Primary Name: Morrissette, Frances Gaines
Filed As: Morrissette, Frances Gaines
Also Known As: Frances "Fanny" Gaines Morrissette; Fanny Morrissette; Frances Gaines McKanna
Occupation / Association: Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6
Associated Places: Lower Peach Tree, Alabama; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas, Alaska; Grays Harbor, Washington; Los Angeles, California
Keywords: Frances Gaines Morrissette, Fanny Morrissette, James A McKanna, McKanna family Douglas Alaska, Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6, early Juneau families, Morrissette family Alabama
Biography
Frances "Fanny" Gaines Morrissette was a charter member of the Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6 of the Pioneers of Alaska.
She was born September 9, 1877, in Lower Peach Tree, Alabama, the daughter of Edmund Pendleton Morrissette and Katherine Dean Hutchinson Morrissette. She attended the University of Chicago and later traveled in Europe.
While traveling north to tour the Alaska frontier with a group of college friends, she met James A. McKanna aboard a northbound steamer. The couple married in Lower Peach Tree, Alabama, on April 28, 1911.
Frances and James McKanna had five children. Their eldest son, Edmund Pendleton McKanna, was born April 11, 1912, followed by James Adelbert McKanna Jr., born May 31, 1913. Twin daughters, Christine Bibb McKanna and Catherine McKanna, were born on December 9, 1914, but died the following year. A son, Colin McKanna, was born in 1915 but also died in infancy.
Frances was widowed when her husband died on December 20, 1918, while traveling to Portland, Oregon. Following his death, she moved with her family to Grays Harbor, Washington. By 1930, she was working there as a nurse.
Frances Gaines Morrissette McKanna died in Los Angeles, California, on July 24, 1955.
Sources
1880 U.S. Federal Census, Montgomery, Alabama; 1930 U.S. Federal Census, Grays Harbor, Washington; Douglas Island News, May 10, 1911; Alabama Marriage License; California Death Certificate; U.S. Social Security Death Index