Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1869-10-13
PETER CARTWRIGHT.
LIFE OFAMETHODIST PREACHER.
His Fiftieth Anniversary aS Presiding
Elder.

LIFE VI A mEIHODISI PREACHER.
His Fiftieth Anniversary aS Presiding
Elder.
The Methodists of Illinois have lust
celebrated, at Lincoln, the close of the
semi-centennial of the service of Pc
ter Cartwright as a presiding elder,
the siXty-fifth of his ministry, and
eighty-fourth of his eventful life.
Letters We're received from Bishops
Ames and Simpson regretting their
inability to be present. Bishop Nor
ris wrote as follows:
To the Jubilee Conference at Lincoln,
Logan county Illinois:
DEAR BREFHREN-Is should be hap
py on many accounts, to meet you in
person, if practicable, but as this can
| not be, respond by letter on the top
namely, "DT. Cartwright, as / have
! known him."
[ knew Rev. Peter Cartwright first
| from the minutes of the old Western
I Conference, which body received him
on trial as a travelling preacher in 1904,
and by verbal report on Marietta Cir
cult i'm 1Sl6-lSlS, where he had pre-
ceded me, and left his mark many
years previous. My personal acquaint-
ance with him began at session of the
Kentucky Conference, held at LeXing-
ton in 1921, to which had just been
transferred from the Ohio Conference.
At our first introduction, these words
were ihterchanged: Cartwright-'YOu
are not so old man as [ expected to
see; your brother Edmund, of Christian
county, is much older.n MOrris-''It
is not usual for brothers to be of the
same age.n CaTtwright-"They come
pretty near it when they are twins"
At the close of the conference,
Brother. Cartwright was appointed
presiding elder on Cumberland Dis
trict, in the mountain region of south
eastern Kentucky, distant from homei
and / was sent to Christian Circuit,
where the brethren told me that Peter
Cartwright had spent thirteen years
among them as presiding elder and
pastor, alternately, and that the
longer he remained, and preached
among them, the more popular
he became. His family residence
was near the center of my circuit, and
was one of the best homes had in it.
Brother CartwrightandI Iwere men,
bers toget, er of the General Confer
ence of 1924, when Rev. Z. Hedding
and J. Soule were elected and ordained
bishops. We returned together on
horseback from Baltimore to our re-
spective homes, a distance of about
500 miles. We were both members of
each successive General Conference
until it met in 1886, when it met in
Cincinnati, where he was my guest
for one month, when l was turned
adrift on the big Circuit" L pre-
sided in Illinois Conference, at Bloom
ington, in 1899, DIR. Cartwright being
a member of my council then and at
all subsequent session where l was
President. Indeed, 10 see a meeting
of presiding elders in Illinois, with
out Peter Cartwright, would be a nov
elty. If should drop into council
there, after your jubilee, and not see
Peter Cartwright, should feel like l
was at a funeral. He was ever on
hand in good time, unless confined to
bed with severe sickness. He was al
WAYS loyal to MethOdism, and gener-
orally voted right, even when in
feeble minority. Years ago the Bish-
OBS adopted an administrative rule
not to continue the same individual
in district work more than eight con-
secutive years. 1t was, however, un-
derstOOd that certain individuals could
be better employed in district work
than i'm any other, and indeed, that
some of them could scarcely be en-
ployed in any other, and that there
should be exceptions to the rule.
Among them were named G. Baker,
of Black River; G.. Fillmore, of Gene
see, and Peter Cartwright, of Illinois
Conference.
1 could fill a long chapter with incl
dents characteristic of his eccentrici-
ties, but these you know as well as 1
do. As a conference debater, he was
most successful when he made the
least preparation; he could fire off
hand better than he could with dead
rest. wish we had many such in
these days of sermon reading in the
pulpit but there never was but one
Peter Cartwright.
Yours in the Gospel,
T. a. NORRIS.
A warm address to DIR. Cartwright
was read, and he replied as follows:
Mr.. PRESIDENT-Ih had thought my
self to be a man of some courage, but
| most frankly confess | am fairly
beat to-day. If this audience would
excuse me, / would not utter five
words. / am very poor speaker, and
have lost my voice since received
sunstroke, this summer was a year,
and it is with difficulty / can make
this large audience hear me. But all
this honor that the brethren have
heaped upon me, and not grudgingly,
1 presume, amounts to very little in
elevating my feelings. / am deeply
humbled before God, and frankly con-
fess, and feel as | confess, that l have
been an improbable servant of the
Church of God. But l thank God
this day that L have had a religion
that has not failed me as went along.
I have travelled in the Methodist
Church siXty-five years, fifty of which
1 have been presiding elder; and. al
though perhaps not the oldest man or
the oldest licensed preacher in the
Methodist Church, expect to-day l
am the oldest regular travelling preach
er in the Methodist connection. l
may be mistaken, but | think am.-
Their are older men, and older preach
ers, but they have been laid on the
shelf for years. Lhave never lost six
months in these siXly-five years, with
all my ickness, my family affections,
and my wife's Affections. She is liv-
ing to day, trust-I left her alive the
other day. / never received what the
church said ought to have, but three
times in sixty-five years. But l will
say am thankful that l have been
permitted TO associate in my sorrows
of an itinerant life a worthy compan-
ion, that never Kindred me from trav-
cling and preaching, that never scold-
ed me for leaving her destitute and
lonesome, but always urged me on to
do what thought was my duty. We
have lived together rising of sixty
years, and expect to have the oldest
Methodist preacher'swifei in the world.
Laughter and ehee s. Ihave some
thing like fifty grandchildren, seven