Methodist Tabernacle church in Olneyville

Twenty-six-year-old Albert Titchner was a devotee of the Methodist Tabernacle church in Olneyville and was in charge of its smaller branch, the Merino Mission. The mission counted about 26 members during the winter of 1897 and Albert was always eager to increase the congregation.

On Dec. 12 of that year, Albert was in town when he ran into a co-worker, Thomas Muirhead. The men worked to-gether at a bleachery where Albert, who resided on Dyer Avenue, was a packer. Albert invited Thomas to attend the Mission meeting later that evening and Thomas said he would be happy to.

The meeting was already in progress when Thomas arrived at the Mission that night and Albert quietly arose and provided him with a chair and a hymn book so that he could settle in and take part in the musical rejoicing they were in the midst of. Albert hoped he was wrong and that it wasn’t alcohol his nose detected on Thomas.

Thomas sat down and opened his hymn book. As he began to sing, the thunderous sound drowned out all other voices and the out-of-tune melody disturbed the concentration of everyone there. The Mission members made great attempts to keep the music flowing for the few minutes Thomas sent his unmelodic strains booming through the room. He then suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be completing an errand that evening. He’d forgotten the commitment when he’d told Albert he would attend the meeting. He stood up and walked into another room, loudly shuffling his feet across the floor. In the other room stood the Mission’s usher, Charles Williams. Thomas looked at him and laughed. “I’m tired of praying,” he said. “My knees are sore.”

The singing ended and member Annie Shier took the floor to offer prayer to the congregation. While they were pray-ing, Thomas was allegedly being told by member Henry William Smith that he was not allowed to leave the meeting. Henry, a house painter who resided on Laben Street with his wife Dora, watched for several minutes as Thomas simply stood there silent and unmoving. “What are you looking at?” Henry finally asked. “None of your business,” Thomas replied.

Henry was holding his hat in his hand and Thomas attempted to kick it to the floor but missed. He then performed several acrobatic kicks until he made contact with the hat. At that point, Henry grabbed ahold of him and the two man began to wrestle, pushing each other against the walls.

Everyone in the congregation jumped from their seats and ran into the side room to see what was happening. The altercation between the two men was quickly broken up and it was decided to call the meeting to an end one-half hour earlier than usual due to all the disturbances of the evening

Charges were soon brought against Thomas for disturbing a religious meeting. He pleaded not guilty and paid the $1,000 for his release. In March of 1898, he was tried before a jury. Many of the congregation members testified as to how the loud, out-of-tune singing and the obnoxious shuffling of his feet caused a great disturbance to their time of worship. Henry’s wife Dora added that she had seen Thomas making silly faces behind her husband’s back while they were singing. Only one congregation member, Lawrence Burns, testified that he wasn’t the least bit bothered by Thomas that evening.

Thomas’s attorney asked to have the matter dismissed as he didn’t feel the Mission members had made their com-plaints clear enough. The judge denied the request. The jury found Thomas guilty of the charge made against him and he was sentenced to a fine of $25 plus court costs. It’s unlikely his co-worker ever invited him to attend services at the Mission again.

Methodist Tabernacle church in Olneyville was where Albert Titcher was charged with dis-turbing a service in 1897. (Photo from General Commission of Archives and History of the United Methodist Church. )

Kelly Sullivan is a Rhode Island columnist, lecturer and author.