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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 5 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 6 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 5 |
| 1892 | 18 |
| 1893 | 13 |
| 1894 | 9 |
| 1895 | 5 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 6 |
| 1903 | 12 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1909 | 9 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
112 stories matching con
- The Persistent Barber Who Conned the City
A petty swindler known as 'Clark' or 'Rieff' spent weeks running up tabs at local drugstores and shops by impersonating city employees and prominent businessmen.
- The Detective, the Forger, and the Silverton Fiancée
Detective Sam Sumner captures a smooth-talking con man who posed as a Northern Pacific railroad official and nearly married into a Silverton family.
- The Jailbreak at the Center of Town
After four prisoners escaped the local lockup, the Sheriff sounds the alarm on the failing state of the city's crumbling jail.
- The 'Line-Man' Forger of 1891
A young con artist dressed as a weary lineman successfully swindled several Seattle clothing stores and a saloon before vanishing into the night.
- The 'Top and Bottom' Sting
A traveler is swindled out of his savings by a gang of con artists on a Seattle sidewalk, sparking a city-wide police sweep.
- The Real Estate Swindler Who Fooled Seattle
A smooth-talking con artist masquerading as an 'Eastern capitalist' swindled multiple Seattle banks by weaving himself into the city's booming real estate market.
- The Portrait Swindle
A crafty con artist used a local shop's reputation to fleece dozens of Seattle residents with a fake photo-enlargement scheme.
- The Robber Barons of the Rails
As the Pacific Northwest rail and steamship empires consolidate, one man's rise mirrors the era of the 'autocrat' industrialist.
- The Sailor Who Sold the Editor
A seafaring impostor weaves a tale of tragedy and shipwreck to con a meal out of local journalists, exposing the desperate vulnerability of the early Seattle news beat.
- The Seattle Shakedown: A Klondiker’s Lost Fortune
Fresh from the gold fields, a miner’s life savings vanish in an instant at a local hotel, exposing a web of downtown con men.
- The Ghost Town That Only Existed on Paper
How two swindlers and a 'Nebraska Cyclone' preacher conned a community with a townsite located entirely in a duck-filled salt marsh.
- World's Fair Commission Cleared of Dishonesty, But Spending Called Extravagant
A joint legislative committee finds no evidence of dishonesty in the World's Fair Commission, but criticizes excessive expenditures and recommends $50,000 more to finish the work.
- The Con Artist of the Y.M.C.A.
A smooth-talking grifter exploited the goodwill of Seattle churchgoers by playing on his 'sick wife's' needs, until an umbrella heist landed him in the city jail.
- Spiritualism on Trial in Yakima
A witness defends the authenticity of a recent séance, describing illuminated spirits and physical manifestations in a cabinet séance.
- The Gray-Haired Con Man Who Left Newport's Saloons Holding Bad Paper
Posing as a copper-company man with money in local banks, William Andrew cashed worthless checks across Newport and Sandpoint—then vanished before anyone could collect.
- The Con Artist Who Fleeced All of Seattle
A smooth-talking lawyer arrives with a letter of introduction from the Governor, only to leave a trail of unpaid debts, fake mortgages, and broken promises across the city.
- The Con Artist’s Benevolent Hustle
A smooth-talking stranger visits a Seattle tobacco shop, spins a yarn about a tragedy at sea, and leaves with more than just a sympathy donation.
- The Ghost of the Street: Seattle’s Most Prolific Teenage Con Artist
Before the age of identity theft, a nameless youth wandered the streets of 1892 Seattle, forging heartbreaking letters of loss to bilk the city's compassionate elite.
- The 'Perryville' Scam: How a Fake Marriage Left Two Women Broke and Broken
In a tale of deception spanning Los Angeles, Washington, and Canada, two women fall victim to the same con artist who used false matrimonial ads to extract money before fleeing with their savings.
- The Miracle Doctor of Fall City
A smooth-talking grifter conned the countryside with fake cures and a borrowed horse, only to vanish into thin air.
- The Great Seattle Hoax: How a 'Captain' Fooled the Press with a Phantom Ship
A con artist named Captain John Brown sold a wild tale of a treasure-laden voyage to a local newspaper for $10, only for customs officers to discover the vessel didn't exist.
- The 'Kid Mayor' of Michigan Found in Port Townsend
A brilliant young con artist once known as the 'Kid Mayor' has fled the Washington Territory after his real identity—and a trail of fraudulent bonds—finally caught up with him.
- The Last Gathering of Seattle’s Founders
Amos Brown, a pioneer who helped shape the city's early identity, is laid to rest in a ceremony attended by nearly every surviving member of Seattle's first generation.
- 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 Swindler Is Back, and He's Bought a New Suit
Fresh from Walla Walla, a confident ex-convict jokes about prison, promises diamonds, and leaves Seattle police wondering where his money comes from.