Research the archive
Narrow 25,688 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1894 | 1 |
| 1899 | 1 |
17 stories matching beecher
- The Smuggler's Shield: How a Seattle Customs Chief Defended Himself in Tacoma
In the height of the 1888 opium smuggling scandal, Chief Inspector Gardner takes the stand in Tacoma, claiming he was set up by political rivals to cover his own failures.
- The Great Port Townsend Customs Scandal
A federal grand jury uncovers a decade-long scheme of extortion and record-tampering at the Port Townsend custom house, where officials pocketed fees and forced local shipping firms to play along.
- The Knights of Labor Demand Action on the Border
A fiery 1885 exchange reveals deep tension between Seattle's labor unions and federal officials over the lax enforcement of Chinese immigration restrictions.
- Labor Unions Demand Action on Border Enforcement in 1886
An exchange of letters between the Seattle Knights of Labor and the Collector of Customs highlights early local anxieties over immigration policy.
- The Mysterious Collapse of a Port Townsend Official
A former Customs official, clutching a frantic stack of papers detailing a feud with his superior, is found delirious and dying in a Chicago train station.
- The Dogfish Oil Smuggling Ring
Federal authorities launch a crackdown on an illicit trade network that attempted to pass foreign-sourced dogfish oil as local Washington production.
- The Schoolroom Rebellion
A student faces expulsion for daring to recite Robert Ingersoll in class.
- Death Reared Its Horrid Head: Steam Heater Explosion Kills Two Men in Downtown Seattle
A careless Japanese fireman left a boiler unattended at Second and Washington, causing a catastrophic explosion that killed one man instantly and mortally wounded another.
- The Human Cargo of the 'Wolcott'
A government customs vessel intercepts a fishing boat off Smith Island, revealing a harrowing attempt to smuggle nine men into Seattle.
- The Opium King’s Last Stand: A Seattle Showdown
As federal agents prepare to prosecute the city's most notorious vice figure, he stands defiant in his hotel room, claiming his trunks were rigged and vowing to clear his name before a New York jury.
- The Scandal That Shook Seattle: The Arrest of Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin
In November 1872, two women were jailed for 'obscenity' after sending publications to a prominent broker. Their arrest sparked a frenzy in the young city, drawing crowds and highlighting the clash between radical feminism and Victorian morality.
- The Human Cargo in the Ash Pan
A steamship captain reveals the desperate lengths to which his crew went to smuggle Chinese laborers past authorities in the Puget Sound.
- Seattle Sends Money and Flour to the Widows of Franklin's Dead Miners
After a coal-mine disaster left families in Franklin without breadwinners, the Post-Intelligencer's relief fund and an Olympic Athletic Club benefit kept cash and flour moving to widows and orphans.
- The Shadowy Arrival at Port Townsend
Federal authorities intercept two young Chinese men smuggled into Washington Territory as 'contraband,' exposing the illicit human trafficking trade operating under the noses of border officials.
- The Brooklyn Plague: A Satirical Warning Against the 'Fanaticism' of Moody and Sankey
A local correspondent in Snohomish mocks the recent evangelistic crusade of Rev. D.L. Moody and singer R.A. Sankey, comparing their emotional preaching to a contagious disease and jokingly inviting missionaries to relocate to Washington Territory.
- The Millionaire’s Dilemma: A 1877 Critique on Wealth and Labor
An editorial from the Snohomish era takes on the 'purse-proud millionaires' of the Gilded Age, arguing that the true threat to the nation is the unchecked power of corporations and concentrated wealth.
- The Celebrity Circuit of 1876
Before podcasts and TED Talks, the American lecture circuit was the ultimate stage for the era’s 'influencers'—and the money was surprisingly high.
Also about this, in other words
- The Hammer in the Woodshed: Henry Creamer's Death Sentence
A Seattle jury convicted a foreign-born laborer of Mrs. Meller's murder on circumstantial evidence, while his lawyer insisted the real killer—or at least a missing witness—was in the room.
- A Final Journey from Kansas to Hover
A young pharmacist’s search for health in the Washington climate ends in tragedy.
- Drunken Brakeman Crushed on Northern Pacific Line
A railroad worker is killed near Meeker after falling between cars while intoxicated.
- A Prospector's Final Twenty Cents
Penniless and despondent, a traveler takes his own life in a Seattle lodging house after a failed attempt to mask his actions as an accident.
- A Desperate Tailor's Public Plea at the Postmaster's Door
After his wife fled to Tacoma to work in the post office, a destitute man attempted to take his own life on the doorstep of her employer.
- The Fatal Nail: A Tragedy in San Juan Valley
A routine repair job on the family farm turns into a fatal struggle with blood poisoning, highlighting the constant vulnerability of life in 1898.