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REV. JACOB ADRIANCE
CO-FOUNDER AND FIRST PASTOR AT GOLDEN'S METHODIST CHURCH, 1859-1861 |
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| Early Years... Rev. Jacob Adriance, co-founder and first pastor of Golden's Methodist Church, was born in Cayuga County, New York on October 22, 1835. Adriance's parents were members of the Dutch Reformed Church at the time. They would afterwards join the Methodist Episcopal Church. 1 The Adriance family moved to Niagara County, New York, when Jacob was 10. It is here that he grew to manhood. Adriance attended the district school in Niagara County as well as three terms at the Wilson Collegiate Inststute. 2 Adriance was spiritually-inclined from his childhood, but thought he should wait until he was older before expressing such. Jacob did not openly become a Christian until experiencing a 'conversion' at age 16. Two years later he felt the call to preach -- and believed that his preaching should be a long ways from home! 3 |
 Rev. Jacob Adriance |
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Jacob felt like the Prophet Jeremiah:
"I can't do that! I'm not qualified... for so great a task! |
Though Adriance was as conscious of the call as if he had been spoken
to, he -- like Jeremiah -- initially hesitated and resisted the call.
"I can't do that! I have no qualifications as to gift of speech, or education for so great a task!Adriance resisted for call for more than a year before finally surrendering himself into Christ's work. 4 |
| It was with this call to ministry, and with a government land warrant for 160 acres -- a gift from his Father -- that Adriance headed West on April 7, 1857. He was not yet 22 years of age! |
| Early Ministries... Adriance reached Nebraska City on April 26, 1857, one day after the adjournment of the Nebraska - Kansas Conference. Adriance continued north on foot towards Glenwood, Iowa, where he met with Rev. William H. Goode, D.D., and then to Omaha to see the Elder of the Omaha District. Adriance had assumed he would initially assist some pastor -- so he was reluctant to take responsibility for a solo charge when one was presented. Under pressure Adriance eventually consented to taking on the DeSoto Mission. Requiring a horse and other items necessary to be an itinerant circuit rider, Adriance sold his government land warrant, which entitled him to 160 acres, for a mere $163. The horse and other purchases quickly left Jacob with only $20. This was soon spent on Sunday school materials. 5 |
| The DeSoto circuit had nine appointments which included DeSoto, Cuming City, Tekamah, Decatur, and other towns. Adriance soon learned that some of these towns had either slipped into the Missouri River, or they were simply 'paper' towns -- a figment of some mapmaker's imagination. The presiding elder had taken a map and had shown Adriance where each was, but not all were to be found! 6 Adriance did find that there was not one class organized anywhere on his circuit -- much less a church or parsonage. In fact, there was not an organized church of any kind anywhere in the area. |
Rev. Adriance analyzing the year 1857:
"The year was one of severe trials, both of body and soul... I found 22 members. I left 46!" 10 |
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Adriance held his first service on May 3, 1857, in the DeSoto home of
Jacob Carter - an avowed Baptist! That evening, Adriance preached in
Cuming City, using a log cabin that was minus a door. Adriance found
seven Methodists in Cuming City, so immediately established a class and
appointed H. Benner as class leader. It was the first class that
Adriance had ever organized. 7
In Tekamah, Rev. Adriance organized a class of eleven Methodists with
William Bates serving as class leader. Adriance's first Tekamah
service utilized Benjamin Folsom's home as a meeting place. 8
Decatur was home to a population of nearly 50 at the time. Interestingly,
Adriance found no Methodists amongst them, and although he preached there
regularly, he never was able to organize them. 9
Rev. Adriance had this to say about his work in 1857:
"I held no extra services, except at DeSoto, for want of a place. There were no public rooms available, and dwellings were small and full. The year with me was one of severe trials, both of body and soul, but of many experiences that were helpful to me in after years. I found 22 members. I left 46." 10The experiences of 1857 and 1858 would help Rev. Adriance in 1859 as he travelled west to Colorado in the company of Rev. William H. Goode, D.D. |
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| Golden Ministries Rev. W. H. Goode spent six weeks in Colorado, and two of the Sundays during this time he was in Golden City (what is now Golden, Colorado).11 On one of those, July 17, 1859, Reverands Goode and Adriance co-founded Golden City's Methodist-Episcopal Church.12 Goode also assigned Rev. Adriance to serve Golden City as pastor, effectively making Adriance the first Methodist-Episcopal preacher officially appointed to a Colorado church. Eventually, Adriance would serve a circuit consisting of five charges - Golden City, Boulder, Arapahoe, Gold Hill, and Denver City.13 | |
| Learn more about Rev. Adriance and his Golden City ministries here: | |
| Rev. Jacob Adriance and the Early Golden Church | |
| Additional details concerning Rev. Adriance and the organization of the Golden City Methodist-Episcopal Church are available in this manuscript written by Rev. Vern L. Klingman in 1949: | |
| Before Organization to 1880 | |
| Rev. Adriance participated in the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Golden Methodist-Episcopal Church held on July 18, 1909. Adriance presented a paper at 7:00 p.m. that evening which was entitled "Golden in the Early Days"14 This was done in spite of the fact that Adriance was deaf at that point in his life.15 The brochure for the event is online here: | |
| Heritage Sunday, July 18, 1909 | |
Other Information
Rev. Jacob Adriance returned to Nebraska in February, 1862, and
served various Nebraska churches for the next 16 years. However,
in 1878, at only 43 years of age, Adriance was forced
to leave the active ministry due to failing health and a loss of
hearing.15 In his diary Adriance stated that
"I have worked hard, much exposure has broken my health; my hearing is almost gone... I am trying to make a home."15Adriance moved to a farm where he lived for nearly 30 years. He then lived with one or the other of his two daughters.15 Rev. Adriance returned to the Rocky Mountains in 1909 for a statewide celebration of Colorado Methodism. On July 3, 1909, Adriance preached a sermon that he had originally delivered to Coloradoans on July 3, 1859 -- some 50 years earlier to the day!14 On July 18, 1909, Adriance took part in the golden anniversary of Golden's Methodist-Episcopal Church!14, 15 Rev. David Marquette, D.D., said this about Rev. Jacob Adriance in "A History of Nebraska Methodism": ...Adriance is one of those unassuming men that rarely pass for all they are worth. All soon came to respect and believe in him as a pure-minded, sincere Christian man. His preaching had little of the arts of oratory or embellishments of fine rhetoric, but possessed that element of genuineness and sincerity that all orators must have if they are to be permanently successful. His messages of truth came from a warm, symphathetic heart, and his hearers felt that he was seeking them, not theirs. His preaching was effective chiefly in building up believers in the faith, but his ministry was also attended with many precious revivals and he will have many stars in his crown. Besides, he was gifted with a power of song that added greatly to his usefulness. He was in demand at camp meetings... ...only eternity will reveal the number that have been saved or helped through his two-fold ministry. 16While Rev. Adriance ministered in Colorado for less than three years, the impact of his ministries were quite significant: "Adriance has been called 'The Father of Colorado Methodism'"17Jacob Adriance died in Fremont, Nebraska, on December 18, 1922. He was 87 years of age.15 |
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| Bibliography |
| 1 | A History of Nebraska Methodism, First Half Century | |||
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Rev. David Marquette, D.D. The Western Methodist Book Concern Press, Cincinnati, 1904 chap. IV, p. 93. |
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| 2 | ibid | 7 | ibid, p. 96. | |
| 3 | ibid, p. 94. | 8 | ibid, p. 97. | |
| 4 | ibid | 9 | ibid | |
| 5 | ibid, p. 94, 95. | 10 | ibid, p. 98. | |
| 6 | ibid, p. 95. | |||
| 11 | Before Organization to 1880 | |||
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Rev. Vern L. Klingman Archives, Golden First United Methodist Church September 18, 1949. see Organization. |
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| 12 | ibid | 13 | ibid | |
| 14 | Official Records, Golden First United Methodist Church | |||
| 15 | The Methodist, Evangelical, and United Brethren Churches in the Rockies: 1850-1976 | |||
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J. Allen Templin, Allen D. Breck, and Martin Rist, Editors Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Methodist Church. 1977. p 18. |
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| 16 | A History of Nebraska Methodism, First Half Century | |||
| p. 98-99. | ||||
| 17 | The Methodist, Evangelical, and United Brethren Churches in the Rockies, 1850-1976 | |||
| p 17. | ||||
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