The Greenville enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1870-1873, 1872-10-16


25th ult.. at his home near Pleasant
Plains, Sangamun County. Illinois.
Peter Cartwright: was eiglity.seven
years old. de was a native of
Amherst county, Va, and was
born in 1855, TWO years after the
elise. of the Revolutionary War.
1gWhileuhe,swss still a child ,hispa-
rentsa reunGved him to Ken.
tdckyg His ehrly years were spent
in thai Wild frontier land, where
the warw hoop,of The savage often
araused his father and bis dueivh-
aOrs To- he defense of their lives
and homes. ,,Pefef twas sscaeeely
sixteen years old when he was con
verted by an itineraut preacher,
land became a membe~ of the Meth
odist Episcopal Church. The event
determined the career ot his whole
life He conceived rhe idea that
he had been called TO preach the
'lgospeloin the wilderness, and al.
most Immediately he entered upon
That duty. In his auto. biography.
published about fifteen years ago,
he related many intert sting and
loften amusing incidents OF his ear
~ labors in the backwnod.. Like
many of The men of his time and
seclioD, he bad ali iron constitu
tiun and a strongly mal ked indi.
viduality. and was a bold. coura-
geous and Jealous worker. He
feared neither man nor the devil,
and for his cause was ready at any
time to fight both if they stooG in
his way. His speecl, was homely
| but it was earnest, and went
straight to the hearts of his rough
audiences. He was heard 10 say,
Il few years ago, that he had re
ceived into the church no fewer
than 10000 person, and that in
his long career, he had preached
15, 900 sermons.
| In the early pioneer days he
naturally met some hard charac
tiers, who, instigated by the adver.
sary, would endeavor to bring dis
grace upon him. He tells in his
autobiography that once brutal
:, fellow threatened to whip" him
Peter said, "Well, sir, 1 never
like to live in dread. If you real
ly intend to whip me, come an,
do it now." The. man continued
to buster, whereupun the fighting
preacher, disnioun,ing from hi~
] Nurse, walked up to him and said,
Now, sir, you haze to whip me,
as you threatened, or stop cursins
me, or | will put you in the river
aud baptize YOU in the name OF
the devil. for surely you belong t,
linn" This cowed the bully. An
anecdote is also related which il
lustrates his singular boldness ana
independence. lie was preaching
before the Nashville Conference
when the time serving Clergyman
whose pulpit he occupied, seeing
General jackson standing in the
aisle, leaned over and said in 6
loud whisper, General jackson
has come in, General jackson ha,
come in." Whois General Jack
son2" cried Cartwright in a v"ic.
%! thunder; iii he don't get hil
soul converted, God will damn
him as quick as lie would a Guines
i.egro." This did not convert Ole
Hickory at the time, but it com
inanded his respect for his moni
tor, and ho treated him with the
greatest consideration ever after
wards.
Mr.. Cartwright was first mp
pointed a presiding elder in 1872
lie spent eight years in the Old
Western Conference, four years in
the Kentucky Conference, eigl,,
years in the Tennessee Conference
and over forty five years in tho
Illinois Conference. He held a,
different times many of the mos,
important offices in the church
and was delegate to General Con
ference thirteen times. IL 1888
and 1888, la the absence ot the
Bishop, he was President of the
Conference. 1t is re orded of him
that in all the years Of his minis
try he was never discontinued, 10
Gated, or snperannuated, and was
never dismissed for q time for mis-
demeanors Of any kind. In 1856
he published the story Of his lite
lin volume entitled: " "Autobiog
/ ply of Peter Cartwright, IN,
Backwoods Preacher" The book
had a wide circulation, and made
the old ipan better known in The
East, where he seldom had visited
During the last few years the fee
bleness OF advanced years pros
trated him, and it was only q teu
months ago that his death wa,
prematurely announced.
Il a." z->S.- #Fi
The Board of Trustees of til,
o. ~ TX