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'''John Lewis Dyer''' (March 16, 1812 - June 16, 1901) was for some four decades a pioneering [[Methodist]] Episcopal itinerant preacher, first in [[Wisconsin]] and [[Minnesota]], and then in the mining camps and other communities of his adopted U.S. state of [[Colorado]]. In Colorado he became known as '''Father Dyer''', because of his age, relative to the young prospectors.<ref>[http://www.fatherdyer.org/history.html Father Dyer Church website], accessed 1 Nov. 2014.</ref> He is considered one of the sixteen principal 19th century founders of Colorado.

'''John Lewis Dyer''' (March 16, 1812 - June 16, 1901) was for some four decades a pioneering [[Methodist]] Episcopal itinerant preacher, first in [[Wisconsin]] and [[Minnesota]], and then in the mining camps and other communities of his adopted U.S. state of [[Colorado]]. In Colorado he became known as '''Father Dyer''' because of his age, relative to the young prospectors.<ref>[http://www.fatherdyer.org/history.html Father Dyer Church website], accessed November 1, 2014.</ref> He is considered one of the sixteen principal 19th century founders of Colorado.

==Background==

==Background==

Dyer was born in Franklin County in central [[Ohio]], one of eight children of Samuel Dyer (1786-1871) and the former Cassandra Foster (1792-1869)<ref name=oldcolocom/> and largely reared thereafter in [[Illinois]]. He had little formal education and was considered eccentric.<ref name=jfagan/> He was converted to [[Jesus Christ]] at the age of eighteen. He was a veteran of the Black Hawk Indian War of 1832.<ref name=oldcolocom/> The next year, he wed the former Harriet Foster (1812-1847), and the couple had five children. He farmed and then worked in the lead mines near the village of Potosi in Grant County in southwestern Wisconsin. Harriet died at the age of thirty-five, two months later, still 1847, their 13-month-old daughter, also named Harriet, also succumbed. Dyer was quickly remarried to a widow, Sarah Whiting, but he ended the arrangement when he found that she had never been divorced from a former spouse.<ref name=jfagan/> Whiting subsequently perished in a flood in 1851.<ref name=dyertimetable/>

Dyer was born in Franklin County in central [[Ohio]], one of eight children of Samuel Dyer (1786-1871) and the former Cassandra Foster (1792-1869)<ref name=oldcolocom/> and largely reared thereafter in [[Illinois]]. He had little formal education and was considered eccentric.<ref name=jfagan/> He was converted to [[Jesus Christ]] at the age of eighteen. He was a veteran of the Black Hawk Indian War of 1832.<ref name=oldcolocom/> The next year, he wed the former Harriet Foster (1812-1847), and the couple had five children. He farmed and then worked in the lead mines near the village of Potosi in Grant County in southwestern Wisconsin. Harriet died at the age of thirty-five, two months later, still 1847, their 13-month-old daughter, also named Harriet, also succumbed. Dyer was quickly remarried to a widow, Sarah Whiting, but he ended the arrangement when he found that she had never been divorced from a former spouse.<ref name=jfagan/> Whiting subsequently perished in a flood in 1851.<ref name=dyertimetable/>

One day in the mine shaft, Dyer felt that he was about to suffocate when he claimed to hear the voice of [[God]] calling to him. He left mining and dedicated his remaining years to proselytizing for Christ.<ref name=tbio>{{cite web|url=http://www.trivia-library.com/a/biography-of-famous-preacher-father-dyer-part-1.htm|title=Biography of Famous Preacher Father Dyer Part 1|publisher=trivia-library.com|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref> Dyer promptly left his four surviving children, Joshua, Elias, Elizabeth "Abbie", and Samuel, in the care of a sister while he accepted the call to the )circuit riding ministry, based on the technique used in England by [[John Wesley]].<ref name=jfagan/> The commitment kept him away from home for weeks at a time. After a decade of circuit riding in Wisconsin and Minnesota, Dyer, at the age of forty-nine in 1861, left Lenore, [[Minnesota]], for [[Denver]]. He was likely the oldest of all the circuit riders at the time.<ref name=oldcolocom/>

One day in the mine shaft, Dyer felt that he was about to suffocate when he claimed to hear the voice of [[God]] calling to him. He left mining and dedicated his remaining years to proselytizing for Christ.<ref name=tbio>{{cite web|url=http://www.trivia-library.com/a/biography-of-famous-preacher-father-dyer-part-1.htm|title=Biography of Famous Preacher Father Dyer Part 1|publisher=trivia-library.com|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref> Dyer promptly left his four surviving children, Joshua, Elias, Elizabeth "Abbie", and Samuel, in the care of a sister while he accepted the call to the circuit riding ministry, based on the technique used in England by [[John Wesley]].<ref name=jfagan/> The commitment kept him away from home for weeks at a time. After a decade of circuit riding in Wisconsin and Minnesota, Dyer, at the age of forty-nine in 1861, left Lenore, [[Minnesota]], for [[Denver]]. He was likely the oldest of all the circuit riders at the time.<ref name=oldcolocom/>

==Colorado pioneer==

==Colorado pioneer==

Because Dyer feared the possible loss of his vision, he was determined to see Pike's Peak and the [[Rocky Mountains]] while he could. He made it to [[Omaha]], [[Nebraska]], when his horse could no longer carry him. and then walked with a wagon trai] the six hundred remaining miles to Denver. There he was briefly reunited with his second son, Elias Foster Dyer, who had left Minnesota the previous year to take a job as a store clerk.<ref name=jfagan/><ref name=dyertimetable>{{cite web|url=http://oakdene.org/OgGateWeb/foster/dyer/dyer.htm|title=Father John Lewis Dyer|publisher=oakdene.org|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref>

Because Dyer feared the possible loss of his vision, he was determined to see Pike's Peak and the [[Rocky Mountains]] while he could. He made it to [[Omaha]], [[Nebraska]], when his horse could no longer carry him. and then walked with a wagon trai] the six hundred remaining miles to Denver. There he was briefly reunited with his second son, Elias Foster Dyer, who had left Minnesota the previous year to take a job as a store clerk.<ref name=jfagan/><ref name=dyertimetable>{{cite web|url=http://oakdene.org/OgGateWeb/foster/dyer/dyer.htm|title=Father John Lewis Dyer|publisher=oakdene.org|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref>

   

   

Dyer then walked another hundred miles to Buckskin Joe, a mining camp near Alma and Fairplay, Colorado, both in Park County. Having lost thirty pounds on his travels west,<ref name=tbio/> Dyer showed renewed energy in preaching in the mining camps from South Park to the Continental Divide, the point where the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] waters separate east and west. In his [[autobiography]], Dyer referred to South Park as "a view of grandeur never to be forgotten."<ref name=vandusen>Laura King Van Dusen, ''Historic Tales from Park County: Parked in the Past'' ([[Charleston]], [[South Carolina]]: The History Press, 2013), ISBN 978-1-62619-161-7, pp. 32-33, 102.</ref>

Dyer then walked another hundred miles to Buckskin Joe, a mining camp near Alma and Fairplay, Colorado, both in Park County. Having lost thirty pounds on his travels west,<ref name=tbio/> Dyer showed renewed energy in preaching in the mining camps from South Park to the Continental Divide, the point where the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] watersheds separate east and west. In his [[autobiography]], Dyer referred to South Park as "a view of grandeur never to be forgotten."<ref name=vandusen>Laura King Van Dusen, ''Historic Tales from Park County: Parked in the Past'' ([[Charleston]], [[South Carolina]]: The History Press, 2013), ISBN 978-1-62619-161-7, pp. 32-33, 102.</ref>

Employed by the Methodist South Park Circuit, he was so poorly compensated that he took a second job carrying mail from Buckskin Joe to Leadville. The work paid $18 per month. To preach the gospel,  he crossed 13,185 foot Mosquito Pass several times per week in all weather conditions. During winters, he used "[[Norway|Norwegian]] snow shoes" (skis) to maneuver through the snows over Mt. Mosquito. He preached in the camps three times a week and three more times each Sunday. He traversed steep, dangerous terrain by horse or mule when possible.<ref name=tbio/> He preached against the common activities of miners, [[gambling]], [[alcohol]], and [[prostitution]]. He performed marriages, tended the sick, and became known as a selfless individual.<ref name=oldcolocom>{{cite web|url=http://history.oldcolo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=174:father-dyer-the-snowshoe-itinerant-preacher&catid=61&Itemid=92|title= Dyer, Father, the Snowshoe Itinerant Preacher|date=June 17, 1901|publisher=history.oldcolo.com|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref> Dyer was aware that most of the mining revenues went to comparatively few individuals. The miners faced backbreaking and dangerous work, but he directed his ministry as a message of hope.<ref name=jfagan/> Dyer preached wherever he could find anyone to listen, even in saloons. He went as far south as [[New Mexico]] to proclaim the gospel.<ref name=jfagan/>

Employed by the Methodist South Park Circuit, he was so poorly compensated that he took a second job carrying mail from Buckskin Joe to Leadville. The work paid $18 per month. To preach the gospel,  he crossed 13,185 foot Mosquito Pass several times per week in all weather conditions. During winters, he used "[[Norway|Norwegian]] snow shoes" (skis) to maneuver through the snows over Mt. Mosquito. He preached in the camps three times a week and three more times each Sunday. He traversed steep, dangerous terrain by horse or mule when possible.<ref name=tbio/> He preached against the common activities of miners, [[gambling]], [[alcohol]], and [[prostitution]]. He performed marriages, tended the sick, and became known as a selfless individual.<ref name=oldcolocom>{{cite web|url=http://history.oldcolo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=174:father-dyer-the-snowshoe-itinerant-preacher&catid=61&Itemid=92|title= Dyer, Father, the Snowshoe Itinerant Preacher|date=June 17, 1901|publisher=history.oldcolo.com|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref> Dyer was aware that most of the mining revenues went to comparatively few individuals. The miners faced backbreaking and dangerous work, but he directed his ministry as a message of hope.<ref name=jfagan/> Dyer preached wherever he could find anyone to listen, even in saloons. He went as far south as [[New Mexico]] to proclaim the gospel.<ref name=jfagan/>

==Remembrances==

==Remembrances==

In addition to the Father Dyer United Methodist Church in Breckenridge, a log structure known as "Father Dyer's Chapel" is located in the restored mining community of South Park City in Park County. The building was formerly a hotel in Montgomery, Colorado, but it was dismantled and moved to Fairplay and rebuilt as a Methodist church in 1868. Dyer was the  driving force behind the move.<ref name=jfagan>{{cite web|url=http://www.snowshoemag.com/2004/12/20/snowshoes-saloons-and-salvation-the-life-and-times-of-a-19th-century-colorado-pioneer-preacher/|author=Jim Fagan|title= Snowshoes, Saloons, and Salvation: The Life And Times Of a 19th Century Colorado Pioneer Preacher|date=December 20, 2004|publisher=snowshoemag.com|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref>

In addition to the Father Dyer United Methodist Church in Breckenridge, a log structure known as "Father Dyer's Chapel" is located in the restored mining community of South Park City in Park County. The building was formerly a hotel in Montgomery, Colorado, but it was dismantled and moved to Fairplay and rebuilt as a Methodist church in 1868. Dyer was the  driving force behind the move.<ref name=jfagan>{{cite web|url=http://www.snowshoemag.com/2004/12/20/snowshoes-saloons-and-salvation-the-life-and-times-of-a-19th-century-colorado-pioneer-preacher/|author=Jim Fagan|title= Snowshoes, Saloons, and Salvation: The Life And Times Of a 19th Century Colorado Pioneer Preacher|date=December 20, 2004|publisher=snowshoemag.com|accessdate=October 21, 2020}}</ref> After Lucinda's death in Denver in 1888,<ref name=jfagan/> Dyer began his autobiography, ''Snow-Ski Itinerant,'' which he completed in 1890.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Snow-Shoe Itinerant - An Autobiography by John L. Dyer|publisher=Western Reflections Publishing Company |year= 2008|isbn=978-1932738650|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref>

 

After Lucinda's death in Denver in 1888,<ref name=jfagan/> Dyer began his autobiography, ''Snow-Ski Itinerant,'' which he completed in 1890.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Snow-Shoe Itinerant - An Autobiography by John L. Dyer|publisher=Western Reflections Publishing Company |year= 2008|isbn=978-1932738650|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref>

In 1900, his stain-glassed portrait was unveiled in the Colorado State Capitol. By then he was affectionately called "Father Dyer," a term first to refer to Dyer as early as 1868 at a [[Sunday school]] meeting at the Lawrence Street Methodist Church in Denver. The term has not been since adopted by the Methodist Church to refer to its ministers.<ref name=jfagan/><ref name=fatherdyer/>

In 1900, his stain-glassed portrait was unveiled in the Colorado State Capitol. By then he was affectionately called "Father Dyer," a term first to refer to Dyer as early as 1868 at a [[Sunday school]] meeting at the Lawrence Street Methodist Church in Denver. The term has not been since adopted by the Methodist Church to refer to its ministers.<ref name=jfagan/><ref name=fatherdyer/>