Juneau, Joseph
Primary Name: Juneau, Joseph
Filed as: juneau_joseph
Also known as: Joe Juneau; Joseph “Joe” Juneau
Occupation / Association: Prospector; co-discoverer of gold at Juneau
Born: May 1836, Lower Canada (Quebec)
Died: January 1899, Dawson, Yukon Territory
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Quebec, Canada; Schenectady, New York; Sitka, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Dawson, Yukon
Keywords: Joseph Juneau, Joe Juneau, Juneau Alaska founder, Juneau gold discovery 1880, Richard Harris, Chief Kowee, Silver Bow Basin, Alaska Juneau Gold Mine
Biography
Joseph “Joe” Juneau was one of the discoverers of gold in the Juneau area in 1880 and the man for whom the city of Juneau is named.
Juneau was born in May 1836 in Lower Canada (Quebec). As a young man he moved to the United States and worked as a miner and prospector throughout the American West.
In 1879, he joined Richard “Dick” Harris in prospecting for gold in southeastern Alaska for Sitka merchant George Pilz. Their guide in the region was Chief Kowee, who led them into the mountains behind Gastineau Channel.
In October 1880, Harris and Juneau discovered rich placer deposits in Silver Bow Basin. Within a short period, they staked claims on some of the richest ground in the basin, discoveries that eventually led to the development of the Alaska-Juneau Gold Mine.
The settlement that developed near the discovery was first called Harrisburg, then Pilzburg, and later Rockwell. In 1881, the miners voted to rename the town Juneau in honor of Joe Juneau.
Juneau later sold his interest in the mining claims and continued prospecting in other northern districts, eventually traveling to the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush.
He died in Dawson, Yukon Territory, in January 1899.
Sources
Alaska Consortium Library — Joseph Juneau Correspondence
Tags: Joseph Juneau, Joe Juneau, Juneau Alaska founder, Richard Harris, Chief Kowee, Silver Bow Basin discovery, Alaska Juneau Gold Mine
Parker, Edith Armenthia Haynes
Haynes-Parker, Edith Armenthia
Biography
Edith Armenthia Haynes-Parker married Abraham Lincoln Parker. Their daughter, Inez May Parker-White, was born in Portland, Oregon, on October 10, 1895.
The Parker family moved north from Portland, Oregon, to Skagway, Alaska, in June of 1899 while traveling to the Atlin mining district during the period of activity following the Klondike gold rush.
The family later relocated to Juneau, Alaska, in April 1913, becoming part of the growing community of early residents of Southeast Alaska.
Sources
- Family historical records
Parker, Abraham Lincoln
Primary Name: Parker, Abraham Lincoln
Filed as: Parker, Abraham Lincoln
Also known as: A. Lincoln Parker
Occupation / Association: Early Alaska resident
Associated places: Portland, Oregon; Skagway, Alaska; Atlin, British Columbia, Canada; Juneau, Alaska
Keywords: Abraham Lincoln Parker, Edith Armenthia Haynes Parker, Inez May Parker White, Parker family Juneau Alaska, Skagway Alaska families, Atlin gold rush families, early Juneau families
Biography
Abraham Lincoln Parker was an early Alaska resident who lived in several communities during the years surrounding the Klondike gold rush.
He married Edith Armenthia Haynes Parker. Their daughter, Inez May Parker White, was born in Portland, Oregon, on October 10, 1895.
In June 1899, the Parker family left Portland and traveled north to Skagway, Alaska, during the height of the Klondike gold rush. From there, they continued on to Atlin in British Columbia.
In April 1913, the family moved to Juneau, Alaska, where they became part of the growing community in the territorial capital.
Sources
Family historical records
LeFevre, Emma Cooper
Primary Name: LeFevre, Emma
Filed as: lefevre_emma
Also known as: Emma Cooper Beall LeFevre, Emma Beall LeFevre, Emma Lefevre
Occupation / Association: Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Women’s Auxiliary No. 6; writer
Born: December 23, 1835, Fort Howard, Wisconsin Territory (present-day Howard, Wisconsin)
Died: June 30, 1926, Juneau, Alaska
Parents: Colonel Samuel Wooten Beall; Elizabeth Fenimore Cooper Beall
Spouse: George LeFevre (m. September 13, 1855)
Children: Henry Belfield LeFevre
Associated places: Fort Howard, Wisconsin Territory; Denver, Colorado; Berne, Switzerland; Oregon; Skagway, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska
Keywords: Emma LeFevre, Emma Cooper Beall LeFevre, Emma Beall LeFevre, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Women’s Auxiliary No. 6, Skagway pioneers, Juneau pioneers
Biography
Emma Cooper Beall LeFevre was a charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Women’s Auxiliary No. 6.
She was born on December 23, 1835, at Fort Howard in the Wisconsin Territory, the daughter of Colonel Samuel Wooten Beall and Elizabeth Fenimore Cooper Beall. Colonel Beall commanded the garrison at Fort Howard and later served as acting governor of the Wisconsin Territory.
Through her mother’s family, Emma was connected to several notable early American figures. She was a grandniece of the author James Fenimore Cooper and a great-granddaughter of Lewis Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Although she grew up largely on the western frontier, she received the educational advantages of the East. On September 13, 1855, she married George LeFevre, a noted plainsman and scout who later became a judge in Colorado. The couple lived in Denver, Colorado, for a time when it was still a small trading post.
In 1867, while the family was living in Colorado, Emma became ill, and her husband sent her with their only child, Henry Belfield LeFevre, to Berne, Switzerland, for treatment at the famous baths. Judge LeFevre died on July 30, 1871. Emma and her son later returned to the United States and settled in Oregon.
Although essentially a woman of the frontier, Mrs. LeFevre was a writer of more than ordinary ability and a voracious reader. She maintained a keen interest in political affairs and remained well-informed about political and social developments throughout her life.
In 1898, she traveled north to Skagway, Alaska, and the North thereafter became her home. She moved to Juneau in 1913, where she lived for the remainder of her life.
Emma LeFevre died in Juneau, Alaska, on June 30, 1926. She was buried in Evergreen Cemetery.
Sources
Biographies of Alaska Yukon Pioneers, Vol. 3, p. 193, Ed Ferrell; Alaska Daily Empire, June 20, 1926; Alaska Daily Empire, June 30, 1926; 1910 U.S. Federal Census, Skagway; Find a Grave
White, Josie
Alice Josephine “Josie” Keys White was a Charter Member of Juneau Igloo No. 6.
She was born July 7, 1872, in Goldendale, Washington. Her parents were Calvin S. Keys and Jane Freelove Peck Keys.
She married Elmer J. “Stroller” White on December 30, 1891, in Tacoma, Washington. They had two sons, John McBurney White and Albert Hamilton White, and one daughter, Lenora White.
She came to Alaska with her husband, a well-known pioneer Alaska journalist.
The Whites arrived in Skagway when the town was still a tent city of gold-rush stampeders. Mr. White took a job with the Skagway News, a weekly newspaper, and the family remained in Skagway until the autumn of 1899.
They then traveled over the newly completed White Pass Railroad to Lake Bennett. Although they did not have the $500 required to cross the Canadian border, a barge owner told the Canadian officials that Mr. White was working as a cook on the barge. They boarded the barge in October, late in the season, and floated down the Yukon River toward Dawson. They came within fifteen miles of Dawson before the river froze.
“We went to Dawson for the mad excitement of it,” Mrs. White later recalled. “We didn’t know what we would do, but Mr. White got a job with the Dawson Nugget right away.”
The family remained in Dawson until 1905, when they moved to Whitehorse. Mr. White purchased the Whitehorse Star, and the family remained there until 1916. Their son, Albert H. White, was born in Whitehorse on August 7, 1907.
In 1916, they moved to Douglas, Alaska, where Mr. White purchased the Douglas Island News. “Douglas was the big town then,” she recalled. “The Treadwell Mine was going full swing.”
The Whites completed construction of a new newspaper plant in time for the Treadwell mine cave-in of 1917. The new plant included a cast-off press from the Juneau Empire. The press was moved back to Juneau from Douglas in 1920 when Stroller’s Weekly was established.
“I didn’t work much on the paper,” Mrs. White said. “I had two children to bring up and a little grouse-shooting to do. But when Stroller was sick, I would take over.”
Mrs. White was employed as assistant curator of the Territorial Museum in 1925 by the Rev. A. P. Kashevaroff, who had established the museum in 1920.
Her husband died in 1930. “I was the one who always talked about getting out of Alaska,” she later said.
She retired in 1950 and moved to Los Angeles, California, to live with her daughter. She died there on May 26, 1956.
Sources
1920 U.S. Federal Census, Juneau
Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers 1850-1950, Ed Ferrell, Vol. 2, pp. 344-345; Vol. 1, p. 337
Washington Marriage License
California Death Index
White, Inez May
Inez May Parker White was a Charter Member of Juneau Igloo No. 6.
She was born in Portland, Oregon, on October 10, 1895, to Abraham Lincoln Parker and Edith Armenthia Haynes Parker. The family moved to Skagway, Alaska, in June 1899 on their way to Atlin and later relocated to Juneau in April 1913.
She married William Charles White on September 2, 1916, in Douglas. They had nine children:
Henrietta May White, born December 19, 1917, in Juneau;
Charles Benjamin White, born December 17, 1918, in California;
Gloria Edith White, born August 27, 1921, in Seattle;
Dorothy Annabelle White, born March 19, 1923, in Juneau;
Genevieve Williamina White, born May 9, 1924, in Juneau;
Anna Louise White, born about 1928 in Alaska;
Glen Edward White, born June 13, 1929, in Juneau;
Alice G. White, born about 1933 in Alaska;
William L. White Jr. was born about 1935 in Alaska.
In the early 1940s, she and her husband established the Riverside Lodge at Gustavus, which later became the Gustavus Inn. She divorced William White around 1945.
She married Archie M. Chase on February 29, 1948, in Gustavus. His son, Eugene Sylvester Chase (born June 10, 1921, in Omaha, Nebraska), was from his previous marriage to Mildred Lightfoot.
Inez died on January 13, 1977, in Snohomish, Washington, and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Juneau.
Sources
1910 U.S. Federal Census, Skagway
1920 U.S. Federal Census, Oakland, California
1930 and 1940 U.S. Federal Census, Juneau
Gastineau Channel Memories 1880–1959, p. 390
Pioneers of Alaska Membership Application
U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index
Benson, Mary
Primary Name: Benson, Mary C.
Filed as: benson_mary_c
Also known as: Mary Benson
Occupation / Association: Charter Member, Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6; Waitress
Born: March 1870, Minnesota
Died: March 20, 1961
Parents:
Spouse: Byron E. Benson
Children: Carrie Benson; Beatrice Benson
Associated places: Minnesota; Dickinson North Dakota; Skagway Alaska; Juneau Alaska
Keywords: Mary C Benson Juneau, Mary Benson Auxiliary No 6, Benson family Juneau
Biography
Mary C. Benson was a charter member of Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6.
She was born in March 1870 in Minnesota. She later married Byron E. Benson.
In 1900, Mary was working as a table waitress in Dickinson, North Dakota. Their daughter Carrie had been born there in June 1890. The family later moved to Skagway, Alaska, where Byron Benson worked as a carpenter.
While living in Skagway, their daughter Beatrice was born in September 1903. By 1920, the family had relocated to Juneau, Alaska.
Mary C. Benson died on March 20, 1961, and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Juneau.
Sources
1900 U.S. Federal Census, Dickinson, North Dakota; 1910 U.S. Federal Census, Skagway, Alaska; 1920 U.S. Federal Census, Juneau, Alaska; 1930 U.S. Federal Census, Juneau, Alaska; Evergreen Cemetery Burial Records
Tags: Mary C Benson, Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No 6, Benson family, Evergreen Cemetery Juneau, Juneau pioneers, Skagway Alaska residents
Pugh, Veneta Elizabeth
Primary Name: Pugh, Venetia Elizabeth
Filed as: Pugh, Venetia Elizabeth
Also known as: Venetia Elizabeth Hahn; Venetia E. Pugh
Occupation / Association: Clerk of the District Court; Charter member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6
Associated places: Ketchikan, Alaska; Skagway, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Anchorage, Alaska
Keywords: Venetia Elizabeth Pugh, Venetia Hahn, Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary charter member, SS Princess Sophia families, Alaska District Court clerks, Baranof Hotel tea house
Biography
Venetia Elizabeth Pugh was a charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6.
She was born August 13, 1904, in the U.S. Customs House in Ketchikan, Alaska, to John F. “Jack” Pugh and Venetia L. Pugh.
The family moved to Skagway in 1904 and to Juneau in 1909, when her father was appointed the Collector of Customs for the District of Alaska. Her father later perished aboard the S.S. Princess Sophia when the vessel ran aground and sank at Vanderbilt Reef near Juneau with the loss of all aboard.
After her father's death, Venetia and her mother moved into the Baranof Hotel in Juneau. Her mother operated a tea house there, and Venetia worked both at the tea house and at the Baranof Gift Shop.
She graduated from Juneau High School in 1922 and from the University of Washington in 1927. She then began a career with the District Court that lasted approximately thirty years.
On October 12, 1935, she married Karl Austin Hahn, and the couple moved to Skagway. Their son, Karl A. Hahn, was born in Skagway in July 1939.
In 1947, the Hahn family, along with Venetia’s mother, moved to Anchorage, where they lived on Government Hill in a Quonset hut until 1953.
Venetia retired from the Clerk of the Court Office in 1969. In 1987, she and her husband moved to the Anchorage Pioneers’ Home.
Venetia Elizabeth Pugh Hahn died at the Anchorage Pioneers’ Home on January 11, 1999.
Sources
1910 U.S. Federal Census, Juneau
1940 U.S. Federal Census, Skagway
Gastineau Channel Memories, Vol. 1, p. 425
Daily Alaska Empire, October 12, 1935
Juneau Empire, January 18, 1999
Anchorage Daily News, January 14, 1999
Pugh, Veneta Lauretta
Fehr, Venetia Lauretta
Association: Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6
Role: Charter Member
Biography
Venetia Lauretta Fehr was a charter member of Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6 of the Pioneers of Alaska.
She was born in October 1878 in Cullman County, Alabama, the daughter of Martin Fehr and Elizabeth K. Manshardt.
She married John Fraser Pugh in Alameda County, California, on December 20, 1900. The couple later moved north to Alaska, arriving in Skagway on March 18, 1901. In June 1902, her husband was appointed to the United States Customs Service, and the family was transferred to Ketchikan. Their daughter, Venetia Elizabeth Pugh, was born there on August 13, 1904.
The Pugh family returned to Skagway in 1905 and moved to Juneau in 1909. John Pugh later served as Collector of Customs for the District of Alaska.
He was among the many Alaskans who perished in the wreck of the S.S. Princess Sophia on October 25, 1918.
Following his death, Venetia and her daughter worked in Juneau for the District Clerk of the United States Court. Venetia later married District Judge Thomas M. Reed on February 24, 1924, in Seattle, Washington. The couple resided in Juneau.
Venetia Lauretta Fehr Pugh Reed died in Anchorage, Alaska, in November 1967.
Sources
- 1910 and 1920 U.S. Federal Census, Juneau, Alaska
- Gastineau Channel Memories, Vol. 1, p. 425
- Washington Marriage Records
- Alaska Daily Empire, February 25, 1924
Tressing, Carrie
Carol "Carrie" B. Benson was a Charter Member of Juneau Igloo Women's Auxilary No. 6.
She was born to Mary and Byron E. Benson in June of 1890 in North Dakota. Byron came to Juneau in January 1898 to work as a miner. The family followed sometime after 1900 and they lived in Skagway.
Carrie married Simon M. Tressing who was a Warrant Officer in the U.S. Army. Their daughter Kathleen M. was born 1913 in California. Carrie was living with parents in Juneau in 1920.
Simon retired and they were living in New Hanover, New Jersey in 1940. Carol died on July 10, 1940 in Queens, New York.
1900 U.S. Federal Census Dickinson, North Dakota, 1910 U.S. Federal Census Skagway,
1920/1930 U.S. Federal Census Brooklyn New York Ft Hamilton