Early life

John Bremner was born in Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and emigrated to Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

. At some point he abandoned his farm and family and probably worked as a sailor.

Life among the Indians in Alaska

In 1884 he was first recorded as living among on the Copper River (Alaska)

Copper River (Alaska)

The Copper River or Ahtna River is a 300-mile river in south-central Alaska in the United States. It drains a large region of the Wrangell Mountains and Chugach Mountains into the Gulf of Alaska...

, the only white man living in an area inhabited at the time by the Copper Indians, or Yellowknives

Yellowknives

The Yellowknives, Yellow Knives, Copper Indians, Red Knives or T'atsaot'ine are Aboriginal peoples of Canada, one of the five main groups of the Dene indigenous people that live in the Northwest Territories of Canada...

. In the summers he prospected for gold. In 1884-1885 he wrote a diary about his time living through the winter on the Copper River in a cabin with an Indian wife amongst the Copper River Indians (referred to him as "Ma Nuska") which was transcribed into the book Shores and Slopes of Alaska, p 200-221.

Allen expedition

In early 1885 John Bremner joined the expedition of Lt. Henry Tureman Allen

Henry Tureman Allen

Henry Tureman Allen was a United States Army officer known for exploring the Copper River in Alaska in 1885 along with the Tanana and Koyukuk rivers by transversing 1,500 miles of wilderness. His trek was been compared by General Nelson A. Miles to that of Lewis and Clark.Henry was born in...

, a West Point graduate, traveling 1500 miles with Lt. Allen, Pvt. Frederick W. Fickett, Sgt. Cody Robertson, and fellow prospector Peder Johnson, through previously unexplored territory along the Copper, Tanana

Tanana

Tanana may refer to:* Tanana, Alaska* Tanana River* Tanana languages* Lower Tanana* Upper Tanana* Tanana * Frank Tanana baseball player...

, and Koyukuk

Koyukuk

Koyukuk may refer to:* Koyukuk, Alaska* Koyukuk River* Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge...

 Rivers. On March 29, 1885, the party left Taral to ascend the previously unexplored Copper River. After a side trip up the Chitina River

Chitina River

The Chitina River is a river in southern Alaska, USA, at about 61° North 141°40' West. It begins in the Saint Elias Mountains at the base of Logan Glacier and runs west until it flows into the Copper River at Chitina, Alaska....

 to the head of that river, they continued up the Copper to the Slana River. They traveled to the source of the Slana and then downstream on the Tetlin and Tanana rivers to the Yukon. In the Fall of 1886 Johnson and Bremner decided to stay in the town of Nuklukyet on the Yukon (today known as Old Station, 17 miles below the town of Tanana) while the others continued. Lt. Allen and Pvt. Fickett portaged to the Kanuti and Koyukuk rivers upstream, traveled downstream to the Yukon, portaged to the Unalakleet and from there went downstream to St. Michael. Their journey was “subsequently praised as one of the greater explorations in the history of North America.” Allen Glacier and Mt. Allen, near the head of the Tanana, are named for the party's leader.

Work as prospector and end of life

John Bremner and Peder Johnson purchased a prospecting outfit from the men who ran the trading post at Nuklukyet and stayed in the Central Yukon River area during the winter of 1886-'87. In the Spring on 1887 they prospected on the Koyukuk River and then returned to Nuklukyet. While boating and prospecting on a tribute of the Yukon River called John's River (later named for him) and the Dolby River he was killed by Indians who stole his rifle and boat. In the summer of 1888 a posse of prospectors took a steamer up the Koyokuk River and Dolby River where a village was discovered the inhabitants were persuaded to give up two native Indians, one of whom was hanged from a tree.

Geographical places named for John Bremner

The Bremner River

Bremner River

The Bremner River is a river in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska named for John Bremner, a prospector who prospected for gold on the river and was the first non-native person to go there. It is a tributary of the Copper River and flows generally westward from the Bremner Glacier...

, part of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve

Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in southeastern Alaska. It was established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The park area is included in an International Biosphere Reserve and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site...

 and Wrangell - Saint Elias Wilderness, flows into the Copper River

Copper River

Copper River may refer to:*Copper River , in the United States.*Copper River , in the United States.*Copper River , a tributary of the Skeena River in Canada....

 55 miles NW of Katalla, Alaska

Katalla, Alaska

Katalla is a ghost town in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, southeast of Cordova. The name of this town was sometimes spelled Catalla. It is now abandoned.- Geography :...

, and the Chugach Mountains

Chugach Mountains

The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about 500 km long, running generally east-west. Its highest point is Mount Marcus Baker, at , but most of its...

. The North Fork of the Bremner has its headwaters at the Bremner Glacier, which is eight miles in length. From the junction of the Middle and the North forks of the Bremner the river flows through mountain wilderness 40 miles SW to the Copper. The town of Bremner Alaska, on the Copper River, a small settlement with an airstrip, near Chitina is the site of the Bremner Historic Mining District

Bremner Historic Mining District

The Bremner Historic Mining District is a mining camp in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska. It is named after John Bremner, who in 1884-1885 was the first non-native person to live in the area and who prospected for gold along the Bremner River...

 which is on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska

National Register of Historic Places listings in Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska, United States...

. The John River (Alaska)

John River (Alaska)

The John River is a river in the northern part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was named after John Bremner, a prospector and explorer who was one of the first non-native persons to go there. It flows south from Anaktuvuk Pass in Alaska's Brooks Range, into the Koyukuk River at a point near the...

 is formed from the confluence of the Contact and Inukpasugruk Creeks, and flows 125 miles south from Anaktuyuk Pass to Koyukuk River

Koyukuk River

The Koyukuk River is a principal tributary of the Yukon River, approximately 500 mi long, in northern Alaska in the United States.It drains an area north of the Yukon on the southern side of the Brooks Range...

 (which flows into the Yukon River

Yukon River

The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...

), 1 mile NE of Bettles, Kanuti Flats 66o 55’ N, 151 o 39’ W.