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Story Archives: Eccentric preacher known by multitudes as 'Crazy Dow'
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Eccentric preacher known by multitudes as 'Crazy Dow'
 (First in a series)
Lorenzo Dow was a Methodist circuit rider, an evangelist and a missionary who drew massive crowds to camp meetings throughout the United States during the early 1800s. He preached in England and in Ireland, arriving in those countries without a penny in his pocket and no means of support other than a faith in God and a burning desire to save souls from a hell he saw in horrific dreams as a child.
He preached in the Mississippi Territory, many times in Natchez country, and in the Orleans Territory, including northeastern Louisiana. Dow was known for his peculiar manners and ragged appearance. When traveling from settlement to settlement in the wilderness, he would go days in his one suit of clothes without bathing, which was not an unusual thing for many on the frontier. His beard was almost always long and scraggly. One Methodist circuit rider, who adored Dow, called him "a sorrowful-looking creature." Another man said Dow's hair had never met a comb.
While on his circuits, riding a horse or walking through Indian country, surviving on cow tongue, sleeping on the ground or dodging hostile tribes or murderous outlaws, he never retreated from preaching the Word although at times he feared for his life.
He was a unique creation, one of the most famous and fiery preachers in America. His wife, Peggy, as peculiar in habit as he, followed him almost to the ends of the earth which in the early 19th century included this region of the world.
Born in Coventry, Connecticut, in 1777, Dow, at an early age, felt led to follow God and to become a preacher, but he often agonized over what to do. In his journal, later published in a book in the 19th century that was second only to the Bible in U.S. sales, Dow wrote: "When I was between three and four years, one day, whilst I was at play with my companions, I suddenly fell into a reverie (daydream) about God and those places known as heaven and hell..."
When his companions noticed his meditative state, one child asked Dow what was wrong, to which Dow responded by asking the playmate whether he "said his prayers night or morning." When the child answered no, Dow replied: "You are wicked, and I will not play with you; so I quit his company and went into the house."
During his youth, he had a dream that he looked upon Heaven, saw God setting on His throne, Jesus at His right hand, and both were surrounded by angels flying about Heaven. He saw "glorified spirits." Yet despite the inspiring scene, he continued to struggle with his faith. At the age of 13 he considered but ruled out suicide because he feared that act would send his soul "to everlasting misery."
For years he was tormented by terrifying visions. One night he dreamed two devils entered his room. One grabbed his head, the other his feet and through a broken window the devils carried him to a spot of ice. One devil fled in flames of fire, while the other pulled him through the hole in the ice down to hell. There, Dow saw blue blazes rising and heard "the screeches and groans of devils and damned spirits."For the full story, subscribe to the The Concordia Sentinel's NEW E-Edition! |
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