Peter Cartwright, who lived from 1785 to 1872, spent 22 years as a dedicated itinerant Methodist preacher in Kentucky. During the Great Revival of 1800, he was saved from "sins of his youth" and was licensed to exhort. He was ordained in 1808, served as a presiding elder for 50 years, and was a delegate to 13 General Conferences. He moved to Illinois in 1824 and was defeated by Abraham Lincoln in a race for Congress in 1847.