Clemons, Basil

Basil Edwin Clemons (1887-1964) was born in Lauderdale County, Alabama, and raised in Alabama and Texas. In 1903 he moved to California, eventually becoming a photographer in Hollywood. In 1909 he traveled to Alaska, where he spent nearly a decade photographing gold mining camps, Alaska Natives, and dogsled races, particularly in the Ruby and Iditarod regions. During World War I he joined the Army and trained at Fort Liscum, near Valdez, Alaska. Following his discharge in 1918, he moved to Seattle, where he established a photography studio. The studio burned in 1919, while he was visiting family in Texas. Rather than return to Seattle, he migrated to the oil boom town of Breckenridge, Texas, which he proceeded to document photographically for the next 30 years. (From the publication Stephens County: Much to Be Cherished [Breckenridge, Texas: Breckenridge/Stephens County Sesquicentennial Committee, 1987, p. 55].)

From the description of Basil Clemons papers, 1909-1920. (University of Alaska, Fairbanks). WorldCat record id: 653300714

...