Résumé

Lawrence Bolton Valk developed a national practice designing Protestant churches during the last half of the 19th century. Some important examples of his work included the Christ Church Cathedral #4 (begun 1886), in New Orleans, LA, 1st Presbyterian Church (1884-1885) in Lincoln, NE, and 1st Congregational Church (1878), 12th & Clay Streets, in Oakland, CA.

Principal, Lawrence B. Valk, Architect, New York, NY, c. 1859- .

Principal, Lawrence B. Valk, Architect, New Orleans, LA, c. 1886. Valk designed the Christ Church Cathedral #4 for the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana c. 1886-1887. Its cornerstone was laid on 06/10/1886. It became elevated to cathedral status in 1891. The cathedral stands at 2919 Saint Charles Avenue in New Orleans.

Principal, L.B. Valk Architectural Company, Los Angeles, CA, c. 1900. Valk sent in an uninvited competition entry design for a Washington Public Library building financed by a $350,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie (SeetheQuarterly Bulletin of the American Institute of Architects, vol. I, no. 1, 04/1900, p. 12.) He was in good company, with other notable firms such as Trowbridge and Livingston and Ackerman and Ross of New York. Valk was the only entrant in this library competition from the West Coast.

In 1903, Valk leased Room #424 of the Stimson Building for use as his office. (See Los Angeles Classified Business Directory, 1903, p. 1705.) He expanded his office to include Rooms #424 and 425 in 1905. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1905, p. 1470.)

Partner, L.B. Valk and Son, Architects, Los Angeles, CA.

Relocation

Architect Lawrence Bolton Valk was born in the frontier town of Pensacola, FL, on 11/17/1837, during the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). The State of Florida was obtained by the US from Spain with the negotiation of the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819. It wasn't until 1821, and Mexico's independence from Spain that the land came under American control. Another act of diplomacy, the Treaty of Limits, negotiated between the US and Mexico in 1828, went into full force by 1832. In the meantime, in 1825, the US Congress allocated $6,000 to enable the US Navy to erect the Pensacola Navy Yard and Lighthouse. During the antebellum area, the area around Pensacola thrived, become a key port and military center during the three wars with the Seminole Indians. It also became the center of a thriving agricultural region, raising cotton, peanuts, and other crops. In addition, the area around Pensacola became an important logging center, with waterways connecting to Pensacola's harbor enabling relatively easy transport of logs to ships or sawmills.

His father William Valk was a physician and surgeon, who served in the US Navy while stationed in Pensacola, c. 1837.

The Valks dwelled in Queens, NY, in 1850, where William had a medical practice. He and his wife Jane lived here with their three sons and a domestic servant, Ann Commerton (born c. 1822 in Ireland). William Valk was prosperous, owning real estate worth about $5,000, more than his immediate neighbors. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: Flushing, Queens, New York; Roll: 583; Page: 273b, accessed 04/01/2025.)

Lawrence Valk served in the Union Army's 83rd New York Infantry Regiment during the Civil War which fought as a unit between 06/08/1861 and 06/23/1864. He filed in CA for pension benefits on 03/25/1907. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; U.s., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934; NAI Title: General Index to Civil War and Later Pension Files, Ca. 1949-Ca. 1949; NAI Number: 563268; Record Group Title: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773-2007; Record Group Number: 15; Series Number: T288; Roll: 485, accessed 04/01/2025.)

The architect married Ellen Leonard by about 1863 and moved to a new house in Brooklyn, NY before 1870. He lived in Brooklyn's 9th US Census tract with Ellen, their two sons, Arthur and Franklin and infant daughter, Ada, and two domestic workers, Ellen Freeman (born c. 1853 in NY) and Ann McManus (born c. 1844 in NY). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1870; Census Place: Brooklyn Ward 9, Kings, New York; Roll: M593_950; Page: 202B, accessed 04/01/2025.) Birth and death information for Carrie Louise Valk, who died of "cholera infantum" at about four months of age, indicated that the family resided at 509 Bergen Street in Brooklyn. She had been born and died at home. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Death Certificates; Borough: Brooklyn; Year: 1872, accessed 04/01/2025.)

The New York State Census of 1875 listed the Valks as living in a stone-faced brownstone at 250 5th Avenue in Brooklyn. The household had two servants, Mary Vaughn (born c. 1851 in Ireland) and Annie Reed (born c. 1861 in Ireland). The house accommodated two families, the Valks and that of a bookeeper, George Steele (born c. 1840 in MA), and his wife Emma (born c. 1840 in ME), and had a substantial value of $12,000 in 1875. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation New York State Archives; Albany, NY, USA; Census of the State of New York, 1875, accessed 04/01/2025.)

In 1880, Lawrence lived in Queens, NY, with his wife, their three children, his mother-in-law Mary Ann Leonard and three servants Kate Fox (born c. 1860 in NY), Margaret Fox (born c. 1865 in NY) and Matt Newman (born c. 1857 in NY). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1880; Census Place: Queens, Queens, New York; Roll: 919; Page: 347d; Enumeration District: 292, accessed 03/26/2025.)

Valk worked in New Orleans, LA, before migrating to Southern CA.

On 06/15/1894, Lawrence registered to vote in Alhambra, CA, a town about nine miles northeast of Los Angeles. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4-2A; CSL Roll Number: 22; FHL Roll Number: 976931, accessed 04/01/2025.)

In 1900, he and his wife Ellen resided in San Gabriel, CA, where he continued to work as an architect. The Valks employed two household staff members, Margaret Viscovich (born c. 12/1859 in PA) and Thomas Baker (born c. 08/1820 in VT). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: San Gabriel, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 92; Page: 14; Enumeration District: 0125, accessed 04/01/2025.)

In 1905, the Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1905, (p. 1470), indicated that Valk resided in Alhambra, CA.

The Valks resided at225 South 1st Street in San Gabriel, CA. They shared a house with a cook, Edith Killefer (born c. 1882 in IL). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: San Gabriel, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T624_87; Page: 16a; Enumeration District: 0325; FHL microfilm: 1374100, accessed 04/01/2025.)

The CA Death Index listed his date of decease as 01/02/1924, while Find a Grave.com listed his death date as 01/03/1924. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Death Index, 1905-1939 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013, accessed 04/01/2025.)

Parents

Lawrence's father was a physician and surgeon, William Wightman Valk (born 10/12/1806 in Charleston, SC-d. 09/20/1879 in Washington, DC), who led an intrepid and distinguished existence, serving with the US Navy during the Second Seminole War, journeying to CA during the 1849 Gold Rush, serving as a US Congressman from NY between 1855 and 1857, and fighting for the Union Army during the Civil War.

William wed twice, the first time to Jane Sherwood Jones (born 1803-d. 02/01/1854 in Flushing, Queens, NY) at Bellevue, Providence, RI, on 07/16/1829. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. Rhode Island, U.S., Vital Extracts, 1636-1899 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors, accessed 03/26/2025.)

William Valk then married Anna Gordon Sudler (born 12/30/1835 in Chestertown, MD-d. 04/17/1913 in Washington, DC) in 1857.

Lawrence was the eldest of three sons had by Jane and William. His full siblings included Henry Valk (born 01/13/1844 in NY-d. 02/11/1923 in NY, NY) and Francis "Frank" Valk (born c. 1846 in NY-d. 11/05/1919 in Manhattan, NY). His half-brothers were Emory Gordon Valk (born 11/1856 in MD-d. 02/06/1942 in Anne Arundel County, MD) and William E. Valk (born 01/1860 in Chestertown, MD-d. 03/14/1922 in Washington, DC). Two siblings, Frank and Emory, both became physicians like their father.

Spouse

He wed Ellen Eliza Leonard (born 09/29/1840 in Williamsburg, MA-d. 06/30/1919 in Los Angeles County, CA) c. 1862.

Ellen's parents were William Leonard (d. 10/25/1846 in Middlefield, MA) and Mary Ann Lyman (born 03/31/1817 in MA), who wed on 09/14/1839 in Middlefield, MA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation New England Historical Genealogical Society; Boston, Massachusetts; Massachusetts Vitals to 1850, accessed 04/01/2025.)

Children

The 1900 US Census indicated that Ellen and Lawrence had had eight children, of whom only three survived at that time. (The 1910 US Census also recorded that eight children had been born and three remained alive.) It is not known if this census information is correct, as the destruction of the 1890 US Census data makes it hard to corroborate who consitituted the Valk Family. It is known that at least five Valk children were born.

Ellen and Lawrence's children included: Arthur Lawrence Valk (born 04/27/1865 in Kings County, NY-d. 10/12/1929 in CA); Franklin Rudolph Valk (born 10/15/1866 in Kings County, NY-d. 10/25/1951 in Los Angeles County, CA); Ada Valk (born c. 1870 in Kings County, NY); Carrie Louise Valk (born 02/04/1872 in Brooklyn, NY-d. 06/21/1872 in Brooklyn, NY); Helen May "Nellie" Valk Borden (born 08/06/1872 in Kings County, NY-d. 02/29/1956 in Los Angeles County, CA); Mabel Valk (born 11/07/1874 in Brooklyn, NY). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation New York City Department of Records & Information Services; New York City, New York; New York City Birth Certificates, accessed 04/01/2025.)

Carrie died at about four months of age. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Death Index, 1862-1948 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014, accessed 04/01/2025.) Ada likely died in early childhood as she was not listed living with the family in the 1875 New York Census. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation New York State Archives; Albany, NY, USA; Census of the State of New York, 1875, accessed 04/01/2025.)

Arthur L. Valk would become an architect like his father, working in Southern CA and specializing in movie theatres.

Biographical Notes

His 1894 voter registration in Alhambra, CA, listed Valk as being Caucasian with gray hair and gray eyes. He stood 5-feet, 9-inches tall. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4-2A; CSL Roll Number: 22; FHL Roll Number: 976931, accessed 04/01/2025.)