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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
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32 stories matching abbott
- The Opium Ring and the Floating Body: A Seattle Murder Mystery
When Abner Abbott’s body was found in the tide flats, suspicion fell on a smuggling ring. Was he silenced for knowing too much about a $400 check from China?
- The Tide Flat Mystery: A Carpenter’s Body Found Beneath the Rails
Three weeks after bridge carpenter Abner Abbott vanished in Seattle, his bloated remains were pulled from the water under a railroad trestle. With $400 still on his person and bruises on his face, police and citizens alike debated whether it was a tragic accident or a cold-blooded murder.
- The Bullet and the Bankroll: A Saloon Feud on Pike Street
A Seattle land swindler survived an assassination attempt at the Abbott House, thanks to a well-placed $20 gold piece in his vest pocket.
- The Vanishing of Fred York
A farmhand on the Abbott ranch vanishes while herding stock near the river; only his horse returns, leaving the community to fear the worst.
- The Roadmaster's Gold Watch and the Mail Robber Who Came Back for More
Samuel Henry of the N.P.R.R. woke to find his watch gone and assumed it was a joke. A Tacoma marshal followed a hunch to a young man fresh out of the penitentiary — who confessed, sold the watch on Pacific Avenue, and then disappeared.
- The 'Scrawniest Things' on Second Street: A 1889 Fight Over Slum Housing
When the city's building inspector sought clarification on code, he triggered a blistering critique of the shoddy, dangerous 'rookeries' being erected in the shadow of the Great Seattle Fire.
- The Willard Ainsworth's Dangerous Nine-Month Cruise
A Seattle sealing schooner heads for the coast of Japan and Siberia, defying revenue cutters and maritime pressure to secure a massive catch.
- Hidden Correspondence Sparks Council Controversy
A secret letter from Captain L. A. Abbott regarding city streets and alleys suggests the council may be bowing to a selfish clique.
- Walla Walla Unions Gear Up for Labor Day Spectacle
Organized labor prepares to take over Abbott’s Grove for a massive parade and demonstration of strength.
- The 99-Year Wait: An 88-Year-Old Tacoma Woman's Multimillion-Dollar Gamble
A three-time widow arrives at a Tacoma clerk’s office with a 99-year-old lease and a meticulously remembered family tree, seeking a slice of Philadelphia.
- The $150,000 Land Swap
A major agricultural transition as a Walla Walla wheat tycoon trades urban real estate for 600 acres at the mouth of the Yakima River.
- Mob Violence Against Federal Officers on Seattle Streets
A correspondent defends the Seattle police for their inaction while deputy marshals were hunted through the downtown district by angry crowds.
- The Brutal Departure from Commercial Street
After years of enduring her husband's violence and the destruction of her home, a Seattle woman seeks a divorce to save her young daughter.
- The Battle for the Iron Horse
Aberdeen’s civic leaders clash over property rights, local industry, and the high-stakes ultimatum from the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- Federal Control Tightens Over Indian Land Income
A new government order mandates that lease money from Indigenous lands be held in restricted accounts, limiting how landowners can access their own funds.
- The Gilded Union: A Chorus Girl and a Chinese Actor Defy Convention in Seattle's Chinatown
In a scandalous departure from social norms, Jessie Kitchie and Ah Bock exchanged vows in the opium-scented apartments of Jackson Alley, marking a rare public union across racial lines in 1889.
- The Tragedy of a 'Box Rustler' at the Standard Theater
After being abandoned by her partner and facing a string of personal losses, 18-year-old Lillian Stewart took her own life in a downtown hotel.
- The Fair Moves for a Mill
Walla Walla's annual fruit fair loses its historic grounds to industrial development as a new steam chop mill prepares to grind.
- The Great Gale of 1890
A powerful storm system tore through Chehalis County, unroofing town blocks and sweeping historic cannery buildings into the Chehalis River.
- The Building Boom of 1889: Seattle’s Rapid Transformation
A look at the official building permits issued in May 1889, documenting the surge of brick and frame construction that was reshaping the city just weeks before the Great Seattle Fire.
- Local Legal Troubles and a Broken Marriage
Superior Court handles a flurry of forgery, arson, and assault charges, while a divorce is granted for failure to provide.
- Hasheesh, Absinthe, and a Human Pelvis in the Page Murder Trial
Defense experts told a Seattle jury that a drug could explain Page's condition on the morning he shot Fraser, while the state argued he remembered everything.
- The Log Jam That Held Back the Skagit
Settlers bet their savings on cutting a channel through a massive timber jam—and begged Sound steamboat captains to link the Skagit to Seattle.
- Federal Land Claims Struck Down in Seattle
Secretary Noble rejects a group of homestead applications in the Seattle district, potentially halting a syndicate's attempt to hoard thousands of acres.
- The Shadow Over Hayes Street
A vacant house, recently traded for farmland in Olympia, goes up in flames as neighbors blame the itinerant men drifting through Seattle's industrial fringe.
Also about this, in other words
- A Massive Land Grab near Scott
A Missouri doctor orchestrates a massive acquisition of Adams County land, planning to settle twenty-two sections with his kin and neighbors.
- The Price of Protection
A local businessman pleads guilty to habitual drunkenness to trigger a legal guardianship, hoping to shield his assets from local gamblers.
- A Preacher Was Hissed for Defending Seattle’s Catholics
At a packed American Protective Association meeting, Rev. Clark Davis called for tolerance and warned that bigotry would fail — then heard jeers from members who wanted red meat.
- Tragedy in the Ashford Coal Mine
A foreman dies in a heroic but doomed effort to rescue his colleagues trapped by an explosion of fire damp deep beneath the earth.
- A.P.A. Secures Victory in Ballard School Election
The American Protective Association flexes its political muscle in a high-turnout school board race.
- The Lodging House Brawl
A local dispute over a lodging house assault leads to a courtroom showdown and a fine for the proprietor.