WAUCarmackGeorge5176.xml Guide to the George W. Carmack Papers Carmack (George W.) Papers Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries 2004 (Last modified: 9/1/2021)
Allen Library BOX 352900 Seattle, Washington 98195-2900 Business Number: 206-543-1929 speccoll@uw.edu http://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcollections/
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-08-17. Description is written in: English, Latin script. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition. Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries George W. Carmack papers Carmack, George W. (George Washington), 1860-1922 5176 1.21 cubic feet 5 boxes 1869-1994 1881-1990 Correspondence, legal documents, and other papers from a gold miner whose discovery claim at Bonanza Creek on August 17, 1896, started the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as papers of some family members English

George Washington Carmack (1860-1922) was a miner whose discovery claim at Bonanza Creek on August 17, 1896, started the Klondike Gold Rush.

After deserting the United States Marine Corps in 1882, George Carmack lived among the Tagish Indians in the Yukon Valley along with his common law wife, Kate Carmack, and their daughter, Graphie. Kate's brother, Skookum Jim, and Jim's nephew, Tagish Charlie, also made their fortunes mining for gold as partners of Carmack.

George and Kate later moved to a ranch near Hollister, California, and lived with George's sister, Rose Watson (later Rose Curtis). George eventually left California, parting ways with Kate as well as his former partners. He left Kate and Graphie with Rose, and in 1900 George married Marguerite Laimee in Olympia, Washington. Kate, illiterate and nearly destitute, began a difficult legal battle to prove she was George's wife and entitled to alimony. She eventually dropped the case in hopes of winning back her husband. When this attempt failed, she settled in Carcross, Alaska, where she died in 1920. After Carmack's death in 1922, Graphie, now married to Marguerite's brother, and Rose challenged Marguerite's appointment as administratrix of Carmack's estate. The case was settled out of court.

In 1990, James A. Johnson published Carmack of the Klondike. The book was republished in 2001 as George Carmack: The Man of Mystery Who Set Off the Klondike Gold Rush.

Approximately half of the records are the personal papers of George Carmack. Included are letters, court documents, legal documents, and photocopies of photographs of George Carmack. The bulk of the letters were written by Carmack to his sister, Rose Watson. James Wickersham's correspondence documents his research on Carmack. The court papers relate to the legal battles over Carmack's estate. There are separate subgroups for the papers of his first wife, Kate Carmack, and for the research papers of his biographer, James A. Johnson.

The Kate Carmack subgroup consists mainly of correspondence with her attorney, John H. Durst, from the period 1900-1901.

The James A. Johnson subgroup includes correspondence with publishers and Carmack's heirs pertaining to the writing and publication of Johnson's biography of Carmack, Carmack of the Klondike (1990), as well as a manuscript for the book.

Select items from this collection are available on the Libraries Digital Collections' site.

The collection is open to all users.

Request at UW

Literary rights originally granted to James A. Johnson by Mrs. Arthur Howard, grand-niece of Carmack's wife, Marguerite, and other heirs were transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

The papers were donated to the Libraries by James Albert Johnson in 2000.

Processing was completed in 2002.

Photographs and slides of George W. Carmack, Kate Carmack, and others taken at Bonanza Creek, Yukon Territory, and California, ca. 1883-1920; James Albert Johnson, ca. 1990; and Carmack's descendents were transferred to the George W. Carmack Photograph Collection in the division in 2002.

Carmack, George W., My Experiences in the Yukon (Seattle, The Trade Printery, c. 1933).

Carmack, George W. (George Washington), 1860-1922--Archives Carmack, George W. (George Washington), 1860-1922--Estate Carmack, George W. (George Washington), 1860-1922--Family Carmack, Kate Carmack, Kate--Archives Durst, John H. Johnson, James Albert, 1905- Johnson, James Albert, 1905- --Archives Wickersham, James, 1857-1939 Klondike River Valley (Yukon)--Gold discoveries Yukon Territory--Gold discoveries Claims against decedents' estates--West (U.S.) Gold miners--Yukon Territory--Klondike River Valley--Archives Pioneers--Yukon Territory--Klondike River Valley--Archives Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington) Pioneers Mines and Mineral Resources Legal documents Carmack of the Klondike Correspondence Incoming Letters 1883, 1921, 1991 5176-001 Box 1 1 Outgoing letters 1883-1899 5176-001 Box 1 2

View selected letters on the Libraries Digital Collections' site.

Outgoing letters 1900 5176-001 Box 1 3

View selected letters on the Libraries Digital Collections' site.

Outgoing letters 1900 5176-001 Box 1 4

View a letter from Carmack to his sister Rose Watson on the Libraries' Digital Collections site.

Outgoing letters 1900 5176-001 Box 1 5

View a letter from Carmack to his sister Rose Watson on the Libraries' Digital Collections site.

Outgoing letters 1900 5176-001 Box 1 6

View a letter from Carmack to his sister Rose Watson on the Libraries' Digital Collections site.

Outgoing letters 1900 5176-001 Box 1 7

View a letter from Carmack to his sister Rose Watson as well as a letter Kate Mason Carmack sent to George on the Libraries' Digital Collections site.

Outgoing letters 1901 5176-001 Box 1 8 Outgoing letters 1905-1912 5176-001 Box 1 9 Correspondence of Others Other Family Members 1899-1906 5176-001 Box 1 10 Wickersham, James 1938-1939 5176-001 Box 1 11-12 Re: Mason, James 1938 5176-001 Box 1 13 Notes 1883-1884 5176-001 Box 1 14 Military Records Enlistment Papers - United States Marine Corps 1881 5176-001 Box 1 15 Deck Logs of USS Wachusetts 1882 5176-001 Box 1 16 Court Papers Saftig and Curtis v. Carmack 1923 5176-001 Box 1 17 Saftig and Curtis v. Carmack plaintiffs complaint 1922 5176-001 Box 1 18

Negative print created in 1960 with handwritten annotations correcting information in the document. Source of annotations unknown.

 Re: Estate of George W. Carmack 1924 5176-001 Box 2 1-2 Frye v. Carmack 1924 5176-001 Box 2 3 Re: Estate of Carmack 1925 5176-001 Box 2 4 Re: Estate of Carmack 1926 5176-001 Box 2 5 Re: Estate of Marguerite P. Carmack 1942 5176-001 Box 2 6-7 Frye v. Carmack undated 5176-001 Box 2 8 From Washington Supreme Court undated 5176-001 Box 2 9 Briefs - Supreme Court of the State of Washington undated 5176-001 Box 2 10-11 Briefs - Supreme Court of the State of Washington undated 5176-001 Box 3 1-3 Legal Documents - Marriage Certificate 1900 5176-001 Box 3 4 Legal Documents of Others 1913-1938, undated 5176-001 Box 3 5 Publications "Early Days at Caribous Crossing and the Discovery of Gold on the Klondike," "The Klondike News" 1898 1950 5176-001 Box 3 6 Financial Records of Others 1913 5176-001 Box 3 7 Photographs (Photocopies) 1869-1990, undated 5176-001 Box 3 8 Kate Carmack Papers Incoming Letters 1900-1901 5176-001 Box 4 1-4 Outgoing Letters 1900-1901 5176-001 Box 4 5-7 General Correspondence of Durst, John H. 1900-1901 5176-001 Box 4 8-12 Financial Records 1901 5176-001 Box 4 13 James A. Johnson Papers Incoming Letters 1960-1994 5176-001 Box 4 14 Outgoing Letters 1987-1990 5176-001 Box 4 15 Publications - Carmack of the Klondike 1990 5176-001 Box 4 16 Writings - The Carmack Story undated 5176-001 Box 5 1-17 Interview Notes with Mrs. Arthur H. Howard 1974 5176-001 Box 5 18 Lists undated 5176-001 Box 5 19 Clippings 1987 5176-001 Box 5 20