Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1915-08-20
REV. B. E. O'BERN
LEADS DOUBLE LIFE
Rosemary Pastor Flees When Con.
fronted with Evidence Of Grim.
inaity. ,Stings Deacons before
taking Flight

inality. ,Stings Deacons before
taking Flight
RumOrs of a double life and
immoral conduct, proving on
swift investigation to be well
founded, accomplished last Mon
day morning the hasty and un-
ceremonious departure from
Rosemary of Rev. B. f. O'Bern,
pastor of the Rosemary Baptist
Church, and the woman who has
been living with him as his wife
during his sojourn in this COM
munity.
The facts in the case as shown
by indisputable evidence, seem
to be that Mr.. O'Bern has a wife
living in Pleasant Valley, N. Y.
and that the woman who posed
as his wife here had no claim to
the title, being an actress picked
up in the course of his peregrina-
tiOns.
Surprise and consternatiOnseem
to be the prevailing sentiment
among the officers and members
of the Rosemary Baptist Church
that man so seemingly worthy
of the fullest confidence, pastor
of their church, anda strong and
efficient church worker, should
have been capable of such monu
mental hypocrisy.
Since the first evidence in the
shape of a letter dropped on the
street in Rosemary by O'Bern
came to light three weeks ago,
Investigations have been under
way and suspicious have been
growing. The letter was ad-
dressed to Rev. B. E. O'Beirne,
Norfolk, Va, and was a com
munication from a firm of at
torneys in New York City say
ing that Mrs. O'Reirne was not
able to pay the costs of the di
vorce proceedings and request
ing the addressee to forward at
once the necessary amount of
fifty dollars.
This letter was found by John
Dillon, who read it and carried
it to l.. S. Hodgens. After con
ferring over the matter, they
sealed the letter and returned it
through the postotiice to O'Bern,
agreeing between them to keep
the matter a secret.
No steps toward investigation
were taken until Mr.. Dillon felt
it his duty to bring the matter
to the attention of the Odd Eel
lows, O'Bern being about to re-
ceive the second degree in the
Order. A letter to the attorneys
who wrote O'Bern revealed that
he had a living wife in Pleasant
Valley, N. Y. The Odd Fellows
promptly communicated with her,
and received complete and ac-
curate description of O'Bern,
with the information that she
and O'Bern were married on
January |, 1910, at the home of
her father in Pleasant Valley,
! N. Y. Mrs. O'Bern also wrote
that her husband at that time
was a Methodist minister and
that he spelled his name
O'Beirne, She stated he lived
with her several months, desert
ing her without cause,
After receiving this evidence.
the Odd Fellows summoned
O'Bern to a conference last Sun
day afternoon, questioned him in
detail and confronted him with
the evidence. O'Bern denied the
charges, but was informed by
the Odd Fellows that they would
not advance him further in the
Order until the matter had been
satisfactorily cleared up,
The affair did not get to the
general public, before O'Bern's
departure early Monday morning,
being known in fact to only one
of the deacons of the Baptist
Church, A. P, Thompson,
who knew the facts about
ten days ago. O'Bern preach
ed as usual in the Baptist
church Sunday night, Monday
morning he made the rounds to
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