Norfolk Virginian, October 9, 1890
Untitled
Infrastructure -- Public : Churches
Onancock, Va., October 8.
Last night one of the most unique and sensational revivals ever held here was closed. This revival has been in progress at the Northern Methodist Church for over two weeks, and great crowds have been in attendance every night. The attraction was the presence of the Rev. Mr. Dollbow, an evangelist of Wilmington, Delaware, who, in the biography of his life, said that he was totally uneducated, never having been in a school in his life, and that the day after he was converted, not knowing to use his own language, "A from Z," he picked up the Bible and read several chapters with no difficulty whatever, and has been reading and writing ever since without any study at all. His unique sayings, queer antics and cornfield accent and general levity have turned the church nightly into a play house, where singing, shouting and groaning have been offset by laughter and patting of feet. The Rev. gentleman, after warming up to his work, would in a ringing voice, which could be heard for a great distance, call out for sinners to repent, and then dropping on his knees, shouting "glory," from which position he would almost instantaneously change by jumping upon his feet and wringing his hands, twisting his legs and making hideous faces, portray in wandering words the horrors of death and the genuineness of the remedy he had ter give ter the unrepentant.
It is said he turned a somersault in the pulpit one night. He frequently says he would not give a rotten egg for 'ligion widout some movement inter it.
On several occasions the good people have become so wound up as to loose all control of themselves and abandoned themselves to the excitement of the movement ranged around the altar, shouted, screamed and embraced each other until completely worn out, the evangelist's voice being heard above all others declaring he was in his glory, and bidding all to join them.
A number have expressed a change of heart and two joined the church.