The Bismarck tribune., 1929-02-11

Herrin, ILL.,, Feb. 11.-(NEA)-
Strange visions and providentially-
sent clapS Of thunder attended the
courtship which led 11-year- -old Saril-
da Clendenin to become the bride OF
the Rev. Joseph Milton Benton, 54-
year-old blind Pentecostal preacher.
Sarilda is back home with her par
ents now, the preacher Is in jail and
the marriage has been ruled out. But
the story Of how it all happened-how
it began and how it was ended-is
just beginning to come out.
The Rev. Benton came to Illinois
some months ago from Missouri. He
was an exhorter In the Pentecostal, or
Holiness, church, but he came to Her
rim to answer q matrimonial ad, seek
ing the hand of 23-year-old Lora
Clendenin. Sarilda's elder sister.
When he got. here, however, he
found that another man had an
swered the ad ahead of him. Edward
Hayes, nicknamed "Pinky," had made
Lora his bride.
Undismayed, the blind pastor
settled down here and began to
preach to members of the Holiness
sect. He became popular with them.
and especially with the parents of
Lora and Sarilda.
Parents Are Won Over
In the course Of time, the Rev.
Benton persuaded the Clendenins
that, since he had failed to win the
hand Of Lora, he should get their next
gtrl-Sarilda. The devout parents,
revering the elderly preacher. were
persuaded, and the bethrothal was
arranged.
J. M. Clendenin, the father, had his
doubts however. He went to Marion.
the county seat, and asked sheriff
Oren Coleman about it. Coleman, of
course, bluntly told him that the mar
riage Of an 11-year-old girl would not
be legal.
But the Rev. Benton was undis-
mayed. Heavenly visions and super
natural manifestations came to his
rescue.
Members of the Holiness sect are
not skeptical about the supernatural.
Their devotional services are filled
with the gift of tongues" mystic
visions and the like. The spirit
world, to them, is not separated from
the physical world by any hard and
fast border. Signs and omens,
heaven-sent, are Of daily occurrence.
Vision Of Angel Bride
So, one night, the Clendenins and
the Rev. Benton saw q vision, in
which the blind pastor was shown,
with an angel bride, hovering over
the family circle. The angel bride,
the vision made clear, was to guide
the Rev. Benton's feet along LIES
pathway. and its appearance to the
Clendenins was q certain indication
that Sarilda herself was divinely ap-
pointed as the chosen one.
There followed, the next day, q
second manifestation-as startling clap
Of thunder, that came In clear sky.
The Rev. Benton explained It to the
family. It signified that the front
leaf Of the family Bible, which con-
tanned 9 record Of the Clendenin
children's ages and birth dates, was
to be torn out and replaced by an
other, which would show Sarilda to
be 16 instead Of II. The point Of
this was that 16 is the legal marriage
age for girls In Illinois.
SO it was done. The new flyleaf,
incidentally, gave the girls name as
Celinda. The last obstacles were
cleared away. The blind minister
went to Marion to get the marriage
license.
But the clerk there told him. that
the parents consent was necessary
when e bride-to-be was under 18.
Back cal1e the pastor, to return to
Marion with Mr.. and Mrs. Cleudenin.
They vouched for the girls age, gave