Crystal Brilliant Snow Jenne
Encyclopedia
Crystal Brilliant Snow Jenne was the first woman to run for the House of Representatives
in the Alaska Territory
.
on May 30, 1884.
In 1887, she emigrated to the Alaska Territory
with her parents, who worked as a troupe of actors to entertain the miners. As her father joined the Klondike Gold Rush
, they moved to Circle City where her father built an opera house. After he found gold, they moved to Seattle, but they lost their money and returned to Alaska.
After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley where she majored in Music, she taught in Paso Robles, California
. From 1907 to 1908, she taught in Douglas, Alaska
. She spent the next summer singing for miners in Skagway
, Haines
, Dawson, Fairbanks
, Nome
, etc. She then attended the Spencerian Commercial School in Cleveland, Ohio
to study Business. She then taught in Skagway, Sitka, and the Mendenhall Valley
.
She moved back to Juneau in 1914. She was married in 1916 and had three children. Her husband died in 1938. The next year, she published a volume of historical poetry. Meanwhile she worked in church choirs, taught, and ran a flower shop. In 1934, she ran as a Democrat
for the Alaska House of Representatives
. She lost four races, and was elected in 1940, and reelected in 1942.
She was a member of the Alaska Federation of Women's Clubs, the Democratic Women's Club, the Juneau Women's Club, and the National Business and Professional Women's Club.
She died at the Sitka Pioneer Home
on June 5, 1968.
Alaska House of Representatives
The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of about 15,673 people . Members serve two-year terms without term limits...
in the Alaska Territory
Alaska Territory
The Territory of Alaska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 24, 1912, until January 3, 1959, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alaska...
.
Biography
Crystal Brilliant Snow Jenne was born in Sonora, CaliforniaSonora, California
Sonora is the county seat of Tuolumne County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,903, up from 4,423 at the 2000 census. Sonora is the only incorporated community in Tuolumne County.-Geography:...
on May 30, 1884.
In 1887, she emigrated to the Alaska Territory
Alaska Territory
The Territory of Alaska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 24, 1912, until January 3, 1959, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alaska...
with her parents, who worked as a troupe of actors to entertain the miners. As her father joined the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
, they moved to Circle City where her father built an opera house. After he found gold, they moved to Seattle, but they lost their money and returned to Alaska.
After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley where she majored in Music, she taught in Paso Robles, California
Paso Robles, California
Paso Robles is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Paso Robles is the fastest growing city in San Luis Obispo County: Its population at the 2000 census was 24,297; in 2010 it recorded some 29,793 residentsLocated on the Salinas River north of San Luis Obispo, California,...
. From 1907 to 1908, she taught in Douglas, Alaska
Douglas, Alaska
Douglas, Alaska is an area on Douglas Island in southeastern Alaska. Itoriginated in 1881 as a place providing services to miners of the nearby Treadwell gold mine, and was incorporated as a city in 1902. Douglas was once a larger town than neighboring Juneau, but dwindled in the early 1900s as...
. She spent the next summer singing for miners in Skagway
Skagway, Alaska
Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska, on the Alaska Panhandle. It was formerly a city first incorporated in 1900 that was re-incorporated as a borough on June 25, 2007. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 862...
, Haines
Haines, Alaska
Haines is a census-designated place in Haines Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population of the area was 1,811. Haines was formerly a city but no longer has a municipal government...
, Dawson, Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
, Nome
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
, etc. She then attended the Spencerian Commercial School in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
to study Business. She then taught in Skagway, Sitka, and the Mendenhall Valley
Mendenhall Valley
Mendenhall Valley is an area of Juneau in the U.S. state of Alaska. The valley, named for physicist and meteorologist Thomas Corwin Mendenhall, was formed by Mendenhall Glacier over the course of roughly three thousand years...
.
She moved back to Juneau in 1914. She was married in 1916 and had three children. Her husband died in 1938. The next year, she published a volume of historical poetry. Meanwhile she worked in church choirs, taught, and ran a flower shop. In 1934, she ran as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
for the Alaska House of Representatives
Alaska House of Representatives
The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of about 15,673 people . Members serve two-year terms without term limits...
. She lost four races, and was elected in 1940, and reelected in 1942.
She was a member of the Alaska Federation of Women's Clubs, the Democratic Women's Club, the Juneau Women's Club, and the National Business and Professional Women's Club.
She died at the Sitka Pioneer Home
Sitka Pioneer Home
The Sitka Pioneer Home is an assisted living home in Sitka in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the oldest of the six homes in Alaska's Pioneer Home system. The building was designed by the Tacoma firm of Heath, Gove & Bell.-History:...
on June 5, 1968.