Erinea Garcia Gallegos (1903–2002) was an American educator and

postmistress A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

. Born in Conejos, Colorado, her family had deep roots in the region, being among the first settlers of the San Luis Valley that overlaps southern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

and northern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

. She taught in elementary schools before her marriage and afterward served as postmistress of San Luis for nearly four decades. She was posthumously inducted into the

Colorado Women's Hall of Fame The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame is a non-profit, volunteer organization that recognizes women who have contributed to the history of the U.S. state of Colorado. As of 2020, 170 women have been inducted. History There was a short-lived recogniti ...

in 2012.

Early life, family, and education

Erinea Garcia was born in Conejos, Colorado, in 1903. Her father, José Amarante García, had eight children from his first wife, Sofia Espinosa de García. After Sofia's death, he married her sister, Teodora Espinosa de García, who bore him four children, including Erinea. Antecedents on both her father's and mother's sides were among the first settlers in the San Luis Valley that overlaps southern

and northern

, establishing farms and towns on Mexican

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

s. After Colorado was admitted to the Union in 1876, Garcia's grandfather served in the state legislature. Her father was the sheriff of

Conejos County Conejos County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,461. The county seat is the unincorporated community of Conejos. Being 50.7% Hispanic in 2020, Conejos was Colorado's largest Hispa ...

for 19 years and was also a two-term Conejos County judge. Garcia attended elementary school in Conejos and then entered the Loretto Academy for Girls in

Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

. In 1921 a flood ravaged the town and the school was closed. Garcia went on to graduate from the high school in Antonito. She was among the first Hispanic women in Colorado to attend college. She took courses at

Adams State University Adams State University is a public university in Alamosa, Colorado. The university's Adams State Grizzlies athletic teams compete in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. History Adams State was founded in 1921 as a teacher's college. Billy ...

Western State Colorado University Western Colorado University (Western) is a public university in Gunnison, Colorado. It enrolls approximately 2,600 undergraduate and 400 graduate students, with 25 percent coming from out of state. Western offers more than 100 undergraduate areas ...

, and the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, earning a teaching certificate.

Career

Plaza de San Luis de la Culebra Historic District

For 12 years, Garcia worked as a teacher in elementary schools in Conejos, San Luis, and other towns in the San Luis Valley. She also was a school principal. In 1932 she married and left her job to raise a family. In 1935, President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

appointed her

of San Luis. She and her husband moved into a Gallegos family-owned house adjacent to the post office building on Main Street in San Luis. Dating from the early 1860s, this house had been part of a farm and grain mill complex owned by Nasario Gallegos,

Ceran St. Vrain Ceran St. Vrain, born Ceran de Hault de Lassus de Saint-Vrain (May 5, 1802 – October 28, 1870), was the son of a French aristocrat who immigrated to the Spanish Louisiana in the late 18th century; his mother was from St. Louis, where he was b ...

, and Harvey Easterday. Known as the Gallegos-Easterday House, it is part of the Plaza de San Luis de la Culebra Historic District, which was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1976. A post office permit had been requested by Easterday in 1860 so the grain mill would have its own mailing address. When Garcia Gallegos and her family arrived, the post office building was also owned by the Gallegos family. Garcia Gallegos was the postmistress of San Luis for nearly four decades. During World War II and other battles which saw local men stationed overseas, she assisted post-office patrons with writing and translating letters, and issued money orders. Upon her retirement in 1976, her daughter took over as postmistress.

Honors

Garcia Gallegos was posthumously inducted into the

in 2012. Her family also established the Erinea and Maclovio Gallegos Scholarship Fund at Adams State University.

Personal life

She married Maclovio Gallegos, a native of San Luis, in 1932. They had seven children. Garcia Gallegos died in 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Gallegos, Erinea 1903 births 2002 deaths American women educators Educators from Colorado Colorado postmasters Hispanic and Latino American people People from Conejos County, Colorado People from Costilla County, Colorado 20th-century American women 20th-century American people