How many of you have seen the given name "Lorenzo Dow" in family histories? I have seen it a lot. Here is the scoop on the real Lorenzo Dow. Rebecca ---------- > From: P1TTYPAT@aol.com > To: rdea@seark.net > Subject: dow > Date: Friday, October 23, 1998 1:16 AM > > I found the article says he was "Crazy Dow" -His odd behavior and extensive > travels both in America and abroad brought him much publicity and fame. As a > fortune teller; seer; miracle worker; professor of calamites, births, deaths > and illneses; an interpreter of dream; he was one of the most discussed and > controversial preachers of his day. He could preach on virtually any subject > and damned nealy everyone and everything. At times he shocked his > congregations by preaching from obscene and sadistic portions of the Old > Testament. > Tall, slender and spare of frame, with sloping shoulders and just a hint of a > stoop, Dow's physical appearance normally would not have seemed forbidding, > except for the fact that his matted and unkempt hair hung almost to his waist; > much of it hung down his back and on his shoulders, but some of it fell > forward over his face and full beard. With a grave countenance and piercing > eyes, he "glanced reproofs wherever he looked" and caused the hardest sinners > to flinch. He was emaciated from lack of proper food and sleep, and he knew > little about the benefits of a bath. He went hatless and shoeless, wearing > torn and shabby clothes. Dow presented an odd sight even to the backwoodsmen. > When he came in possession of any money, which was rare, he soon lost it to a > swindler. when he bought a horse, it was usually a spavined, ill-looking > brute, scarcely able to totter along the trails and roads. Trusting in God to > send angels and ravens to feed him, he usually begged for food from door to > door. Rumor said that when unable to find food, he ate grasshoppers. Dow had > hidden powers of endurance. > Dow's voice sounded more female than male, not loud but trenchant. He often > dragged some of the syllables of his words to painful lengths making them > disgusting and disagreeable to delicate ears. While preaching for several > successive days at Pittstown, NY, some of the members of his congreagation > thought that he was either crazy or possessed of the Devil. after hearing the > strange man preach, many people cursed and swore, partly because of what he > said, but mostly because of his peculiar speech and odd demeanor. Most people > detested him - some believed he was saucy and deserved to be knocked down. > Eccentric in the extreme, Dow eventually evolved techniques through trial and > error that often made him a effective preacher. One Sunday morning while > Reverend Jacob Young was preaching at a camp meeting, Dow lay sick in a tent > nearby. At close of Young's sermon the sick minister rose from his bed and > walked up to the pulpit. Standing there in a stooped position, looking over > his right shoulder, his back to the congregation, he said, "There is a notable > robber in this country, who has done a vast deal of mischief, and is still > doing it; and, in order that the people may be on their guard, I intend to > give you a full description of his character and the instrument by which he > carried on his work." The congregation was often plagued by outlaws and became > alarmed. Some people thought that Dow was referring to a Baptist minister who > had been a Tory and a thief during the American revolution. This man had fled > to escape punishment after the was to Spanish Territory where he supposedly > had become a respectable citizen. > But this was not so. Dow was only trying to grab the attention of the > congregation. He turned his face toward the assenblyand began talking slowly > in a dark and mysterious manner, eventually giving the robber's name in > Hebrew, in greek, and in English. The evil one was none other than the Devil. > For the remainder of his sermon, Dow preached to a rapt audience and many > conversions were gained." > In closing one sermon, Dow said, "If there is any gentleman in the > congregation who has any objection to my sermon, let him come forward, take > the stand and make it known." There were five Calvinist ministers in the > congregation and Dow expected a rebuttal, but none came. After standing > silently for a few moments, Dow continued, "Now, gentlemen, I am going to > leave the country, and if you do not come forward and defend your doctrine > while I am present, but attempt to contradict my sermon when I am gone, > someone may compare you to the little dog that does not have the courage to > bark at the traveler when he is opposite the gate, but will run along and bark > on his track after he is gone!" Dow closed the meeting with a prayer and left > unceremoniously. > When Dow arrived at one camp meeting ground, several settlers moved toward him > shouting in satisfaction that the "wild man" was coming. Dow did present a > bizarre appearance. He wore a tarpaulin hat cocked on his head, a tattered > green military coatee withou its shiny ornaments, and a pair of knee breeches > that did not conceal his nees. Dow was in a hurry and he was laden with a > bundle of tracts and handbills. On each bill was printed in large letters the > following words: "Hush! Hark! This afternoon at three o'clock, Lorenzo Dow > will preach under thd Federal Oaks." Dow rushed past one man without giving > him a handbill. He stopped abruptly and appeared to search the innermost > recesses of his soul for guidance, after which he handed out the first tract. > He passed several other people ignoring them as if they lived on another > planet. He continued this unusual and scattered distribution until all his > bills were gone. > Although Francis Asbury believed Dow demented, he wisely never interfered with > the miracle worker. In time, when Asbury believed that Dow was not exercising > a good influence on the people east of the Appalachian Mountains, he sent him > to the western frontier. In the thinly populated western areas, dow gained > unusual fame and became venerated as a prophet of the Lord. > It did not take long for a preacher on the frontier to learn the importance of > emotional release to the frontier people. The successful ministers were able > to sway the behavior of the congreagation in ways which today woudl appear > unusual. Falling and jerking were common. Because the frontiersmen were > themselves an odd lot by today's standards, some eccentric preachers were > quite acceptable on the frontier. Unusual pulpit behavior and offbeat sermons > often resulted. But, as the frontier disappeared and organized churches moved > into an area, it grdually became less acceptable for ministers to move their > congregations to such physical and emotional levels. > > Weird huh > why did people name their children after him?