Primary Name: Heid, John Godlove
Filed as: heid_john_godlove
Also known as: John G. Heid, John Godlove Heid
Occupation / Association: Attorney; miner; Republican National Committeeman for Alaska; Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6
Born: December 14, 1852, Wapakoneta, Ohio
Died: January 24, 1917, San Francisco, California
Parents:
Spouse: Henrietta Jensen
Children: Mrs. V. H. Dupuy; Gertrude Heid; Elizabeth Heid
Associated places: Wapakoneta, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; New Mexico; Juneau, Alaska; San Francisco, California
Keywords: John Godlove Heid, John G Heid, Heid attorney Juneau, Alaska Republican National Committeeman, Juneau mining development
Biography
John Godlove Heid was a charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6, and one of the early attorneys and mining developers in Southeast Alaska.
Heid was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on December 14, 1852. In 1872, he migrated from his native state to Denver, Colorado, where he engaged in mining. He later spent several years in New Mexico prospecting for gold.
At some point during his early career, he studied law. After arriving in Juneau on April 11, 1885, he opened a law office and practiced law there continuously. He later became recognized as one of the longest practicing members of the Alaska bar.
He was married in Juneau in July 1888 to Henrietta Jensen, a government school teacher. The couple had three daughters: Mrs. V. H. Dupuy, Gertrude, and Elizabeth. The family lived for many years in the same Juneau residence where the daughters were born, educated, and where one later married.
Heid remained actively involved in mining throughout his life and spent more than thirty years engaged in mining and mineral development in Alaska. He was familiar with mining conditions throughout Southeastern Alaska and was connected with many mineral locations that later developed into producing mines.
He also played a role in territorial politics. He served as Republican National Committeeman for Alaska for eight years and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia when William McKinley was nominated for his second presidential term. He also attended the national convention in 1904 when Theodore Roosevelt was nominated for President.
John Godlove Heid died in San Francisco on January 24, 1917. He had traveled to the city to argue a case for the Territorial Legislature.
Sources
Daily Alaska Dispatch, October 18, 1914; January 24, 1917; Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers 1850–1950, Vol. 2, pp. 129–130, Ed Ferrell (May 1, 2009)