Oregon Pioneer of 1847.
Soldier in the War of 1812.
John Burkhart was an Oregon Pioneer. He was born in Hagerstown, Maryland** in 1787, a son of George (Peter) Burkhar(d)t, (1751-1830) and Anna Margaretha (Zimmerman) Burkhar(d)t, (1765-1840). He was living in Blountville, Sullivan Co, Tennessee, when he joined and served in the East Tennessee Volunteers Regiment from 1813-1814, as a Rifleman and Chaplin under Capt. William King and Colonel Snodgrass, with his brother, Peter Burkhart, in the War of 1812. Following his discharge in 1814, he returned to Maryland where he married Rebecca Ann Margaret Baltzell, who was only 16 yrs., on March 7, 1816, at the Lutheran Church in Hagerstown, Maryland. [His wife would later state that he was a tall man, 5 ft. 10in., with black hair and blue eyes.] They then returned to Tennessee, settling in Hawkins County, and had the first five of their twelve children. They then moved to Meade County, Kentucky in 1829, where one daughter was born and died, then moved to Carrollton, Greene Co., Illinois, in 1832, where they lived until 1835. They lived in Burlington, Des Moines Co., Iowa from 1838 to 1847.
Their twelve children were:
Raymond Sanderson, b.Feb 2, 1817, Hawkins Co., Tennessee
Calvin Peter, b.Feb 24, 1819, Hawkins Co., Tennessee
Coriolanus Domarus, b.May 8, 1821, Hawkins Co., Tennessee
Leander Columbus, b.Nov 14, 1823, Hawkins Co., Tennessee
Charlotte Elizabeth, b.Jun 8, 1826, Hawkins Co., Tennessee
Volumna Vitturia, b.Jun 1, 1829, Meade Co., Kentucky
Catherine Jane, b.Dec 1, 1832, Greene Co., Illinois
Loueasa Matilda, b.Jun 15, 1836, Greene Co., Illinois
John Baltzell, b.Feb 3, 1838, Des Moines Co., Iowa
Rebecca Ann, b.Jan 5, 1841, Des Moines Co., Iowa
Augustus Henry, b.Aug 29, 1843, Des Moines Co., Iowa
George Washington, b.Oct 18, 1845, Des Moines Co., Iowa.

In 1846, John sent two of his sons, Raymond and Coriolanus (known as Crill) to the Oregon Territory to determine if it would be worthwhile to relocate the extended family there. The sons were so impressed with the climate, beauty and possibilities of the future of Oregon (per Crill's granddaughter, Zella) that they persuaded their parents and siblings to go West. In 1847, at the age of 60, John, his wife and adult children gathered their belongings together one last time for what was to be their final journey West. They took the Oregon Trail and arrived in what was later to become Albany, Oregon on October 16th, 1847. The Burkharts were one of three founding families of Albany, the other two being the Monteiths and the Hacklemans. John Burkhart donated land for the post office and became, in return, the first post master. He donated land for the first school. One of his daughters, Charlotte (Burkhart) Layton, was the first school teacher in the area. He also served as a judge and school commissioner. Alas, his daughter, Charlotte, tragically died just seven years after arriving in the little town of Albany, in 1854. She is buried at Riverside Cemetery, along with her husband, Davis Layton, and their children. Others followed, including John Burkhart himself, on Sept 30, 1856, two weeks after his 69th birthday. He did not get to see Oregon become a state, something he had solicited for, but he lent assistance in the planning of roads and aided in determining boundaries per the archives of the Oregon State Library. Also, a letter he wrote to his brother, Peter Burkhart, who had remained behind in Tennessee, dated June 20, 1854, described Oregon's beauty in such a way that it was used to encourage pioneers to come settle the Oregon territory and the original letter is at the Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley. John Burkhart is buried at Riverside Cemetery along with his wife, Rebecca, many of his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Other children and their descendants are buried in Lebanon, Buena Vista, Knox Butte and Brownsville as well as other areas in and around Salem, North to Portland, East to The Dalles, West to Newport and Warrenton at the Oregon Coast and Ashland to the South where many more still live today and so, the Burkhart legacy lives on.

In 1959, a marker was dedicated to John Burkhart as he had fought in the War of 1812. His great granddaughter, Zella Maysel Burkhart, gave a speech from which I have been able to obtain information used to complete and correct his memorial. Zella Burkhart taught school in Albany for many years and is buried at the Masonic Cemetery in Albany, Oregon, with her parents, sister and brother.

John Burkhart is my great, great, great grandfather. His son, Leander Columbus Burkhart, married Melissa Ann Davidson. They are my great, great grandparents. They were blessed with six children; one of their daughters, whom they named Nellie Olivia, is my great grandmother. She had a daughter by her 2nd marriage she named Pearl Laura, a lovely name for a beautiful girl. She was to become my grandmother. Pearl Laura Baker married Harry Hoyt Taylor on July 12, 1914. They were blessed with two daughters, the younger one being Patricia Jean. She married and I am the 2nd one born to her. And that's the story of how I became me, Kathie Lynn Webb. "If not for Thee, there would be no Me."

**Donation Land Claim papers list his place of birth as Frederick County, Maryland.
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