George Carmack
Encyclopedia
George Washington Carmack (September 24, 1860 – June 5, 1922) was a Contra Costa County, California
-born prospector
in the Yukon
. He was originally credited with the discovery of gold that set off the Klondike Gold Rush
on August 16, 1896. Today, historians usually give joint (or even sole) credit to his Canadian brother-in-law, Skookum Jim Mason.
aboard the USS Wachusetts and in Alaska before deserting in California in 1882 when he was refused leave to visit his sick sister.
Carmack returned to Alaska in 1885 to engage in trading, fishing and trapping. In 1887 he made a common-law marriage to a Tagish
First Nation woman who went by the name of Kate
.
deposit near what is today the village of Carmacks, Yukon
which was named after him.
In August 1896, he and Kate were fishing at the mouth of the Klondike River
when Skookum Jim, his nephew Dawson Charlie
and another nephew found them. Prospector Robert Henderson who had been mining gold on the Indian River, just south of the Klondike, suggested that he should try out Rabbit Creek, now Bonanza Creek
, where the gold discovery was made.
The finding of gold made him wealthy and the Carmacks moved to a ranch near Modesto, California
and lived with Carmack's sister, Rose Watson (Rose Curtis).
. George and Marguerite's union was a joyful and prosperous one. They settled into a twelve room white frame house in Seattle with a garage in the back for George's new automobile. Marguerite was a good business woman, and she directed her husband's money into real estate. He owned office buildings, apartment houses, and hotels. He grew fat - to well over two hundred pounds. With the passing years, his fortune multiplied as well.
Yet throughout his life George could not stop looking for gold. He worked several claims in California, on the western slope of the Sierra Nevadas, and in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle. George was determined to find another mother lode and re-create the exalting moment of discovery he had experienced as a young man on Bonanza Creek. George died at age sixty-two, in 1922, while he was working a new claim. He is interred at Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park
.
Graphie married Marguerite's brother. Together with Rose, Graphie challenged and settled out of court the appointment of Marguerite as administratrix of Carmack's estate.
Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
-born prospector
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
in the Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
. He was originally credited with the discovery of gold that set off 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...
on August 16, 1896. Today, historians usually give joint (or even sole) credit to his Canadian brother-in-law, Skookum Jim Mason.
Early years
Carmack's mother died when he was 8 years old and his father when he was 11. His great-grandfather was Abraham Blystone. Carmack briefly served in the United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
aboard the USS Wachusetts and in Alaska before deserting in California in 1882 when he was refused leave to visit his sick sister.
Carmack returned to Alaska in 1885 to engage in trading, fishing and trapping. In 1887 he made a common-law marriage to a Tagish
Tagish
The Tagish or Tagish Khwáan are a group of Athabaskan First Nation people that lived around Tagish Lake and Marsh Lake, in the Yukon Territory of Canada. Tagish people intermarried heavily with Tlingit people from the coast and the Tagish language is almost extinct...
First Nation woman who went by the name of Kate
Kate Carmack
Shaaw Tláa, also known as Kate Carmack was a Tagish First Nation woman born near Bennett Lake. She lived with her parents, and seven sisters and brothers, near Carcross, Yukon. Her father, Kaachgaawáa, was the head of the Tlingit crow clan, while her mother, Gus’dutéen, was a member of the Tagish...
.
Prospector
Carmack was not popular with other miners, who nicknamed him "Squaw Man" for his association with native people and "Lyin' George" for his exaggerated claims. Nevertheless, he did find a coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
deposit near what is today the village of Carmacks, Yukon
Carmacks, Yukon
-History:The community consists of the Village of Carmacks and the Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation and was named after George Washington Carmack, who found coal near Tantalus Butte in 1893. Carmack built a trading post and traded with locals near the present site of Carmacks and also started a...
which was named after him.
In August 1896, he and Kate were fishing at the mouth of the Klondike River
Klondike River
The Klondike River is a tributary of the Yukon River in Canada that gave its name to the Klondike Gold Rush. The Klondike River has its source in the Ogilvie Mountains and flows into the Yukon River at Dawson City....
when Skookum Jim, his nephew Dawson Charlie
Dawson Charlie
Dawson Charlie or K̲áa Goox̱ [qʰáː kuːχ] was a Canadian Tagish/Tlingit First Nation person and one of the co-discoverers of gold that led to the Klondike Gold Rush located in the Yukon territory of Northwest Canada. He was the nephew of Skookum Jim Mason and accompanied him on his search for his...
and another nephew found them. Prospector Robert Henderson who had been mining gold on the Indian River, just south of the Klondike, suggested that he should try out Rabbit Creek, now Bonanza Creek
Bonanza Creek
Bonanza Creek is a watercourse in Yukon Territory, Canada. It runs for about from King Solomon's Dome to the Klondike River. In the last years of the 19th century and the early 20th century, Bonanza Creek was the center of the Klondike Gold Rush, which attracted tens of thousands of prospectors to...
, where the gold discovery was made.
The finding of gold made him wealthy and the Carmacks moved to a ranch near Modesto, California
Modesto, California
Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....
and lived with Carmack's sister, Rose Watson (Rose Curtis).
Later years
In 1900, he abandoned Kate, moved to Seattle, and married Marguerite P. Laimee in Olympia, WashingtonOlympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
. George and Marguerite's union was a joyful and prosperous one. They settled into a twelve room white frame house in Seattle with a garage in the back for George's new automobile. Marguerite was a good business woman, and she directed her husband's money into real estate. He owned office buildings, apartment houses, and hotels. He grew fat - to well over two hundred pounds. With the passing years, his fortune multiplied as well.
Yet throughout his life George could not stop looking for gold. He worked several claims in California, on the western slope of the Sierra Nevadas, and in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle. George was determined to find another mother lode and re-create the exalting moment of discovery he had experienced as a young man on Bonanza Creek. George died at age sixty-two, in 1922, while he was working a new claim. He is interred at Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park
Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park
Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park originated in 1885. It is located on both sides of Aurora Avenue in Seattle, Washington, and occupies roughly . It is the largest cemetery in Seattle.-History:...
.
Graphie married Marguerite's brother. Together with Rose, Graphie challenged and settled out of court the appointment of Marguerite as administratrix of Carmack's estate.