Tag: Gold Rush Cemetery

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Walter Monastes

Walter, 17 years old was a steward on the sternwheeler steamboat Florance S in July 1900. The Florance S, a 100 ton 75 foot ship, was built in 1898 and was originally owned by Seattle-Yukon Transportation Company. It was sold to Captain Sydney Charles Barrington in 1900. When it rolled over at a corner and foundered in the “Thirtymile” section of the Yukon River, Walter, and passengers Mrs. Stewart, and her daughter Ada all drowned there. (Various sources also say that the ship rolled on July 25 or July 29, 1900). The boat was sidelined for a few months and then converted to a barge in 1901. It was resold to Captain Wallace Langley in 1905. It was owned by George S. Black by 1939.

Although Captain Barrington was the captain of this ship, a man named Jordan was at the wheel at the time of the accident, and was arrested for manslaughter.

Young Walter Monastes was from Skagway, and his body was shipped here and buried in the Gold Rush Cemetery.

Dawson Funeral Index; NWMP report; Wikipedia; ExploreNorth

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Robert M. Parkins

Mr. Parkins, born about 1867 died on this day, July 14, 1901 in Skagway and was buried in the Gold Rush Cemetery by the Skagway Fire Department.

Skagway Death Record. Parkins coat of arms above.

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Soapy Smith

One Hundred and twelve years ago in Skagway, the townspeople awoke to hear that Jefferson Randolf Smith who was born in 1860 in Noonan Georgia and created a bit of a ruckus here in Skagway with his business associates, died on the evening of July 8, 1898 in a shootout with that hothead Frank Reid, or maybe it was Jesse Murphy, an employee of White Pass.
On July 9, 1898 here in Skagway, the right Reverend Sinclair arranged the funeral for Soapy and buried him in the Gold Rush Cemetery. The townsfolk spent the rest of the day beating the bushes to round up the “Soapy gang” and invited them to leave. Although some were arrested, and a couple ended up in prison, few served very much jail time, for lack of evidence or witnesses.
There was a festive and excited atmosphere in Skagway on that day, followed by 112 years of boredom. Some will dispute that characterization, but it is true that shootouts seldom occur on the streets anymore although “fancy girls” hang out the windows and gold merchants line the streets.

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Hem Hess Jang

Hem Jang is one of the few Chinese men who were in Skagway in the Gold Rush. He died while in jail of “acute insanity” which could mean anything. He died on this day, June 22, 1902 and is buried in the Gold Rush Cemetery but there is no headboard for him.

Pictured above is another Chinese man, Chew Chung Thui who was a kind and generous benefactor to goldrushers. He was also known as Joe the Baker or China Joe for his work in Juneau. He lived there between 1882 and his death in 1917.

Skagway Death Record; Juneau historical websites.

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Thomas Joseph Doren

Mr. Doren was born in 1860 in Ireland. He came to Skagway in 1897 and worked as a painter. His wife Ida worked as a cook for White Pass. Their daughter Lillian worked as a laundress and later married Perry Hern here in Skagway in 1916. He is seen working on the building which is used as the Trail Center for the Chilkoot Trail today. Now it is painted a pretty blue.

Thomas died on this day, June 17, 1903 in Skagway of a pelvic abscess. He is buried in the Gold Rush cemetery.

censuses; Skagway Death Record.

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Joshua Nickerson Rowe


Captain Joshua Nickerson Rowe, was born on this day, June 9, 1837 in Rockfort or Rockland, Maine. He took a steamer up the Yukon from Seattle on June 16 1898. On return he left Dawson City on September 20th, 1898 as Captain of the steamer James Doneville, with about 120 passengers. On October 5th his diary noted “Got within one mile of the White Horse Tramway”. He died in the Bishop Rowe Hospital, Skagway, Alaska, October 18th, 1898. Services at the Union Church, and buried in the Gold Rush cemetery. He was a veteran of the Civil War.
His grandson wrote a book called “Women of the Sea” 1962 about his mother, Alice Rowe Snow who spent 15 years with her parents, Mr and Mrs Joshua Nickerson Rowe, aboard the schooner Village Belle, the brig J. Bickmore and the bark Russell.

rootsweb; books; Civil War websites; Encyclopedia of American literature of the sea and Great Lakes by Jill B. Gidmark

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Duncan B. McFadden


Mr. McFaddeen was born in Cape Breton, Whycocomagh, Inverness, Nova Scotia in 1850. He moved to El Cajon California by 1880. According to the El Cajon historical website, in 1882 Duncan McFadden and his wife built a house and blacksmith shop on the main road across from the Knox hotel. He died on this day, June 7, 1898 in Skagway from meningitis and is buried in the Gold Rush Cemetery.

http://www.elcajonhistory.org/echs_timeline.htm

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Denzaburo Nakano


Mr. Nakano is one of the few Asian people buried with markers in the Skagway cemeteries. He died on this day, May 21, 1900 of typhoid. His marker is in Japanese and can be found up the hill behind Soapy’s marker.

Skagway Death Record

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Patrick Brarmon

Murdered in the Klondyke Saloon on this day, April 8, 1898 and buried two days later in the Gold Rush Cemetery. Apparently there was no investigation at the time, things were getting pretty bad in Skagway.
Mr. Brarmon was about 22 years old and hailed from San Francisco.

Skagway Death Record.

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Carolina Hilly


Happy Birthday to Mrs. Carolina Hilly according to the headstone in the Skagway Gold Rush Cemetery. There are some interesting things on this headstone, the words “sister” and the Jesuit symbol, see above. She died here in Skagway in 1906 at the age of 52 from heart disease but we really have no other information about her. There was a “Dutch Lena” Hilty who ran the hotel Skagway in 1898 according to a Yukon site, so it is possible that is the same person.

There is a Case & Draper photo from the early 1900’s of the Superintendent of nurses named Carolyn??? #768 in AK photo archives. It is possible that is her, but who knows?