Alaska






 



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Alaska

I suppose when a state is as big as Alaska, it needs more than one place for its archives.  Alaska has three archive collections, at the state government, the state library, and the state university.  You need a hunting license to find them all.   

Let's begin with the official Alaska State Archives.  This is an Archives in the old fashioned sense, focusing on records management procedures for the state, and keeping most of its collection in file drawers.  Its online collection is rather small, but does include one sizable document of note, the Probate Records of Alaska, 1885-1960...a names list of 17,000 probate cases from Alaska's early court system.  

For family history researchers, the rest of the Archives collection can be a valuable resource, even though the bulk of their materials are offline.  See their Alaska Genealogy page for a description of what's available, and procedures for requesting information. 

Behind door #2, you can find Alaska's Digital Archives, from the University of Alaska, with a wealth of historical photographs, albums, oral histories, moving images, maps, documents, physical objects, tribal histories, and other materials from libraries, museums, tribes, villages and archives throughout the state.  

Materials here are divided into two broad areas, Native Cultures, and Alaska Statehood:

Pathways for Alaska Native Materials includes categories for:
  • Religion and Church Leadership 
  • Traditional Spiritual Practices 
  • Native Organizations 
  • Ceremonial Life 
  • Education 
  • Native Leadership and Politics
  • Traditional Ways of Learning
  • Traditional Technology
  • Health Care Providers
  • Make a Living
  • Art
  • Health Care Facilities
The materials can also be browsed by Region or by Timeline.

Pathways for Movement to Statehood Materials include:
  • Government  
  • Military  
  • People  
  • Transportation
  • Business and Commerce  
  • Natural Resources  
  • Society and Daily Life

Lastly, we have the Online Resources of the Alaska State Historical Library.  Their collection includes a number of indexes, which largely consist of names of people and an indication of where to find more information.  For example, the Index for Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers, 1850-1950, v. 1-5, (opens as a Word document) includes many thousands of names, with a pointer to offline records.

Other Indexes & Guides include:
  • Guide to Alaska Newspapers on Microfilm
  • Index to names found in Alaska Searchlight
  • Index to cover photographs of Alaskan Sportsman magazine
  • Index to photographers of Alaska, by Candace Waugaman
  • Index to mining-related articles in Ketchikan newspapers
  • Index to Alaska Gold Rush Pioneers of the Juneau-Douglas Area 1880-1921. 
  • Published by: Juneau Pioneers of Alaska Igloo and Auxiliary No. 6 Juneau, Alaska
  • Index to Alaska Free Press
  • Index to Alaska Weekly and Alaska Sportsman obituaries

You'll also find links to some very nice Photo Collections, Online Exhibits, & Teaching Tools:

Alaska at War!

Schools in Rural Alaska

Alaskan Photo Mystery! (identify the mystery photos!)

Alaska's Gold

Alaska Purchase Centennial Collection: a historical survey in pictures

Gold Rush Centennial Photographs, 1893 - 1916 

Eight Stars of Gold...The story of Alaska's flag


More historical archives and research materials can be found at these excellent resources:

 Historical Newspaper Archives          Ancestry.com         

 Genealogy Tools                                US Historical Newspapers        

 European Historical Newspapers        International Historical Newspapers

Court Record Searches                        Public Records Searches 

Intelius - Public Records Information