Winthrop Hartly Hopson (April 26, 1823 – January 11, 1887) was an American preacher, physician, and evangelist whose 47-year ministry within the Restoration Movement made him a prominent figure in 19th-century American Christianity. Born near Garrettsburg, Kentucky, to Dr. Samuel Hopson and Sally J. Clark, he was the grandson of Col. Joseph Hopson, a Virginia native who settled in Christian County, Kentucky, in 1811. Raised in a family that relocated to Montgomery County, Missouri, when he was two, Hopson grew up amid his father’s medical studies at Transylvania University, where Samuel graduated in 1825. Educated early in Latin at age eight under Prof. Dunlap, Hopson completed his Greek and Latin studies by 17 at Columbia College (predecessor to the University of Missouri), later earning an A.M. degree. Hopson’s preaching career began after a profound internal struggle. His father envisioned him as a lawyer, arranging a position with Geyer & Bates in St. Louis, but the church urged him toward ministry. Choosing faith over worldly ambition, he started preaching in 1840 at age 17, initially assisting his brother-in-law, R. Lin Cave, in Carrollton, Missouri. Licensed as a physician like his father, he practiced medicine briefly but prioritized evangelism, serving nine ministries across five states—Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. His 38-year partnership with his second wife, Caroline Grey, bolstered his work, yielding over 5,000 recorded conversions, though many more went uncounted. Known for his “matchless power of expression” (per I.B. Grubbs) and Christ-like integrity (per G.A. Hoffman), Hopson preached with clarity and force, notably converting his future third wife, Mary E. Harlan, during an 1850 meeting in Dubuque, Iowa.