Research the archive
Narrow 22,457 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.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 6 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1885 | 6 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 13 |
| 1890 | 10 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 32 |
| 1893 | 19 |
| 1894 | 29 |
| 1895 | 3 |
| 1899 | 5 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 9 |
| 1904 | 10 |
| 1909 | 20 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 2 |
| 1917 | 6 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
199 stories matching nelson
- The Scandinavian Baptist Mission of Tacoma
A clergyman finds his calling, converts his congregation, and establishes a new church after a spiritual crisis leads him away from his former denomination.
- A Young Life Lost in the Yakima River
While attempting to drive horses across a dangerous crossing, an eighteen-year-old laborer is swept away in the swift currents.
- A Confederate or a Dupe: The Fight Over Lake Washington
A Seattle property owner denies he is part of a Tacoma-backed plot to defeat Senator John B. Allen over the Lake Washington Canal. The editor calls him a confederate or a dupe.
- Prospecting Tragedy on the Columbia
Two men set out from Prosser in search of fortune, but a capsized boat on the Columbia River left one man lost to the current.
- Tuberculosis Outbreak in Spokane Cattle
Public health officials begin clinical research on infected dairy stock at Washington Agricultural College.
- The Great Thistle Dispute of White River
Two neighbors take their feud over farm maintenance and agricultural knowledge to a Seattle courtroom.
- The 'No Cure, No Pay' Medicine Man
A self-styled 'Indian medicine man' faces assault charges after a dissatisfied customer demanded a refund under his own guarantee.
- Who Really Owns Our Public Parks?
Citizens push back against the Metropolitan Park Board, questioning the influence of business titans like Nelson Bennett.
- The Disappearance of John Squires
A Whidby Island farmhand vanishes after traveling to Seattle for medical care, sparking fears of foul play.
- The Railroad Contractor Who Thought He Could Boss the Republican Party
Nelson Bennett's Tacoma Ledger refused to back John H. McGraw and the state Republican ticket after a canal fight. A Pierce County senator told the party to stand by the convention—and warned that one wealthy man was not bigger than the party.
- Local Labor Beats the Low Bid on the Kennewick-Finley Road
County commissioners chose Kennewick’s Wm. Morain over the lowest bidder because he promised local crews and teams instead of trucks.
- The Superior Court Grants Five Divorces in a Single Day
Judge Langley dissolves five marriages in Seattle, citing abandonment, non-support, and physical abuse as the primary grounds for relief.
- Boss Bennett’s Moving Birthplace
A Tacoma political boss keeps relocating John H. McGraw’s birthplace—Bermuda one week, New Brunswick the next—as a Seattle paper cries foul in the 1892 governor’s race.
- A Fair Held 'To Spite Bennett': Tacoma Refuses to Be Killed Over Union Labor
Nelson Bennett attacked the Interstate Fair for hiring union workmen and nearly broke the enterprise. The trustees answer with a whoop: the fair goes on, and Seattle says it will stand by it.
- The Tumor That Ate Through a Man's Spine
A Port Townsend autopsy found that a long-growing aneurysm had eroded bone and pushed through the skin of the spinal column.
- Drayman Injured in Downtown Accident
A routine delivery turned violent when a wagon wheel struck a rut near the local hospital.
- The Man Who Bought a Horse for $10,000 to Save His Reputation
In the high-stakes world of early 20th-century horse racing, Chicago financier William A. Bradley paid a fortune for a mare named Willieette, not just for speed, but to settle a public feud with Jack Curley.
- The Judge Who Declared Unions Illegal
In a landmark charge to the grand jury in 1893, Chief Justice Thomas Burke declared that any combination of workers preventing employment was a 'conspiracy against the law of the land,' effectively criminalizing the labor movement before Washington even became a state.
- Under the Provost Marshal: Seattle’s Martial Law
When the city was placed under military rule during the anti-Chinese riots of 1886, residents faced a new, forced reality of curfews, passes, and armed sentries on every corner.
- Bridge Collapse Inquiry Mired in Secrecy
A tenth victim has died following a bridge collapse on the Great Northern line, as company officials actively obstruct the inquest.
- The Columbia River in Upheaval
Unprecedented flooding devastates communities along the Columbia River, washing away homes, bridges, and livelihoods.
- Officer Censured for Beating a Citizen
A police commissioner’s inquiry reveals that an officer brutally beat an innocent Black man at Second and Union, raising questions about police conduct in early Seattle.
- The Secretary Asks the Puyallups Whether They Are Fit to Hold Their Own Land
Interior Secretary John W. Noble met 200 Puyallup people on the reservation and promised to carry their wish to sell to President Harrison — after satisfying himself that they could be trusted with the money.
- The Vigilante Committee: Tacoma's Desperate War on Crime
In March 1902, Tacoma’s elite formed a secret society sworn to kill without mercy after police failed to stop a wave of robberies and murders.
- The Heat That Broke the Girls: A Seattle Summer of Hysteria
In June 1902, a sweltering afternoon in downtown Seattle turned a garment factory into a scene of mass panic as workers collapsed from heat prostration.