author
John Lemley
b. 1843
A 19th-century Methodist editor and speaker, he wrote vivid autobiographical accounts drawn from his own life and religious work. His books offer a firsthand glimpse into evangelical publishing and public speaking in his era.
1 Audiobook
Women in white raiment
by John Lemley
About the author
Born around 1843, John Lemley was an American religious writer, editor, and public speaker associated with Methodist publishing. Contemporary library records identify him as the author of Autobiography and Personal Recollections of John Lemley, and editions of that work describe him as editor of The Golden Censer and later Zion's Watchman.
In his autobiographical writing, Lemley presents his own life as a story of faith, hardship, and perseverance. The book appears to have been published in more than one edition, including an 1875 volume focused on his years with The Golden Censer and a later 1885 edition reflecting a longer career in editing and speaking.
Much of what is easiest to confirm about Lemley comes from those published memoirs and library catalogs rather than modern biographical sources. Even so, he stands out as a distinctive voice from 19th-century American religious print culture, writing from direct experience rather than from a distance.