Minnie E. Wilson, (1890-1962)

Headstone GPS Coordinates: 

Birth: 21 November 1890, Deering, Northwest Arctic Alaska or possibly Canada   

Death: 27 April 1962, Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington

Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Sydney J. Wilson

American Revolutionary War Patriots*: Oliver Wilson (Massachusetts) DAR# A127690;  Joseph Maynard (Massachusetts) DAR# A076203;  Barnabas Baker (Massachusetts) DAR# A004864

Disclaimer: These lines have not been officially proven by NSDAR standards

Minnie E. Wilson was born on November 21, 1890, in Deering, Alaska, a small and remote settlement on the Seward Peninsula. Her father, Sydney J. Wilson, was a gold miner originally from Maine, and is now buried in Seabeck Cemetery, Washington. Her mother’s name remains unknown, though records indicate she was born in Colorado. 

Minnie’s early life is largely shrouded in mystery. When she was born, Alaska was still a U.S. territory—it would not achieve statehood until 1959—and at the time it was sparsely populated and poorly documented. Few official records were kept in the late 19th century, especially in remote frontier regions like Deering. Her father, like many ambitious men of his era, moved frequently in search of gold, traveling between Circle City, Alaska, and Dawson City in the Yukon Territory. When the Klondike Gold Rush erupted in 1897, tens of thousands of prospectors surged into Alaska and the Yukon, transforming quiet settlements into chaotic boomtowns. It is unclear whether Minnie grew up alongside her father during this period or was raised elsewhere. The absence of records listing a wife or child for Sydney raises the possibility that Minnie’s parents were never formally married.

The first confirmed record of Minnie as an adult appears on September 7, 1918, in a Redwood City, California newspaper announcing her marriage license to Paul Frank Travis. Paul was serving as a soldier during World War I, stationed at Camp Fremont, a major training base near Menlo Park, California. Prior to enlisting, he had worked as an oilman in Coalinga, where Minnie may have met him. He served in Company B of the 12th Regiment and was preparing to ship out to France when the Armistice of November 11, 1918 brought the war to a close.

Between 1918 and 1920, Minnie and Paul were likely living in Bakersfield, California, but their marriage was short-lived. Paul remarried in 1922 listing that union as his first marriage.  

Afterward, Minnie alternated between using her maiden and married names. In her father’s 1924 will, she is referred to by her married name, but voter registration records consistently list her as Minnie E. Wilson, with her marital status recorded as “widowed” or “divorced.”

In 1927, Minnie boarded a steamer from San Francisco to Honolulu, Hawaii. The passenger list described her as a naturalized citizen through marriage, an intriguing detail since White children born in Alaska in 1890 were already considered U.S. citizens. This discrepancy raises questions about her true birthplace—perhaps she was actually born across the border in Canada’s Yukon Territory. Indeed, the 1940 census lists her birthplace as “Canada–French,” whereas other records, including her death certificate, claim Alaska.

By 1930, Minnie had settled in Fresno, California, working as a hotel manager at the Gilbert Rooms—a position she held at least through 1936. Her father, Sydney, died by suicide in 1934, leaving her 40% of his estate. By 1940, Minnie had moved north to Crosby, Kitsap County, Washington, though she did not live on her father’s former property.

In 1947, a local newspaper announced that Minnie was leaving Crosby for Kansas City, Missouri, where a friend, Mrs. Elise Christopher, hosted a farewell gathering in her honor. Her stay there proved brief—by 1948 she had returned to Crosby, where she later found work as a shipfitter’s helper at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, reflecting the postwar boom in industrial jobs for women.

In 1962, Minnie fell ill and was admitted to Harrison Hospital in Bremerton, where she died four days later on April 27, 1962, at 5:40 p.m. Her cause of death was recorded as natural causes, including electrolyte imbalance and gastroenteritis.

Minnie was cremated at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Bremerton, and her funeral service was held at Lewis Funeral Chapel, officiated by Reverend Milton W. Neese of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. Though she had no surviving family, she was remembered fondly by many friends in Crosby.

Her ashes were interred at Seabeck Cemetery, between the graves of her father Sydney J. Wilson and her stepmother Nellie Brown Wilson. While Minnie may once have had an above-ground urn or headstone, today only a base remains, suggesting her marker was lost or vandalized over time.