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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 10 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 6 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 5 |
| 1885 | 6 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 8 |
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 19 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 10 |
| 1893 | 18 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 13 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 6 |
| 1909 | 3 |
129 stories matching probat
- The Sheriff’s Auction of the Timber Lands
In 1878, a massive Snohomish County land liquidation reveals the brutal economics of early Washington territory development.
- The Mystery of the Two Wills
After the death of Jennie McHugh Brown, two conflicting wills emerge, leading to a complex legal battle over her estate.
- 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 Unsettled Estate on the Edge of Lake Union
A legal notice from 1877 reveals the struggle of a widow attempting to settle a deceased spouse's debts by liquidating land near the wild, undeveloped frontier of Seattle's Lake Union.
- The Unwelcome Guest of Port Gamble
A small mill town's tranquility is disrupted by a mysterious, 'half-crazed' outsider offering unwanted critiques of local intellectual life.
- The Tragedy of August Raymond
A proprietor of the Steamboat Saloon suffers a mental health crisis, ending in his transport to the asylum at Steilacoom.
- The Sudden End of a Colorful Pioneer Judge
Isaac M. Hall, a celebrated attorney and former probate judge, collapses in a saloon after a long night of reciting poetry and debate.
- The Wheels of Justice on the White River
Seven Indigenous petitioners take to the Seattle probate court to settle an estate, finding themselves navigating the complex and often impenetrable bureaucracy of settler law.
- The Judge Who Wanted to Join the Salvation Army
Probate Judge Wickersham faces seduction charges in Tacoma; his defense seeks a venue change as he jokes about his future with the Salvation Army.
- Thirty-Three Acres and a Question of Heirs: A Native Estate Argued in Chinook
A probate courtroom fills with White River Indians, most seated on the carpet, as a judge who once rode Chinook jargon as his Pegasus weighs whether to sell a dead man's land to pay his debts.
- The juvenile court sits for the first time — and sends two boys home to report weekly
Judge Easterday hears Pierce County's first juvenile cases: two lads who burglarized a Buckley store are placed on weekly probation instead of behind bars.
- A Woman’s Solitary Spiral at the Winsor Hotel
After days of isolation, heavy drinking, and cigarette smoking, a guest from Port Angeles was found raving in her room.
- The Political Machine in Old Snohomish
A look inside the 1878 Democratic County Convention, where local power was consolidated, delegates were appointed to regional councils, and candidates for sheriff and judge were chosen by ballot.
- Tacoma Launches Juvenile Court to Protect City's Youth
A crowded public meeting of citizens endorses a new system to provide probation and guidance for troubled children.
- The Fight for the Ballot at the Tacoma Courthouse
In 1887, two suffragists took to the streets to demand the restoration of voting rights for women in Washington Territory.
- A Will on Note Paper Survives a Husband’s Challenge
A Seattle court admits Lena Shay Baldwin’s handwritten will, ending a long contest with her surviving husband over Washington, D.C. property, family furniture and jewelry.
- Republican Rally at the Opera House
Judge Wood defends the Sheriff’s record in the anti-Chinese expulsions of 1886.
- The Tragic Confinement of a Settler
A young woman is committed to the hospital for the insane after a period of profound distress.
- The 'Habitual Drunkard' List
A proposed law would have forced Seattle barkeepers to publicly post a list of 'habitual drunkards' in their establishments, effectively blacklisting them from purchasing alcohol.
- A Walk to the Post Office, Then a New Name in Seattle
A Tacoma stepfather recognized Dora Covey in a newspaper notice — arrested in Seattle as 'Dora Stout' after vanishing from a probationary release.
- The Unquestionable Will of Bailey Gatzert
Seattle’s prominent civic leader leaves a massive estate with ironclad instructions that bar his beneficiaries from ever challenging his wishes in court.
- The Bitter Fight Over the Kenyon Estate
Second cousins challenge the will of a Seattle pioneer, alleging madness and manipulation by the family who cared for him.
- An Estate at Auction on the Riverside
A court-ordered sale reveals the lingering legal threads left behind by a Snohomish pioneer.
- Violence Erupts Over Election Day Charges
A legal dispute over liquor sales on election day spills into the streets of North Yakima, leading to a violent brawl.
- The Unfinished Business of Alfred B. Jones
A legal notice from 1876 reveals the mundane yet pressing reality of settling an estate in the early days of Seattle.