Daily AncestorExhorter
An exhorter was a lay preacher, licensed by a church, especially Methodist, to speak at meetings but not ordained as a minister.
To exhort is to urge someone strongly. In Methodist churches of the 1800s an exhorter was a layman licensed to exhort, that is, to speak to a meeting and encourage listeners to faith, without being an ordained preacher.
An exhorter could not perform the duties of an ordained minister. Some later became licensed preachers. The word turns up in church minutes, obituaries and occasionally the census occupation column.
As seen in a recordChurch minutes, obituaries and the 1850 to 1880 census
Eli Hobbs, 44, Farmer and exhorter, Ky.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Exhorter." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/exhorter. Last checked 2026-10-01.