No. 335
Crime, Eccentricity, and the Sporting Life in 19th Century America.
November 28, 2016

The Pastor Kissed Her.

That is the allegation made against Dominie Hall of the Methodist Church at Livermore, Ky., by Miss
November 28, 2016
...
...

Ghosts are usually associated with dank old castles, cemeteries, lonely moonlit roads, and the like.  It charms me that at least one had the good taste to haunt a museum instead.The site of our little tale is the Yorkshire Museum in York, England.  On Sunday, September 20, 1953, it was hosting an evangelical meeting.  The museum was rarely open on Sunday evenings, so it was unusual
More...
Strange Company - 11/9/2026
  [Editor’s note: Guest writer, Peter Dickson, lives in West Sussex, England and has been working with microfilm copies of The Duncan Campbell Papers from the State Library of NSW, Sydney, Australia. The following are some of his analyses of what he has discovered from reading these papers. Dickson has contributed many transcriptions to the Jamaica […]
More...
Early American Crime - 2/7/2019
"As his son I am proud of hisefforts to succeed in life"Jefferson Randolph Smith IIIArtifact #93-2Jeff Smith collection(Click image to enlarge) oapy's son hires a legal firm to stop the defamation of his father's name. At age 30, Jefferson Randolph Smith III, Soapy and Mary's oldest son, was protecting his father's legacy and his mother's reputation from "libel" and scandal. He was also
More...
Soapy Smith's Soap Box - 10/13/2025
(Illustrated Police News, Feb. 15. 1879)Molly McGlew (aka Mary McGlew) and her friend Ada McLaughlin stood on South Street in Indianapolis on the night of September 19, 1878, when Louis Guetig approached them. Molly had recently broken up with Louis, and she was not happy to see him. She worked as a dining room girl at the Spencer House hotel where Louis Guetig was the night clerk.  He was
More...
Murder By Gaslight - 11/7/2026
Youth With Executioner by Nuremberg native Albrecht Dürer … although it’s dated to 1493, which was during a period of several years when Dürer worked abroad. November 13 [1617]. Burnt alive here a miller of Manberna, who however was lately … Continue reading →
More...
Executed Today - 11/13/2020
December 1860. | Mrs. Snyder Pays Her Bet.

The Pastor Kissed Her.

The Pastor Kissed Her

That is the allegation made against Dominie Hall of the Methodist Church at Livermore, Ky., by Miss May. [more]

Society in Livermore, Ky., especially in church circles, has been in a high state of excitement for several days over a sensation in which Rev. Charles W. Hall, a minister of the Methodist Chruch and a Miss May, a young member of the same congregation figure as the principal parties. The cause of the affair was a charge made by Miss May to the effect that Rev. Chas. Hall forcibly hugged and kissed her. The feeling was heightened by the fact that the friends of the young lady were not content to let the minster off without the exposure consequent upon hearing of the matter before he District Conference, which met there recently. Miss May’s story is straightforward, modest and frank. She says that on a certain occasion they happened alone together, with nobody near or looking. He seized the delightful opportunity and gathered her in his arms, at the same time popping a burning kiss squarely down upon her lips. Being incensed beyond measure, she spurned him from her, at the same instant letting fly her dainty fist upon his nose with all the force in her. He recovered himself and left, beseeching her before he left her to say nothing of the matter, as he meant no harm by it.


Reprinted from National Police Gazette, October 6, 1888.