The 17th essay in our book - A Noble Company, volume 10 - is about Samuel H. Ford (1819-1905)

Samuel Howard Ford was an old-time Baptist preacher and writer, whose life spanned the last eighty years of the nineteenth century in the heart of America. Of all the descriptions that could be given of him, in the totality of his life and ministry, his last name ironically provides perhaps the best suggestion. A “ford” was a safe place for people, livestock, and vehicles to cross a river or stream, often at the top of a natural dam or just above a rapid, and sometimes at the downstream end of a still-water pool. Samuel H. Ford was a stalwart adherent to the old Baptist doctrines and distinctives, and invited others to adopt his views as a safe place to cross the troubled waters of a world flowing ever downward; and if one waded in the right direction, by the Kingdom principles presented, one would find a sparkling serene place to enjoy life in Christ at its fullest. --Matthew Underwood