Primary Name: McKenna, James

Filed as: McKenna, James

Also known as: James McKenna

Occupation / Association: Wharfinger; undertaker; merchant; real estate dealer; Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men's Igloo

Born: December 16, 1876, Fargo, North Dakota (also reported Miles City, Montana)

Died: December 20, 1918, Portland, Oregon

Associated places: Fargo, North Dakota; Miles City, Montana; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas, Alaska; Bennett City, British Columbia; Hunker Creek, Yukon Territory; Portland, Oregon

Keywords: James McKenna Juneau Alaska, Douglas Alaska undertakers, Juneau Ferry and Navigation Company wharfinger, Hunker Creek Yukon miners, Pioneers of Alaska Men's Igloo 6 charter member

Biography

James McKenna was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6 of the Pioneers of Alaska.

He was born on December 16, 1876, most likely in Fargo, North Dakota, though some records report Miles City, Montana, as his birthplace.

McKenna attended public school in Juneau from 1886 to 1889. He and his brother, Emmett McKenna, later attended seminary in Victoria, British Columbia, from 1889 to 1896.

In March 1897, he and his father departed on the steamship Rustler bound for the Yukon gold fields during the Klondike gold rush. His father died in Bennett City in June 1899 while the family was traveling out from Dawson. McKenna returned to the gold fields where he held a mining claim on Hunker Creek. He eventually returned to Juneau in September 1901.

The Douglas Island News of November 15, 1911, reported that McKenna would retire as wharfinger and general manager of the Juneau Ferry and Navigation Company wharf in Douglas. At that time, he was also listed among the undertakers in Douglas.

He later moved to Juneau, where he entered the mercantile and real estate business.

James McKenna died in Portland, Oregon, on December 20, 1918, while traveling with his family to Alabama.

Sources

Ancestry.com; Daily Alaska Empire, December 21, 1918; Survey and Inventory of Douglas Historic Cemeteries

Primary Name: Nicora, Charles

Filed as: Nicora, Charles

Also known as: Charles Nicora

Occupation / Association: Miner; Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Men's Igloo No. 6

Born: October 1867, Italy

Associated places: Italy; Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska

Keywords: Charles Nicora, Juneau Alaska miner, Douglas Alaska miners, Pioneers of Alaska Men's Igloo 6 charter member

Biography

Charles Nicora was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6 of the Pioneers of Alaska.

He was born in October 1867 in Italy. Nicora immigrated to the United States in 1888 and came to Alaska in 1892.

He lived in Douglas and Juneau, where he worked as a miner during the early years of the region’s mining industry.

Sources

1900 U.S. Federal Population Census

Primary Name: Nordahl, Jacob

Filed as: Nordahl, Jacob

Also known as: Jacob Nordahl

Occupation / Association: Miner; Machinist; Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Men's Igloo No. 6

Born: 1873, Ålesund, Norway

Died: August 31, 1925, Juneau, Alaska

Associated places: Ålesund, Norway; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas, Alaska

Keywords: Jacob Nordahl, Juneau Alaska miner, Treadwell Mine machinist, Alaska Juneau Mine machinist, Pioneers of Alaska Men's Igloo 6 charter member

Biography

Jacob Nordahl was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6 of the Pioneers of Alaska.

He was born in Ålesund, Norway, in 1873 and immigrated to the United States in 1892. Nordahl came to Alaska in April 1894, where he settled in Juneau, except for a short period spent at the Westward.

He worked in the mining industry throughout Southeast Alaska. In the early days, he was a machinist at the Treadwell and Mexican Mines and later worked at the Alaska Juneau Mine. During his years in Alaska, he lived in both Douglas and Juneau.

Jacob Nordahl died in Juneau on August 31, 1925.

Sources

Pioneers of Alaska Men's Igloo 6 Biographical Sketch; Daily Alaska Empire, August 31, 1925