(September 1, 1785–September 25, 1872), was a Methodist circuit-riding preacher. He was one of the most famous evangelists and planters of new churches in the West. Peter Cartwright preached nearly 15,000 sermons and baptized almost 10,000 converts. In 1824, he left Kentucky and Tennessee because of his disdain for slavery, and moved to Illinois, where he ran for Congress. He lost his bid for Congress in 1846 to Abraham Lincoln.1865 In recalling his own conversion, Peter Cartwright shared:
I went with weeping multitudes and bowed before the preaching stand, and earnestly prayed for mercy. In the midst of a solemn struggle of soul, an impression was made upon my mind, as though a voice said to me: “Thy sins are all forgiven thee.”1866