Primary Name: Vrooman, Betty

Filed as: Vrooman, Betty

Also known as: Betty Baggen Vrooman

Occupation / Association: Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Igloo; homemaker

Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Annette Island, Alaska; Sitka, Alaska; Fairbanks, Alaska; Gustavus, Alaska; Yakutat, Alaska; Anchorage, Alaska; Stillwater, Oklahoma

Keywords: Betty Vrooman, Betty Baggen Vrooman, Baggen family Juneau, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Igloo women, POA Roll Number 413, Juneau Alaska families, Sitka Alaska residents, Annette Island CAA Station families, Alaska territorial families

Biography

Betty Vrooman was born in Juneau, Alaska, on May 7, 1923, the daughter of George Baggen and Olga Sandbery, both immigrants from Norway. The Baggen family was among the Norwegian families who settled in Southeast Alaska during the territorial period.

On April 19, 1943, she married James R. Vrooman in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The couple later returned to Alaska and lived for a period at the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) station on Annette Island, where they resided for two years. Their daughters, Lynda and Jamie, were both born during this period.

Over the years, the family lived in several Alaska communities, reflecting the mobility common among families connected with federal aviation and territorial services. In addition to Annette Island, Betty lived in Sitka for seven years, Fairbanks for two years, Gustavus for two years, Yakutat for two years, and Anchorage for two years.

Betty was initiated into the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Igloo, on January 28, 1955, receiving Roll Number 413. Her membership application recorded that she was five feet two inches tall and weighed 118 pounds, with a medium complexion, blue-green eyes, and light brown hair. At the time of her application, she was noted to be in good health.

Her application was endorsed by Joan M. Baggen and May Wright and confirmed by members of the membership committee: Edna Anderson, Leona McKinnon, and Odelia Light.

Her relatives included George Baggen Jr. of Sitka, L. C. Baggen of Juneau, and Elsie Johnson of Granite, New Mexico.

Betty Vrooman died in Sitka, Alaska, on February 11, 1975.

Sources

Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Igloo Membership Application records.

Primary Name: Varlijan, Frank

Filed as: Varlijan, Frank

Also known as: Frank Varlijan

Occupation / Association: Resident of Douglas, Alaska

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

Keywords: Frank Varlijan, Varlijan family, Douglas Alaska residents, Douglas Eagles Cemetery burials, Juneau Douglas families, Austrian immigrants Alaska, early Douglas residents, Southeast Alaska families

Biography

Frank Varlijan was born on November 4, 1883, in Austria. Like many immigrants of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he eventually made his way to Alaska during the territorial period.

He lived in the Douglas–Juneau area of Southeast Alaska, a region closely connected with the mining and maritime economy surrounding Gastineau Channel.

Frank Varlijan died on August 6, 1948, at the age of sixty-four. He was buried in the Douglas Eagles Cemetery, one of the historic burial grounds associated with the community of Douglas.

Sources

Find-A-Grave.

Primary Name: Stoft, John Wesley, Jr.

Filed as: Stoft, John Wesley, Jr.

Also known as: John Wesley Stoft Jr.

Occupation / Association: Child resident of Douglas, Alaska

Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas Eagles Cemetery

Keywords: John Wesley Stoft Jr., Stoft family Douglas Alaska, Douglas Eagles Cemetery burials, Douglas Alaska residents, early Douglas families, Juneau Douglas history, Southeast Alaska families

Biography

John Wesley Stoft, Jr. was born in 1907 and was a member of the Stoft family living in the Douglas–Juneau area of Southeast Alaska during the early twentieth century.

He died in 1913 at approximately five years of age. His burial took place in the Douglas Eagles Cemetery, one of the historic cemeteries associated with the community of Douglas, Alaska.

Records of his life and burial survive through genealogical and cemetery documentation relating to the early families of the Juneau–Douglas area.

Sources

Find-A-Grave.

Primary Name: Schoppert, Mary

Filed as: Schoppert, Mary

Also known as: Mary Schoppert

Occupation / Association: Resident of Douglas, Alaska

Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas Eagles Cemetery

Keywords: Mary Schoppert, Schoppert family, Douglas Alaska residents, Douglas Eagles Cemetery burials, Juneau Douglas families, early Douglas residents, Southeast Alaska families

Biography

Mary Schoppert was born on October 5, 1915.

She lived in the Douglas–Juneau area of Southeast Alaska during the territorial and early statehood period.

Mary Schoppert died on November 29, 1957, at the age of forty-two. She is buried in the Douglas Eagles Cemetery, one of the historic burial grounds associated with the community of Douglas, Alaska.

Sources

Find-A-Grave.

Primary Name: Foutaine, Sarah A.

Filed as: Foutaine, Sarah A.

Also known as: Sarah A. Foutaine

Occupation / Association: Resident of Douglas, Alaska

Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska

Keywords: Sarah A. Foutaine, Foutaine family, Douglas Alaska residents, Francis Coffin family, early Douglas residents, Alaska territorial period, Southeast Alaska families

Biography

Sarah A. Foutaine was a resident of Douglas, Alaska, during the territorial period and a member of the extended family networks that connected many of the early residents of the Juneau–Douglas area.

She was the aunt of Francis Coffin, linking her to one of the families documented in regional historical and genealogical records. Family relationships such as these illustrate the close-knit nature of early Southeast Alaska communities, where extended families often lived and worked within the same small towns.

Although limited biographical information about Sarah A. Foutaine survives in the historical record, her presence in Douglas reflects the many individuals and families who formed the residential population supporting the mining and commercial activities of the Juneau–Douglas area.

Sources

Find-A-Grave.

Primary Name: Smith, John

Filed as: Smith, John

Also known as: John Smith

Occupation / Association: Resident of Douglas, Alaska

Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas Indian Cemetery

Keywords: John Smith Douglas Alaska, Smith family Douglas Alaska, Douglas Indian Cemetery burials, early Douglas residents, Juneau Douglas families, Southeast Alaska families

Biography

John Smith was born in 1884 and lived in the Douglas–Juneau area of Southeast Alaska during the early twentieth century.

He died in July 1914 at the age of thirty. He was buried in the Douglas Indian Cemetery, one of the historic burial grounds associated with the Native community of Douglas.

Sources

Find-A-Grave

Primary Name: Stragier, Marie

Filed as: Stragier, Marie

Also known as: Marie Stragier

Occupation / Association: Resident of Douglas, Alaska

Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas Catholic Cemetery

Keywords: Marie Stragier, Stragier family, Douglas Alaska residents, Douglas Catholic Cemetery burials, Juneau Douglas families, early Douglas residents, Southeast Alaska families

Biography

Marie Stragier was born in 1887. She lived in the Douglas–Juneau area of Southeast Alaska during the territorial and early statehood period.

She died in 1961 at the age of seventy-three. Marie Stragier was buried in the Douglas Catholic Cemetery, one of the historic burial grounds serving the community of Douglas, Alaska.

Sources

Find-A-Grave.

Stragier, Frank

Born: March 23, 1914

Died: March 30, 1965

Military Service: Private, United States Army, World War II

Biography

Frank Stragier was born on March 23, 1914.

During the Second World War, he served in the United States Army with the rank of Private. Thousands of men from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest served in the armed forces during the war, contributing to the Allied effort both in the Pacific and in other theaters.

Stragier died on March 30, 1965. He was buried in a cemetery recorded in historical memorial records.

Sources

Find A Grave memorial records

Primary Name: Stevens, Tom

Filed as: Stevens, Tom

Also known as: Tom Stevens

Occupation / Association: Resident of Douglas, Alaska

Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas Catholic Cemetery

Keywords: Tom Stevens, Stevens family Douglas Alaska, Douglas Alaska residents, Douglas Catholic Cemetery burials, Juneau Douglas families, early Douglas residents, Southeast Alaska families

Biography

Tom Stevens was born in 1924 and lived in the Douglas–Juneau area of Southeast Alaska.

He died on July 2, 1935, at the age of eleven. Tom Stevens was buried in the Douglas Catholic Cemetery, one of the historic burial grounds serving the community of Douglas, Alaska.

Sources

Find-A-Grave.

Primary Name: Stevens, Henry

Filed as: Stevens, Henry

Also known as: Henry Stevens

Occupation / Association: Resident of Douglas, Alaska

Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas Catholic Cemetery

Keywords: Henry Stevens, Stevens family Douglas Alaska, Douglas Alaska residents, Douglas Catholic Cemetery burials, Juneau Douglas families, early Douglas residents, Southeast Alaska families

Biography

Henry Stevens was born around 1874. He lived in the Douglas–Juneau area of Southeast Alaska during the territorial period.

He died on June 10, 1941, at the age of sixty-seven. Henry Stevens was buried in the Douglas Catholic Cemetery, one of the historic burial grounds associated with the community of Douglas, Alaska.

Sources

Find-A-Grave.