David, Leopold
1881-1924 | Attorney, and Mayor of Anchorage (1920-1923)
Leopold David was an early Anchorage civil leader and pioneer. He was well-liked and admired and was active in community affairs. When his friends repeatedly asked him to run for public office, he often declined these offers but relented after Anchorage became incorporated. In the general election of November 2, 1920, he was elected to Anchorage’s first city council and, subsequently, became the first mayor of Anchorage. He was elected to two additional one-year terms as mayor in 1921 and 1922. His tenure in office (1920-1923) was especially important because it “marked the transition of decision making in Anchorage from federal management to local government.”[1]
Early Life and Military Service
Leopold David was born in Nordhausen, Germany in 1881 to Jewish parents, who immigrated to New York with him and his four siblings – Hannah, Clara, Martha, and Max (d. 1901). They settled in Brooklyn, New York in 1884, and opened a soap factory. After the death of their parents in the mid-1890s, the five children were ultimately split apart.[2]
Leopold, and his brother, Max, enlisted in the United States Army and served in the Philippines during the rebellious aftermath of the Spanish-American War, often referred to as the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902). David was not old enough to enlist, but he managed to alter his birth certificate to change his date of birth from 1881 to 1878, and was finally accepted. On September 21,1899, David enlisted for a three-year period in New York, NY, with the rank of hospital steward in the Hospital Corps. Leopold and Max served in the Philippines in 1901.[3] .
The Philippine Insurrection was underway when David completed his advanced training in the Medical Corps. Due to the shortage of physicians and hospital corpsmen, he may have been sent for medical training at Angel Island, California or Washington Barracks (Washington, DC), the two schools where men could be taught while they awaited embarkation for the Philippines. He received some training as a druggist or pharmacist. One surgeon reported that many of these men were "capable of rendering very valuable assistance to the surgeons."[4] He and his brother were shipped overseas and served on the Island of Luzon where his brother was killed in action in March 1901.
Leopold reached the grade of First Sergeant in the Medical Corps. Since many small post hospitals were established in the Philippines, he may have been assigned to assume the physicians' role for a smaller detachment or subpost due to the scarcity of medical officers. In the spring of 1901, after U.S. forces captured Emilio Aguinaldo, the chief guerilla leader, the conflict changed from conventional to guerilla war. Leopold was returned to the United States in 1901. He re-enlisted and was assigned to Fort Egbert, in Eagle, Alaska. Arriving there in 1904, he served as a pharmacist’s assistant to the medical officer.[5]
David was sent on a mercy mission to Circle City, Alaska, where a diphtheria epidemic had broken out in the Native village. He and a private soldier, his assistant, were credited with saving many lives. They heard of another epidemic in Fort Yukon and proceeded there immediately without authorization from their commanding officer. Upon his return to Fort Egbert, Sgt. David received a Meritorious Commendation for his "zeal, courage and devotion to duty." He was not only commended for the service he performed, but for the arduous trip made by dog team in fifty below zero temperatures, traveling over bad trails for nine days.[6]
Leopold was on temporary duty in Circle City from January 30 to April 6, 1905, and then returned to Fort Egbert. He contracted an unspecified disease in the line of duty and was confined to the post hospital or his quarters for three months until returning to duty on July 3, 1905.[7] On August 14, he was transferred to Fort Lawton, Washington and arrived there on August 26.[8] On September 5, he was discharged from the U.S. Army after being certified for a disability.[9]
After his discharge from the Army in October 1905, Leopold David moved to southcentral Alaska.[10] He settled in Seward, where he became manager of the Seward Drug Company. Like many pharmacists of the time, his basic knowledge of medicine brought him the title of “Dr. David” and newspaper advertisements in the Seward Gateway listed him as “Physician and Surgeon.”[11] In 1906, the Seward Weekly Gateway reported that “Dr. David” would be assisting Chief Surgeon W.A. Richardson of the Alaska Central Railroad.[12] According to the Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929[13], he received a medical license from the Territory of Alaska in 1909. However, there is no available evidence at the Alaska State Archives (Juneau) documenting that he was issued a medical license.[14]
There are reports that David also prospected around Cooper and Cache Creeks. While working in Seward, he met Anna Karasek (May 22, 1883-August 21, 1971). Anna Karasek had arrived in Seward in 1908 to be the principal of the Seward school. Prior to this she was listed as the "Grammar Department" on the program for Ketchikan's 1st Annual Graduation Exercises on June 13, 1907.[15] She was originally from Tacoma, Washington. They were married in 1909.
Federal Service in Alaska (1909-1921)
In March 1909, David moved to Susitna Station to accept an appointment as U.S. Commissioner and U.S. Marshal.[16] As the U.S. Commissioner, he served as an ex officio probate judge and recorded deeds and mining claims.
In 1910, David moved to Knik, where he was appointed U.S. Commissioner. These responsibilities did not require his full-time attention, and he continued in the pharmacy business. He studied law on his own time and it is believed that he became a member of the Washington State Bar Association during this time period.[17] In the spring of 1912 the business owners in Knik formed the Knik Commercial Club and made David president.[18]
In May 1915, David came to Ship Creek as U.S. Commissioner and continued in this capacity until his resignation in 1921. He attended the July 10, 1915 townsite auction, and purchased two city lots. In 1917, he designed and built a bungalow style house (605 West 2nd Avenue) for him and his family, which stands to this day and is considered as “the foremost of the pre-1920 era houses”[19] in the Second Avenue and “F” Street area. The house was not modest by original Anchorage standards, as the earliest housing was mostly of frame or log construction. Only the management of the Alaskan Engineering Commission (AEC), the federal agency which built the Alaska Railroad, had “houses which rivaled the size, comfort and design features of Leopold David’s residence.”[20] In 1986, the Leopold David House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.[21]
As the U.S. Commissioner, David continued to serve as ex-officio probate judge. In David’s duties as recorder, his signature was affixed on virtually all land transactions in the new townsite of Anchorage. Due to his appointment to the office of U.S. Commissioner, he was always called “Judge” in the community.[22] In addition to practicing law, David also served simultaneously in a number of other offices. Historian Alfred Mongin made this interesting observation:
“In 1917 David’s residence was listed as 447 Fifth Avenue next door to his law office at 445 Fifth Avenue. At the latter address he served also as U.S. Recorder for the General Land Office, now the Bureau of Land Management; U.S. Commissioner and Probate Court Judge for the U.S. Department of Justice; and Notary Public. He held some of these offices, in addition to his private law practice in Knik, prior to moving to Anchorage in 1915. If one wished to Notarize a document, he went to see Notary David. To record a land claim, he went to see Recorder David in the same office. In order to litigate a land claim, he went before Commissioner David, at the same address, who might also be his adversary in David’s capacity as an attorney in private practice. If one died in Anchorage, his estate would be probated by Probate Court Judge David.”[23]
Although David was active in local civic affairs, he never sought a political career, despite often being encouraged to do so by many of his friends. Known and respected by all, friends often asked him to run for territorial office, but he declined, preferring to serve the local Anchorage community, instead.[24] He was active in fraternal organizations such as the Elks, the Moose Lodge, the Shriners, and the Masons. He was a trustee of the Anchorage Daily Times and became a director of the Bank of Anchorage. He served as a trustee of the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines (later, the University of Alaska) from1923 until his death in 1924.
Mayor of Anchorage (1920-1923)
On November 2, 1920, an incorporation election was held in which 328 Anchorage residents voted in favor of incorporation and 130 against it. Under Alaska territorial law, incorporation required a two-thirds majority vote.[25] On the same ballot, voters elected their first official city council: Isidore Bayles, A.C. Craig, Leopold David, John J. Longacre, R.N. Moyer, Frank I. Reed, and D.H. Williams. Judge Fred M. Brown of the U.S. District Court at Valdez, signed the court order declaring Anchorage as legally incorporated on November 23, 1920. Six days later, the newly-elected city council selected Judge David, as he was then known, as president of the council and ex officio mayor of Anchorage.[26] This method of selection continued for several years, with the city council selecting a person who received the highest vote in the preceding city council election.[27] In total, David was appointed to one term (1920-1921) and elected to two one-year terms (1921-1923), thus serving as mayor of Anchorage from November 20, 1920 to April 11, 1923.
Moreover, in 1921, David retired from federal service and went into private law practice with L.V. Ray, specializing in corporate and mining law.[28] He continued in this capacity until his death. In the February 8, 1922, Anchorage Daily Times, they purchased the following advertisement: “Ray & David, Attorneys at Law, Offices at Anchorage and Seward.”[29] Ray managed the firm’s business in Seward, while David operated the Anchorage office at 413 E Street.[30]
In the April 5, 1921 general election, a “heavy vote” was cast for C.W. Bolte, and Leopold David was “nosed out” of first place in the mayoral race. There were 299 votes cast in favor of C.W. Bolte, and 293 votes for David. The voter turnout was lighter than expected due to inclement weather and “the absence of a solid women’s vote.”[31] A proposition to elect six city council members for staggered terms, three for one year, and three for two years, in accordance with territorial law also carried, 159 to 47. Also included in this proposition was to elect the mayor separately for a one-year term.
Despite receiving more votes, two weeks later at the April 20, 1921 city council meeting, Bolte swung his support behind Judge David for mayor and he again presided as mayor. David was re-elected to a second one-year term in office by members of the Anchorage City Council. A vote by ballot was taken and he received four votes in favor, with Councilman Bolte receiving two votes. On the second ballot, David received five votes, and C.W. Bolte one vote. David was elected as chairman and president of the city council and ex officio mayor of Anchorage for the coming year.[32]
David ran for a third one-year term and was re-elected in the general election held on April 4, 1922. David received 444 votes for mayor. His opponent, C.W. Bolte, received 341 votes. David was declared elected as mayor at the April 5, 1922 meeting of the Anchorage City Council.[33] Judge David retired from his mayoral position upon completion of his third mayoral term in April 1923. Michael J. Conroy was elected as mayor in April 1923.[34]
As mayor, David was involved in virtually every major and minor civic undertaking in Anchorage from 1920 to 1923. Among them was providing for safety of life, liberty, and property, with the basics being fire and police protection, but these were not the only areas of responsibility. Beginning with the first city council meeting in November 1920, he and the members of the first city council laid the groundwork for a well-rounded community “despite the fact that it had hardly risen out of the mud on a bluff overlooking Ship Creek and Knik Arm.”[35] Historian Stephen Haycox commented that “there were a host of basic necessities which had to be provided and “the ‘loose’ element in town had to be curtailed.”[36] During the first month, the city council adopted ordinances that mandated that businesses were responsible for snow removal from downtown sidewalks, there would be a “9 PM to 5 AM curfew for ‘male and female youths under sixteen,” that “certain motor vehicles had to be provided with lights, that the legal speed limit in the town would be eight miles per hour, and that people were prohibited from expectorating on sidewalks, and in public places.”[37] Other firsts that were dealt with were creating a schedule of assessed taxes, and moves to discourage gambling and bootlegging. A few weeks after a crackdown on illegal stills, the enormity of building a solid and respectable town in such a remote place was brought home when the city’s first police chief (John L. “Jack” Sturgus) was shot to death on the night of February 21, 1921 in an alley between Fourth and Fifth Avenues.[38] A few weeks later, “in a daring first, a lone gunman held up the Bank of Alaska in broad daylight.”[39]
Before the first year ended, the City of Anchorage had purchased the telephone system and street lighting from the Alaskan Engineering Commission (AEC), and hired Frank Berry as city electrician to keep them functioning. This was the city’s initial entry into the public utility business.
David’s accomplishments as mayor included looking ahead to the development of aviation in September 1921 by seeking municipal ownership of what is formally known today as Delaney Park. Mayor David said that the strip of land, located between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, would be useful for “an aviation park and other park purposes.”[40] The property was eventually acquired and became the city’s first airport.[41] On April 1, 1922, the Anchorage Daily Times reported:
“Under the administration of Mayor David and the present council has bridged one of the most difficult passages from commission government to full civic administration, acquiring practically every essential public works and has money to spare. And this has been done on a tax rate of 14 mills, as compared with from 16 to 18 in other Alaskan cities that acquired their utilities many years ago. The full force of the excellency of administration is revealed in the transactions between the city and the Alaskan Engineering commission, whereby public utilities were acquired and practically paid for and the sum of $10,000—sufficient to provide the city with an up-to-date fire department—has been saved.”[42]
In 1922, the Anchorage Daily Times also reported that the City of Anchorage had accumulated within fifteen months of its existence “every accessory to civic government, including necessary buildings” valued at $31,091.58. In publishing a list of accumulated resources that the city had accumulated since its incorporation, it also added: “For this, in addition to the above results, the taxpayers are receiving free garbage service, which would cost in almost any city at least $1 per month if not more, or tax the rate payers from $12 to $24 per year additional.”[43]
Commemorative Editorial (November 22, 1924, Anchorage Daily Times)
David died on November 21, 1924, at the age of forty-three, of heart failure. The following day, the Anchorage Daily Times published this commemorative editorial:
“A GOOD MAN”
“The one prominent subject in Anchorage today is the death of Judge David. While mostly everyone knew that he had not been well for the past few weeks, no one realized that there was any danger and all expected to see him around in a few days as usual.
Judge David was Anchorage’s most outstanding figure. He knew more about the town and the country and about the people of the city and vicinity than did any other and his individuality, ability and activity was and always will be generally recognized as long as any of the pioneers of this section survive.
As a good citizen, the Judge was the last word. Virtually hundreds of people hereabouts remember him today for some substantial kindness he has done them in the days past, and these acts of kindness were always without noise or ostentation. Perhaps the man with the best and most finished education of any in the community, his talk and attitude was always humble and the friends that mourn for him count among them as many of the unsuccessful as it does those who have won regard in a worldly way.
Ever since the old Knik days, Judge David has been the big man of this section of Alaska. As an official and professional man he was such that his past performances will be an example for those who follow him. But more as a devoted husband, a loving father and the kindest of friends will his name ever be recalled by the hundreds of people who knew him here. And with these sterling qualities he was a man with the keenest sense of humor; one who recognized the frailties of human character and was ever on the lookout for the smallest point to say in favor of any one he knew. By his death Anchorage loses in favor of anyone he knew. By his death Anchorage loses one of the most able lawyers in the [Third] Division and an ideal American citizen.”[44]
David was survived by his wife, Anna, and two children, Caroline and Leopold, Jr. He is buried in Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery. In 2003, the Cook Inlet Historical Society placed a new memorial marker at his grave site, highlighting his military service, legal career, and terms as Anchorage’s first mayor from 1920 to 1923.
Anna David lived in Anchorage for an unspecified period after her husband’s death. In October 1926, she was hired as a librarian at $50 per month, a job which also included duties as caretaker for the Chamber of Commerce’s information bureau. By the spring of 1927, in an economy move, her position was cut back to “summer months only.”[45]
Eventually, Anna David moved to Seattle with their two children, Caroline and Leopold, Jr. Anna David passed away in 1971 in Seattle, Washington. Her remains were sent to Anchorage, and both she and Leopold David are buried in the Masonic Tract of Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery.[46]
Legacy
Leopold David was an Alaska pioneer who was devoted to his profession and his community and whose influence and direction served the city well. Leopold was the first person to be awarded an honorary life membership in the Pioneers of Alaska Igloo, No.15, Anchorage.
Leopold David is little noticed today except, incidentally, for the Leopold David House that was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Two streets in the Bootlegger’s Cove section of the downtown area “commemorate his service, they are tiny, and their locations are unknown to all but the most historical-minded, and the contribution of Judge David seems otherwise lost to the community’s public memory.”[47]
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Endnotes
[1] Michael Carberry and Steve Peterson, Statement of Significance, Leopold David House, “National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form,” AHRS Site No. ANC-308, Anchorage, Alaska; National Register of Historic Places, http://focus.nps.gov/nrhp/GetAsset?assetID=8ac05275-5d50-4c94-a98e-aa6cab98d973 (accessed February 29, 2016); and Michael E. Carberry, “Anchorage: Patterns of the Past,” Alaska Journal 9 (Autumn 1979), no. 4, 27.
[2] Michael Carberry and Steve Peterson, Statement of Significance, Leopold David House, “National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form,” AHRS Site No. ANC-308, Anchorage, Alaska, National Register of Historic Places, http://focus.nps.gov/nrhp/GetAsset?assetID=8ac05275-5d50-4c94-a98e-aa6cab98d973 (accessed February 29, 2016).
[3] The Philippine Insurrection is also referred to as the Philippine-American War, Filipino-American War, Fil-American War and the Philippine War. Treavor K. Plante, “Researching Service in the U.S. Army during the Philippine Insurrection,” Prologue: Quarterly Journal of the National Archives, v. 32, no. 2 (Summer 2000); http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2000/summer/philippine-insurrection.html (accessed February 29, 2016). See also, Leopold David, New York, Spanish-American Military and Naval Service Records, 1898-1902 [database on-line], http://ancestry.com (accessed March 2, 2016).
[4] Quoted from Mary C. Gillett, The Army Medical Department, 1865-1917, Army Historical Series (Washington, DC: Center for Military History, U.S. Army, 1995): 213-214. See also, John P. Bagoy, Legends & Legacies, Anchorage, 1910-1935 (Anchorage: Publications Consultants, 2001), 42. The abstract for Leopold David, in New York, Spanish-American Military and Naval Service Records, 1898-1902 [database on-line], http://ancestry.com (accessed March 2, 2016), gives his military occupation as "druggist" and indicated that he had "excellent character."
[5] Leopold David arrived at Fort Egbert on September 26, 1904. Entry for Leopold David, September 1904, Fort Egbert, Alaska, National Archives Microfilm Publication M617, Returns from U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916, Roll 342, Returns from U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1946 [database on-line]; http://ancestry.com (accessed January 20, 2013); Leopold David House, “National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form,” AHRS Site No. ANC-308, Anchorage, Alaska, National Register of Historic Places, http://focus.nps.gov/nrhp/GetAsset?assetID=8ac05275-5d50-4c94-a98e-aa6cab98d973 (accessed February 29, 2016); and Mary C. Gillett, The Army Medical Department, 1865-1917, 202-204.
[6] John P. Bagoy, Legends & Legacies, Anchorage, 1910-1935, 42.
[7] Entry for Leopold David, Fort Egbert, Alaska, April-July 1905, National Archives Microfilm Publication M617, Returns from U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1946, Roll 342, Returns from U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1946 [database on-line], http://ancestry.com (accessed January 20, 2013).
[8] Entry for Leopold David, Fort Egbert, Alaska, August 1905, National Archives Microfilm Publication M617, Returns from U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916, Roll 342, Returns from U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1946 [database on-line], http://ancestry.com (accessed January 20, 2013).
[9] Entry for Leopold David, Fort Egbert, Alaska, September 1905, National Archives Microfilm Publication M617, Returns from U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916, Roll 342, Returns from U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1946 [database on-line], http://ancestry.com (accessed January 20, 2013); and entry for Leopold David, National Archives Microfilm Publication M233, U.S. Army Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914, Roll 59, U.S., Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 [database on-line], http://ancestry.com (accessed January 20, 2013).
[10] Inscriptions on two photographs in the Alice Butler Photograph Collection (AMRC B1971.71.60 and B1971.71.73), held by the Atwood Resource Center, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, Anchorage, Alaska, show David in Tyonek or along the trail on Turnagain Arm in late winter and early spring 1906. In a biographical sketch of Leopold David in the November 1919 issue of the Pathfinder, 18, it stated: "In 1906 he was prospecting in the Yentna district and later settled at Knik and practiced his profession." A copy of the article, "Leopold David," is located in File No. 9, Box 1, Bernice Bloomfield Collection on Jews in Alaska, 1905-1980 (B1986.1), Atwood Resource Center, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, Anchorage, AK.
[11] “Judge Leopold David—Anchorage’s First Mayor,” in Elizabeth Tower, Anchorage: From Its Humble Beginnings as a Railroad Construction Camp (Fairbanks, AK: Epicenter Press, 1999), 60-61. For a one-page biographical sketch of Leopold David, see Michael Carberry and Donna Lane, Patterns of the Past: An Inventory of Anchorage’s Historic Resources (Anchorage: Community Planning Department, Municipality of Anchorage, 1986): 16.
[12] “To Succeed as Chief Surgeon,” Seward Weekly Gateway, October 6, 1906, 2, in Bernice Bloomfield Collection on Jews in Alaska, 1905-1980 (B1986.1), File No. 9, Box 1, Atwood Resource Center, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, Anchorage, AK.
[13] Entry for Leopold David, Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929 [database on-line], http://ancestry.com (accessed March 2, 2016).
[14] The federal territorial court records formerly held in Record Group 21 (Records of the District Courts of the United States) at the National Archives at Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, did not include any bound volumes of physicians and surgeons licenses for the Third Judicial Division of the U.S. District Court, District of Alaska (Valdez and Anchorage), for the period from 1903-1960. These records appear to be no longer extant and there are gaps in the documentation. In 2014, these federal territorial court records were transferred to the Alaska State Archives (Juneau). According to a March 16, 2016 e-mail reply from the Alaska State Archives to Bruce Parham, their repository holds no territorial court records verifying whether Leopold David was ever issued a license as a physician or surgeon by the Territory of Alaska.
[15] A postcard at the Atwood Resource Center, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, Anchorage, Alaska, from "A.B." in Ketchikan addressed to Karasek in Tacoma postmarked August 16, 1905 reads that she will "be very glad when you return," implying that she spent several years in Ketchikan.
[16] “Seward Man Gets Office,” Seward Weekly Gateway (Seward, AK), March 13, 1909, 3.
[17] Leopold David House, “National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form,” AHRS Site No. ANC-308, Anchorage, Alaska, National Register of Historic Places, http://focus.nps.gov/nrhp/GetAsset?assetID=8ac05275-5d50-4c94-a98e-aa6cab98d973 (accessed February 29, 2016); and Leopold David, UA Journey; https://alaska.edu/uajourney/regents/1923-1925-leopold-david (accessed February 29, 2016).
[18] "Hildreth Resigns David Succeeds," Seward Weekly Gateway (Seward, AK), March 18, 1911, 1.
[19] Michael Carberry and Donna Lane, Patterns of the Past: An Inventory of Anchorage’s Historic Resources, 15. In 1986, the Leopold David House was added to the National Register of Historic Places. See, Michael Carberry and Steve Peterson, National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, Leopold David House, AHRS Site No. ANC-308, National Register of Historic Places, http://focus.nps.gov/nrhp/GetAsset?assetID=8ac05275-5d50-4c94-a98e-aa6cab98d973 (accessed February 29, 2016.
[20] Michael Carberry and Steve Peterson, National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, Leopold David House, AHRS Site No. ANC-308; National Register of Historic Places, http://focus.nps.gov/nrph/GetAsset?assetID=Bac05275-5d50-4c94-a98e-aa6cab98d973 (accessed February 29, 2016).
[21] See, Leopold David House, “National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form,” AHRS Site No. ANC-308, Anchorage, Alaska; National Register of Historic Places, http://focus.nps.gov/nrhp/GetAsset?assetID=8ac05275-5d50-4c94-a98e-aa6cab98d973 (accessed February 29, 2016); and Alison K. Hoagland, Buildings of Alaska (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 90-91.
[22] “Death Calls Leopold David to Last Rest,” Anchorage Daily Times, November 22, 1924, 1; and “ 'Judge' Leopold David: First Mayor of Anchorage,” in Stephen Haycox, A Warm Past: Travels in Alaska History: 50 Essays (Anchorage: Press North, 1988), 110.
[23] Alfred Mongin, An Evaluation of ‘Anchorage Cultural Historic District: A Proposal’ to Determine Eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (Anchorage: Office of History and Archaeology, Alaska Division of Parks, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 1976): item no. 7, page 13.
[24] Leopold David, UA Journey, https://alaska.edu/uajourney/regents/1923-1925-leopold-david (accessed February 29, 2016).
[25] William H. Wilson, “The Urban Frontier in the North,” in Interpreting Alaska’s History: An Anthology, ed. Mary Childers Mangusso and Stephen W. Haycox (Anchorage: Alaska Pacific University Press, 1989), 264-265.
[26] Minutes of the First Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Anchorage, Alaska, November 26, 1920, Volume 1, 1, Anchorage City Council Minutes, Volumes 1-2, November 26, 1920-May 27, 1933 [microfilm edition], Alaska Collection, Z.J. Loussac Library, Anchorage Public Library, Anchorage, AK. See also, “Town Council Meets,” Anchorage Daily Times, November 27, 1920, 5.
[27] Evangeline Atwood, Anchorage: All-America City (Portland, OR: Binfords & Mort, 1957), 81.
[28] Matthew J. Eisenberg, “The Last Frontier: Jewish Pioneers in Alaska,” Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Ordination, Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion, 1991, 84; Mary J. Barry, Seward, Alaska: A History of the Gateway City, Volume II: The Alaska Railroad Construction Years, 1914-1923 (Anchorage: Mary J. Barry, 1993), 106;and "Jews and Alaska," Congregation Bulletin, (Congregation Beth Sholom, Anchorage, AK), September 1974, 4, File No. 9, Box 1, Bernice Bloomfield Collection of Jews in Alaska (B1986.1)
[29] Quoted from, Matthew J. Eisenberg, “The Last Frontier: Jewish Pioneers in Alaska,” 84-85.
[30] Mary J. Barry, Seward, Alaska: A History of the Gateway City, Volume II: The Alaska Railroad Construction Years, 1914-1923 (Anchorage: Mary J. Barry, 1993), 106; Entry for Leopold David, Anchorage Telephone Directory, March 1, 1924 (Anchorage: Public Utilities Department, City of Anchorage, 1924), 5, in Alaska Territorial Telephone Books, 1906-1958: A Collection on Microfiche, compiled by Bruce Merrell (Anchorage: Anchorage Municipal Libraries, 1989).
[31] “Bolte Chosen Mayor of Anchorage,” Anchorage Daily Times, April 6, 1921, 1.
[32] Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council of Anchorage, Alaska, April 20, 1921, Volume 1, 37, Anchorage City Council Minutes, Volumes 1-2, November 26, 1920-May 27, 1933 [microfilm edition], Alaska Collection, Z.J. Loussac Library, Anchorage Public Library, Anchorage, AK; and “Mayor Leopold David is Re-Elected,” Anchorage Daily Times, April 21, 1921, 1-2.
[33] Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council of Anchorage, Alaska, April 5, 1922, Volume 1, 99, Anchorage City Council Minutes, Volumes 1-2, November 26, 1920-May 27, 1933 [microfilm edition], Alaska Collection, Z.J. Loussac Library, Anchorage Public Library, Anchorage, AK; and “Leopold David is Re-Elected Mayor of Anchorage,” Anchorage Daily Times, April 5, 1922, 1.
[34] “Municipal Vote Establishes New Record of 915,” Anchorage Daily Times, April 4, 1923, 1; and “Members of New Council Sworn In,” Anchorage Daily Times, April 12, 1923, 3.
[35] Robert B. Atwood, “Between Us,” Anchorage Times, April 22, 1979, A-7.
[36] Stephen Haycox, No. 36: “ 'Judge' Leopold David: First Mayor of Anchorage," in A Warm Past: Travels in Alaska History: 50 Essays (Anchorage: Press North, 1988), 110.
[37] Ibid.
[38] "Chief of Police Sturgus Found Dead," Anchorage Daily Times, February 21, 1921, 1.
[39] Stephen Haycox, A Warm Past: Travels in Alaska History: 50 Essays, 110.
[40] Robert B. Atwood, “Between Us,” Anchorage Times, April 22, 1979, A-7.
[41] See, Michael Carberry and Donna Lane, Patterns of the Past: An Inventory of Anchorage’s Historic Resources (Anchorage: Community Planning Department, Municipality of Anchorage, 1986), 193-195.
[42] “Very Creditable Showing [Editorial]," Anchorage Daily Times, April 1, 1922, 2.
[43] “Splendid Conditions Revealed in City’s Finances,” Anchorage Daily Times, April 1, 1922, 1.
[44] “A Good Man [Editorial],” Anchorage Daily Times, November 22, 1924, 4. Quoted in, Matthew J. Eisenberg, “The Last Frontier: Jewish Pioneers in Alaska,” 86-87. See also, Stephen W. Haycox, No. 36: " 'Judge' Leopold David: First Mayor of Anchorage, in A Warm Past: Travels in Alaska History: 50 Essays (Anchorage: Press North, 1988), 111.
[45] Jackie Musgrave, Looking Back: A Short History of Public Libraries in Anchorage (Anchorage: Municipality of Anchorage, 1996), 9.
[46] “First Mayor’s Wife to be Buried Here,” Anchorage Daily Times, August 24, 1971, 2.
[47] In 1988, Stephen Haycox stated that Alaska was “still new as a developed society” and that “the contributions of many of its early citizens, both native and non-native, don’t stand out with the clarity they will in later generations, when a truer sense of history, more critical but more permanent, will replace much of the myth-making which characterizes celebration of the Alaskan past today.” See, Stephen W. Haycox, No. 36: “ 'Judge' Leopold David: First Mayor of Anchorage," in A Warm Past: Travels in Alaska History: 50 Essays (Anchorage: Press North, 1988), 109-112.
Sources
This biographical sketch of Leopold David is based on an essay which originally appeared in John P. Bagoy’s Legends & Legacies, Anchorage, 1910-1935 (Anchorage: Publications Consultants, 2001), 42-43. See also the Leopold David File, Bagoy Family Pioneer Files (2004.11), Box 3, Atwood Resource Center, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, Anchorage, AK. In addition, see the Bernice Bloomfield Collection on Jews in Alaska (B1986.1) and the Alice Butler Photograph Collection (B1971.071) at the Atwood Resource Center. Edited by Mina Jacobs, 2012. Note: edited, revised, and substantially expanded by Bruce Parham, December 12, 2016.
Preferred citation: Bruce Parham, “David, Leopold,” Cook Inlet Historical Society, Legends & Legacies, Anchorage, 1910-1940, http://www.alaskahistory.org.
Major support for Legends & Legacies, Anchorage, 1910-1940, provided by: Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, Atwood Foundation, Cook Inlet Historical Society, and the Rasmuson Foundation. This educational resource is provided by the Cook Inlet Historical Society, a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt association. Contact us at the Cook Inlet Historical Society, by mail at Cook Inlet Historical Society, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, 625 C Street, Anchorage, AK 99501 or through the Cook Inlet Historical Society website, www.cookinlethistory.org.