Stories and Folklore from Skagway, Alaska
Mr. Britt was a druggist born in 1873 in Norway. Like many Scandinavians (my grandparents included) he came to Chicago. From there he came to Skagway in 1898 to seek his fortune. He stayed for many years and was a member of the Arctic Brotherhood and Skagway City Council. He was also very involved in …
Famous for the photographs that he and his partner Draper took of the gold rush, Case was born on this day, April 19, 1868 in Marshalltown, Iowa. He came to Skagway in February 1898 and stayed until September 1907.Case and Draper photography studios opened in 1898, in a small tent in Skagway, Alaska. The partners …
Louis Shotridge was born on this day, April 15, 1886 in Klukwan a native village near Haines to George Shotridge (Yeil gooxhu) and Kudeit sáakw. His Tlingit name was Stoowukháa, which means “Astute One.” He was perhaps murdered in 1937, but that is at the end of this story… Louis was named after a (Presbyterian) …
Happy Birthday to Margaret Elizabeth King, born on this day, April 13, 1902 in Skagway. Her mother, May Farrington King and her father, William B. King both worked in the head office of White Pass. William was the chief auditor in 1902. William was also in the Arctic Brotherhood in 1900, City Council in 1903-4, …
Henry was one of the town’s leading men. He came to Skagway from Milwaukee Wisconsin where he was born in 1857. He was a member of the Arctic Brotherhood, a deputy clerk for the court in Skagway from 1908 and a U.S. Commissioner from 1905-1909 and published the Daily Morning Alaskan from 1899-1904. He was …
Governor Hoggatt was born in 1865 in Paoli Indiana. Maybe his parents thought that giving him a name that brings up visions of a pig would make people smile. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1884 and remained in the Navy for 18 years, including service during the Spanish-American War. Hoggatt was …
On this day February 8, 1937, Peter Kern died in Tarrant County, Texas at the age of 76, being hit by a train while taking his morning walk. Kern originally came to Skagway from El Paso Texas in 1897 and worked as a jeweler, designing the original logo for the Arctic Brotherhood – the gold …
Mr Chealander was born in Kalmar Sweden in 1867 and came to America where he settled in Kankanee Illinois. He married Mary Cecelia Costello there in 1893 and then moved to Tacoma. The family then decided to move to Skagway in 1897. Godfrey opened a cigar store business and was later the Skagway City Clerk …
Happy Birthday to John Irving born November 24, 1854 in Portland Oregon. He was an early member of the Arctic Brotherhood in Skagway in 1900 and also a member of the Provincial Government. His navigation business was in the building that is now Richters on Broadway near 2nd. His wife was Jane Munro daughter of …
Judge Isaac Newton Wilcoxen and Judge James Wickersham, both judges in Skagway in the early years, both died on this day. Judge Wilcoxen died at the age of 73 on October 23, 1910 in Seattle and since he was a Civil War vet is buried in the GAR cemetery there. I.N. Wilcoxen was a member …