Primary Name: Bach, Leonard Leonhardt George
Filed as: bach_leonard_leonhardt_george
Also known as: George Bach; Leonard L. G. Bach
Occupation / Association: Prospector; Geologist; Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6
Born: September 5, 1859, Nürnberg (Nuernburg), Bavaria, Germany
Died: May 14, 1946, Juneau, Alaska
Parents: Peter Bach; Julia Miller Bach
Spouse: Sofia Hannila-Bach (m. 1896; div. 1903)
Children: Edward Bach; Vivian Bach
Associated places: Nürnberg, Bavaria, Germany; Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Comet (Kensington), Alaska; Taku Harbor, Alaska; Fort Durham
Keywords: George Bach, Leonard Leonhardt George Bach, Bach family, Taku Harbor homesteaders, Juneau prospectors, Douglas pioneers
Biography
Leonard Leonhardt George Bach was a charter member of the Juneau Men’s Igloo of the Pioneers of Alaska.
Bach was born in Nürnberg, Bavaria, Germany, on September 5, 1859, the son of Peter Bach and Julia Miller Bach.
He arrived in the Juneau–Douglas area in the 1880s, where his brother, Frank Bach, became a prominent businessman and civic leader in Douglas.
George worked as a geologist and prospector, exploring widely throughout Southeast Alaska. His activities included work at the Comet Mine, Taku Harbor, the Sumdum Mine, and other mineral prospects both north and south of Juneau.
While at Comet (now the Kensington mining district), he met Sofia Hannila-Bach, whose parents operated the company store and boarding house in the settlement.
The couple married in 1896 and had two children: Edward Bach and Vivian Bach. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1903.
During the 1920s, Bach settled on a homestead at Taku Harbor on the site of historic Fort Durham, which had been a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post from 1840 to 1843.
He died from senility at St. Ann’s Hospital in Juneau on May 14, 1946, at 7:00 p.m. at the age of 87. He was buried in the Douglas City Cemetery. His funeral arrangements were handled by Charles W. Carter.
Sources
Alaska Gold Rush Pioneers of the Juneau–Douglas Area 1880–1921, p. 26.
Tags: George Bach, Leonard Bach, Bach family, Juneau pioneers, Douglas pioneers, Taku Harbor homesteaders, Fort Durham, Comet Mine, Sumdum Mine