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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 28 |
33 stories matching askam
- The Woman in Black and the Newborn Left for Dead
A Seattle coroner concludes that an infant found at a street corner was killed at birth by a blow to the skull. Detectives have no suspect, only a frustrated clue about a woman in black.
- Protests Against the White River Ditch
A contentious battle over land damages and irrigation pits the county commissioners against local landowners, headed for court.
- Coroner Threatens to Sue County Over Unpaid Bills
Coroner Askam argues that the county commissioners are unfairly denying him pay for investigating accidental deaths.
- The Tragic End of a Civil War Veteran
A former soldier, recently discharged from the Soldiers' Home, is found dead in the bay at the foot of Pike Street.
- A Funeral with Flowers, a Minister—and No Mourners
Vina Kelly's funeral became a public spectacle when her family failed to appear. Then the coroner's post-mortem answered a rumored pregnancy and found pneumonia.
- A Girl Died in a Magnetic Healer’s Home. Her Father Was Kept Outside.
Vina Kelly, 14, died at her brother-in-law’s West Street practice. The coroner ordered an inquest after conflicting death reports and a father’s late-night grief.
- The Cable Car That Killed a Boy—and the Safety Rules That Followed
A coroner’s jury clears the gripman and conductor, then demands guards on the front of every dummy car and bells at crossings.
- A Dog Led Seattle to a Dead Newborn—and a Woman in Black
A sugar-sack bundle hidden at Squire Avenue and Barclay Street held a newborn with a crushed skull; the mother vanished into the night.
- A Streetcar, a Dark Curve, and Four Feet of Water
A brewery worker fell from a Grant Street car into the Seattle tide flats. Rescuers reached him too late—even though the water was shallow.
- A Miner's Last Spree: The Newcastle Suicide That Shocked a Coal Town
August Sanders, a veteran Newcastle coal miner, shot himself after a drinking spree and the Coal Creek fire left him broke—an intimate glimpse of life and despair in Washington's coal country.
- A Fatal Elevator Ride in the Pioneer Block
An inquest clears the operator but urges a new law after a man is crushed in a downtown elevator well.
- A Morphine Death at the Concord House
Allan McDonald, a Toronto-born piano player struggling with morphine, was found dead in a Seattle rooming house with a jealous letter beside him and 85 cents in his pocket.
- He Raced the Streetcar—and Fell Beneath It
A boy running beside a Front Street line car slips at the Harrison Street crossing and is crushed before the gripman can stop; the inquest opens that afternoon.
- Tragedy at the Queen City Hotel
A young rancher from Vashon Island, who traveled to Seattle to sell a shipment of shingle bolts, dies after being overcome by gas in his hotel room.
- He Loved Her Too Much to Marry Her
Adam Gehm, a Bavarian logger working in Carbonado, shot himself in a Seattle lodging house after confessing to a friend that illness left him unable to provide for the woman he loved. He had tried once before.
- He Heard His Friend Cry for Help in the Dark
Joseph Pfahl, a Lake Washington rancher, fell from a boat-house incline at the foot of Madison Street after a Druids meeting; his friend heard his cries but could not find him in time.
- The Forger Who Called Himself 'Apache George' Dies in the County Jail
George Wendelin, a smooth-talking check passer who left Seattle firms holding worthless paper, is struck down by apoplexy before his case can go further.
- A Bereaved Husband, a Faithful Dog, and a 25-Cent Room
Daniel Bauman took morphine in a downtown lodging house after his wife died at the county farm. His little black dog stayed beside the body and fought off anyone who came near.
- A Hotel Room, a Gas Jet, and a Fight for One Young Life
George McLaughlin was found unconscious in room 43 of the Queen City Hotel. Doctors worked into the night.
- A Medicine Man Is Buried, but the Jury Says 'Parties Unknown'
Jerry Domnick confessed to killing the once-powerful medicine man Jim Bouchitt near Auburn — yet a coroner's jury refused to name him, leaving a murder with two answers.
- Caught Between Floors: A Fatal Elevator Ride in the Pioneer Building
A former Kitsap postmaster tried to run an elevator he did not know how to operate. His neck caught in the door, and a terrified young witness had to release the car.
- A Dugout, a Gunny-Sack Sail, and a Boy Lost on Lake Washington
Harvey Wehn was 15 when his makeshift sail capsized near Taylor's mill. A 4-year-old was the only witness.
- The Unknown Man of Lake Washington
A decomposed body found near the Madison Street wharf is briefly linked to a notorious double drowning before being buried in potter's field.
- The Elderberry Wine Defense: How a Contested Election Collapsed in Laughter
Populists dropped their challenge to Commissioner Nickerson, but testimony in the sheriff and coroner contests turned up sailors voting under protest and a lunch bag of elderberry wine at a Franklin polling place.
- After the West Street Fire, Seattle Asked for a Fire Marshal
A fire commission report found hotels and lodging houses full of traps and urged a marshal with real power to inspect, enforce and investigate.