dward Anton Rasmuson was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on April 15, 1882, of Swedish parents. He came to the United States at the age of 19 and was naturalized in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He enrolled in the Minehaha Academy in Minneapolis, and after graduation he accepted the position of assistant missionary at the Swedish Covenant mission in Yakutat, Alaska. There, he met Jenny Olson, who was born in Varmland, Sweden in 1880 and had come to Yakutat as a Christian education worker. She and Edward were married in 1905, after which Edward took charge as a missionary. They had two children, daughter Evangeline, born in Sitka in 1906 and son Elmer, born in Yakutat in 1909.

The couple left Alaska in 1912. They first visited Sweden, then went to Minneapolis, where Edward invested his savings to purchase a block of homes, which he sold to finance his study of law. After Edward passed the Minnesota bar examination, they moved to Juneau, where he studied under District Judge Jennings. In 1916, the family moved to Skagway, where Edward was appointed United States Commissioner and served as mayor. He also became the corporate attorney for the newly organized Bank of Alaska. In 1919 he was named bank president, and began commuting to its Anchorage branch. Eventually the family moved permanently to Anchorage.

In addition to operating branches in Anchorage, Skagway, Cordova and Wrangell, Edward established the First National Bank of Ketchikan. In the 1930s, the Cordova branch became independent and the Wrangell bank was separated from the Bank of Alaska. Edward became president of that bank upon his retirement.

Edward A. Rasmuson served as Swedish Consul for many years and was knighted by the King of Sweden in 1937. He also served as the Republican National Committeeman for Alaska for 16 years. Edward died in 1949 in Minneapolis, where he is buried. Jenny died in 1966, and is buried in the Pioneer Tract, Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery.

Edward and Jenny Rasumuson’s daughter, Evangeline, married Robert B. Atwood. They had two daughters, Marilyn Atwood Odom and Elaine Atwood. Evangeline died in 1987. Marilyn Atwood Odom died in 1994, Robert B. Atwood died in 1997, and their second daughter, Elaine, passed away in 2003.

Son Elmer Edwin Rasmuson married Lile Bernard of New Jersey and they had three children, Edward B. Rasmuson, Lile Muchmore Gibbons and Judy Ann Rasmuson. Lile Bernard Rasmuson died of cancer in 1960. In 1961, Elmer Rasmuson married Mary Louise Milligan, who was then the director of the U.S. Women’s Army Corps. Elmer E. Rasmuson died in 2000 and is buried in the Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery. More about the Rasmuson family’s history and contributions to Alaska can be learned from the Rasmuson Foundation web site, www.rasmuson.org.

Special recognition

The Cook Inlet Historical Society and the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center would like to extend special recognition to the Rasmuson Foundation for its generous funding of the Anchorage 1910 – 1935 exhibit and web site.