Fined The Pastor $50

New York, 1895

Mr. Wightman Held Services in Defiance of the Board of Health.

The Rev. Charles S. Wightman, pastor of the Baptist church at Oyster Bay, was fined $50 Wednesday afternoon for holding a prayer meeting at his church last Friday and evening services last Sunday in defiance of an order of the board of health. He was warned twice by the board of health not to hold services in his church while scarlet fever was epidemic in the town. He paid no attention to the notification.

When he appeared before the board of health the charge was read to him. Mr. Wightman replied by denying the authority of the board to discipline him for holding religious services, and said the constitution of the United States protected him in the right of holding free services.

The Rev. J. J. Crowley, pastor of the Catholic church, who also held services last Sunday in spite of the order, has been summoned to appear before the board at Hicksville on Saturday afternoon to answer to a similar charge. He pleads ignorance of the order of the board.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, N.Y., Jan. 18, 1895, p. 1.