Research the archive
Narrow 27,002 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 11 |
| 1892 | 22 |
| 1893 | 14 |
| 1894 | 23 |
| 1895 | 15 |
87 stories matching murphi
- Labor Leader Absconds with Relief Funds
The president of the Western Central Labor Union has vanished, leaving local workers to grapple with the betrayal of their relief and holiday coffers.
- The Murphy Murder Trial Heads to the Jury
A week of testimony in the Lake Washington shooting case concludes, with the jury visiting the saloon crime scene.
- A Surprise Guilty Verdict in a Waterfront Holdup
A jury convicts I. W. Tollman of highway robbery, while the trial of John Murphy for the same holdup of John Smith continues in Judge Bellinger's court.
- Fire Scare at South Eighth and Dearborn
A fire in a small stand caused a panic among nearby residents, who mistook a white man’s warning for a police raid.
- Three North Seattle Highwaymen Convicted in a Week
John and Martin Murphy and Tom Davis were found guilty of robbing John Smith near the Seattle waterfront. Their alibi witness, a man known as “Cutthroat” O’Brien, did not save them.
- A Saloon Killing, a 42-Hour Jury, and a Second Conviction
James Murphy is convicted again of shooting Fritz Dawe in the old Copper Chief saloon — but his lawyers vow the verdict will not stand.
- Ten Years for a North Seattle Robbery
Three men who held up a local citizen face a decade of hard labor in the penitentiary.
- The Murder Witness Who Spent 241 Days in Jail
George Gordon’s testimony helped convict Murphy of second-degree murder—but keeping the state’s only eyewitness safe cost King County $733, and the defense said he tried to sell his silence.
- The Price of Protection
A local businessman pleads guilty to habitual drunkenness to trigger a legal guardianship, hoping to shield his assets from local gamblers.
- The Police Chief Who Couldn't Keep Order
For two years, Seattle's police force has been mired in incompetence and apathy under a Chief who avoids the law.
- Too Wet for the Dry Crusade: Tacoma Boycotts Francis Murphy
The celebrated temperance lecturer came back to Tacoma to find the Tabernacle locked against him—because he preached gospel temperance instead of prohibition.
- A Killer, a Gold-Brick Swindler, and a Widow's Missing Coat
James Murphy waits to learn whether he'll be shipped to Walla Walla for killing Phil Doe in the Copper Chief saloon — while a con man's loyal wife scours Front Street for the coat a dead man wore.
- The Drunkard’s Fortune: Tacoma Bank Takes Over $1,100 from an Inebriate
In a stark display of 19th-century temperance law, Officer Frank Cavanagh has declared wealthy Tacoma man Michael Murphy legally incompetent due to alcoholism, depositing his cash into the bank for 'safekeeping.'
- The Peeping Miner and the Stolen Money
A miner from Franklin claims to have witnessed a robbery at a saloon on King Street through a crack in the door.
- Court Overturns Conviction in Saloon Killing
The Washington Supreme Court grants a new trial to James Murphy, who murdered a bartender for refusing to serve him liquor.
- A Courtroom Gunfire Mishap in Walla Walla
A sheriff's demonstration of a murder weapon goes awry, nearly striking a spectator in the courtroom.
- The Laundry Woman's Stolen Underwear
A trio of burglars was rounded up after they were identified for stealing from a South Seattle laundry worker and local bachelor shacks.
- A Deadly Christmas Eve Dispute in Willapa
A drunken argument over railroad work ended in a shooting at a gravel pit, leaving a respected foreman dead and his killer in jail.
- The Mayor and the Murderer
A scathing editorial questions the ethics of Mayor Ronald defending a local killer while in office.
- The Copper Chief Saloon Killing Goes to the Jury
After days of testimony, a Seattle jury weighed James Murphy’s fate as an eleventh-hour bootblack witness contradicted the state’s star in the 1894 saloon shooting of Phil J. Dawes.
- The Unlucky Clerk of Ballard
A city clerk-elect struggles to secure his required $5,000 bond after his sureties back out, reportedly due to his stance on the location of a new railway hub.
- The Political Hunger Games for the Deputy Collector Post
As federal appointments loom in Seattle, local candidates and their fixers engage in a desperate, high-stakes game of political patronage and moral maneuvering.
- The Tragedy of a Carpenter's Decline
A sick and destitute man finds himself unable to keep up union dues as he battles consumption in Seattle.
- The Wild Life and Vanishing Legacy of Betsy Jones
A century-old property dispute in Bellingham unearths the chaotic, cross-continental saga of a woman whose life defied Victorian conventions.
- The Minister and the Saloonkeepers
A traveling revivalist successfully riles up the town of Renton, resulting in the first Sunday-closing arrests in three years.