Richard Jeptha Van Valkenburg (August 16, 1823 — September 8, 1912) was a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

veteran and Episcopal reverend who is notable for being one of the founding pioneers of northern Colorado, namely the town of Erie, Colorado.

Early life

Richard Jeptha Van Valkenburg was born in the town of Schoharie, N.Y., where he lived for only two years before his family moved to Owego, New York, where Van Valkenburg eventually grew up. Despite being able only to attend school in the winter season, Van Valkenburg was very studious and had read the entire Bible by his fourteenth year. In addition to this, Van Valkenburg was also known to have an interest in newspapers, which he regularly saved up for. In 1841 Van Valkenburg became licensed to preach with the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

. Two years later in March 1843, Van Valkenburg became married to Cordelia Briggs. Together the two would have four children; three girls and one boy. In 1850, Van Valkenburg became a member of the Wyoming conference. During this period of time, Van Valkenburg was known to have a talented voice, and was given the nickname “sweet singer of Wyoming."online version at MARDOS memorial library of on-line books & maps
p.225

American Civil War

In 1862, while preaching in

Montrose, Pennsylvania Montrose is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, south-southeast of Binghamton, New York and north by west of Scranton. The land is elevated approximately 1,400 feet (427 m) above sea level. It is the Susquehanna Count ...

, Van Valkenburg received a summons to arms, as it was believed that the Confederate army was planning to attack the city of

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

. Van Valkenburg quickly raised a company of one hundred and eight men, who elected him as their captain. This company served at the front, but were returned home after the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

and relegated to a reserve force. The company was eventually called out again and were stationed in

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

the night before the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

. After this Van Valkenburg volunteered to become a chaplain of the pioneer corps, where he accompanied General Sherman on his march through Georgia. Van Valkenburg became seriously ill and was hospitalized in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

for a period of two months.

Founding of Erie

In 1865 Van Valkenburg received an honorable discharge in

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. Van Valkenburg then returned home to Owego for a short period of time, and that April moved to Colorado on account of his worsening health. It was there that he settled in the town now known as Erie, and the house that he built there was the town's first. It was in this house that Van Valkenburg hold Sunday-school to a small number of pupils in his dining room. In Erie Van Valkenburg held many positions and offices, among them a judge, a police magistrate, town postmater, mayor, school board president, and representative to the state legislature from

Weld County Weld County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 328,981. The county seat is Greeley, Colorado, Greeley. Weld County comprises the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Stati ...

. Van Valkenburg also notably established the Masonic Erie Lodge and Longmont Lodge, in addition to serving as the Grand Master of the

Grand Lodge of Colorado A Grand Lodge (or Grand Orient or other similar title) is the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A Grand Lodge or Grand Orient is the us ...

References

* * Historical Overview in
Erie, Colorado, Historic Buildings Survey, 2009-10
(see pages 16–17) {{DEFAULTSORT:Valkenburg, Richard Van 1823 births 1912 deaths American people of Dutch descent 19th-century American Episcopalians American pioneers People from Schoharie, New York People from Owego, New York People from Erie, Colorado