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Gold Rush Women
This book gathers the riveting stories of adventurous women-miners, madams, merchants, and mothers -- who went North during the gold rush era.
126 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
3 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Claire Rudolf Murphy
22 books16 followersClaire Rudolf Murphy has loved history since she was a young girl; in fact she majored in it at Santa Clara University. Murphy is the author of fourteen books for children. A former middle and high school teacher, she is a member of the faculty of Hamline University's Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults. She lives in Washington.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 21, 2022
“Gold Rush Women” is a nonfiction book focusing on daring women who work as madams, miners, or merchants in the Yukon and Alaska during the many gold rushes that occurred between the 1880s and early 1900s.
The book consists of an introduction followed by five chapters and begins with map of Alaska and the Yukon followed by an introduction on the women of the north. The book introduction states that thousands of women came to Alaska and the Yukon for the varied opportunities the new land offered. Some women came to the Yukon area as equal partners with their husbands, in company of strange men, or alone. Surprisingly, during this time in history, one in ten was female.
It was fascinating to read about the native women of the Koyukon Athabascan tribe who left their families to married early traders then taught their non-Native husbands how to work with nature to harvest the bounty it provided. It was also empowering to learn of native women teaching crucial skills to white women to help them survive.
Chapter one introduces the reader to women ahead of their time, the Athabascan women who married early traders and the few white women who arrived in the Yukon Basin before the Klondike gold rush. This chapter explains how the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 as well as the circumstances that lead to the creation of trading posts. Native Athabascan women showed their ingenuity by learning to cook on cast-iron wood stoves while supplementing their income by doing such native practices as sewing animal skin clothing and seeing animals they hunted and killed. Since the Yukon was harsh, the women often moved when gold was discovered elsewhere.
Chapter two features women who helped discover the Klondike gold in 1896 and who were able to capitalize on its riches. Women who had gold rush experiences were affected for the rest of their lives by either taking their riches and bettering the community, taking their riches and leaving, being in the North temporarily to get a new start in life, or in some case, riches leading to sadness and tragedy. The authors share how hard it was to create this book since while some of the women wrote their own memoirs, for other women, there was little history available therefore information was compiled by piecing together various sources including census records, newspaper articles, government documents, gold rush histories, and family stories from their descendants.
Chapter three describes how some women seized unique opportunities on the frontier and were able to make as much money as men. I appreciated the inclusion of gold rush time line which occurred from 1849-1914. Loved seeing photos from this time in history, helps to bring stories to life. Also liked the reproductions of newspaper articles from the time period such as a 1897 article from “The Skagway News” titled “What should be taken and what should be left behind.”
Chapter four profiles women from the Alaska gold rush communities of Rampart and Nome at the end of the century. It was interesting to read about the transformations of various cities due to the gold rush as well as the filthy and lawless conditions some towns faced due to citizens with new found riches.
Chapter five concludes with gold being found in present-day Fairbanks and how this discovery led many to leave Nome and Dawson and help Fairbanks develop into a family community. African American, American, Canadian, Eskimo, German, Irish, Native Athabascan, and Native Tagish women who used the gold rush as a chance for adventure and advancement due to few class distinctions. As gold rush cities grew, social conventions became more rigid and unfortunately, racism began to lead to some women being unable to claim their gold claims.
Thus book works to finally identify women previously not recognized for their contribution to the gold rush such as Bridget Mannion, Kate Carmack, Harriet Pullen, Josephine Earp (wife of Wyatt Earp,) Belinda Mulrooney, and Nellie Cashmam. Shows how experience in Klondike lead to other businesses and in some cases, election into political office.
Of all the women profiled, the most awe inspiring story to me was the profile on African American woman Lucille Hunter. Lucille was nineteen years old and nine months pregnant when her and her husband came to the Klondike. Lucille stopped long enough to give both to a daughter then continued to travel to Dawson, Alaska. Ironically since the Natives had never seen black people before, they described Lucille and Charles as “just another kind of white person.” Luckily, there were able to stake a claim on Bonanza Creek in 1898, well before anyone else and raised their daughter around Dawson. After her husband’s death, Lucille continued to operate three gold claims and a silver claim. Lucille was extremely independent and since she didn’t own a car, she would walk 140 every year to take care of her claim business. After the mines shut down during World War II, Lucille adapted to the changing times by moving to Whitehorse and operating a laundry business until her death in 1972 at the age of 94.
This book serves to show the variety and depth of women’s roles in the North during the gold rush as well as the strength and skills they discovered as the learned how to survive in a harsh land. Through the stories presented in this book, it’s meant to inspire the reader to follow their dreams and to be confident in whatever skills they possess.
The book consists of an introduction followed by five chapters and begins with map of Alaska and the Yukon followed by an introduction on the women of the north. The book introduction states that thousands of women came to Alaska and the Yukon for the varied opportunities the new land offered. Some women came to the Yukon area as equal partners with their husbands, in company of strange men, or alone. Surprisingly, during this time in history, one in ten was female.
It was fascinating to read about the native women of the Koyukon Athabascan tribe who left their families to married early traders then taught their non-Native husbands how to work with nature to harvest the bounty it provided. It was also empowering to learn of native women teaching crucial skills to white women to help them survive.
Chapter one introduces the reader to women ahead of their time, the Athabascan women who married early traders and the few white women who arrived in the Yukon Basin before the Klondike gold rush. This chapter explains how the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 as well as the circumstances that lead to the creation of trading posts. Native Athabascan women showed their ingenuity by learning to cook on cast-iron wood stoves while supplementing their income by doing such native practices as sewing animal skin clothing and seeing animals they hunted and killed. Since the Yukon was harsh, the women often moved when gold was discovered elsewhere.
Chapter two features women who helped discover the Klondike gold in 1896 and who were able to capitalize on its riches. Women who had gold rush experiences were affected for the rest of their lives by either taking their riches and bettering the community, taking their riches and leaving, being in the North temporarily to get a new start in life, or in some case, riches leading to sadness and tragedy. The authors share how hard it was to create this book since while some of the women wrote their own memoirs, for other women, there was little history available therefore information was compiled by piecing together various sources including census records, newspaper articles, government documents, gold rush histories, and family stories from their descendants.
Chapter three describes how some women seized unique opportunities on the frontier and were able to make as much money as men. I appreciated the inclusion of gold rush time line which occurred from 1849-1914. Loved seeing photos from this time in history, helps to bring stories to life. Also liked the reproductions of newspaper articles from the time period such as a 1897 article from “The Skagway News” titled “What should be taken and what should be left behind.”
Chapter four profiles women from the Alaska gold rush communities of Rampart and Nome at the end of the century. It was interesting to read about the transformations of various cities due to the gold rush as well as the filthy and lawless conditions some towns faced due to citizens with new found riches.
Chapter five concludes with gold being found in present-day Fairbanks and how this discovery led many to leave Nome and Dawson and help Fairbanks develop into a family community. African American, American, Canadian, Eskimo, German, Irish, Native Athabascan, and Native Tagish women who used the gold rush as a chance for adventure and advancement due to few class distinctions. As gold rush cities grew, social conventions became more rigid and unfortunately, racism began to lead to some women being unable to claim their gold claims.
Thus book works to finally identify women previously not recognized for their contribution to the gold rush such as Bridget Mannion, Kate Carmack, Harriet Pullen, Josephine Earp (wife of Wyatt Earp,) Belinda Mulrooney, and Nellie Cashmam. Shows how experience in Klondike lead to other businesses and in some cases, election into political office.
Of all the women profiled, the most awe inspiring story to me was the profile on African American woman Lucille Hunter. Lucille was nineteen years old and nine months pregnant when her and her husband came to the Klondike. Lucille stopped long enough to give both to a daughter then continued to travel to Dawson, Alaska. Ironically since the Natives had never seen black people before, they described Lucille and Charles as “just another kind of white person.” Luckily, there were able to stake a claim on Bonanza Creek in 1898, well before anyone else and raised their daughter around Dawson. After her husband’s death, Lucille continued to operate three gold claims and a silver claim. Lucille was extremely independent and since she didn’t own a car, she would walk 140 every year to take care of her claim business. After the mines shut down during World War II, Lucille adapted to the changing times by moving to Whitehorse and operating a laundry business until her death in 1972 at the age of 94.
This book serves to show the variety and depth of women’s roles in the North during the gold rush as well as the strength and skills they discovered as the learned how to survive in a harsh land. Through the stories presented in this book, it’s meant to inspire the reader to follow their dreams and to be confident in whatever skills they possess.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2021
Short but fascinating read of the stalwart resilience of the women who helped carve out Alaska towns.
September 22, 2019
Gold Rush Women by Claire Rudolf Murphy and Jane G. Haigh is the sort of book that is put on shelves in Alaskan tourist towns, hoping for tourists who want to know more about what has been mentioned in the tours they have just taken. I admit it. I purchased the book soon after a walking tour of Skagway. Sometimes I regret my purchases when I get home and start reading. This book, however, is well-researched and written, and while it doesn’t set any excitement fires over its topic, it is enjoyable reading. When the movies we’ve seen about the Yukon Gold Rush pretty much focus on the men—and rightfully so since they far outnumbered any women involved—it is refreshing to know the stories of the women who made their mark. We see the stories of those women who migrated, either with husbands and family (and find, oftentimes, those marriages ended in divorce, leaving the women to fend for themselves) or alone, Native women whose husbands left them for white women (and the Native women went on to be successful in their own right,) and at least one actress who didn’t succumb to prostitution, as so many performers who came to the Yukon did. The book is short, interesting, and well-organized, with sidebars that explain to some extent life in the frozen North of the late 1800s. I’m glad I made that purchase.
June 4, 2019
In order to get a feel for the American history that our ancestors lived, I ordered about 10 books related to women in the West. This is the third one I've read and it is wonderful. I am in awe of the women who made the almost impossible trip to the Yukon area (many men and women turned back).
When they arrived in the Alaska-British Columbia region, there were no homes waiting for them with a warm light in the fireplace; they had to cut a home from the wilderness and plant extensive gardens (if they planned to eat anything other than wild game). The odds against being successful in this endeavor were staggering and yet many women prevailed.
If you are facing an impossible task, this is the book to read to inspire yourself to get going! If the stories are amazing, the photos and maps selected are often priceless. They show in unvarnished black-and-white how difficult life was for everyone.
There are individual vignettes of famous and not-so-famous men and women who made a difference in this frozen land. Because there were so few in the region, people helped each other to survive and thrive.
Some stories are about women who struck it rich quickly; see Ethel Berry's story (the lady tipping her hat on the cover). She and her new husband were able to leave the Icebox-of-the-North in a year with unbelievable riches! Did you know that Josie and Wyatt Earp (yes, THAT Wyatt) went to the Yukon as gamblers? Their unusual story is included here.
The early men adventurers came alone. They married native women who taught them important skills so they could survive. This book does a lovely job of highlighting these Athabascan ladies.
I DO, I DO, I DO by Maggie Osborne is a fictional account of three women who braved the Yukon (it is one of the funniest books I've read this year). Now that I've read this book (GOLD RUSH WOMEN), I plan to reread the book. GRW offers maps and information that will add greatly to my understanding of the difficulties encountered in I DO X 3.
This is a treasure of a book that helps to explain the pioneering spirit of our ancestors in the 1800-1900s. 5 stars
When they arrived in the Alaska-British Columbia region, there were no homes waiting for them with a warm light in the fireplace; they had to cut a home from the wilderness and plant extensive gardens (if they planned to eat anything other than wild game). The odds against being successful in this endeavor were staggering and yet many women prevailed.
If you are facing an impossible task, this is the book to read to inspire yourself to get going! If the stories are amazing, the photos and maps selected are often priceless. They show in unvarnished black-and-white how difficult life was for everyone.
There are individual vignettes of famous and not-so-famous men and women who made a difference in this frozen land. Because there were so few in the region, people helped each other to survive and thrive.
Some stories are about women who struck it rich quickly; see Ethel Berry's story (the lady tipping her hat on the cover). She and her new husband were able to leave the Icebox-of-the-North in a year with unbelievable riches! Did you know that Josie and Wyatt Earp (yes, THAT Wyatt) went to the Yukon as gamblers? Their unusual story is included here.
The early men adventurers came alone. They married native women who taught them important skills so they could survive. This book does a lovely job of highlighting these Athabascan ladies.
I DO, I DO, I DO by Maggie Osborne is a fictional account of three women who braved the Yukon (it is one of the funniest books I've read this year). Now that I've read this book (GOLD RUSH WOMEN), I plan to reread the book. GRW offers maps and information that will add greatly to my understanding of the difficulties encountered in I DO X 3.
This is a treasure of a book that helps to explain the pioneering spirit of our ancestors in the 1800-1900s. 5 stars
March 28, 2019
The stories of these women are incredible. They were bold and practically fearless as they charged into the unknown and made lives for themselves in really tough and treacherous conditions, sometimes even with children. I didn’t know much, if anything, about the gold rush in Alaska, and I think that’s where the book and I have a gap. I maybe needed more basic history of the time to fully understand, though I do think the timelines are unclear even if you do have an understanding. Very interesting, nonetheless!
May 1, 2019
A short interesting book on the Northern gold rushes and the woman involved. Lots of excellent pictures. I think of my grandparents Scott and Phelps who all were closely involved in the Klondike, Nome, Fairbanks, Iditerrod, etc and spent their lives up there from 1898 onward. They must have known many of these women. My grandmother Phelps who lived in Whitehorse was a good friend of Martha Black.
November 11, 2020
A nice little survey of three dozen or so intrepid woman who stampeded into Alaska during the various gold rushes and how they made their marks. Mostly white women but some natives and one black. Maps and explanations of gold panning techniques added more interest.
November 5, 2022
Very well written. I loved reading about the women and how they adapted to the harsh conditions during the Gold Rush period. Each of the women had their own unique story. It was very interesting and was easy to read.
February 7, 2024
Nice collection of brief overviews about some of the more promienent or memorable women of the Yukon/Alaska gold rush era.
August 25, 2024
I really enjoyed learning about the women who participated in this part of history. I wish it could have been more in depth but I understand the limitations.
January 31, 2025
Interesting and informative
December 10, 2011
This book gives information about the lives of women, including Native American and African American women, who were involved in the gold rush. I really enjoyed this book. The tidbits of information regarding the personal lives of these women were very interesting.
Favorite Quotes:
“’A change had come over Mother. I could sense it even then, at the age of five. I had worried about her, tried to take care of her on the long trip to Alaska, but now all at once I could see she was able to take care of herself. She looked as fragile and delicate as Swedish blown glass, but she was made of harder stuff. She had the courage of all the pioneer women who followed their men to the frontier North. Some of them faltered and turned back; others, like my mother, stayed on and adapted themselves to the rugged life and came in time to love it. They turned a wilderness of brawling gold camps into a decent land of schools and churches and homes. My mother was as strong in her own way as my dad. In some ways, it turned out, she was even stronger.’ --Klondy Nelson, from Daughter of the Goldrush” p. 3
“Hiking over the 3,700-foot Chilkoot Pass, she wore a heavy skirt and layered petticoats, a blouse, warm jacket, cap, and heavy shoes. She [Anna DeGraf] described her journey in her autobiography, Pioneering the Yukon: ‘From Sheep Camp we entered a canyon and continued the climb upward to what was called the Scales. We had to climb upward and around jagged rocks, sometimes jumping from one to another like mountain goats. From the Scales it was almost perpendicular to the summit. It was sunset when we reached the top and a wonderful panorama met our eyes. There were seven glaciers in view and the sun shining on the ice played the colors of the rainbow. I was so impressed I felt I could never go on. Some of the party were impatient and wanted to push ahead. ‘Oh, come on,’ they said. ‘We don’t care about scenery, we want to find gold.’ I exclaimed aloud, ‘My God, how beautiful you have made the world!’ We camped there overnight and the next morning started over the deep crevasses in the ice. One misstep might have sent us to oblivion.’” pp. 26-27
“’My mother used to say, ‘You must howl with the wolves when you are with the wolves,’ and so I made the best of things up there. Many times my heart did bump—I was so frightened—but I pretended I was just the bravest thing in the world, and I got through it all right. And now, as an old woman, if I were young instead with no one to depend on me, I would certainly go back to that Yukon country and prospect and make myself independently rich.’ --Anna DeGraf” p. 27
Favorite Quotes:
“’A change had come over Mother. I could sense it even then, at the age of five. I had worried about her, tried to take care of her on the long trip to Alaska, but now all at once I could see she was able to take care of herself. She looked as fragile and delicate as Swedish blown glass, but she was made of harder stuff. She had the courage of all the pioneer women who followed their men to the frontier North. Some of them faltered and turned back; others, like my mother, stayed on and adapted themselves to the rugged life and came in time to love it. They turned a wilderness of brawling gold camps into a decent land of schools and churches and homes. My mother was as strong in her own way as my dad. In some ways, it turned out, she was even stronger.’ --Klondy Nelson, from Daughter of the Goldrush” p. 3
“Hiking over the 3,700-foot Chilkoot Pass, she wore a heavy skirt and layered petticoats, a blouse, warm jacket, cap, and heavy shoes. She [Anna DeGraf] described her journey in her autobiography, Pioneering the Yukon: ‘From Sheep Camp we entered a canyon and continued the climb upward to what was called the Scales. We had to climb upward and around jagged rocks, sometimes jumping from one to another like mountain goats. From the Scales it was almost perpendicular to the summit. It was sunset when we reached the top and a wonderful panorama met our eyes. There were seven glaciers in view and the sun shining on the ice played the colors of the rainbow. I was so impressed I felt I could never go on. Some of the party were impatient and wanted to push ahead. ‘Oh, come on,’ they said. ‘We don’t care about scenery, we want to find gold.’ I exclaimed aloud, ‘My God, how beautiful you have made the world!’ We camped there overnight and the next morning started over the deep crevasses in the ice. One misstep might have sent us to oblivion.’” pp. 26-27
“’My mother used to say, ‘You must howl with the wolves when you are with the wolves,’ and so I made the best of things up there. Many times my heart did bump—I was so frightened—but I pretended I was just the bravest thing in the world, and I got through it all right. And now, as an old woman, if I were young instead with no one to depend on me, I would certainly go back to that Yukon country and prospect and make myself independently rich.’ --Anna DeGraf” p. 27
October 14, 2013
Several years ago I went on a trip to Alaska and came across this book in the museum at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I regretted not purchasing it, but I finally got around to obtaining a copy from the library. An interesting read about a variety of women who braved brutal conditions to seek their fortunes and/or new lives in Alaska and the Yukon. (Not something I wold have ever aspired to, BTW.)
February 12, 2014
A short paperback which provides short biographies of women who were part of the Alaskan Gold Rush. While several of the women were adventurous non-native wealth seekers many were native Americans. Like the significant others of early trappers and explorers they are often forgotten or ignored. Several of the women were abandoned by their 'mates' and native Americans apparently were not allowed to stake claims, thus assuring white males most of the benefits from the gold mines.
May 1, 2016
Nice YA type reading about some of the courageous and hearty women who braved the wilderness during the various Alaskan Gold Rush waves. Good research, good writing and some terrific photos. Quite enjoyable.
February 18, 2008
Very readable, short accounts of each woman but heavily footnoted. A great intro to the genre.
August 24, 2018
I love reading historical accounts of courageous women in times when a woman was very out of place for doing so.
April 20, 2014
Reading books about this time in history, one without modern conveniences, is amazing. Our lives our so easy now. Great book.
October 10, 2015
Interesting women in this Book. Impressive
January 24, 2012
interestingly true stories about women in the Alaskan Gold Rush
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews