prevari-
cation and unministerial conduct. To sustain
the charge of prevarication his wife testified
hat ha o. N q
neighboring village when Mr.. SWAN "a mer-
chant who attended his church, gave him
dress pattern for Mrs. INGERsoLL; that when
he returned home he tossed the cloth into her
lap and said, ''See what nice dress I've
bought you,' without telling her it was
present. He denied that he used that IAN
guage, and testified that he said, ''See what a
nice dress I've brought you" The charges
of unministerial conduct were still more friv-
olous. For instance, her bread was one day
over-baked. whats the matter with this
bread?' he exclaimed, taking up piece;
| ''it's hard enough to shoot a dog with"
Again Mrs. INGERSOLL prepared some mush
and milk for supper; she placed a pan of
milk on the table together with the mush and
some plates. Looking at the plates and milk
pan, Mr. INGERsOLL gave it as his opinion that
it was queer way to serve mush and milk.
Its the way they do in New York. she said
''W ell'' he replied, ''I've lived in New York
and New York city, and never saw it served so
before" Again, pudding kettle was stand
ing in the sink when he was about to wash his
hands. "What's this kettle standing here
for?' he inquired; 81 spatter the water in it
when wash" Whereupon he raised the
window and set it out of doors on bench
There were other charges of about the same
character. The committee before whom he
was tried sat up all night after the case was
submitted to them, praying for Divine guild
ance in their determination. They decided
that he had done nothing inconsistent with
his Christian character" but that his conduct
was Inconsistent with his ministerial char
acter." He was forbidden to preach, but he
afterward went before the consolation at
Austinburg and made a sort of apology, and
went on preaching, though not in the old
church, to which he was denied admission by
his enemies, the deacons. The society was
| about evenly divided, and for some time he
held services in neighboring school-house,
sustained by earnest and true friends. Mrs.
INGERsoLL not long after separated from
him. He was at this time about so years of
age, and his ministerial labors substantially
closed with the unjust verdict which these
grave clergymen rendered.