Primary Name: Kashevaroff, Andrew Petrovich
Filed as: kashevaroff_andrew_petrovich
Also known as: Rev. Andrew P. Kashevaroff; Father Andrew Kashevaroff
Occupation / Association: Russian Orthodox priest; Museum curator; President, Juneau Men’s Igloo (1927); Founder and curator, Alaska Territorial Library and Museum
Born: September 19, 1863, Kodiak, Alaska
Died: April 3, 1940, Juneau, Alaska
Parents: Petrovich Kashevaroff family of Russian Orthodox clergy
Spouse: Martha Bolshanin Kashevaroff (m. 1893)
Children: Cyril Kashevaroff; Maria Kashevaroff; Nadeshda Kashevaroff; Lydia Kashevaroff; Natalya Kashevaroff; Xenia Kashevaroff
Associated places: Kodiak, Alaska; Sitka, Alaska; Nutchek, Alaska; Killisnoo, Alaska; Unalaska, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Jackson, California; Seattle, Washington
Keywords: Andrew Petrovich Kashevaroff, Father Andrew Kashevaroff, Rev Andrew P Kashevaroff, Russian Orthodox priest Alaska, Juneau Men’s Igloo President 1927, Alaska State Museum founder, St Nicholas Cathedral Juneau, Kashevaroff family Alaska
Biography
Reverend Andrew Petrovich Kashevaroff was President of the Juneau Men’s Igloo in 1927. During his presidency, President Warren G. Harding was made an honorary member of the Igloo.
Kashevaroff was born in Kodiak, Alaska, on September 19, 1863. Of Russian and Aleut heritage, his family had been connected with the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska for generations. The Kashevaroff family first came to Alaska around 1820, and both his father and grandfather served as missionary priests during the Russian colonial period.
He began his education in San Francisco in 1874. Through his upbringing and education, he spoke Aleut, Russian, and English, and later learned some Tlingit.
Kashevaroff returned to Sitka in 1880, where he worked as a psalm reader and teacher. He was also a gifted musician who sang in choral groups and played the violin, organ, and piano.
In 1893, he married Martha Bolshanin, a Kiks.adi Tlingit woman of Sitka. Because the marriage was conducted in a civil ceremony without church approval, Kashevaroff was transferred from Sitka to Nutchek.
The Kashevaroffs had several children, including Cyril, Maria, Nadeshda, Lydia, Natalya, and Xenia. Natalya married Alston Ritchie Lovejoy, author and illustrator, and Xenia later married the composer John Cage.
Kashevaroff was ordained a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church in 1904 and eventually attained the rank of Archpriest. Over more than sixty years, he served the church as teacher, choir director, inspector, deacon, and priest in Sitka, Nutchek, Kodiak, Killisnoo, Unalaska, and Juneau.
In 1913, he was assigned as the priest of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Juneau. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 ended financial support from the Russian government, he supported himself through various occupations, including music teacher, weather bureau clerk, and customs officer.
Kashevaroff also played a central role in the creation of Alaska’s early territorial museum and archives. Beginning in 1919, he served as curator of the Alaska Territorial Library and Museum, collecting thousands of artifacts and historical materials documenting Alaska’s Russian and Native heritage. His work laid the foundation for what later became the Alaska State Museum.
He continued in this role until his death on April 3, 1940, at the age of 76. He is buried beside his wife in Evergreen Cemetery.
In 2015, the State of Alaska honored Father Andrew Kashevaroff by naming the State Library, Archives, and Museum building in Juneau after him. The facility opened to the public on June 6, 2016.
Sources
Alaska Territorial Library and Museum historical records; Alaska Daily Empire; Russian Orthodox Church archives; Find-A-Grave memorial
Tags: Andrew Petrovich Kashevaroff, Father Andrew Kashevaroff, Rev Andrew P Kashevaroff, Kashevaroff family Alaska, Russian Orthodox priest Alaska, Alaska State Museum founder, Juneau Men’s Igloo President 1927, Juneau Alaska pioneers