Dawson City - St.Mary's Catholic Cemetery

Day 07 - July 20th, 2024

Weather - Sunny, 26 degrees C

It might not look back here, but trust me when I say that it becomes more and more of a mess the further back you go.

Yesterday, imagine my surprise when I received an e-mail from Michael Gates, the gentleman who had written the book I bought in Whitehorse just a few days prior, "From The Klondike to Berlin: The Yukon in World War I." Michael had been given my contact info by my new friend Karl (what a gem) and was coincidentally in Dawson City with his wife, Kathy. In his e-mail, he suggested they might be able to help with my research. So this morning, I wrote him a message letting him know that I would be in Dawson until the 29th and in the Catholic Cemetery all day if they had time to talk with me.

Keeping half an eye on my phone, Earl and I headed up the dome once again, and I began the exhausting task of surveying St.Mary's Catholic Cemetery. It was exhausting because it was like battling through the wilds of the Amazon Rainforest. It was overgrown everywhere, but more so in the oldest sections, and every time I needed to photograph a marker, I was fighting against nature. Luckily, from my initial survey the day before, I knew I would only be surveying the back six rows or so.

Here you can see one of the original markers peeking out behind the replacement

Well, I was only halfway through the first row when Michael called to confirm that I was still at the Catholic Cemetery. Coincidentally, he and Kathy had research of their own to do there, so we agreed to meet that morning. Within half an hour, they had shown up. We chatted briefly about what exactly I was doing and what kind of information I was looking for. Michael was unsure if he could help me; however, we chatted about Ed and Star's work in Dawson. He told me about some burials outside of Dawson, which I was unaware of, and he invited me to lunch with his wife. We parted company for about half an hour, he and Kathy to locate Y.O.O.P. markers, and I to carry on with my surveying - and we met back up at about 11:45 to go to lunch.

Over lunch, we talked about books Michael and Kathy had encountered that might be relevant to my interests; as it turns out, they have quite the collection on Yukon history! I learned more about our mutual friend Karl, the Joneses and what the Gateses were currently working on. We commiserated about the state of the cemeteries and the pitfalls of researching the Klondike Gold Rush, where misinformation and romanticization run rampant. Most importantly, Michael and Kathy advised me on how to be a good researcher. Overall, meeting with two such knowledgeable people was a welcome reprieve, and I hope I came away with two new friends.

After lunch, it was back to the Catholic Cemetery and surveying. I bid the Gateses farewell, promising to pass along any Y.O.O.P. graves I encountered and hoping to meet again in Whitehorse.

This looks rough, but I will be able to turn it into a layout map of the first 6 rows

I spent the rest of my day surveying the remaining area of interest, approximately four and a half rows. And when I say the rest of my day, I mean it. It took me three and a half hours to photograph, survey, take measurements, and record the order of the burials, all because the cemetery was left to go to pasture. It was like when the Joneses were no longer available to care for the cemeteries; everyone else stopped caring. Luckily, as I have mentioned, the burials were in nice, orderly rows, so it wasn't easy to lose my way. However, I noticed something today that I missed in my initial survey. Where I had assumed that the burials were ordered from oldest to newest, as I got halfway through the first row, the burials jumped from pre-1900 to post-1900; this suggests to me that the original cemetery had only been half as wide for the first two years. Then, perhaps, they realized they would run out of space rather quickly, so they began to add burials to the right side in 1900.

Anyway, I finished my work for the day around 4:30. It was getting quite hot, and I was absolutely fed up with the overgrowth. So Earl and I located some nice, clean, cool showers at the local RV park and returned to our campsite for good food and an early night.

Today was a wonderful day. It might come as a surprise, but most people I encounter don't know much about the Klondike Gold Rush. It's always SO lovely meeting people who know what I am talking about, people I can converse with and learn from—and I hope to meet so many more. See you all tomorrow!

-Nikki

An interview with Michael Gates from 49thshelf.com for those interested in learning more: The Chat with Michael Gates