San Joaquin County
Biographies
JOHN VAN VALKENBURGH
JOHN VAN VALKENBURGH was born
in Oneida County, New York, February 1, 1827, a son of Lambert and Sarah
(Dennis) Van Valkenburgh; the former a native of New York State and the latter
of Connecticut. Grandfather Van Valkenburgh was a native of Holland
who emigrated from that country to the United States, settling in New York State, where the family have resided ever since. John, the
subject of this sketch, was one of ten children, who were all reared to man and
womanhood; his parents died in New York State. In 1846 he left New York, going to Cass
County, Michigan, that at the time being a new country. There he
turned his attention to the shoemaking trade, served his apprenticeship and
afterward started a shop of his own. He left Michigan for California, February 22, 1849, made his journey across the
plains with ox teams, arriving in Sacramento, September 1, 1849. His first meal there cost him
$2.50 and consisted of pork, beans, hard tack and black coffee. He went to
Coloma and started mining below the old mill where gold was first discovered.
While in that locality he discovered Union Flat, which has since been the seat
of considerable mining. A town sprung up called Uniontown where he started in
quartz mining and spent considerable money, but made a failure, not knowing how
to work quartz, situated near Coloma. He was the first man to strike a pick in
Nelson’s Cañon,
which turned out to be a district rich in minerals. He was among the first to
operate in Oregon and Mosquette Cañon, which was among
the richest mines struck there. In 1851 he went to Kelsey Diggings, where he
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Elizabeth Lane, a native of Ohio, who crossed the plains in 1851. In 1852 Mr. and Mrs.
Van Valkenburgh moved from Kelsey Diggings to Walls Diggings, thence to
Michigan Bar, where he conducted a shoe shop and a livery stable. In 1863 he
came down to this valley and bought a ranch, July 24, of that year. The ranch
contains 160 acres and is situated on Cherokee Lane, Liberty Township. There Mrs. Van Valkenburgh died, April 17,
1885, at the age of forty-nine years. She was the mother of six children, viz:
Asa L., born March 10, 1854; Loyal H., December 18, 1855; Lizzie, December 18,
1857; Frank and Charles, deceased; and William T., the youngest of the family,
born in San
Joaquin County. Asa L., the oldest of the family, remained with his
father until he was twenty-three years of age, when he built a shop on Cherokee Lane and started in the blacksmith business, running it
for nearly seven years. Then he and his brother Loyal went to farming together.
They own 320 acres in Sacramento County, and 160 in San Joaquin; they make their home on the
latter; it is situated in Liberty Township, within a half a mile of Cherokee Lane. Besides this the two brothers farmed considerable
more land, the greater portion in Sacramento County.
Asa was married, March 3, 1886, to Miss
Della Stevens, a native of Kansas.
He is among the largest operators in the farming industry in this section of
the country, dealing mostly in wheat and stock, principally horses.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
An Illustrated History of San Joaquin County,
California, Pages 380-381. Lewis Pub.
Co. Chicago, Illinois 1890.
© 2009 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
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