Primary Name: McKenna, James

Filed as: McKenna, James

Also known as: James McKenna

Occupation / Association: Wharfinger; undertaker; merchant; real estate dealer; Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men's Igloo

Born: December 16, 1876, Fargo, North Dakota (also reported Miles City, Montana)

Died: December 20, 1918, Portland, Oregon

Associated places: Fargo, North Dakota; Miles City, Montana; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas, Alaska; Bennett City, British Columbia; Hunker Creek, Yukon Territory; Portland, Oregon

Keywords: James McKenna Juneau Alaska, Douglas Alaska undertakers, Juneau Ferry and Navigation Company wharfinger, Hunker Creek Yukon miners, Pioneers of Alaska Men's Igloo 6 charter member

Biography

James McKenna was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6 of the Pioneers of Alaska.

He was born on December 16, 1876, most likely in Fargo, North Dakota, though some records report Miles City, Montana, as his birthplace.

McKenna attended public school in Juneau from 1886 to 1889. He and his brother, Emmett McKenna, later attended seminary in Victoria, British Columbia, from 1889 to 1896.

In March 1897, he and his father departed on the steamship Rustler bound for the Yukon gold fields during the Klondike gold rush. His father died in Bennett City in June 1899 while the family was traveling out from Dawson. McKenna returned to the gold fields where he held a mining claim on Hunker Creek. He eventually returned to Juneau in September 1901.

The Douglas Island News of November 15, 1911, reported that McKenna would retire as wharfinger and general manager of the Juneau Ferry and Navigation Company wharf in Douglas. At that time, he was also listed among the undertakers in Douglas.

He later moved to Juneau, where he entered the mercantile and real estate business.

James McKenna died in Portland, Oregon, on December 20, 1918, while traveling with his family to Alabama.

Sources

Ancestry.com; Daily Alaska Empire, December 21, 1918; Survey and Inventory of Douglas Historic Cemeteries