A. E. Ironmonger Sola (b. 1868)

Ironmonger Sola accompanied Veazie Wilson on his 1894 expedition down the Yukon River. Wilson’s photographs taken during the trip were published by Esther Lyons in 1897. Sola published his account of the trip in the same year.1) A.E. Ironmonger Sola, Klondyke: truth and facts of the new El Dorado. London: Mining and geographical Institute, 1897.

Sola was one of the first miners to come out of the Klondike with gold.2) He had spent several years in the Yukon by 1897 being engaged as a freighter, trader, and miner. The British North American Trading Exploration Company was formed in 1897 with Sola as the local managing director. He sold his entire holdings to the company including lots in Dawson, his placer mines (750 feet on Bonanza Creek and 250 feet on Last Chance Creek), and his warehouse and dock on the Yukon River. The company was offering shares in New York for $1.3)

Sola was still in the Yukon in 1900 as he attempted to purchase 160 acres on the site of Taku City.4)

1)
Michael Gates, “Unraveling the mystery of Esther Lyons.” Yukon News (Whitehorse), 18 October 2013. 2019 website: https://www.yukon-news.com/letters-opinions/unraveling-the-mystery-of-esther-lyons/
2)
Douglas W. Allen, “Information Sharing During the Klondike Gold Rush.” The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 67, No. 4, December 2007: 14fn.
3)
“Klondike.” New York Journal and Advertiser (New York), 29 August 1897. 2019 website: https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030180/1897-08-29/ed-1/?sp=40&st=text
4)
Christine Frances Dickinson and Diane Solie Smith, Atlin: The Story of British Columbia's Last Gold Rush. Atlin Historical Society, 1995: 75.