Dalton, Josephine
Primary Name: Dalton, Josephine
Filed as: dalton_josephine
Also known as: Josephine Dalton; Josephine Grant
Occupation / Association: Daughter of Alaska pioneer Jack Dalton
Born: 1916
Died:
Parents: Jack Dalton; Anna Krippeahne-Dalton
Spouse: U. S. Grant
Children:
Associated places: Alaska; Seattle, Washington; San Francisco, California
Keywords: Josephine Dalton, Josephine Grant, Dalton family Alaska, Jack Dalton daughter
Biography
Josephine Dalton was born in 1916 to Jack Dalton and Anna Krippeahne-Dalton, about the time the Dalton family left Alaska for the Seattle area.
She later married U. S. Grant, a descendant of the Civil War general and President of the United States, and became a well-known citizen of San Francisco, California.
Sources
Dalton, James
Primary Name: Dalton, James W.
Filed as: dalton_james_w
Also known as: Jim Dalton; James Dalton
Occupation / Association: Engineer; Arctic exploration; U.S. Navy Seabees; Arctic Contractors
Born: 1913
Died: May 8, 1957, Fairbanks, Alaska
Parents: Jack Dalton; Anna Krippeahne-Dalton
Spouse: Kathleen “Mike” Fitzpatrick (m. 1950, Barrow, Alaska)
Children: George Dalton; Elizabeth “Libby” Dalton
Associated places: Fairbanks, Alaska; Dutch Harbor, Alaska; Barrow (Utqiaġvik), Alaska; North Slope, Alaska
Keywords: James W Dalton, Jim Dalton, Dalton Highway namesake, Arctic Contractors exploration, Naval Petroleum Reserve No 4 Alaska
Biography
James W. Dalton was born in 1913, the son of Alaska pioneer Jack Dalton and Anna Krippeahne-Dalton. He followed his father’s career in the North and eventually earned his own place in Alaska history.
Dalton returned to Alaska in the 1930s and earned an engineering degree from the University of Alaska in 1937.
During World War II he first worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Fairbanks. He later served with the Naval Construction Battalions, commonly known as the Seabees, at Dutch Harbor and other locations in the Pacific theater.
After the war, from 1946 to 1953, Dalton worked with the quasi-government Arctic Contractors on the exploration of oil reserves held in trust for the U.S. Navy. The area, located on Alaska’s North Slope, was then known as Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4.
James W. Dalton married Kathleen “Mike” Fitzpatrick in Barrow in 1950. The couple had two children, George and Elizabeth “Libby.”
Dalton died of a heart attack on May 8, 1957, in Fairbanks. The North Slope haul road running from the Yukon River to Point Barrow was later named the Dalton Highway in his honor.
Sources
Tags: James W Dalton, Jim Dalton, Dalton Highway, Jack Dalton family, Arctic Contractors, North Slope exploration
Anna
Primary Name: Dalton, Anna Krippeahne
Filed as: dalton_anna_krippeahne
Also known as: Anna Dalton; Anna Krippeahne Dalton
Occupation / Association:
Born:
Died: 1929
Parents:
Spouse: Jack Dalton
Children: James "Jim" W. Dalton; Josephine Dalton-Grant
Associated places: Cordova, Alaska; Seattle, Washington
Keywords: Anna Krippeahne Dalton, Anna Dalton, Krippeahne family, Dalton family Alaska
Biography
Anna Krippeahne Dalton married Jack Dalton in 1911 in Cordova, Alaska.
The couple had two children: James “Jim” W. Dalton, born in 1913, and Josephine Dalton-Grant, born in 1916. Around the time of Josephine’s birth, the Dalton family left Alaska and relocated to the Seattle area.
Anna Dalton died in 1929.
Sources
Dalton, Margaret
Primary Name: Dalton, Margaret
Filed as: dalton_margaret
Also known as: Margaret Dalton
Occupation / Association: Daughter of Alaska pioneer
Born: Haines, Alaska (during the Porcupine Gold Rush boom)
Died:
Parents: Jack Dalton; first wife (name not recorded)
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Haines, Alaska; Porcupine Mining District
Keywords: Margaret Dalton, Dalton Margaret, Jack Dalton daughter, Porcupine Gold Rush Haines Alaska
Biography
Margaret Dalton was the daughter of Alaska pioneer Jack Dalton and his first wife.
She was born in Haines during the Porcupine Gold Rush, a period of intense mining activity in the Porcupine district near the Alaska–Canada border.
Sources
Tags: Margaret Dalton, Dalton Margaret, Jack Dalton, Porcupine Gold Rush, Haines Alaska pioneers
Dalton, Jr., Jack
Primary Name: Dalton, James W.
Filed as: dalton_james
Also known as: James “Jim” W. Dalton, Jim Dalton
Occupation / Association:
Born: 1913
Died:
Parents: Jack Dalton
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Alaska; Seattle, Washington
Keywords: James W Dalton, Jim Dalton, Dalton family Alaska
Biography
James “Jim” W. Dalton was the son of Jack Dalton and the brother of Margaret Dalton.
Sources
Family references; Alaska Mining Hall of Fame materials related to the Dalton family
Hanley, Elizabeth
Primary Name: Hanley, Elizabeth
Filed as: hanley_elizabeth
Also known as: Elizabeth Hanley
Occupation / Association: Resident of Alaska; correspondent in early Alaska business affairs
Born:
Died:
Parents:
Spouse: E. B. Hanley
Children:
Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Cordova, Alaska
Keywords: Elizabeth Hanley, Hanley Elizabeth, E B Hanley family, Juneau Alaska residents
Biography
Elizabeth Hanley was the wife of E. B. Hanley.
In December 1916 she wrote to Juneau attorney John Malony, commenting on developments involving Jack Dalton. In her letter she noted that Dalton had sold his interests in Cordova and remarked that “Dalton sold out at Cordova and is now a capitalist. Jack feels pretty big.”
Sources
Correspondence referenced in Juneau historical records, December 1916
Evans, George
Primary Name: Watson Mine Coal Investigation
Filed as: watson_mine_coal_investigation_1913
Also known as: Matanuska coal field naval coal test investigation
Occupation / Association: U.S. Bureau of Mines investigation; naval coal supply evaluation
Born: 1913 (investigation)
Died:
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Watson Mine; Chickaloon, Alaska; Matanuska Coal Field; Cook Inlet region, Alaska
Keywords: Watson Mine Chickaloon, Matanuska coal field investigation, Bureau of Mines coal testing Alaska, Jack Dalton guide service, George Evans mining engineer
Biography
In the summer of 1913, Dr. Holmes, chief of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, and George Evans, a mining engineer consulting for the Navy, traveled to the abandoned Watson Mine near Chickaloon at the eastern limit of the Matanuska coal field in the Cook Inlet region.
Jack Dalton provided guide service and transported Holmes, Evans, their helpers, and equipment, including sampling gear, to the site. After examining the workings, Holmes and Evans concluded that a sufficient quantity of coal could be mined from the Watson Mine to supply a naval test shipment of 900 tons.
Sources
Tags: Watson Mine Chickaloon, Matanuska coal field, Jack Dalton guides, George Evans mining engineer, Bureau of Mines investigations
McPherson, J. R.
Primary Name: Copper River and Northwestern Railway Survey Expedition
Filed as: Copper River and Northwestern Railway Survey Expedition, 1905
Also known as: Copper River Route Survey
Occupation / Association: Railroad survey expedition; Copper River and Northwestern Railway development
Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Valdez, Alaska; Copper River Valley, Alaska; Cordova, Alaska; Haines, Alaska; Seattle, Washington
Keywords: Copper River and Northwestern Railway survey 1905, Jack Dalton railroad survey Alaska, Samuel Murchison railroad engineer Alaska, J R McPherson surveyor Alaska, Michael Heney railroad builder Alaska, Stephen Birch Alaska Syndicate, Copper River railroad history
Biography
In September 1905, Jack Dalton, Sam Murchison, and surveyor J. R. McPherson conducted a new evaluation of the proposed Copper River railroad route in Alaska and determined that the route was feasible.
The party returned to Valdez in late October 1905 and transmitted their conclusions to railroad builder Michael Heney by coded telegram. Heney later met Dalton and Murchison in Juneau and filed a right-of-way application with the United States General Land Office.
Because the Copper River route faced no competing applications, the right-of-way was approved. Heney and Murchison then traveled to Seattle to obtain equipment and supplies for the railroad project.
Meanwhile, Dalton, McPherson, several chainmen, and a group of Dalton’s Chilkat Native packers from Haines began detailed surveying work along the route. The group secretly purchased an abandoned cannery in Cordova to serve as the southern terminus of the future railway.
Construction of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway began during the winter of 1905–1906. Financial difficulties soon revealed that Close Brothers could not support the project. At the same time, the competing Katalla route, initially supported by Stephen Birch and the Alaska Syndicate, proved impractical.
The Alaska Syndicate eventually purchased Heney’s interests and continued construction of the railway. The line was completed to the rich copper mines of the interior in 1911, becoming one of the most significant industrial transportation projects in Alaska’s early twentieth-century development.
Sources
Alaska Mining Hall of Fame.
Murchison, Sam
Murchison, Sam
Biography
Sam Murchison was involved in early engineering and exploration work related to the development of Alaska’s copper mining region in the Wrangell Mountains during the early twentieth century.
The discovery of rich copper deposits in the Wrangell Mountains in 1900 prompted renewed interest in transportation routes connecting the interior mining districts with the southern Alaska coast. These developments significantly affected the operations of trader and transportation entrepreneur Jack Dalton.
In 1901, Michael J. Heney, a prominent railroad builder of the north, undertook a reconnaissance survey for a railway route from the south Alaska coast to the interior. Heney identified a rough but usable route along the Copper River beginning near present-day Cordova. Despite the possibility of such a route, Heney initially believed the known mineral deposits were not yet sufficient to justify constructing a railroad that would require multiple major river crossings and contend with advancing glaciers.
By 1905, however, interest in the region’s copper deposits had grown considerably. While in London at the offices of the financial firm Close Brothers, Heney learned that financiers were prepared to fund a railroad if a feasible route could be confirmed. Remembering his earlier survey, Heney wired his New York office to engage Jack Dalton and Sam Murchison to reexamine the Copper River route.
The proposal was controversial. Engineers advocating rival railroad routes beginning at Valdez and Katalla argued that the Copper River route was impossible. Meanwhile, Stephen Birch of the newly organized Alaska Syndicate had already begun construction of a competing line from Katalla.
Sources
- Alaska Mining Hall of Fame
Heney, Michael
Primary Name: Heney, Michael J.
Filed as: heney_michael
Also known as: Michael J. Heney, Mike Heney
Occupation / Association: Railroad builder; engineer; Copper River and Northwestern Railway surveyor
Born:
Died:
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Alaska; Copper River; Cordova, Alaska; Valdez, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Seattle, Washington
Keywords: Michael J Heney, Mike Heney, Copper River and Northwestern Railway, Alaska railroad history, Alaska Syndicate
Biography
Michael J. Heney was one of the most important railroad builders associated with the early development of Alaska’s transportation system.
In 1901, Heney undertook a reconnaissance survey for a railway from the southern Alaska coast to the interior. During this survey, he identified a difficult but workable route up the Copper River beginning near present-day Cordova. The proposed route required several major river crossings and ran through terrain affected by advancing glaciers, making construction appear extremely difficult.
In 1905, while visiting the London office of the financial house Close Brothers, Heney learned that investors possessed reliable information about the richness of copper deposits in the Wrangell Mountains. The financiers agreed to support a railroad project if the route proved feasible. Heney immediately wired his New York office to engage Jack Dalton and Sam Murchison to reexamine the Copper River route.
The route was controversial. Engineers promoting rival railway routes from Valdez and Katalla claimed the Copper River route was impossible. Meanwhile, Stephen Birch of the newly organized Alaska Syndicate had begun construction of a competing line from Katalla.
In September 1905, Dalton, Murchison, and surveyor J. R. McPherson reevaluated the route and concluded that construction was feasible. After their report, Heney filed a right-of-way application with the General Land Office while meeting with the group in Juneau.
The Copper River route was approved, and preparations began for the construction of what became the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. Although the original financiers withdrew, the Alaska Syndicate later acquired the project and completed the railway to the copper mines in 1911.
Sources
Alaska Mining Hall of Fame; historical records of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway