Thwaites, John E. (John Edward), 1863-1940

John Edward Thwaites was born in Eastwood, Ontario, Canada, in 1863. The family moved to Michigan around 1871. In 1885, Thwaites married Carrie Warne, and the two worked as schoolteachers in Michigan until Thwaites's ill health led the couple to relocate to Florida. Unable to establish a viable career as a teacher, Thwaites applied at the Florida Southern Railroad for a position as a federal Railway Mail Service clerk in 1895. In 1901 he was transferred to Spokane to work for the Rocky Mountain Division of the Great Northern Railway. After his involvement in several train wrecks and derailments, Thwaites decided to apply for a less dangerous position in Alaska. He was assigned the "ship service mail route" from Valdez to Unalaska in 1905, primarily aboard the SS Dora of the Northwestern Steamship Company. From 1905 to 1912 Thwaites delivered mail to the coastal communities of Southwestern Alaska. Thwaites was also an amateur photographer. Using a Kodak camera popular for producing postcards, Thwaites documented his experiences in southeastern Alaska, photographing native Alaskans, small towns, and scenes of life in Alaska. Thwaites also photographed maritime disasters, including the wreck of the SS Farallon at Illiamna Bay in 1910. Thwaites was transferred to the Seward-Seattle mail route in 1914, delivering mail by dogsled to the Yukon-Kuskokwin region. He began operating a photography business out of Seward, moving the business to Ketchikan after his retirement in 1919. After selling his business in 1932, he and his second wife moved to Mercer Island, Wash., where Thwaites died in 1940.

From the description of John E. Thwaites Alaska photographs, writings, and other material, ca. 1900-1934. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 667710760

Photographer and mail clerk, John E. Thwaites, was born around 1863 probably in Michigan. He came to Alaska in 1905 with the postal service. In 1906, he became a mail clerk aboard the mail steamer, S.S. Dora, where he worked for seven years. The S.S. Dora was based in Sitka and made monthly runs from April through October to Alaskan villages from Yakutat to Unalaska. He also served on the Mariposa and the Farallon. Thwaites was on the Farallon in January, 1910, when it wrecked in Illiamna Bay and he, along with 30 others, had to survive a month on the beach before being rescued. Thwaites took hundreds of photographs while working at sea. In 1909, he married Isabelle Morse. They lived in Seward until April of 1919, when they settled in Ketchikan and ran a photograph studio and curio shop. In 1932, ill health forced his retirement. They moved to Bell Island hot springs and then to Mercer Island, Washington, where he died August 3, 1940. Thwaites' ashes were carried north on the steamer, Aleutian, and scattered in the Tongass Narrows.

From the description of John E. Thwaites photograph collection, ca. 1906-1932 [graphic]. (Alaska State Library). WorldCat record id: 50772387

John Edward Thwaites was born in Eastwood, Ontario, Canada in 1863. The family moved to Michigan around 1871. In 1885, Thwaites married Carrie Warne, and the two worked as schoolteachers in Michigan until Thwaites' ill health led the couple to relocate to Florida. Unable to establish a viable career as a teacher, Thwaites applied at the Florida Southern Railroad for a position as a federal Railway Mail Service clerk in 1895. In 1901 he was transferred to Spokane to work for the Rocky Mountain Division of the Great Northern Railway. After his involvement in several train wrecks and derailments, Thwaites decided to apply for a less dangerous position in Alaska. He was assigned the "ship service mail route" from Valdez to Unalaska in 1905, primarily aboard the SS Dora of the Northwestern Steamship Company. From 1905 to 1912 Thwaites delivered mail to the coastal communities of Southwestern Alaska.

Thwaites was also an amateur photographer. Using a Kodak camera popular for producing postcards, Thwaites documented his experiences in Southeastern Alaska, photographing native Alaskans, small towns, and scenes of life in Alaska. Thwaites also photographed maritime disasters, including the wreck of the SS Farallon at Illiamna Bay in 1910.

Thwaites was transferred to the Seward-Seattle mail route in 1914, delivering mail by dogsled to the Yukon-Kuskokwin region. He began operating a photography business out of Seward, moving the business to Ketchikan after his retirement in 1919. After selling his business in 1932, he and second wife moved to Mercer Island, Washington, where Thwaites died in 1940.

From the guide to the John E. Thwaites Alaska photographs, writings and other material, circa 1900-1934, (Museum of History & Industry Sophie Frye Bass Library)