Abraham Vereide

Abraham Vereide (October 7, 1886 – May 16, 1969) was a Norwegian-born American Methodist minister and founder of International Christian Leadership (ICL) group. Early life Abraham was born in the Vereide home in Gloppen in the Nordfjord district of Norway on October 7, 1886, to Anders and Helene Vereide. He had four older sisters. Helene died when Abraham was eight years old. Career In 1905 Vereide received a ticket to the United States from a neighbor who was unable to use it. He traveled to Montana and found menial work. Vereide became an itinerant minister at the age of 20, covering an area of . Later, he studied at a seminary in Evanston, Illinois. He married Mattie Hansen in 1910. Vereide was first assigned to Spokane, Washington by the Methodist church. He was later assigned to Portland, Oregon and Seattle in 1916. During these years, he and Mattie had one daughter, Alicia, and three sons, Warren, Milton, and Abraham. The family moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1931. On personal invitation from then-Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, he attended a conference regarding the social relief program for New York.