By June Pelo.
In 1895 a young man from Karleby, Finland traveled to America to search for gold and strike it rich. His name was Johan Emil Lågland, born 1878 in Karleby. While in the US Johan began to call himself Jack Logland. By 1899 he was in Nevada marrying Rose Edith Beck, born 1879 in Nevada. Their daughter Leslye was born in Nevada City, California in 1901. Johan Emil, aka Jack Logland went to Rhyolite, Nevada to mine for gold and was joined later by his brother Alfred Ernst, born 1888, who had arrived in the US in 1908.
Nevada State Journal, Reno, July 1901: Mrs. J. Logland of Grass Valley, formerly Miss Rosie Beck of Virginia, gave birth to a daughter last week.
There was an article in the Ryolite Herald, 1907, about a miners’ drilling contest which mentioned that Tombstone resident Jack Logland won second place for drilling 35 inches.
An article in the Mining News, Reno, Nevada in 1908, headlined “Lucky Swede has his own cyanide plant”, indicated that Jack was suspicious of the smelters and ore purchasing companies. He decided that he could treat his own ore and he erected the Logland Cyanide Reduction plant, using whiskey barrels and zinc boxes. The article went on to say that Jack will continue with his project on Ladd mountain until he has a gold brick as a reward for his labor. The article indicated that Jack had a dream in which he saw gold at a certain spot and he began to dig there and in three weeks he had filled 200 sacks with ore.
The Mining News, Reno, July 1908: “Jack Logland is still pegging away at his lease and is taking out a good quality of ore for shipment. He added another whiskey barrel to his cyanide plant and expects to increase capacity in the near future.”
An article from Tonopah Daily Bonanza, dated October 5 1908 states: Jack Logland, who is leasing on the National Bank is getting some bonanza ore in the stope on the east drift. A sample assayed gave a return of $2,008 to the ton in gold. The rich streak is about 6 inches wide. Mr. Logland’s first grade ore is running at about $200 a ton.
Nevada State Journal, Reno, February 22, 1909: “Plucky Swede makes shipment of $75 ore”. The article says that Jack Logland, the Plucky Swede, made another carload shipment last week, shipping 20 tons to Needles smelter. He estimates it will go from $75 – $100 a ton in gold. The ore was extracted above the funnel level showing pay ore all the way. More ore is in sight to be taken and shipped.
Nevada State Journal, Rhyolite, February 23 1909: “Smelter returns net miner $2000”. “Logland ore graded between $85 and $500 to the ton by purchasers.” There were 75,000 pounds of ore in the lot. The first classification was 23 ounces of gold and 13 ounces of silver to the ton. The second classification netted between 3 and 4 ounces in gold and silver. This gives nearly $500 to the ton for first classification and $87 to ton for second classification. Jack Logland netted $2,000 above expenses. They expect to duplicate the shipment in a month.
The headline for the Reno-Gazette Journal, Rhyolite, September 19, 1908 states: Logland’s lease is now ready to ship. One of the richest leases in Rhyolite. It went on to refer to Jack as the plucky and lucky leaser on the National Bank with 200 sacks ready for shipment and the guarantee of another carload without doing more work.
Sometime before 1906, Rose divorced Jack Logland for desertion. She and their daughter Leslye lived in Nevada City, California while Jack was in Nevada finding gold.
In Rhyolite, 1906 Jack married Alice Viola Evans from San Diego.
In 1908 Alfred arrived in Nevada to help Jack mine for gold.
Sometime after she divorced Jack, Rose Evans married John Edward Bowie. She divorced him in 1910, citing cruelty. She then married Claude Sumner Sharon.
Reno Gazette Journal, Reno, Nevada, September 6, 1910: Headline reads: “Claude Sharon is penniless in Bay city”. Article states that Claude Sharon, grandson of William Sharon, whose money built the first Palace Hotel, has been cast off by his father because he married Mrs. Edith Bowie of Reno (aka as Rose Beck Logland). His family refuses to acknowledge his wife, and he has lost his job and is penniless, living in a small room. The present Mrs. Sharon has been divorced once and had her second marriage annulled. This is her third marriage.
Jack Logland and his wife Alice moved to Finland before 1909. Their first daughter Lucille was born in Gamlakarleby in 1909. Son Cecil was born there in 1919 and daughter Doris was born there in 1922.
Nothing more is known about the mining venture. Alfred returned to Finland and married in 1916. He and his wife lived in Karleby and had 9 children. After his wife died, he remarried and had 2 children. Jack, his wife and children have all died and contact with his descendants has been lost. Alfred’s children from his first marriage have died, but the two children from his second marriage are still living.