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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 34 |
| 1889 | 103 |
| 1891 | 50 |
| 1892 | 316 |
| 1893 | 291 |
| 1894 | 274 |
| 1895 | 230 |
1,298 stories matching john
- A Mountain of Coffins: Franklin Buries Its Miners
After a mine fire killed 37 men, the coal town of Franklin held a day of funerals—five graves at Black Diamond, three Italian miners on a hillside, and widows whose grief doctors feared would kill them.
- Thirty-Seven Miners Died 150 Feet From Safety
An 1894 coroner's jury in Franklin, Washington, heard how a small fire in the Oregon Improvement Company's coal mine became a wall of smoke — and why the men who could have escaped stayed to fight it.
- Guns at the Polls: Seattle’s First Ward Primary Erupts in a Street Brawl
Sheriff Woolery and saloon man John Considine tried to seize a Republican primary by arresting the election judges; Chief Rogers and his police fought back with warrants, clubs and drawn revolvers.
- The First Ward Has Not Yet Voted: A Rowdy King County Convention Picks Its Ticket
In 1894, King County Republicans packed Seattle’s Armory, fought over a contested First Ward delegation, hissed down rivals, and nominated a full county ticket in one raucous night.
- A Gavel, a Roar, and a Populist Ticket Born in Chaos
King County's People's Party convention at Turner Hall turned into a shouting, proxy-fighting, faction-splitting marathon—and buried Dr. J. Eugene Jordan and Jack McDonald on the way to nominating a ticket.
- A Jury Called the Franklin Mine Fire Arson. Thirty-Seven Miners Were Already Dead.
A coroner's jury found that someone deliberately set the fire that suffocated 37 workers in the Franklin mine. The only survivor described how one opened door and one stopped fan turned the gangway into a death trap.
- The Franklin Mine Dead Were Buried. Then the Miners Went Back Down.
A relief fund swells with donations from Eddyville millmen and Seattle readers as surviving miners reopen the levels that did not burn.
- Balloted Until Dawn: How Seattle Democrats Finally Picked a County Chairman
A King County Democratic committee deadlocks past 3 a.m., reconvenes, and crowns John Collins after midnight — then the losers promise the fight is far from over.
- Thirty-Seven Miners Died Because They Stayed to Fight the Fire
A blaze in the Franklin coal mine sent smoke through the gangways on Aug. 24, 1894, killing 37 men and boys who thought they had time to escape.
- The Wig and the Wire: How a Tacoma Newspaper Owner Tried to Destroy a Judge
In the sensational Wickersham trial of 1889, prosecutor R.P. Radebaugh’s own past and his alleged conspiracy to frame Judge Wickersham for 'immorality' were laid bare in court.
- 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 Treasurer They Refused to Seat
A thousand men packed Seattle's Armory to demand that John W. Maple take office as county treasurer, threatening a tax strike against King County commissioners — until a collection plate emptied the room.
- The Bell in the Woods: How Seattle Built Its First University
A 34-year anniversary feature on the Territorial University: 48 laborers, $2-a-day wages, lumber from Port Blakely, and an old bell that warned ships in fog and rang for hangings.
- Who Gets to Rewrite Seattle's Charter — the Council or the People?
A crowded, argumentative hearing at City Hall: the Chamber of Commerce is accused of a 'somersault,' a lawyer sneers at 'the people,' and Dr. Ramsey answers a councilman with a line of Latin.
- The Variety Palace That Became a Business Block
John Cort's Standard Theater, where rival bands paraded in Pioneer Place and 'box rustlers' rode through the streets, is being remodeled into ordinary commercial space at South Second and Washington.
- The Mysterious Case of 'John Doe' at the Polls
A crackdown on anonymous, blank warrants used to harass voters during Seattle’s city elections.
- The Democrats Drum Up Candidates—and One Staged His Own Surprise Party
Seattle Democrats organize ward clubs, weigh fusion with Populists and independents, and trade rumors over sheriff, treasurer and prosecutor—including a would-be senator who bought his own gold-headed cane.
- The Missing Will That Would Have Given Seattle a Library
Henry Yesler's widow and two doctors are arrested, accused of burning a will that left the pioneer's fortune—and his mansion—to the city.
- The Coal Creek Massacre: A Coroner’s Inquest into the Battle Between Knights of Labor and Mine Owners
In January 1890, Seattle Sheriff Cochrane deployed militia to Newcastle to suppress a miners' strike. When a riot erupted at Coal Creek, one man was killed and ten arrested. The subsequent coroner's inquest revealed a chaotic scene where union men claimed self-defense against armed mine owners, while the sheriff dismissed the Knights of Labor as 'too excitable.'
- The Thief in Blue: Police Chief Exposes Captain’s Theft of Prisoners’ Belongings
A dramatic hearing reveals Officer Fayban’s accusation that Captain Henry Sheahan stole handkerchiefs, neckties, and cash from arrested men, sparking a bitter war of words between Seattle’s top law enforcement officials.
- Five Years on a Fraud's Word
John Bryan was pardoned out of the Walla Walla penitentiary after the real robbers confessed — but his companion was still inside.
- King County Commissioners Billed Taxpayers for 25,943 Miles—More Than the Earth's Circumference
A letter to the editor by F. F. Ames accuses the King County board of padding mileage, charging for trips to Olympia, and paying an unauthorized colleague from county funds—violating state law.
- The Beer-Fueled Plot to Steal a Populist Club
Seattle's First Ward Populists packed a hall over John Considine's theater to stop Democrats from capturing their club—and the meeting turned into a brawl of speeches, resignations and accusations.
- The City Rises Against a Heavyweight Bully
When boxing legend John L. Sullivan publicly spewed racist venom in 1892, Seattle’s Afro-American League turned his own brutal rhetoric against him, demanding dignity from the local press.
- The Strange Afterlife of a Murdered Man
Letters from disgruntled ex-wives and rivals surface after a Waterville man is murdered, revealing a long, chaotic trail of failed marriages.
Also about this, in other words
- A Dispute Over Laundry and Etiquette
A laundryman and a theatrical man clash in a courtroom, highlighting cultural prejudices of the 1890s.
- The Minister’s Son
A young theological student follows in his father's footsteps, receiving his license to preach before the Presbytery of Puget Sound.
- A Newlywed Killed by a Cottonwood on the White River
John Scott had been married only four weeks when an undermined tree fell across the log jam where he was working near Auburn.