John Brynteson (August 13, 1871 in Ärtemark – 1959) was one of the "Three Lucky Swedes" who founded and developed the

Nome mining district The Nome mining district, also known as the Cape Nome mining district, is a gold mining district in the U.S. state of Alaska. It was discovered in 1898 when Erik Lindblom, Jafet Lindeberg and John Brynteson, the "Three Lucky Swedes", found pla ...

. Johan Bryntesson was born in the parish of Ärtemark in the traditional province of

Dalsland Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, and ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Career

A gold-seeking venture which commenced in mid-September 1898 with Erik O. Lindblom and

Jafet Lindeberg Jafet Lindeberg (September 12, 1874 – November 5, 1962) was a gold prospector and co-founder of the city of Nome, Alaska. Background Jafet Isaksen Lindeberg was born in Kvænangen, Troms county, in Norway. In his youth, he tried prospecti ...

proved quite successful. In 1898, the three formed the Pioneer Mining and Ditch Company. The company was the largest mining company operating in

Nome, Alaska Nome (; ik, Sitŋasuaq, ) is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of Alaska, United States. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. It had a population of 3,699 recorded ...

, in the years following the discovery of gold. Brynteson purchased a farm in

Santa Clara County, California Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

later known as The Pruneyard.

Personal life

Brynteson married Emma Forsberg on May 2, 1900 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. The Bryntesons had three children. Brynteson died in Svaneholm, Säffle kommun,

in 1959.

Legacy

*A statue of John Brynteson, together with Erik Lindblom and Jafet Lindeberg stands in Nome, Alaska. *Jafet Lindeberg, Erik Lindblom and John Brynteson are all listed in the Alaskan Mining Hall of Fame ''Members by Induction Date'' (Alaska Mining Hall of Fame Foundation)
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References

Primary sources

*Harrison, Edward Sanford, ''Nome and Seward Peninsula: a book of information about northwestern Alaska'' (E.S. Harrison. 1905) *Carlson, Leland H., ''Swedish Pioneers & the Discovery of Gold in Alaska''(American Swedish Historical Museum: Yearbook. 1948) *Olsson, Siv, ''Torparsonen som blev Guldkung'' (Dalslands Fornminnes- och Hembygdsförbund. 1989) Swedish

External links

Discoverers of the Nome Gold Fields in 1898Wedding of John Brynteson, one of Nome's "Three Lucky Swedes", San Francisco, 1902Pioneer Mining and Ditch CompanyPreliminary Guide to the John Brynteson Papers. 1947
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brynteson, John 1871 births 1959 deaths People from Bengtsfors Municipality Swedish emigrants to the United States Gold prospectors American gold prospectors People from Nome, Alaska