Fifty-Two Years in Florida : Janaway Publishing, Inc. : 9781596412606 : 1596412607 : 01 Mar 2012 : Who were those men who carried the Bible and preached the Gospel in the 1800's? Who were those who armed themselves, not with musket, but with a copy of the "Good Book"? From 1845 to 1899, we know of one: The Reverend John C. Ley, a pioneer Methodist circuit rider, treaded the unclaimed lands of Florida and Georgia to find ways to spread the faith. His claim to fortune was not paid in coin but by the count of souls, and his story is one of great sacrifices to a way of life, his life, as a traveling preacher in Florida. Reverend Ley raised awareness within the confines of poverty, within the shacks built on poles known as cracker houses. He was one of those men of God who slept on the earth at night and visited with strangers eager for his message during the day. He was the one who crossed a rushing creek, not knowing the dangers lying ahead of him, so he might give life blessings to other