The National tribune., 1902-11-06
LORENZO DOW.
A Famous Evangelist Of t]nmer Day. Lies
Buried in Washtf Ion,


Buried in wash, ION.
Once upon a time, n ,Re to conjure
with in Methodist circles was that of
Lorenzo Dow, and very few know that his
body lies in Washington Cemetery. He
was q religious enthusiast of the ultra
a'cetic order. He literally starved the
body to feed the soul HAIwore his long
tailed coat tapping, buttonless. in the
wind. believing that buttons were sinful
extravaganza. No man'sN house was his
castle to this irrepressible. messenger of
the Master. Doors were fpitTle to open and
''all men were Sinners" M his system of
theology, hence his mission was to all
men, and if he did not find them on the
streets he hunted them in, their homes,
without let and without hindrance because
lie was gifted with the "power" which
made him both loved and feared. He
never saw a half dozen people together on
the street that he did not avail himself
of the opportunity to stop and "eXhOrt''
with them. And if all they tell is truth.
Lorenzo Dow was mighty powerful at
exhorting. He was the avant courier of
the Salvation Army methods that were
acceptable even in those early years.
1t is said that he was gifted with the
spirit of prophecy. and one story that is
told of him, is devoutly believed by very
many in fredericksburg, Va. In the lat
ter part of the 18th century his itinerant
life led him to Fredericksburg, it is said
His strange appearance and his religious
frenzy We're too much for the village chill
dren, who stoned him till he was sorely
wounded. and they hooted and jeered at
him till his patience was exhausted. 1t is
said that he went upon the nights that
overlook the city, and stretching his long,
bOny arms out over the soothing people be-
low him he pronounced the city's doom.
For 100 years Christ shall send no soul
to augment your unholy numbers" he said.
his long, tangled, snow-white hair and
whiskers streaming in the evening wind
as the setting sun irritated his thin feat
ures. Your streets shall run red with
blood before your crimes shall be expiated,
and until the curse is lifted your town
shall be as city of tile dead
The people of Fredericksburg state as
a historical fact that for exactly 100 years
the population of the town remained sta
tionary, deaths even with births: so that
each soul born took the place of one de-
parting, and the numbers were never
augmented. Then the streets ran red with
blood in the war of the rebellion. and on
bloody Mary's Hights, from which the
prophecy was hurled at the luckless peo-
pie, the curse was at last expiated. and
the census of 1870 showed that Fred
ericksburg had added to her population
100 souls!
Another story that is told of the strange
man was that some philanthropic person,
wishing to help Dow along with his work,
presented him with cottage and some
ground. 1t is n well-knOwn fact that
money never touched Dow's palm. He
scOrned money, and lived on the food given
him, or without when it was withheld and
was clothed in the same uncertain way.
Dow accepted the gift of his friend and
lived in it short time, then he came to
tile philanthropiSt and returned the deed
81 cannot keep it." he said. Il appre-
ciate the gift and the kindness you meant
to do me, bnt want to die as have lived,
singing:
NO foot of land do possess,
No habitation in this Wilderness
and can't do it if keep this house and
land. You must take them back" And
back they were taken.
Lorenzo Dow was born . in Coventry,
Conn. Oct. 1S, 1777. His nomadic life
and labors brought him finally to Wash
ington in the early part of the last CEN
tury. He died in 1884, after a life of
hardships and vicissitudes spent entirely
in an endeavor to convert the sinful and
care for the fallen. He was buried in
Holmead Cemetery, and for Al years his
body lay undisturbed. When the grounds
were needed for an extension Of the city
limits his body was exhItDed and laid in
Oak Hill Cemetery, under the great trees
which half a century before, had been the
roof-tree of his outdoor chapel, where he
preached to eager thousands. This oc-
CURED in 1873 An effort. is now being
made to replace the weather-marred slab
with its simple inscription above his
grave with a handsome monument. While
fitting, it does look as though this mark
of ostentation would make the old Ex-
horter turn in his grave.