People > Notable Norkans > Rev. Adam Traudt
Rev. Adam Traudt
Johann Adam Traudt was born in Norka on September 18, 1860, the son of Peter Traudt and Anna Margaretha Reifschneider. The family immigrated to the United States in 1879 aboard the steamship Lessing and settled in Valley, Nebraska.
Adam attended the Chicago Theological Seminary in the late 1880's. He left his studies for a time to minister to a group of Volga German immigrants that would later form the First German Congregational Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. At the time, the group led by Adam met in the Park School from May 1888 to March 1889.
During Adam's seminary training he also served in Sutton, Nebraska.
Adam completed his training at the German Seminary located in Crete, Illinois in 1891.
Adam married Ida Rosina Zumstein on May 27, 1891 in Waukegan, Illinois. Ida was born in Berne, Switzerland on September 20, 1871. It appears that Ida's brother, Hans Zumstein, was also attending the Chicago Theological Seminary with Adam.
Rev. Traudt founded and served the First German Congregational Church in the Globeville neighborhood of Denver, Colorado from 1894 to 1899. The Globeville area was settled primarily by immigrants from Norka and the church was known as the "the Norkera Church."
Loveland, Colorado's First German Congregational Church was organized November 24, 1901, by the Reverend M.E. Eversz, D.D., and Rev. Traudt as the third German Congregational Church in Colorado. The previous two German Congregational Churches formed in Colorado were located in Denver.
Rev. Traudt returned to serve the First German Congregational Church in Globeville from 1901 to 1909, but his second term proved to be difficult.
The April 4,1908 issue of The Denver Times reported:
Adam attended the Chicago Theological Seminary in the late 1880's. He left his studies for a time to minister to a group of Volga German immigrants that would later form the First German Congregational Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. At the time, the group led by Adam met in the Park School from May 1888 to March 1889.
During Adam's seminary training he also served in Sutton, Nebraska.
Adam completed his training at the German Seminary located in Crete, Illinois in 1891.
Adam married Ida Rosina Zumstein on May 27, 1891 in Waukegan, Illinois. Ida was born in Berne, Switzerland on September 20, 1871. It appears that Ida's brother, Hans Zumstein, was also attending the Chicago Theological Seminary with Adam.
Rev. Traudt founded and served the First German Congregational Church in the Globeville neighborhood of Denver, Colorado from 1894 to 1899. The Globeville area was settled primarily by immigrants from Norka and the church was known as the "the Norkera Church."
Loveland, Colorado's First German Congregational Church was organized November 24, 1901, by the Reverend M.E. Eversz, D.D., and Rev. Traudt as the third German Congregational Church in Colorado. The previous two German Congregational Churches formed in Colorado were located in Denver.
Rev. Traudt returned to serve the First German Congregational Church in Globeville from 1901 to 1909, but his second term proved to be difficult.
The April 4,1908 issue of The Denver Times reported:
Rev. Adam Traudt, pastor of the First German Evangelical Church of Globeville, a suburb of Denver, preached his sermon this morning under guard of three policeman stationed at intervals across the front of the church near the pulpit. This extraordinary scene was enacted as a result of a long quarrel with some of the members of the congregation. Last Wednesday evening at a church meeting a majority vote of one deposed the minister. He refused to recognize the vote and declared he would hold the fort against his enemies. In pursuance of this policy he spent Friday night in the church, heavily armed, to prevent the entrance of a hundred church-goers who gathered, determined to enter and put him out.
"I am not going to allow the affairs of this church to be run by a crowd of infidels who were excommunicated from the church more than two years ago," said Rev. Traudt." The trouble will probably be taken to the courts.
Rev. Traudt continued to serve as a German Congregational minister until 1910 when he left Denver to join an evangelical crusade in Mexico. Around 1912, Rev. Traudt became a Presbyterian and worked as a butcher.
By 1920, Rev. and Ida Traudt were living in San Antonio, Texas, along with six children and Ida's mother. Adam had retired from the ministry and worked as a butcher in a meat market he owned.
Ida died on September 18, 1923 in San Antonio, Texas and was buried at the Roselawn Cemetery.
Rev. Traudt died on May 27, 1940 in San Antonio, Texas and was buried near his wife at the Roselawn Cemetery.
By 1920, Rev. and Ida Traudt were living in San Antonio, Texas, along with six children and Ida's mother. Adam had retired from the ministry and worked as a butcher in a meat market he owned.
Ida died on September 18, 1923 in San Antonio, Texas and was buried at the Roselawn Cemetery.
Rev. Traudt died on May 27, 1940 in San Antonio, Texas and was buried near his wife at the Roselawn Cemetery.
Sources
Krieger, Jerry. "The Globeville church that ministered to the needs of Norkans". Norka Newsletter. Autumn 2004.
Ancestry.com
Norka database.
"How These Christians Love One Another!" The Humanitarian Review, Vol. VII, No. 1, Whole No. 68.
"Will Dedicate $20,000 Church," Loveland Reporter, Number 57, December 10, 1915.
The Chicago Theological Seminary Register, Volumes 1-4.
Ancestry.com
Norka database.
"How These Christians Love One Another!" The Humanitarian Review, Vol. VII, No. 1, Whole No. 68.
"Will Dedicate $20,000 Church," Loveland Reporter, Number 57, December 10, 1915.
The Chicago Theological Seminary Register, Volumes 1-4.
Last updated August 7, 2020.