WAUCarmackGeorge5176.xml Carmack (George W.) Papers Guide to the George W. Carmack 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)
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This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2021-09-01 17:03:49 +0000. Description is written in: English, Latin script. Carmack, George W.$q(George Washington),$d1860-1922 Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries George W. Carmack papers 5176 5176-001 1.21 cubic ft. 1869-1994 1881-1990 Gold miner whose discovery claim at Bonanza Creek on August 17, 1896, started the Klondike Gold Rush 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.

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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., 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 Claims against decedents' estates--West (U.S.) Durst, John H. Gold miners--Yukon Territory--Klondike River Valley--Archives Johnson, James Albert, 1905- Johnson, James Albert, 1905- --Archives Klondike River Valley (Yukon)--Gold discoveries Pioneers--Yukon Territory--Klondike River Valley--Archives Wickersham, James, 1857-1939 Yukon Territory--Gold discoveries Legal documents Carmack of the Klondike Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington) Pioneers Mines and Mineral Resources Incoming Letters 1883 1991 1921 1/1 Outgoing Letters 1883-1912 1/2-9 Correspondence of Others Other Family Members 1899-1906 1/10 Wickersham, James 1938-1939 1/11-12 Re: Mason, James 1938 1/13 Notes 1883-1884 1/14 Military Records Enlistment Papers - United States Marine Corps 1881 1/15 Deck Logs of USS Wachusetts 1882 1/16 Court Papers Saftig and Curtis v. Carmack 1922 1/17 Re: Estate of George W. Carmack 1923 1/18 Re: Estate of George W. Carmack 1924 2/1-2 Frye v. Carmack 1924 2/3 Re: Estate of Carmack 1925 2/4 Re: Estate of Carmack 1926 2/5 Re: Estate of Marguerite P. Carmack 1942 2/6-7 Frye v. Carmack undated 2/8 From Washington Supreme Court undated 2/9 Briefs - Supreme Court of the State of Washington undated 2/10-11 Briefs - Supreme Court of the State of Washington undated 3/1-3 Legal Documents - Marriage Certificate 1900 3/4 Legal Documents of Others 1913-1938, undated 3/5 Publications "Early Days at Caribous Crossing and the Discovery of Gold on the Klondike," "The Klondike News" 1898 1950 3/6 Financial Records of Others 1913 3/7 Photographs (Photocopies) 1869-1990, undated 3/8 Kate Carmack Papers Incoming Letters 1900-1901 4/1-4 Outgoing Letters 1900-1901 4/5-7 General Correspondence of Durst, John H. 1900-1901 4/8-12 Financial Records 1901 4/13 James A. Johnson Papers Incoming Letters 1960-1994 4/14 Outgoing Letters 1987-1990 4/15 Publications - Carmack of the Klondike 1990 4/16 Writings - The Carmack Story undated 5/1-17 Interview Notes with Mrs. Arthur H. Howard 1974 5/18 Lists undated 5/19 Clippings 1987 5/20