Category: Tragedy

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Mary Matilda Moore Kearns


Mary was the daughter of Skagway’s Police Chief in 1907. She was born either in 1882 or 1885. On this sad day, December 11, 1907 three days after giving birth, she died and left behind two newborn twin baby girls: Mary Matilda and Matilda T. Kearns. Her parents, Charles and Matilda Moore brought the girls up. Her daughter Mary M. lived to be 90 and died in Spokane in 1997.
Mary Matilda Moore Kearns is buried in the Gold Rush Cemetery.
The photo above is from 1911 but is not of Mary and Matilda, just a couple of twin girls with a Buick Speedster somewhere else, but is a good depiction of the time.

1910 census; Skagway death record

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Harry Schofield


Harry, or Henry Schofield was born in 1857 in Germany and came to America in 1892. He came to Skagway from San Francisco and worked variously as a longshoreman, a seaman, and a fisherman. He got into trouble in 1900 when he sold liquor to the local Natives, and was found guilty by Judge Sehlbrede. He apparently had a liking for alcohol and on this day, November 26, 1903 died at the age of 46 here in Skagway from heart failure due to alcoholism. He is buried in the Gold Rush Cemetery.
In 2008 almost 12% of the deaths among American Indians and Alaska Natives are alcohol-related, more than three times the percentage in the general population, a federal report said. In our small community we know of one young local Alaska Native person who died from a drug and alcohol overdose a few years ago. She is buried in the Skagway “New” Cemetery on Dyea road. She is seen above at her graduation from Skagway high school in 2003.

1900 census; Thornton; Skagway death record;Newspirates.com 30 August 2008 by Jim Walrod.

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Henry Cross


Henry was born in 1844 in Germany. He shows up in the 1881 census as a miner in the Cassiar District, and then he came to Skagway and worked on the railroad. Unfortunately he got caught between cars and was crushed to death on this day, November 7, 1901 and is buried in the Gold Rush Cemetery. Another White Pass fatality.
Seen above is a great photo of a train accident, though not from Skagway.

Skagway Death Record

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“Burro Creek Joe”


Joseph Beauchamp was born in October 1864 in Canada. He came to Skagway in the Gold Rush and lived in a hut on the east side of the railroad tracks in town. Joseph must have moved to Bear Creek in Yukon by 1910 because he was not in the 1910 census in Skagway. He married Blanche and this is their sad story:

“Joseph and Blanche Beauchamp lived at Bear Creek, 110 miles outside of Whitehorse on the Kluane Road. On February 8, 1913, Blanche gave birth to a male child. The baby was premature and lived for only a few hours. Joseph planned to bring Blanche into Whitehorse for their son’s funeral as soon as she was well enough to travel. However, complications set in and Blanche’s health deteriorated. With the nearest neighbour 20 miles away, Joseph felt he could not leave his wife to seek help. Blanche died a few days later of blood poisoning.
Joseph stoically prepared her body for burial, built a coffin, and made the long journey into town alone with the bodies of his wife and son as his only companions. Father Turnell of Skagway, Alaska conducted the funeral as the Whitehorse priest was not available. Mother and son were buried together in the Whitehorse Pioneer Cemetery, the baby placed in her arms. Blanche Beauchamp died at 40 years of age.”

By 1920 Joseph was back in the Skagway area and homesteaded at Burro Creek which is across the inlet from Skagway. The Camera Club enjoyed a picnic there in 1900 seen above. He lived there until his death on January 12, 1935 and is buried in the Skagway Pioneer Cemetery.

Skagway 1900 and 1920 census; 1915 directory; Skagway death record; “What Lies Beneath” Whitehorse Cemetery online book.

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Ernest Williams


The “Skagway Kid” on October 19, 1901, fell off of a scow while working at the docks in Whitehorse, possibly during a seizure. His body was recovered in May 1902 and buried in Whitehorse.

Explorenorth; Juneau genweb; Report of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police 1902.

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Stanley and Annie McLellan


I was going through some old files today and happened onto a note from the sister of Stanley Alexander McLelland and his wife Annie Lettice Sterling McLellan.
This 1988 note was from Hazel M. Swan of Nelson, B.C. who was looking for information on the deaths of her brother and his new wife (they had married in 1909 in Atlin, B.C.)
I did a little research and found that they died in an avalanche in 1911, and by coincidence on October 5.
“The small Ben-My-Chree mine [on Lake Atlin] employed crews of between 10 and 60 men. Stanley and Anne McLellan lived in a small stone house high in the mountains and close to the mine, which was 5,000 feet above lake level. On October 5, 1911, tragedy struck. From 500 feet above them, from the crest of a hanging glacier 500 feet, an avalanche roared down and buried the Ben-My-Chree mine. The McLellans, who were peeling potatoes in their house, were killed instantly. The couple were then buried at Atlin.”
The mine was closed for good, but the Partridges opened a small hotel there which was very popular in the 20’s and 30’s. Today the only way to get there is by boat or floatplane.

Skagway city records; Atlinhistory.com

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Lewis Meyers


Lewis Meyers was a merchant in Skagway in November of 1898. He decided to go to San Francisco on business.
On November 22, 1898 he checked into the beautiful Baldwin Hotel downtown at the corner of Market and Powell. He never checked out. At 3:20 am a fire broke out and soon the entire hotel was in flames with people hanging out of windows and jumping to the ground. Lewis had a heart attack and died on November 23, 1898.

When the Baldwin Hotel was completed in 1877 at the cost of $3 million, it was opulent and majestic. Unfortunately, by 1898, the economy was in a downslide and opulence did not attract paying guests. Elias Jackson “Lucky” Baldwin, a California comstock miner had invested most of his money into the hotel and land. Like many others during this economic depression, Baldwin mortgaged several properties, including his hotel, in an attempt to pay his bills. But when the hotel caught fire and burned to the ground, he was not that unhappy. He was able to sell the property for $1.1 million, about $200,000 more than the amount owed on the hotel’s mortgage—proving that the nickname, “Lucky” was well-earned.

Unfortunately Mr. Meyers was not as lucky, he should have stayed put in safe Skagway, Alaska!

SF Municipal Reports; Elias Jackson Baldwin biography online; gendisasters.com;

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Barney Grey


Barney was an unhappy man. He walked off the wharf on this day, August 25, 1901 and drowned in the bay. He was buried in the Gold Rush Cemetery and little is known of him other than he was about 38 years old.

Skagway Death Record

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Dwight B. Fowler


On this day, August 8, 1897, Mr Fowler was found on the Chilkoot trail with a 100 pound pack on his back, drowned. I shudder to think how this happened…
His body may have been shipped out – another good reason to belong to a fraternal organization that promised to bring a brother home if he died in some god-forsaken place.

Bond p. 26; Skagway death record; Wells

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Black Cross Rock

On this day, August 3, 1898 while working on the railroad track at Mile 13, there was a rockslide. A huge rock slid down and buried two workers, Maurice Dunn and Al Jeneux. I have never been able to find any record of those two men, but the story continues to this day by the train agents. At the time, Michael J. Heney decided that it would be too dangerous and costly to blow up the rock to recover the bodies so they were left in place. At first there were rumors that there were more bodies, but White Pass announced that there were only two and erected a small cross with the names there at the rock.

legends