1845 — 1923
Summary
John Orr Corliss was a pioneering Seventh-day Adventist evangelist whose ministry spanned nearly five decades and two continents. A Civil War veteran and former sailor from Maine, Corliss was converted through the influence of James and Ellen White, and went on to become one of the denomination’s most effective public evangelists. He was among the first Adventist missionaries to Australia, where he helped establish the Echo Publishing House and planted churches across multiple cities. Back in America, he organized the first Adventist church in Washington, D.C., championed religious liberty before the United States Senate, and produced the landmark publication Bible Readings for the Home Circle.
Early Life
John Orr Corliss was born to Joseph and Jane (Morang) Corliss on December 26, 1845, in Topsham, Maine. His mother was a descendant of the Scottish Earl of Stair. Joseph Corliss died in 1850 when John was scarcely five years old. To escape harsh treatment from his adopted father, at the age of sixteen John entered an apprenticeship as a sailor, and around 1862 he became a converted Christian.
As a nineteen-year-old, John abandoned seamanship and married twenty-year-old Susan Gowell in 1864, then enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War, serving in the Thirtieth Regiment of the Maine Infantry. After the war, he returned to Maine, where a Freewill Baptist minister baptized him in 1866. All happy prospects came to a tragic end with Susan’s premature death on November 16, 1867.
At the time of John’s grieving, he came in contact with James and Ellen White, who were engaged in evangelism with John Andrews in New England. Corliss responded to the Whites’ invitation to join them in Michigan. James White baptized him in 1868. In the same year, at only twenty-three years of age, he assumed the superintendence and chaplaincy of the fledgling Battle Creek Health Reform Institute. Also in 1868, he married Julia Ann Burgess, a schoolteacher from Ohio.
Public Evangelism in America
In 1871, Corliss began conducting evangelistic efforts in remote villages in upstate Michigan. Initially he and Julia had to be self-supporting, because the Michigan Conference had no funds to pay him. The harsh conditions came with a heavy personal cost. Their first child, Frank (born 1870), died in 1874. Their second child, Frederick (born 1873), died at only eight months old. They lost their third child, Lou Ellen, at eighteen months old. Their surviving children were Lulu (born 1877) and William Burr (born 1882).
John’s successful evangelistic endeavors culminated in his ordination in October 1874 at the Lapeer, Michigan, camp meeting, with Elders James White, Joseph Waggoner, and Stephen Haskell officiating.
Corliss adapted his evangelistic topics for publication in Bible Readings for the Home Circle. Its preface acknowledged him: “Prominent among these contributors is J. O. Corliss, who, assisted by others, carefully edited and revised the entire collection …” The book became the denominational standard for Bible studies using the proof-text method.
Trail-blazing in Australia
The October-November 1884 General Conference Session nominated Corliss to join Stephen Haskell and a small team to establish a mission base in Australia. They departed San Francisco aboard the Australia on May 10, 1885, arriving at Sydney on Sabbath, June 6.
Corliss gave early attention to establishing what became the Echo Publishing House and effectively became its managing editor, largely financing the enterprise with his own funds. He assisted Mendel Israel with five evangelistic series in suburban Melbourne during October 1885 through April 1886. He established churches in Melbourne, Ballarat, Adelaide, and Geelong before his health collapsed and his family returned to California in March 1887.
Recuperation and Renewed Service
After recuperating, Corliss engaged in editorial and religious liberty activities. In 1889 he organized the first Adventist church in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., and helped pastor the congregation during its early years. He also joined A. T. Jones in an appearance before a United States Senate committee, urging the defeat of a proposed constitutional amendment to “Christianize” public schools.
Second Term in Australia
The Corliss family returned to Australia in late 1893. John served as leading evangelist, conducting series in Melbourne, Hawthorn, Auburn, Tasmania, and Sydney. His thirteen-year-old son, Burr, helped to clear the Avondale estate and attended evening classes prior to the official opening of the Avondale School in 1895. Early in 1896 the family transferred to Perth, West Australia, but his health failed again and the family departed for New York in April 1896.
Later Years and Legacy
For two years (1897-1898) Corliss taught Bible classes at Battle Creek Sanitarium. He returned to California in 1899, serving there in ministry except for twelve months as vice-president of the British Union Conference (1902-1903). Corliss married Julia’s younger sister, Florence Betsy Burgess, in 1913, after Julia’s death in 1912.
His last Sabbath service was on September 8, 1923, in the Pasadena church. That same evening he fell ill and was taken to Glendale Sanitarium, where he passed away on September 17, 1923. John Orr Corliss rests in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale. His headstone carries the insignia of Union Army veterans.
Source: Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, encyclopedia.adventist.org. Article by Milton Hook, Ed.D.
