Uberti, Emil

Occupation: Businessman; pool room proprietor; hotel manager

Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Front Street, Douglas, Alaska

Family: Husband of Lisa Uberti; father of three children

Biography

Emil Uberti was a well-known businessman in Douglas, Alaska, during the territorial period when the community served the nearby Treadwell mining district.

Uberti operated a pool room on Front Street, one of the businesses that served the residents and workers of the Douglas–Juneau mining community.

He also served as the manager of the Hunter Hotel, an establishment that accommodated travelers, workers, and visitors to the growing town.

Uberti was married to Lisa Uberti, and the couple had three children.

Sources

• Survey and Inventory of Douglas Historic Cemeteries

Shatter, George

Residence: Douglas Island, Alaska

Associated with: Treadwell mining community

Biography

George Shatter was among the early residents of Douglas Island, Alaska, during the development of the Treadwell mining district in Southeast Alaska.

By 1886, families connected with the Treadwell mines began arriving and establishing permanent homes on Douglas Island. Among those early residents were Richard McCormick, Nickolas King, George Shatter, Mike McKanna, P.H. Fox, and Henry Mead.

The settlement of these families helped form the foundation of the Douglas community as it developed alongside the Treadwell group of mines, which would become one of the largest gold mining operations in the world during Alaska’s territorial period.

Sources

• Survey and Inventory of Douglas Historic Cemeteries

Fox, P.H.

Occupation: Baker; Douglas community organizer

Active in Alaska: 1880s–1890s

Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Douglas Island, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska

Biography

P.H. Fox was among the early residents of Douglas Island during the 1880s, when the Treadwell mining operations drew workers and their families to the Juneau–Douglas area.

By 1886 a number of families connected with the Treadwell mines had begun settling permanently on Douglas Island. Among the early residents were Richard McCormick, Nickolas King, George Shatter, Mike McKanna, P.H. Fox, and Henry Mead.

Fox participated in Douglas's early commercial life. The first bakery in the community was opened by P.H. Fox and Mike McKanna, providing baked goods and supplies for the rapidly growing mining town.

Fox was also active in civic affairs in Douglas. In 1899, mining engineer W.A. Sanders agreed to give the residents of Douglas “the dry knoll this side of Lawson Creek” for use as a cemetery if the community would not object to his land patent. Sanders also agreed to build a road to the cemetery grounds, though he declined to put the agreement in writing and stated that his word was sufficient.

Immediately following the meeting, a Cemetery Committee consisting of P.H. Fox, M.J. O’Connor, Reverend Peplogle, and W.C. Boyd took possession of the knoll and ran a line from Third Street in Douglas to the site, helping establish what would become one of the early burial grounds serving the Douglas community.

Sources

• Survey and Inventory of Douglas Historic Cemeteries

Thomas, Merle

Occupation: Undertaker; funeral director

Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska

Biography

Merle Thomas was associated with the early undertaking business in the Douglas–Juneau mining community during Alaska’s territorial period.

In the early years of the community, there were no morticians as the profession is known today. Cabinet shops commonly produced furniture and caskets, and the owners of those shops often served as undertakers for the town. Advertisements in the Douglas Island News described these businesses as providing “Undertaking … Manufacturers of Furniture, Carpentering, Jobbing, Store & Office Fixtures.”

Other advertisements referred to “Douglas Undertaking Parlors, Funeral Directors and Embalmers.” Among the individuals involved in the undertaking trade in the Douglas area were H.V. Sully, John A. McKanna (a charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Igloo), T.P. Sheldon, and L.G. Thomas and Merle Thomas.

The work of these early undertakers was essential to the developing mining community, where burial grounds such as those on Douglas Island served the rapidly growing population connected with the Treadwell mining district.

Sources

• Survey and Inventory of Douglas Historic Cemeteries

Thomas, Merle

Occupation: Undertaker; cabinet shop proprietor

Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska

Biography

Merle Thomas was associated with the early undertaking trade in the Douglas–Juneau mining community during Alaska’s territorial period.

In the early years of Douglas, there were no morticians as the profession is known today. Cabinet shops commonly produced furniture and caskets, and the owners of those shops often served as the undertakers for the town. Advertisements in the Douglas Island News described these businesses as providing “Undertaking … Manufacturers of Furniture, Carpentering, Jobbing, Store & Office Fixtures.”

Other advertisements referred to “Douglas Undertaking Parlors, Funeral Directors and Embalmers.” Among the undertakers serving the Douglas community were H.V. Sully, John A. McKanna (a charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Igloo), T.P. Sheldon, and L.G. Thomas and Merle Thomas.

These early cabinetmakers and undertakers provided essential services to the rapidly growing mining community associated with the Treadwell mines and the settlement of Douglas Island.

Sources

• Survey and Inventory of Douglas Historic Cemeteries