Roden, Henry
Roden, Henry
Association: Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men's Igloo
Role: President, Juneau Men's Igloo; Grand Igloo President
Year: 1943
Biography
Henry Roden served as President of the Juneau Men's Igloo of the Pioneers of Alaska and later as Grand Igloo President in 1943.
He was born on August 8, 1874, in Basel, Switzerland. Roden came north during the Klondike gold rush, reaching Dawson in 1898, where he joined the stampeders and worked as a prospector, miner, and wood cutter supplying riverboats.
In 1902, he began studying law independently. Over the next four years, he memorized two law books and successfully passed the Alaska Bar examination in 1906. As he later recalled, “Alaska, the land of opportunity, here I come. I learned later it was a do-it-yourself deal.”
Roden established a law practice in Fairbanks and later served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Fairbanks and Iditarod, and as City Attorney of Iditarod. He became widely known throughout Alaska and was affectionately called “our Heine.”
In 1913, he was elected to the First Alaska Territorial Legislature as a senator and was reelected three additional times.
He married Margaret Kaapcke in Tacoma, Washington, on January 22, 1917. The couple later lived in Juneau, where Roden practiced law and also became involved in the fishing industry. He served as manager of the Republic Fisheries Company, which operated floating fish traps in Chatham Strait, and owned the gas fishing vessel Jugoslav. He was also president of Pelican Cold Storage Company and a co-founder of the city of Pelican, Alaska.
In 1940, Roden was elected Attorney General of Alaska and served in that position for four years. In 1944, he was a candidate for the United States Congress as a territorial delegate.
In 1949, he was called back from retirement to serve as the territory's Treasurer and was elected to another term. He later served on the Board of Directors of the Pioneers' Home in Sitka until Alaska achieved statehood.
Roden and his wife moved to Seattle in 1958 due to Margaret’s declining health. She died there in 1961. Even in his late eighties, Roden remained active in the legal profession while living at the Savoy Hotel in Seattle, where he continued to advise former Alaskans without charging them fees.
Henry Roden died in Seattle on June 5, 1966.
Sources
- Ed Ferrell, Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers 1850–1950, Vol. 3, pp. 244–246
Anderson, Albert L.
Primary Name: Anderson, Albert L.
Filed as: anderson_albert_l
Also known as: Albert Anderson
Occupation / Association: Charter Member, Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6; Alaska Pioneers Association
Born:
Died: November 16, 1932, Fritz Cove, Alaska
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Fritz Cove, Juneau, Alaska
Keywords: Albert L Anderson, Albert Anderson, Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6 charter member, Alaska Pioneers Association, Fritz Cove fishermen
Biography
Albert L. Anderson was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6 and a member of the Alaska Pioneers Association.
Anderson came to Alaska in 1882. He was engaged in ranching and followed fishing in season.
He lived in Fritz Cove, where he drowned in an accident while returning from a fishing trip on November 16, 1932. His skiff capsized while he was getting out of his larger gas boat, throwing him and his partner, Fred Peterson, into the water. Peterson was rescued by a neighbor.
Little is known of his antecedents, and so far as can be ascertained, he left no known relatives.
Sources
Daily Alaska Empire, November 17, 1932
Tags: Anderson, Albert L., Albert L Anderson, Albert Anderson, Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6, Alaska Pioneers Association, Fritz Cove, Juneau Alaska
Bell, Robert B.
Primary Name: Bray, George
Filed as: bray_george
Also known as: George Bray
Occupation / Association: Charter Member, Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6; waiter
Born: June 1862, New York
Died: November 4, 1933, Juneau, Alaska
Parents: Unknown
Spouse: Unknown
Children: Unknown
Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Fairbanks, Alaska
Keywords: George Bray, Bray George, Juneau Men's Igloo charter member, waiter Juneau Alaska, Fairbanks Federal Jail prisoner 1910 census
Property / Address:
Telephone Hill Historic Site and Structures Survey
Biography
George Bray was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6 of the Pioneers of Alaska.
Bray was born in June 1862 in New York. He first came to the Territory of Alaska in 1898 during the period of rapid migration that followed the Klondike gold rush.
According to the 1910 United States Federal Census, Bray was listed as a prisoner in the Fairbanks Federal Jail. At that time, his occupation was recorded as a waiter.
Bray died at St. Ann’s Hospital in Juneau on November 4, 1933. His death resulted from injuries he received approximately a week earlier when he fell down a stairway near the Arctic Rooms in Juneau.
Sources
1910 U.S. Federal Population Census; Daily Alaska Empire, November 6, 1933
Tags: George Bray, Bray family, Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6, Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau pioneers, Fairbanks Alaska, St Ann's Hospital Juneau
Carlson, John L.
Primary Name: Carlson, John L.
Filed as: carlson_john_l
Also known as: John L. Carlson
Occupation / Association: Cannery operator; Fisherman; Charter Member, Juneau Men's Igloo
Born: December 9, 1847, Stockholm, Sweden
Died: August 9, 1921, Juneau, Alaska
Parents: Ludwig Carlson
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Stockholm, Sweden; Astoria, Oregon; Taku Harbor, Alaska; Auk Harbor, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska
Keywords: John L Carlson, Carlson John L, Taku Harbor cannery operator, Auk Harbor cannery, Juneau Men's Igloo
Biography
John L. Carlson was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo.
He was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 9, 1847, the son of Ludwig Carlson. Carlson immigrated to the United States in 1874 and soon afterward settled in Astoria, Oregon, where he worked for many years as a sailor and fisherman. He later entered business and became successful.
In 1900, Carlson went to Taku Harbor, Alaska. From that time until 1918, he operated the cannery there. His name became widely known throughout the North, and he developed the Taku Harbor plant into a model for many of the successful canneries that followed in Alaska.
In 1918, he sold the Taku Harbor cannery to the Libby, McNeil & Libby Company for approximately half a million dollars and expected to retire. However, his attachment to the work and to Alaska was so strong that he soon returned to the industry and constructed another cannery at Auk Harbor, a few miles north of Juneau.
John L. Carlson died in Juneau on August 9, 1921.
Sources
Alaska Daily Empire, August 10, 1921; Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers 1850–1950, Volume 3, p. 48, by Ed Ferrell (May 1, 2009)
Tags: John L Carlson, Carlson John L, Juneau Men's Igloo, Taku Harbor cannery, Alaska canning industry pioneers
Cobb, E. Lang
Primary Name: Cobb, E. Lang
Filed as: cobb_e_lang
Also known as: E. Lang Cobb
Occupation / Association: Mining Engineer; Surveyor; Charter Member, Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6
Born: 1890, Texas
Died:
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Texas; Juneau Alaska; Sewanee Tennessee; California
Keywords: E Lang Cobb, Lang Cobb, Juneau mining engineer, Alaska Electric Light and Power employee
Biography
E. Lang Cobb was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6.
Cobb was born in Texas in 1890. He came to Alaska at the age of seven and was raised in Juneau, making him essentially an Alaskan product.
He attended the Juneau Public Schools before continuing his education at the Sewanee Grammar School in Tennessee, where he studied for three years. Cobb later enrolled at the University of California, where he pursued a mining and scientific course of study.
Following his education, Cobb worked primarily in mining and surveying. During the summer of 1917, he was engaged in the fishing industry before later working for the Alaska Electric Light & Power Company.
Sources
Daily Alaska Dispatch, April 17, 1918; Ferrell, Ed. Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers 1850–1950, Volume 4, p. 162 (May 1, 2009)
Tags: E Lang Cobb, Juneau Men's Igloo No 6, Alaska mining engineers, Alaska Electric Light and Power, Juneau Alaska pioneers
Layton, William
Primary Name: Layton, William
Filed as: william_layton
Also known as: W. Layton
Occupation / Association: Boat builder; Carpenter; Fisherman; Charter Member, Juneau Men’s Igloo
Born: March 1864, England
Died: July 28, 1934
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: England; Juneau, Alaska
Keywords: William Layton, W Layton, Layton William, Juneau Men’s Igloo charter member, boat builder Juneau, carpenter Juneau Alaska, fisherman Juneau Alaska, England-born Alaska pioneers
Biography
William Layton was a charter member of the Juneau Men’s Igloo of the Pioneers of Alaska.
Layton was born in England in March 1864 and immigrated to the United States in 1886.
He came to Juneau in the city's early years and, for many years, was involved in boatbuilding and carpentry. He was also a fisherman and owned several boats at various times.
William Layton died on July 28, 1934.
Sources
1900 U.S. Federal Population Census; 1910 U.S. Federal Population Census; 1920 U.S. Federal Population Census; Daily Alaska Empire, July 30, 1934
Tags: William Layton, W Layton, Layton William, Juneau Men’s Igloo charter member, boat builder, carpenter, fisherman, Juneau Alaska pioneers
Smith, Thomas Porter
Primary Name: Smith, Thomas
Filed as: Smith, Thomas
Also known as: Thomas Smith
Occupation / Association: Mariner; fisherman; miner; Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6
Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Kansas
Keywords: Thomas Smith Juneau Alaska, POA Igloo 6 charter member, Juneau fishermen miners mariners, Hotel Juneau desk clerk, New York Tavern Juneau, early Juneau pioneers
Biography
Thomas Smith was a charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6.
He was born in Kansas on August 13, 1876.
Smith first came to Juneau on March 15, 1900. During his working life, he was employed as a mariner, fisherman, and miner.
He celebrated his 90th birthday at the New York Tavern in Juneau in 1966. At that time, he was working as a desk clerk at the Hotel Juneau, where he had been employed for eighteen years.
Thomas Smith died on August 28, 1967.
Sources
Pioneers of Alaska Men's Igloo No. 6 Biographical Sketch.
Wilson, Alex
Alex Wilson was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo.
Wilson was born in Oulu, Finland, on April 25, 1879. He came to the United States in 1895.
He arrived in the Copper River region in 1898 and first came to Juneau in 1902.
During his years in Alaska, he lived in Cordova, Fairbanks, Douglas, and Juneau, working as a fisherman and miner.
Source
Pioneers of Alaska Men’s Igloo No. 6 Biographical Sketch