Lorenzo Dow

Lorenzo Dow (October 16, 1777 – February 2, 1834) was an eccentric itinerant American evangelist, said to have preached to more people than any other preacher of his era.

[1] Dow made three visits to Ireland and England, in 1799, 1805 and 1818, and by his eccentric manners and attractive eloquence drew after him immense crowds.

Just south of Mansfield, Georgia, on State Route 11, is a large rock on which is a plaque, placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

[4] Dow's enthusiasm sustained him through the incessant labors of more than 30 years, during which he preached in almost all parts of the United States.

Because the churches were closed to him, Lorenzo Dow preached in town halls, farmers' barns, and even in open fields.

He liked to appear unexpectedly at public events, announcing in a loud voice that exactly one year from today, Lorenzo Dow would preach on this spot.

It is recorded that Lorenzo Dow often preached before open-air assemblies of 10,000 people or more and held the audiences spellbound.

He traveled on foot and occasionally on horseback (when someone would donate a horse) sometimes accompanied by his wife, Peggy Dow throughout what was then the United States.

A fierce abolitionist, Dow's sermons were often unpopular in the southern United States, and he frequently was threatened with personal violence.

He sometimes was forcibly ejected from towns, pelted with stones, eggs, and rotten vegetables as it happened in Jacksonborough, Georgia around 1820.

When those clothes became so badly worn and full of holes that they were no longer capable of covering him, some person in the audience usually would donate a replacement.