Working as a circus acrobat in Maine, he became a fur trader and traveled to Alaska in 1873 with Jack McQuesten. After establishing trading pasts near present day Tanana and in the Yukon Territory, he made the first discovery on the Tanana River with Arthur Harper in 1878.
A native of Ireland, he partnered with Jack McQuesten and Alfred Mayo. The best prospector of the three, he was the first white explorer in many areas. He married a Koyukon woman and his son, Walter, was in part of the first ascent of Mt. McKinley. His grand-daughter, Jane Harper Petri, was the first Native graduate of the University of Alaska.
Called the "Father of the Yukon," he along with his partners grubstaked and banked many early prospectors including Pitka Pavaloff and Sergei Cheosky, the discoverers of the Circle District. The first right limit tributary of the Stewart above the Yukon was named for him. An honest man, he was among the founding members of the Yukon Order of Pioneers.
A placer miner in Juneau and the Yukon. Franklin was instrumental in creating the plat for the City of Juneau. One of the earliest prospectors in the Yukon, he made the first major discovery of gold in the region, on the Fortymile in 1886. A tributary of the Fortymile was named for him. A street is named for him in Juneau.
Minook (also known as Ivan Pavaloff, Jr.) discovered and mined gold at Rampart in the Koyukuk and near Tanana. In later years, he was a storekeeper and outfitter at Rampart. The brother of Pitka Pavaloff and Jack McQuesten's wife, he was the first to break the barrier for mines to be owned and operated by Natives.
Born Felice Pedroni to a poor family in Italy, he emigrated to the U.S. and gradually worked his way toward Alaska. He began prospecting near modern day Fairbanks in the late 1890's with his major discovery of gold in 1902. Honest and well liked, he died at a fairly early age, his body weakened by tough years.