McDonald, Elizabeth Marshall
Primary Name: McDonald, Elizabeth
Filed as: McDonald, Elizabeth
Also known as: Elizabeth Marshall Hucheson; Elizabeth Hucheson McDonald
Occupation / Association: Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Women's Auxiliary No. 6
Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Seattle, Washington; Atlin, British Columbia; Marshfield, Oregon; West Virginia
Keywords: Elizabeth McDonald Juneau Alaska, Elizabeth Marshall Hucheson, John F McDonald Douglas Alaska, Douglas Alaska pioneer families, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Women's Auxiliary charter members, early Douglas Alaska residents
Biography
Elizabeth McDonald was a Charter Member of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Women’s Auxiliary No. 6.
She was born Elizabeth Marshall Hucheson in November 1858 in West Virginia to Agnes Henry and Robert M. Hucheson.
In 1875, she married John F. McDonald in Marshfield, Oregon. The couple lived in Seattle, Washington, for approximately twenty years and later spent two years in Atlin, British Columbia, before moving to the Gastineau Channel region. In 1899, they settled in Douglas, Alaska.
John McDonald served the community for eighteen years as the city marshal of Douglas.
Elizabeth and John had four children: Annie, born in 1877 in Oregon; Agnes, born in 1879 in Washington; Ruth Irene, born in July 1892; and Elizabeth Ione, born in November 1896.
Elizabeth McDonald died on February 20, 1933, in Seattle, Washington.
Sources
1910 U.S. Federal Census, Douglas, Alaska.
Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers 1850–1950, Volume 2, p. 202, Ed Ferrell.
Alaska Daily Empire, February 21, 1933.
Washington Death Certificate.
Markle, William J.
Primary Name: Markle, William Jennings
Filed as: markle_william_jennings
Also known as: William J. Markle, William Jennings Markle
Occupation / Association: Marine engineer, fireman, Deputy U.S. Marshal; President, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6 (1939–1940)
Born: November 7, 1896, Ballard, Washington
Died: October 15, 1976, Boise, Idaho
Parents: Louis N. Markle; Catherine Markle
Spouse: Ethel Ellen Wilson (m. June 18, 1918; div. September 29, 1947)
Children: Florence Markle; William C. Markle
Associated places: Ballard, Washington; Skagway, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Victoria, British Columbia; Seattle, Washington; Boise, Idaho
Keywords: William Jennings Markle, William J Markle, Markle William Jennings, Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6 president, Deputy U.S. Marshal Juneau, Alaska marine engineer
Biography
William Jennings Markle served as President of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6 in 1939 and 1940.
Markle was born on November 7, 1896, in Ballard, Washington, to Louis N. Markle and Catherine Markle. By 1917, he was living in Skagway, Alaska, where he worked as a marine engineer and fireman. During this period, he applied for residence in Victoria, British Columbia, and worked for the Canadian Pacific Railroad.
On June 18, 1918, he married Ethel Ellen Wilson in Seattle, Washington. The couple had two children. Their daughter, Florence Markle, was born in Canada about 1920, and their son, William C. Markle, was born in Alaska about 1928.
Markle enlisted in the United States Army on October 23, 1918, and was discharged on December 27, 1918. He later worked in Juneau as a Deputy United States Marshal. William and Ethel Markle were divorced on September 29, 1947, in Idaho.
William J. Markle died on October 15, 1976, in Boise, Idaho.
Sources
U.S. Census records; marriage records, Seattle, Washington; military enlistment records; Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6 records
Harris, William John, Senior
Primary Name: Harris, William John, Sr.
Filed as: harris_william_john_sr
Also known as: William John Harris, William J. Harris
Occupation / Association: Miner; Chief of Police, City of Juneau; Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6
Born:
Died: February 1928, Juneau, Alaska
Parents:
Spouse:
Children: William John Harris, Jr.
Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Treadwell, Alaska; Nome, Alaska; Leadville, Colorado
Keywords: William John Harris Sr, William J Harris, Harris family Juneau, Juneau chief of police, Treadwell Mine workers
Biography
William John Harris, Sr., was one of the charter members of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6.
Harris was a nephew of Richard “Dick” Harris, who, with his partner Joe Juneau, was among the original settlers of the community that became the city of Juneau. Dick Harris named two of his sons after his nephew; the youngest survived into adulthood as William John Harris, Jr..
After living in Juneau for several years, Richard Harris traveled to Montana in 1882 to visit his brother and returned accompanied by his nephew, William.
William Harris worked for several years at the Treadwell Mine. He also worked in several interior mining camps and in Nome.
After leaving Alaska in the early years of the twentieth century, Harris served for several years as chief of police in Leadville, Colorado. The lure of Alaska eventually drew him north again, and he returned to Juneau about 1908, where he resumed work at the Treadwell Mine.
In 1911 or 1912, Emery Valentine, mayor of Juneau, appointed Harris chief of police for the city. After serving two years in that role, he returned to employment at the Treadwell Mine. Later, he worked at the Alaska-Juneau Mine after it began operations.
Harris spent the final months of his life at St. Ann’s Hospital in Juneau, where he died in February 1928.
Sources
Alaska Weekly, February 24, 1928; Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers 1850-1950, Vol. 1, pp. 130-131, Ed Ferrell
Martin, Jacob T.
Primary Name: Martin, Jacob T.
Filed as: martin_jacob_t
Also known as: Captain Jacob T. Martin; Capt. J. T. Martin
Occupation / Association: Charter member and first president, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo 6; steamboat pilot; Deputy U.S. Marshal; Juneau City Marshal
Born: October 15, 1842, South Bend, Indiana
Died: January 3, 1935, Pasadena, California
Parents:
Spouse: Sadie M. Shepherd
Children: Roland H. Martin
Associated places: South Bend, Indiana; Elko, Nevada; Sitka, Alaska; Treadwell, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Pasadena, California
Keywords: Jacob T Martin, Captain Jacob T Martin, J T Martin, Juneau Men’s Igloo 6 first president, Pioneers of Alaska charter member, Juneau City Marshal, Deputy U.S. Marshal Alaska, steamboat pilot Alaska, Sadie M Shepherd Martin, Roland H Martin
Biography
Captain Jacob T. Martin was a charter member and the first president of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men’s Igloo 6. He also served additional terms as Igloo President in 1916 and 1917.
Martin was born in South Bend, Indiana, on October 15, 1842.
He married Sadie M. Shepherd in Elko, Nevada, on December 6, 1875. Their son, Roland H. Martin, was born in November 1888.
The family moved to Sitka on April 13, 1885. They lived in Treadwell from 1885 to 1890, then relocated to Juneau.
Martin worked as a steamboat pilot and later served as a Deputy U.S. Marshal in 1896. He also served as Juneau City Marshal from 1911 to 1914.
He died in Pasadena, California, on January 3, 1935.
News of Captain Martin’s death reached the 1915 Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Igloo, President Charles E. Naghel, by letter from E. R. Jaeger of Pasadena, California. According to Jaeger, the aged pioneer had shown signs of failing when Jaeger visited him on New Year’s Day.
Sources
Alaska Press, January 25, 1935; Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers 1850–1950, Volume 5, p. 179, Ed Ferrell, May 1, 2004; Pioneers of Alaska Men’s Igloo 6 Biographical Sketch
Tags: Jacob T Martin, Captain Jacob T Martin, J T Martin, Pioneers of Alaska Igloo 6, Juneau Men’s Igloo first president, Juneau City Marshal, Deputy U.S. Marshal Alaska, steamboat pilot Alaska, Sadie M Shepherd Martin, Roland H Martin, Juneau pioneers
Shoup, Arthur Glendeninning
Shoup, Arthur
Association: Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men's Igloo
Role: Charter Member
Biography
Arthur Shoup was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo of the Pioneers of Alaska and an early political leader in Alaska’s territorial government.
He was born on November 26, 1880, in Challis, Idaho Territory. In July 1897, he came to Alaska with his father, James M. Shoup. His father later served for three years as United States Marshal for the Territory of Alaska and for nine years as head of the Federal Policing Department of the First Division, residing in Juneau.
Arthur Shoup was educated in the public schools of Idaho and later graduated in law from Washington State University. Except for occasional trips to the states, he spent most of his early career in Alaska.
From 1902 to 1907, he served as Deputy Marshal of the Office at Ketchikan, and from 1907 to 1910, he served in the same capacity at Sitka. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected on a non-partisan ticket to the First Alaska Territorial Legislature.
During the first territorial legislative session, he was one of the authors of the Women’s Suffrage Act, the first bill passed by the Alaska Territorial Assembly. After chairing the non-partisan convention, he was re-elected to the legislature and was supported by members of the First Division for the speakership. Although he narrowly lost the election, he was chosen as the temporary speaker.
Shoup also served without compensation as superintendent of the Territorial Pioneers Home in Sitka when it opened on July 4. His work establishing and advocating for the home provided a place where elderly and indigent prospectors and miners of Alaska could live in comfort during their later years. He had earlier lobbied for the creation of the institution and worked with Alaska’s Delegate to Congress to secure permission to convert the abandoned United States Marine Barracks at the former capital in Sitka into facilities for the home.
In 1927, Shoup moved to San Jose, California, where he practiced law. He died there on April 9, 1942.
Sources
- Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers 1850-1950, Volume 2, pp. 291-292, Ed Ferrell (2009)
- Alaska Digital Archives, James Joseph Connors Photograph Collection PCA 457
Sokoloff, Harlampy Simon
Harlampy Sokolof was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo.
Primary Name: Sokolof, Harlampy
Filed as: Sokolof, Harlampy
Also known as: Harlampy Sokoloff; Harlampy Sokolof
Occupation / Association: Russian missionary; interpreter; member of the 1887 Pioneers
Associated places: Sitka, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Killisnoo, Alaska; Dyea, Alaska; Skagway, Alaska
Keywords: Harlampy Sokolof, Harlampy Sokoloff, Russian Seminary Sitka, Alaska Russian missionaries, Alaska interpreters Tlingit Russian Slovenian, Pioneers of 1887 Alaska, Sitka Alaska pioneers, early Juneau interpreters, Alaska Native relations history
Biography
Harlampy Sokolof was born in Sitka, Alaska, on February 22, 1863. He graduated from the Russian Seminary in Sitka.
On May 29, 1881, he was hired in Sitka as an interpreter aboard the U.S. Navy vessel Wachusetts, commanded by Captain Glass. The vessel cruised throughout the waters of Southeast Alaska enforcing federal law, including efforts to suppress the illegal manufacture of alcohol and to intervene in practices the federal authorities considered unlawful. The patrols visited communities including Sitka, Juneau, Hoonah, Killisnoo, Klawock, Shakan, Wrangell, and Chilkoot.
Sokolof also recalled an earlier experience in 1878, when the Canadian gunboat H.M.S. Osprey arrived at Sitka amid tension with local Native groups. He and his father stood watch to help protect the town’s residents.
During his career, he also worked as a survey assistant on a quartz claim for A. P. Swineford. While on that expedition with companions identified as Russell and Alex Toles, he was attacked by a brown bear and suffered severe injuries, including a broken arm and leg.
Sokolof later served as a court interpreter in both Sitka and Juneau. He spoke several languages and worked in Tlingit, Slovenian, and Russian.
He married Mary Danilova Kobochef in Sitka on November 11, 1884. The couple had two children.
Over the course of his life, Sokolof lived in several Southeast Alaska communities, including Sitka, Juneau, Killisnoo, Dyea, and Skagway. He worked as a Russian missionary and interpreter and was recognized as a member of the Alaska “Pioneers of 1887.”
Sources
Pioneers of Alaska Men’s Igloo No. 6 Biographical Sketch.
Steinbeck, William
Primary Name: Steinbeck, William
Filed as: Steinbeck, William
Also known as: William Steinbeck
Occupation / Association: Prospector; laborer; carpenter; jail guard; charter member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo
Associated places: Germany; Juneau, Alaska
Keywords: William Steinbeck, Juneau Men’s Igloo charter member, Steinbeck Apartments Juneau, early Juneau property owners, Alaska prospectors, Juneau carpenters
Biography
William Steinbeck was a charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men’s Igloo.
He was born in Germany in 1864 and immigrated to the United States in 1865. Steinbeck first came to Juneau, Alaska in 1898 during the early years of the territory’s mining development.
During his years in Alaska, he worked in a variety of occupations, including prospector, laborer, carpenter, and jail guard, reflecting the diverse types of work common among early residents of Southeast Alaska.
Steinbeck was also a property owner in Juneau, owning the Steinbeck Apartments on Second Street between Harris Street and Gold Street.
William Steinbeck died on December 11, 1936, at St. Ann’s Hospital in Juneau.
Sources
Pioneers of Alaska Men’s Igloo No. 6 Biographical Sketch
Daily Alaska Empire, December 11, 1936
Tanner, Josias Martin
Primary Name: Tanner, Josias Martin
Filed as: Tanner, Josias Martin
Also known as: Josias Tanner; “Senator Si” Tanner
Occupation / Association: Charter Member, Juneau Men's Igloo; Alaska Territorial Senator; Mayor of Skagway; Deputy United States Marshal; merchant; miner
Associated places: Oakland County, Michigan; Central City, Colorado; Juneau, Alaska; Skagway, Alaska; Tacoma, Washington
Keywords: Josias Martin Tanner, Senator Si Tanner, Juneau Men's Igloo charter members, Skagway Alaska mayor, Soapy Smith era Skagway, Alaska Territorial Legislature, Skagway Vigilantes, Arctic Brotherhood members, Alaska-Yukon pioneers
Biography
Josias Martin Tanner was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo of the Pioneers of Alaska and one of the prominent early civic leaders of Skagway during Alaska’s gold rush era.
Tanner was born in Oakland County, Michigan, on February 22, 1850. His grandfather served in the Revolutionary War, having enlisted at the age of fifteen. A brother of Tanner’s grandfather, William Tanner, was reportedly a member of President George Washington's bodyguard when the British and Loyalists attempted to capture the first President.
Known throughout Alaska as “Senator Si,” Tanner served two terms in Alaska’s territorial lawmaking assembly.
As a young man, Tanner began his career in mining. At the age of twenty, he left Michigan and went to Central City, Colorado, one of the famous mining camps of Gilpin County. There he worked in the gold mines and mills of Colorado for four years.
In 1871, he married Juliette Valentine, the sister of Emery Valentine, who later served as mayor of Juneau. Three children were born to the couple: two daughters, who later lived in Tacoma, Washington, and a son, Fred Tanner, who eventually joined his father in business in Skagway.
The family later moved to Tacoma, where Tanner worked in the contracting business. In 1896, he accepted a position in Emery Valentine’s general store in Juneau.
During the Klondike Gold Rush, he moved to Skagway in July 1897 during the Dawson stampede and remained there for the rest of his life. In Skagway, he played an important role in maintaining order during the turbulent gold rush years.
Tanner helped organize and command the Skagway Vigilantes, a citizens’ group formed to preserve law and order during the period when the notorious outlaw Soapy Smith and his gang dominated the town. Organized lawlessness in Skagway culminated in Smith’s death on July 8, 1898.
Because of his leadership and composure during the effort to drive Smith’s gang from the city, Tanner was appointed Deputy United States Marshal by Marshal J. M. Shoup and served in that position for two years.
Tanner remained active in Skagway's civic affairs for many years. He served for five years on the Skagway City Council, was elected mayor three times, and also served for five years as municipal magistrate.
He was also active in fraternal organizations, including the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Arctic Brotherhood.
In addition to his political and civic career, Tanner operated a hardware store in Skagway and held business interests in the Home Power Company of Skagway.
Sources
Ferrell, Ed. Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers 1850–1950, Volume 2, pp. 321–322 (2009).
Alaska Digital Archives, James Joseph Connors Photograph Collection, PCA 457.