The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1891-01-15
AN AWFUL :, sPlCION.
Elder Clark, tx.Past'r o. { q Co orrd
Baptist Church G, rged WITT the
crime of VIE iOiseHing.

considerable interest was aroused
among the members of the colored Bap
tist Church by the dispatches which up
peared in the Cincinnati papers last
week giving the details of revolving
tragedy at Yellow Springs, Ohio, and
charging Rev G J. NJ. Clark. iormerl,
pastor of the Baptist Church, 18th being
the murderer of his wife Rev Clark
preached here several years ago anu
narried Mary Goines, a member ol bit
flock. He afterwards moved to yellow
Springs, and while there his wife died
The woman's mo, her and sister frou.
here were with her before she died and
were of the opinion ut the tim. that
elder CLARK was not very attentiv, 10
his wife, but spent good deal Of his
time in pastoral visitation ut the h lis,
OF Deacon Moss, who had very ha"d
some daughter
Mrs Clark WAS brought home AID
buried at Hillsboro and few weeks
later the elder married the deacon
daughter. 1t was noted at the time
that the funeral baked meats needed
hardly to be- warmed over for the nai
riage feast, but all suspicion WAS qui.t,.,
out of reverence br the preachers
sacred calling until u few days ago when
he affair was brought no again by II
singular circumstance.
A crippled white girl, namuG Etiie
Taylor, living at Yellow Springs, wa.
found dead in her room on January 9th
with an empty bottle of strychnine b.
her side. At the inquest Dr.. Stern.
berger, a neighbor Of Etiie Taylor. testi
fed that she had told him of her inten.
ton to commit suicide and that few
days before her death she had confessed
to him that she had helped Rev Clark
and the Moss girl, whom he afterwards
married, to poison the first Ms Clark
in 1885. It was the fear of being hange'i
"between two niggers" that drove her TO
kill herself.
Accordingly Clark and his wife wer
arrested at Dayton and brought by OH
GERS to Xenia, both protesting innocence
Two Car loads Of their friends came over
from Dayton on Saturday to attend their
preliminary heating. As no evidence
was obtainablei by the Prosecuting Aror
ney by which to detain them they were
discharged by the court amid the rejoic
ing of their friends. Rev. Clark broke
forth into thanksgiving and created auue
a dramatic scene in court by cailinl
down divine blessings upon the judge
and officers for his deliverance.
T. 1t was thes failure Of Sternbereer to
appear against them which set the
Clarks free, and this coupled with the
fact that Efie Taylor's property was ali
found decided to him caused suspicion
on the part OF her relatives and led to
his arrest on charge Of being in conspi-
racy to compass her death and get hold
of her property. Sternberger's connec.
ton with it puts him under the suspic.
ion of knowing more about the death of
both women than he has yet told. Clar.
and his wife may yet be held to a further
account. Mrs Snead, an aged colored
woman, the mother of the first Mrs
Clark, remembers of her daughter being
taken violently sick after eating meal
at Moss's, and recollects that the man.
ner Of her death was mysterious at the
time and that her body was greatly
swollen when brought here for burial.
The whole affair is utterly revolving and
reveals depth of depravity that is
simply terrible. 1t looks like thorough
investigation might fix upon somebody
that most detestable of all crimes, pois.