Alaska Territory Delegates Credentials

Description

Thirty-nine years after the United States purchased Alaska from Russia, and ten years after gold was discovered in the Yukon, the Alaska Territory voted for its first congressional Delegates. Because the election took place in 1906, in the middle of the 59th Congress, voters chose one Delegate each for both the 59th and 60th Congresses simultaneously. Frank Waskey, a miner, banker, and publisher, was appointed to serve as Alaska’s first Delegate. Thomas Cale, who had been both a farmer and miner, received the most votes for the 60th Congress. Signed by the governor of Alaska, the surveyor general of Alaska, and the acting collector of customs for Alaska, this record provides the credentials for both the first and second Delegates on the same page.