He had little formal education and in 1833, married Harriet Foster, moving his family to Wisconsin to work in the lead mines.

[1] Dyer's circuit in Wisconsin and Minnesota covered a large area, and required travel through winter storms and extensive snow.

[2] "Father" Dyer hiked through blizzards and dealt with wild animals to reach remote mining towns, preaching in saloons, tents and on street corners.

At times, miners put gold dust in the offering plate, as most were too poor to give actual cash.

[1] Dyer bought property in Breckenridge next to the county courthouse on French Street, and with his own money, began to build a chapel.

When "Father" Dyer was 73, he and Lucinda moved to Denver where he wrote and published his autobiography, The Snow-Shoe Itinerant.