Andrew Hunter (Methodist preacher)

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Elijah Lindsey (1790-1834) was a noted Methodist Preacher, sometimes referred to as "The Father of Methodism in Arkansas."

He was born in Antrim, Ireland and came to the United States with his parents when he was two years old. The family settled in Pennsylvania where Hunter received a common-school education. In 1833 he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in 1835 he moved to Missouri, near St. Louis, and began teaching school. In 1836 he received a lisenceds to preach and spent one year preaching to the Choctaw nation. He was ordained a deacon in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 1839 he became an elder in Little Rock, Arkansas. In the fall of 1842 he was made presiding elder of the Washington District, which comprised a large portion of Southern Arkansas. He became one of the most popular preachers in Arkansas as well being well respected through out the country. In 1866-67 he was elected to represent Dallas and Bradley Counties in the Arkansas State senate and was president of that body. In 1866 he was also elected to the United States Senate, but could not take the oath and was disqualified. A. H. Garland took his place instead. He was married in York, Pennsylvania, in 1844, to Anna M. Jones, and had four children.