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ERIE: YESTERDAY AND TODAY
The following is an excerpt from ERIE: YESTERDAY AND TODAY, about the Rev. Richard J.
Van Valkenburg .
It is by the Sociology and History Classes of Erie High School, Advisor - Mrs. Karen
Adelfang. (1st edition) April, 1967. (2nd edition) February, 1974.
The Rev. Richard Jeptha Van Valkenburg (#765,3l - Vol. I, page 312) was born Erie,
Pennsylvania, in 1823 of a very patriotic family. His grandfather fought in the War of
18l2. At the age of eighteen, he entered the ministry. When President Lincoln put out his
call for men to serve in the Civil War, he read the President's message from his pulpit
which resulted in a Company of Volunteers. Later, he distinguished himself as a chaplain
in the Union Army. Van Valkenburg married Cordelia Briggs, and they had four children. At
the close of the Civil War, he left Pennsylvania seeking a renewal of his health, which
had been lost as a result of wounds incurred in the war.
After wandering through Wyoming and Colorado as a Circuit Minister for a year (He is still
known in Wyoming as the "Sweet Singer of Hymns"), he and Cordelia settled in
Erie, Colorado. Within a few months he had organized a Sunday School which met every week
in his home. Thus it was in 1867 that the Rev. R. J. Van Valkenburg did more than he
realized for he had organized the beginning of the Methodist Church in Erie, CO, and had
made his name immortal in the community.
This minister was also the moving force behind the establishment of the Town of Erie, CO.,
which was named for his place of birth, Erie, PA. Colorado, in the 1860s and '70s was no
place for a "milquetoast" minister. Churches were out numbered by saloons and
parlor houses. In towns that didn't have church buildings, ministers held services in
school rooms, private homes, and, if no other space was available, in saloons.
They traveled from one town to another (circuit riders) in all kinds of weather, sometimes
preaching sermons in three or four mining camps or valley towns in one day. A great deal
of courage, endurance, determination, and a deep commitment to one's faith was required to
be a minister in Colorado in the early days. During the years that followed, Van Valkenburg
ministered to the people in the communities of Erie and Longmont, Colorado, and other
nearby towns. He preached sermons and conducted weddings and funerals.
He also served Erie, CO, in the capacities of mayor, postmaster, police judge, president
of the school board, and justice of the peace. He helped organize the town of Erie, CO,
officially dated November l4, 1874, but in a notation with some papers taken from the
cornerstone of the Erie Methodist Church in 1972, he had written "the town was laid
out in 187l". He organized the I.O.O.F. (Odd Fellows) Lodge, and at one time served as
representative to the State Legislative from Weld County. He also owned the Erie Hotel.
On March l, 19l2,shortly before his death, he and his wife celebrated their 69th wedding
anniversary. This was a good example to all of the "thousand and one" couples
for whom he had performed marriage ceremonies during his long ministerial career. It is
not known what became of his four children, but a grand-daughter later lived in Longmont.
Article from A. H. "Pete" (Br 7, great grandson of Richard Jeptha VV) and
Jeanne Van Valkenburg of Walden, Colorado
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