Black was the second woman elected to the House of Commons of Canada. She was followed by two younger siblings, George Jr. Her father lost his laundry business in Great Chicago Fire , but started over with great success, affording Black a comfortable, upper-class childhood. Martha married Will Purdy in Martha did not join Will in Hawaii, choosing to travel to the Klondike with her brother in In she crossed the Chilkoot Pass into Canada, heading for the gold rush in the Klondike.
It was the lure of gold that drew the fearless Martha Black to the Yukon, but it was the awesome beauty of the wild country that caused her to stay. Martha was born to a wealthy family in Chicago, Illinois in She was five during the great Chicago fire of After completing finishing school, where she excelled in elocution and botany, Martha married Will Purdy in and had two sons. When news of the Klondike Gold Rush reached her, she left her sons with her parents and headed north with her brother. Together they climbed the Chilkoot Pass and sped through the treacherous waters of Miles Canyon without incident.
Yukon formerly the Yukon Territory is one of Canada's three territories in the country's extreme northwest. Its history of human habitation dates back to the Ice Age, and the original inhabitants are believed to have arrived over 20, years ago by migrating over the land bridge from Asia. In the 18th century, Russian explorers began trade with the First Nations people along the Alaskan coast, beginning the establishment of trade relations throughout the region.
Martha Louise Black, Photographer: Pierre Brunet e Hidden among the millions of items in the collection of Library and Archives Canada are a set of 10 floral postcards. Unassuming in size, and modest in subject matter, they were produced by an exceptional and adventurous woman named Martha Louise Black.