George W. Baker papers, 1896-1917.

ArchivalResource

Baker, George W., 1858-1914. George W. Baker papers, 1896-1917.

George W. Baker papers, 1896-1917.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/702172068

Correspondence, financial papers, photographs and printed ephemera relating to George W. Baker's life in Alaska. Includes 9 ALS, dated between 1896 and 1909, from Baker to his sister, Matilda Baker Wheeler of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, describing mountain life, gold prospecting, dog sledding, local characters, and Baker's decision to stay in the north; 2 ALS, dated 1904 and 1909, from Mrs. Wheeler to George relating family news from Philadelphia, as well as one ALS from Baker's niece, Jamie Kreuger. Also: four letters to Mrs. Wheeler, heir to Baker's estate, from James O'Neill, Baker's executor, describing the circumstances of their friendship in Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush, Baker's passing after seeking multiple cancer treatments, and the disposition of Baker's property; letters of condolence to Mrs. Wheeler from friends who had known Baker in Alaska; detailed correspondence between lawyers in Philadelphia and Alaska, engaged by Wheeler to resolve estate issues and investigate Baker's financial claims, describing economic prospects for Baker's land in Discovery Otter and including a bill of sale for the property; three bank books for Baker's accounts in Iditarod, Nome, and Fairbanks; one notebook with penciled accounts; financial papers relating to Baker's illness, treatment, hospitalization at Seattle's Minor Private Hospital, death, and burial arrangements, including an itemized undertaker's bill and two photos of his funeral monument; two photographic postcards; one mounted photo of an unidentified group; one photo of George Baker and a friend in an early automobile; newspaper clippings; and Baker's Pioneers of Alaska membership certificate, signed and sealed on February 20, 1907.

0.21 linear ft. (1 box)

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library