Colored Preacher is Sued For $10,000
April 5, 1902
Summary
A minister is caught cheating on his wife with another married woman. The husband charges him $10,000, though the Church defends their minister.
Transcription
Harrison Reed Charges Rev. Z. D. Lewis With Undue Intimacy With Plaintiff’s Wife.
[Richmond, Va., Dispatch April 3, 1902]
The second chapter in an incident that has been agitating the colored population of the city for some time was unfolded in the Law and Equity Court late yesterday when Harrison Reed instituted a suit against Rev. Z. D. Lewis asking for $10,000 damages.
The declaration charges that Lewis on the 5th day of April, 1901, and at diverse other times between that time and the institution of the suit, was unduly intimate with the wife of the plaintiff, and that as a result her affections have been alienated, and he has been deprived of the comfort, fellowship, society and aid of his wife in his domestic affairs.
The plaintiff is in the employment of Mr. Gus Delarne, and the defendant is the pastor of the Second Baptist Church (colored). Both of the parties to the litigation stand high in colored circles and not for years have the colored residents of the city been so thoroughly stirred as they are over this affair.
The church, of which both parties are members, some time ago took the case up and decided in favor of the preacher, and gave Reed thirty days in which to apologize and make amends. Reed declined, claiming that Lewis was the one to make apology and demanding that he prove his innocence of the charges preferred against him. This has not been done, and a ‘jury in the Law and Equity Court will be called upon to settle the differences and determine whether or not Rev. Lewis is guilty.
Upon the institution of the suit for divorce Reed left his home on north Second street, and his wife is now in possession of the house and household and kitchen furniture.
[Richmond, Va., Dispatch April 3, 1902]
The second chapter in an incident that has been agitating the colored population of the city for some time was unfolded in the Law and Equity Court late yesterday when Harrison Reed instituted a suit against Rev. Z. D. Lewis asking for $10,000 damages.
The declaration charges that Lewis on the 5th day of April, 1901, and at diverse other times between that time and the institution of the suit, was unduly intimate with the wife of the plaintiff, and that as a result her affections have been alienated, and he has been deprived of the comfort, fellowship, society and aid of his wife in his domestic affairs.
The plaintiff is in the employment of Mr. Gus Delarne, and the defendant is the pastor of the Second Baptist Church (colored). Both of the parties to the litigation stand high in colored circles and not for years have the colored residents of the city been so thoroughly stirred as they are over this affair.
The church, of which both parties are members, some time ago took the case up and decided in favor of the preacher, and gave Reed thirty days in which to apologize and make amends. Reed declined, claiming that Lewis was the one to make apology and demanding that he prove his innocence of the charges preferred against him. This has not been done, and a ‘jury in the Law and Equity Court will be called upon to settle the differences and determine whether or not Rev. Lewis is guilty.
Upon the institution of the suit for divorce Reed left his home on north Second street, and his wife is now in possession of the house and household and kitchen furniture.
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Upper Left Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Brooke Royer
Citation
“Colored Preacher is Sued For $10,000,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed April 24, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/269.