The Story of a Genteel Lady in Frontier Alaska
If you would ever write a book, what would the topic be?
For some 25-plus years, my reply was always the same. I would write it about the original owner of a trunk I purchased in an auction. Little did I plan for that "small talk" answer to become a reality. However, late one night in 2003, I typed in the words "Eagle, Alaska" on the internet search engine. I recall that the first website to which I was whisked away was a ghost town theme.
A little more leap frogging among related subject lily pads led me to the website for the Eagle Historical Society. Apparently, the town was established on the Yukon River by a group of disgruntled gold miners from Dawson City, Yukon Territory, in 1897. Upon hearing the gold rush had shifted locations further north, Washington sent up Army personnel to establish Fort Egbert for peacekeeping. Unfortunately, the height of the gold rush in the Eagle vicinity was short lived. By 1899, most of the gold seekers headed for Nome, Alaska.
In 1913, British citizen Jessie and her entourage were forced to disembark from their journey down the Yukon River in order to seek medical attention. The physician advised the party to discontinue their trip for a given time. By the time they could resume their travels, other circumstances forced a more permanent stay in this remote location.
Thus begins the tale I have pieced together in Jessie: the story of a genteel lady in frontier Alaska. Stay tuned to this site as I share the amazing story of opening the trunk and searching for and assembling the facts of Jessie's life.