Peter Cartwright

Peter Cartwright (1785–1872) was a Methodist circuit rider and revivalist known as the “Backwoods Preacher.” Converted during the Cane Ridge Revival, he spent over 60 years traveling the American frontier, preaching, planting churches, and baptizing thousands. Bold and outspoken, he also served in the Illinois legislature and famously ran against Abraham Lincoln for Congress in 1846. His Autobiography of Peter Cartwright remains a classic account of early American Methodism.