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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 2 |
| 1872 | 7 |
| 1876 | 7 |
| 1877 | 8 |
| 1878 | 8 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
35 stories matching serv
- The Great Spelling Bee of 1873
Before high-speed internet and digital debates, Seattle’s social life centered on the grand Spelling Match, a community competition held at Yesler’s Hall.
- The Divorce Decree: A Seattle Woman’s Fight for Freedom from Willful Abandonment
In July 1876, Eliza Carakaden was served with a summons in King County District Court, marking one of the earliest recorded legal battles for divorce in the young settlement of Seattle.
- A Rough Ride on the Frontier
A classic 1877 tale of a stump-jumped wagon and a sprained arm that serves as a reminder of the hazards of navigating early Seattle infrastructure.
- The Unstable Ground Beneath Tacoma
A historic landslide on the Tacoma waterfront serves as a stark reminder of the city's precarious geography.
- The Divorce of a Pioneer: A Legal Battle in King County
In the early days of Seattle, legal proceedings were public record. This summons reveals the gritty reality of marriage dissolution in 1876, where 'abandonment' was a grounds for divorce and the courts were one of the few places to settle domestic disputes.
- The Zephyr’s Relief Mission to the Snohomish Valley
After the mountain snows melted and triggered a devastating flood, the steamer Zephyr served as a critical lifeline to the isolated settlers of the Snohomish River valley.
- The Pioneer Hospital of the Puget Sound Frontier
In an era of dangerous labor and little social support, Dr. G. A. Weed opened a hospital in Seattle designed to serve the 'sick and disabled who have no homes' in the growing mill and mining industries.
- The Ghost of the Old Foundry
A group of boys wreak havoc in a derelict Seattle building, leaving neighbors to wonder about the city's crumbling youth management.
- The Day Seattle’s Water Pipe Factory Saved Itself
While the rest of the country sweats through a historic heatwave, Tumwater’s industrial engine roars night and day to keep the city supplied.
- Divorcing the 'Unsuitable': Seattle Legal Notices from 1872
Public legal notices reveal the stark reality of marital dissolution in early Seattle, where 'incompatibility' and 'neglect' served as grounds for separation in the King County District Court.
- The Unmarked Death of Bi Lee
A Chinese man, imprisoned in Seattle, is found dead in his jail cell, leaving behind only questions and a community left to claim his remains.
- The Avarice of the Soil
An 1871 lecture on why farmers must stop starving themselves to save a few pennies.
- The Deserted Family of Seattle
A husband is sued for divorce in 1872 on the grounds of cruel neglect and failure to provide for his family.
- The Wedding-Journey Argument
A young couple's petty dispute over transportation during their honeymoon highlights the fragile nature of new love.
- The Delegate’s Missing Work
A Seattle newspaper calls out the territory’s Washington D.C. representative for feigning ignorance about a local land rights petition.
- The Rules of the Game: How Seattle's First Lawyers Codified the Fight for Land
When the Washington Territorial legislature overhauled the rules of civil procedure, they essentially wrote the blueprint for how Seattle’s developers and land speculators would battle over the city’s footprint for decades to come.
- The Fight for Seattle’s Rail Future
In 1878, a local leader rallied Seattle to demand federal land reform and a railroad connection, decrying the influence of corporate interests over the prosperity of the Territory.
- The Fallen Commander: Major Thornburgh’s Frontier Legacy
Remembering the life and service of the military officer who served in Washington Territory and met a tragic end on the frontier.
- A Crippling Debt: The Maritime Fight for Justice
After a seaman's hand was crushed working on the bark Cambridge, a legal battle for unpaid wages and damages unfolds in the Seattle District Court.
- The Price of Separation in 1878
A legal summons published in the Puget Sound Dispatch highlights the harsh reality of divorce proceedings in territorial Seattle.
- A Sailor's Crushed Hand and the Ship That Had to Answer for It
A seaman's right hand was crushed aboard the bark Cambridge at Port Blakely. He sued in Seattle for unpaid wages and $5,000 in damages, dragging the vessel into federal court.
- The Captain in the Counting House
A legal firestorm over whether a retired U.S. Army officer can serve as King County Treasurer.
- The Midnight Escape from the King County Jail
When four inmates mysteriously vanished from their cells, the local authorities were left baffled and scrambling to track them down along the muddy roads of old Seattle.
- The Business of Veterans' Benefits in 1880s Seattle
An advertisement for a local attorney reveals the complex bureaucracy of settling Civil War military land claims and homestead rights for pioneers in the Washington Territory.
- The Forgotten Hero: Major Granville Haller’s Fight Against Military Perjury
After decades of distinguished service in the Mexican-American and Indian Wars, a decorated officer was summarily stripped of his rank based on a peer’s 'dreamed' accusation of disloyalty.