Nellie Cashman

Nellie Cashman
Ellen Cashman
Born
Ellen O'Kissane

25 August 1845 (1845-08-25)
Midleton, County Cork, Ireland
Died4 January 1925 (1925-01-05) (aged 79)
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Occupation(s)Nurse, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and gold prospector
ChildrenReared five nieces and nephews

Ellen Cashman (1845 – 4 January 1925[1]) was an Irish gold prospector, nurse, restaurateur, businesswoman and philanthropist in Arizona, Alaska, British Columbia and Yukon.[2]

Cashman led a rescue party to miners to the Cassiar Country gold mine in the Cassiar Mountains of British Columbia. In Tombstone, Arizona, Cashman raised money to build the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and did charitable work with the Sisters of St. Joseph. She went to the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush for gold prospecting, working there until 1905. She became nationally known as a frontierswoman, with the Associated Press covering a later trip.[1] A devout Catholic, she raised funds for hospitals, schools, and churches wherever she settled.[3][4] Her heroics and charity gained her the names the "Angel of Cassiar," the "Angel of Tombstone," and the "Saint of the Sourdoughs."[1][5]

In 2006, Cashman was inducted into the Alaska Mining Hall of Fame.[6]

  1. ^ a b c "Biography – Cashman, Ellen (also known as Nellie Pioche and Irish Nellie) – Volume XV (1921–1930)". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Nellie Cashman – Pioneering the Mining Camps". legendsofamerica.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  3. ^ Forster, Merna (2004). Nellie Cashman. Canada: Dundern. ISBN 1550029525.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Commire, Anne, ed. (2007). "Cashman, Nellie (1844–1925)". Dictionary of women worldwide: 25,000 women through the ages. Yorkin publications. Detroit: Gale. ISBN 978-0-7876-7585-1.
  6. ^ "Ellen (Nellie) Cashman". Alaska Mining Hall of Fame Foundation. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2020.