Dr. John Baughman was a Physican and assayer. He was born in Barberton, Ohio on March 10, 1856. I read somewhere that his family was Jewish which would add to my growing list of Jewish families in Skagway in the gold rush, but I cannot find that source again, so just a possibility there.
After graduating from college as a doctor, John Baughman married Mina Barber in Manistique, Michigan on February 25, 1897. Struck with gold fever Dr. Baughman joined the stampede to Dawson in 1897. Expecting to practice medicine there, he found the profession barred from him because he was not a Canadian citizen, so he joined in the search for gold.
Later her returned to Michigan where he brought his wife to Skagway in 1899. Dr. Baughman practiced medicine in Skagway until 1905. Their first son, Paul was born here in 1899 but died in 1904. Their second son born in 1903 also died in 1903 and both are buried in the Gold Rush Cemetery. Their daughter Dorothy, born around 1905 lived a long life and is buried in Juneau.
After leaving Skagway in 1905, the family moved to Seward where Dr. Baughman was a doctor for many years and established the Pioneer Hospital, ministering to a large section of Alaska. While in Seward, he was Game Warden of the Third Division for eight years. He also operated a drug store. The Daily Alaska Empire obituary said he was Alaska’s oldest physician when he died on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1937 in Juneau. He was a life member of the Masonic Order, affiliated with the organization for 45 years. He is buried in the Juneau Evergreen Cemetery.
1902 directory; Juneau Evergreen records; family search; The Daily Alaska Empire–Friday, 26 November 1937-Page 1 & Page 8.
I recently visited Skagway for the first time and have become fascinated by the town’s history. Since I am also a genealogist specializing in Jewish genealogy, I was intrigued by your comment that Dr. Baughman was Jewish. His family tree and that of his wife Mina going back for several generations are both readily available on Internet. It is quite clear that neither John nor Mina come from Jewish families.
I am curious to know which other early residents of Skagway you think might be Jewish (besides Emil Korach – I’m still checking him out).
Keep up the good work!
Hi Ken, You are probably correct about my lack of documentation on the family’s culture and religion. I have only a vague memory that I saw a notice in the Skagway News of 1898+ that Dr. Baughman was closed in celebration of Hanukkah, and so made the assumption. Since there was no definitive list of Jews in Skagway, I have tried to find records which are very obscure. Still, I hope that someone else picks up the trail….Thanks for the feedback, Marlene