McCormick, Richard (Senior)

Biography

Richard McCormick, Senior, was born on August 8, 1859, in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

By 1886, a number of families connected with the developing Treadwell mining operations began settling on Douglas Island. Among the earliest permanent residents were Richard McCormick, Nicholas King, George Shotter, Mike McKanna, P.H. Fox, and Henry Mead. Their arrival marked the beginning of the residential community that grew alongside the mines on Douglas Island.

In 1888, McCormick married Nora Connors-McCormick. The couple had eleven children, including Richard McCormick, Junior.

McCormick worked for many years in positions connected to the mining industry that dominated Douglas Island. He served as a blacksmith at the Mexican Mine, one of the early mines associated with the Treadwell mining complex. In 1911, he served as postmaster at Treadwell and later worked at the Treadwell Foundry.

Richard McCormick, Senior, died on May 3, 1934, at the age of seventy-four in Pacific Grove, California. He was buried in the Douglas Catholic Cemetery.

Sources

• Survey and Inventory of Douglas Historic Cemeteries