Elizabeth (Dooley) (Zaccarelli) Vifquain

Elizabeth Dooley was born in 1884 at Hartford, Connecticut.

She was 16 years old when she arrived in Dawson City to stay with her uncle, a member of the NWMP who was posted to Dawson.

Elizabeth met and married John Zaccarelli in Dawson City in 1903. They lived behind the Zaccarelli & Company Store on Third Avenue until it was destroyed by fire. John reopened a store on King Street between First and Second Avenues in 1906, where he ran a successful business until 1918.

They had two sons:  Thomas “Buster” and William Ralph. Elizabeth was a valued employee of the Northern Commercial Co. store and was often referred to as “The Boss.” She retired in 1954.

In the fall of 1917, the Zaccarelli family traveled to Oakland, California, to visit family. There, John decided to open a bookstore and selected a place for the family to live upon their return the following year.

In the late summer of 1918, Mrs. Zaccarelli and the boys left Dawson; John was to come later and meet them in Vancouver. He closed his store on King Street and with other Dawson business people boarded the last paddlewheeler of the season.

In Skagway, he boarded the Princess Sophia with his sister, Mrs. Charles Vifquain, and her daughter Joy.

The Sophia hit Vanderbilt Reef in the Lynn Canal and sank. Sadly, all 343 souls perished. The bodies were taken to Vancouver for identification. As Elizabeth was in Vancouver, she was one of a very few who could identify many of the bodies. She had lovely long black hair and the shock turned it white.

She stayed on in Vancouver, returning to Dawson City the next spring.

In 1920, she married Charles Vifquain and they ran a hotel on First Avenue. After Charles passed away she stayed on in Dawson for a few years, then moved to Whitehorse and lived in the Alexander Street Seniors Apartment until her death in 1967.

Her grandson, Ralph, is married and lives in Whitehorse with his family.

The special regard in which Mrs. John Zaccarelli and family were held in Dawson is attested to in the report published shortly after their 1917 departure:

Mrs. Zaccarelli will be much missed in Dawson. For years she has been one of the best vocalists of the city, and has contributed unstintingly of her talent in many patriotic, church and public-spirited entertainments. It is her intention to take a course in vocal instruction this winter from one of the leading teachers in that line in California. Mrs. Zaccarelli has a powerful voice and one of exceptional tone and range.

Mrs. Zaccarelli has been a resident of Dawson the last eighteen years, when she came North with Mr. and Mrs. Welsh. Both of the boys were born here, and there were many a wrench for the lads when the boat pulled away yesterday and they left behind their many old-time playmates and their good dog, “Kid”, which had been their close companion ever since he was left here by Fire Chief Andy Hart, when the old sourdough went to war. “Kid” remains to watch the town until Andy and the boys come back.

Elizabeth passed away at the age of 83 in 1967. When asked, she would always credit her longevity to a small glass of gin every evening.

Liz was an outgoing, fun-loving person and, as stated on her gravestone, she was “Loved by All.”