Primary Name: Vanwart, Mrs. Edwin

Filed as: Vanwart, Mrs. Edwin

Also known as: Mrs. Edwin Vanwart

Occupation / Association: Member, Pioneers of Alaska; homemaker

Associated places: Yorkshire, England; Juneau, Alaska; Prospect Lake, Vancouver–Fraser region, British Columbia

Keywords: Mrs Edwin Vanwart, Vanwart family Juneau, Yorkshire England immigrants Alaska, Pioneers of Alaska members, early Juneau women, Juneau pioneers

Biography

Mrs. Edwin Vanwart was born in Yorkshire, England, on November 30, 1857.

She later immigrated to North America and first came to Juneau, Alaska, in July 1919. In her application for membership in the Pioneers of Alaska, she described herself as four feet eight inches tall, weighing approximately 135 pounds, with blue eyes, gray hair, a fair complexion, and a medium-high forehead.

She was married to Edwin Vanwart and described herself as a housewife. At the time of her Pioneers of Alaska membership application, she listed her nearest relative as Mrs. H. Whitehead of Prospect Lake, British Columbia.

Her application for membership in the Pioneers of Alaska was endorsed by Ms. Jus H. Skiekitt and Ms. M. P. Berry. Her membership was favorably accepted by Mary McMongale, Josephine Langreth, and Mrs. J. McCleul.

Mrs. Edwin Vanwart died on September 2, 1930.

Sources

Pioneers of Alaska Membership Application

Primary Name: Calhoun, J. J.

Filed as: calhoun_j_j

Also known as: J. J. Calhoun

Occupation / Association: Early Juneau resident

Born:

Died:

Parents:

Spouse: Wife (name not recorded)

Children: Ellen Calhoun-Bach; daughter (name not recorded); son (name not recorded)

Associated places: Juneau, Alaska

Keywords: J J Calhoun, Calhoun J J, Ellen Calhoun Bach family, early Juneau settlers 1888

Biography

J. J. Calhoun arrived in Juneau, Alaska, on September 18, 1888, with his wife and children.

His family included his daughters, Ellen Calhoun-Bach and another daughter who later married into the Bach family, as well as a son.

Sources

Juneau historical records

J J Calhoun Calhoun J J

Tags: J J Calhoun, Calhoun J J, Ellen Calhoun Bach, Juneau Alaska pioneers

Oliver, Douglas

Biography

Douglas Oliver served as a pallbearer at the funeral of Cecil Bach.

His participation in the funeral reflects his association with members of the Juneau community during the early period of settlement and development of Southeast Alaska.

Sources

• Find-A-Grave

Primary Name: Bach, Vivian

Filed as: bach_vivian

Also known as: Vivian Bach

Occupation / Association:

Born:

Died:

Parents: Sofia Hannila-Bach; Leonard George Bach

Spouse:

Children:

Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Douglas, Alaska

Keywords: Vivian Bach, Bach Vivian, Bach family Juneau Douglas

Biography

Vivian Bach was the daughter of Sofia Hannila-Bach and Leonard George Bach.

Sources

Alaska Gold Rush Pioneers of Juneau Douglas Area 1880–1921, p. 26.

Vivian Bach Bach Vivian

Tags: Vivian Bach, Bach Vivian, Bach family, Juneau Alaska pioneers, Douglas Alaska pioneers

Slujo, Sarka (Krasel)

Parents: Anton Krasel

Spouse: Mat Slujo

Associated Places: Juneau–Douglas area, Alaska

Biography

Sarka Krasel Slujo was the daughter of Anton Krasel and later married Mat Slujo.

Members of the Krasel and Slujo families were part of the early immigrant communities that settled in the Juneau–Douglas region during Alaska’s territorial period. Families from Central and Eastern Europe formed an important part of the workforce and social fabric of the mining communities in Southeast Alaska.

Through her family connections, Sarka Krasel Slujo was associated with the network of residents who lived and worked in the Douglas and Juneau area during the early twentieth century.

Sources

Family records and historical cemetery documentation

Fisher, Tom

Occupation: Riverboat operator / early marine transportation

Associated Places: Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska

Biography

Tom Fisher was an early resident of the Juneau–Douglas area and participated in the development of local marine transportation during the late nineteenth century.

By 1888, Fisher and Frank Tibbits installed a boiler and engine in a Columbia River–type sailboat and enclosed the vessel so it could carry approximately twelve passengers. The converted vessel was named the Marion.

The Marion served as one of the early small passenger vessels operating in the waters around Douglas and Juneau, reflecting the importance of locally modified craft in the development of transportation between mining camps and settlements in Southeast Alaska during the territorial period.

During the early years of Juneau and Douglas, small vessels like the Marion played an essential role in transporting residents, workers, and supplies between communities before larger steamships and regular ferry services became common.

Sources

Survey and Inventory of Douglas Historic Cemeteries

Primary Name: Lewis, Richard F.
Filed as: lewis_richard_f
Also known as: R.F. Lewis, Richard F. Lewis
Occupation / Association: Attorney; owner, Juneau Water Works
Born:
Died:
Parents:
Spouse: Grace Lewis
Children:
Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Telephone Hill, Juneau, Alaska
Property / Address: Block F; Lots 7–8, Juneau Motor Company building, 11 Egan Drive, Juneau, Alaska
Keywords: Richard F Lewis, R.F. Lewis, Lewis Richard F, Juneau Water Works owner, Juneau attorney, Telephone Hill property owners

Biography

Richard F. Lewis and his wife Grace Lewis owned Block F, Lots 7–8, where the Juneau Motor Company building stands at 11 Egan Drive on the corner of Egan Drive and Main Street at the base of Telephone Hill. The property remained in the Lewis family from the turn of the twentieth century until the early 1950s.

Lewis came to Juneau in 1894 and practiced law there until 1952. In addition to his legal practice, he owned the Juneau Water Works from 1938 to 1944. Lewis was also among a group of Alaskans who successfully lobbied in Washington, D.C., to have the territorial capital moved from Sitka to Juneau.

Sources

City of Juneau property records, 1901–1951; Lewis family records

Telephone Hill Historic Site and Structures Survey

Richard F Lewis R.F. Lewis RF Lewis Lewis Richard F Lewis R F

Primary Name: Mahony, John F. III

Filed as: Mahony, John F. III

Also known as: John F. Mahony III

Born: December 29, 1899, Juneau, Alaska

Parents: John F. Mahony Jr.; Cora Cleveland Mahony

Associated places: Juneau, Alaska

Keywords: John F Mahony III, Mahony family Juneau Alaska, Cora Cleveland Mahony, John F Mahony Jr, Juneau Alaska pioneers

Biography

John F. Mahony III was born in Juneau, Alaska, on December 29, 1899, to Cora Cleveland Mahony and John F. Mahony Jr.

Sources

Historical records of Juneau families

Primary Name: Feldon, Sam

Filed as: Feldon, Sam

Also known as: Sam Feldon

Occupation / Association: Property owner; early Juneau resident

Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Telephone Hill, Juneau, Alaska

Keywords: Sam Feldon, Feldon family, Telephone Hill, Juneau historic homes, Anita Kodzoff House, early Juneau residents, Juneau property owners

Biography

Sam Feldon was an early resident of Juneau associated with the historic residential neighborhood on the southeastern slope of Telephone Hill. Feldon owned the house located at 107 West First Street, commonly known as the Anita Kodzoff House, until 1945.

The residence formed part of the hillside community that developed during the early decades of Juneau’s growth as a mining town and later as the territorial capital of Alaska. Telephone Hill became one of the city’s earliest residential districts, housing miners, merchants, laborers, and families who worked along the nearby waterfront and in the commercial core of downtown Juneau.

Homes on the southeast face of Telephone Hill were typically modest wooden structures built on steep terrain overlooking Gastineau Channel. These houses reflected the practical architecture of early Southeast Alaska communities, where limited flat land required creative building methods and compact residential layouts.

The structure at 107 West First Street later became associated with Anita Kodzoff, whose name is now commonly used to identify the house in historical surveys of the neighborhood. The building was one of many residences documented during preservation studies examining the historic resources of Telephone Hill.

Although relatively little biographical information survives about Sam Feldon, his ownership of the property represents one of the many individuals and families who contributed to the development of the Telephone Hill neighborhood during Juneau’s formative years.

Sources

• Telephone Hill Historic Site and Structures Survey, 1984.

Sagemiller, John

Associated Places: Juneau, Alaska; Telephone Hill

Biography

John Sagemiller was an early resident and property owner in Juneau, Alaska, during the territorial period.

Sagemiller purchased several lots in Juneau and is believed to have owned or occupied a home associated with the Telephone Hill area, one of the historic residential neighborhoods overlooking the early townsite.

Telephone Hill became one of the primary residential districts for many early settlers, miners, merchants, and civic leaders in Juneau during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Sources

Telephone Hill Historic Site and Structures Survey, 1984
DeArmond, Robert N., 1967