Gribble, Richard
Primary Name: Gribble, Richard
Filed as: gribble_richard
Also known as: Richard Gribble
Occupation / Association: Member, Ancient Order of United Workmen (A.O.U.W.), Butte Lodge
Born: May 21, 1857, Redruth, Cornwall, England
Died: October 21, 1904, Douglas, Alaska
Parents:
Spouse:
Children: Three sons; three daughters
Associated places: Redruth, Cornwall, England; Pennsylvania; Michigan; Colorado; Montana; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas, Alaska
Keywords: Richard Gribble, Gribble Richard, Douglas Alaska residents, AOUW Butte Lodge, Douglas City Cemetery
Biography
Richard Gribble was born on May 21, 1857, in Redruth, Cornwall, England. He immigrated to the United States at the age of fifteen and lived in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Colorado, and Montana before coming to Alaska.
Gribble lived in Juneau for six years before moving to Douglas, where he and his family made their home on North Third Street. He had a wife, three sons, and three daughters.
He was a member of the Butte Lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen (A.O.U.W.).
Richard Gribble died of consumption on October 21, 1904, at the age of forty-seven. Funeral services were held at the Methodist Episcopal Church with Reverend L. H. Pedersen officiating. He was buried in the Douglas City Cemetery.
Sources
Find-A-Grave Memorial: Richard Gribble
Mahony, Joseph
Mahony, Josephy
Biography
Joseph Mahony was the son of John F. Mahony, Jr., and was likely born in Montana.
In 1895, he moved to Juneau, Alaska, with his father during the early years of mining development in Southeast Alaska. Many families were drawn to the region during this period as mining and related industries expanded in the Juneau and Douglas area.
The Mahony family became part of the early community associated with Alaska’s mining frontier.
Sources
- Alaska Mining Hall of Fame
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
Malony, John F.
Primary Name: Malony, John F., Jr.
Filed as: Malony, John F., Jr.
Also known as: John F. Malony; John Mahony
Occupation / Association: Lawyer; businessman; mining investor; mayor of Juneau; charter member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men's Igloo; President, Alaska Electric Light and Power Company
Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Shieldsville Township, Rice County, Minnesota; Glendive, Montana; Dawson County, Montana; Porcupine District, Alaska; Windham Bay, Alaska; Rainy Hollow, British Columbia; Palo Alto, California
Keywords: John F Malony Juneau Alaska, Juneau mayor early Alaska, Dalton Trail Company partners, Jack Dalton Alaska Pathfinder associate, Porcupine Mining District Alaska, Alaska Electric Light and Power Company history, Chicken Ridge Juneau development, Alaska pioneers business leaders
Biography
John F. Malony, Jr. was a charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men's Igloo, and one of the most influential early civic and business leaders in Juneau. Pioneer banker and businessman B. M. Behrends once remarked that Malony had “probably done more for Juneau than any other man.”
Malony was born in 1857 in Shieldsville Township, Rice County, Minnesota, to Francis and Mary Donahue Malony, Irish immigrants who had earlier settled in New Brunswick, Canada. He was educated at Shattuck School in Faribault and at St. John’s College in St. Cloud, Minnesota. After reading law under Minnesota Attorney General Gordon E. Coles, he passed the bar and practiced law for nearly twenty years.
In 1881, he moved to Glendive, Montana, during the rapid development of the mining frontier. His career advanced quickly: he was appointed Probate Judge in 1882, elected to the Montana legislature later that year, and served as a delegate to the Montana Constitutional Convention in 1884.
Following an assassination attempt during a speech in Montana, Malony eventually left the territory and moved north to Alaska in the mid-1890s, bringing with him his son Joseph Mahony.
In Juneau, he met Cora Cleveland, a milliner who had established a hat shop in the city in 1895. They married in Juneau, and on December 29, 1899, their son John F. Malony III was born.
Malony worked closely with Alaska Pathfinder Jack Dalton. In 1893, he successfully defended Dalton in the controversial trial involving the death of Don (or Dennis) McGinnis. Malony and Dalton later partnered in several ventures, including the Dalton Trail Company and the Dalton Pony Express Company, which served miners traveling to the Yukon prior to the construction of the White Pass and Yukon Railway.
Malony also participated in early mining investments throughout Southeast Alaska. He was involved in placer claims on Chicken Ridge in 1890 and later in mining ventures in the Porcupine district near Haines with partners including E. B. Hanley. The group also operated the Porcupine Trading Company.
Beyond mining, Malony invested in fisheries and canneries near Wrangell and Petersburg and became a principal stockholder in the Juneau Ferry & Navigation Company.
Malony was deeply involved in civic affairs. He served on Juneau’s first city council around 1900 and was elected mayor in 1907. He also helped lead the Alaska Electric Light and Power Company, serving as its president while J. P. Corbus served as treasurer. Their leadership expanded electrical power generation in Juneau during the early twentieth century.
Among Malony’s real estate projects were the Gold Belt residential development and the Malony Block commercial buildings in downtown Juneau. One house constructed in association with mining entrepreneur Bart Thane later became the well-known Wickersham House.
Malony’s health declined around 1915, and he moved to California while continuing to manage his Alaska investments. He died in Palo Alto, California in early June 1919. He was survived by his wife, Cora Cleveland Malony, and three children.
Sources
Alaska Mining Hall of Fame.
Gastineau Channel Historical Society, Winter 1986.
Malony Collection, Alaska State Library, MS 40.
Alaska Daily Empire, June 2, 1919.
McClosky, James
Primary Name: McClosky, James
Filed as: mcclosky_james
Also known as:
Occupation / Association: Charter member, Juneau Men’s Igloo; miner; Chief of Police; city council member; trustee to the Pioneer Home
Born: Madison, Wisconsin
Died:
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Madison, Wisconsin; Montana; Juneau, Alaska; Atlin country; Territory of Alaska
Keywords: James McClosky, McClosky, Juneau Men’s Igloo, Pioneers of Alaska, Igloo 6, charter member, Chief of Police, Juneau city council, Pioneer Home, Atlin country miner, Madison Wisconsin, Montana, Juneau Alaska
Biography
James McClosky was a charter member of the Juneau Men’s Igloo.
McClosky was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and came to Juneau from Montana in 1896. He remained in Juneau, except for two years spent in Atlin country as a miner.
He was well known throughout the Territory and was active in civic life in Juneau. He served as Chief of Police from 1925 to 1926 and held several terms on the city council. He was active in the Pioneers and served as a trustee to the Pioneer Home.
Sources
Pioneers of Alaska Men’s Igloo 6 Biographical Sketch
Tags: James McClosky, McClosky, Juneau Men’s Igloo, Pioneers of Alaska Igloo 6, charter member, Chief of Police, Juneau City Council, Pioneer Home trustee, miner, Madison Wisconsin, Montana, Juneau Alaska, Atlin country