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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
21 stories matching chattel
- The Mattress They Took From the Children
A teamster's hospital stay turned a $136 loan into a chattel-mortgage seizure—and a lawsuit over the mattress his children slept on.
- She Said He Beat Her. Then He Mortgaged the Farm.
Constancia Gladinowski’s divorce filing alleged brutal abuse and a secret chattel mortgage on the couple’s South Seattle property. A judge froze the assets before they could vanish.
- The Soapy Scandal of South Seattle
A federal revenue collector busts a clandestine distillery masquerading as a soap-making business.
- The Abolitionist Who Turned His Eyes Toward Capital
Reflecting on the life of Wendell Phillips, the radical orator who identified capitalism as the next great system of servitude after chattel slavery.
- 1878 Snohomish Debt Suit Seeks Auction of Mortgaged Goods
A legal summons from 1878 reveals the precarious nature of pioneer commerce, where a $100 loan could lead to the loss of goods, chattels, and livelihood.
- Seattle’s 1876 Anti-Chinese Riot Targeted Chinatown
A white mob swept through Seattle’s Chinatown in 1876, destroying property and threatening residents amid economic fear and racial hatred.
- A $650,000 Mortgage Put Walla Walla’s Gas, Electric, and Water Future in Philadelphia Hands
The Northwestern Gas and Electric Company mortgaged its Walla Walla County plants, franchises, and water rights to secure a major bond issue—and announced new power development on the Walla Walla River.
- The $37,500 Handshake: How Benton County's Tax Crusaders Blessed a Courthouse Deal
Prosser's anti-tax league swore it would guard the public purse to the last janitor's salary. Then its own man changed his mind on Monday, and the Kennewick editor noticed where the $37,500 went.
- The Unpaid Players of the Casino Opera Company
When an acting troupe failed to pay its stars in 1886, the performers fought back by seizing the entire production—including the costumes and luggage—to cover their lost wages.
- The Unsolved Mystery of the 'Soft-Footed' Burglar
A quiet intruder terrorizes Seattle residents, leaving victims baffled after appearing in their homes in the dead of night—only to flee at the sound of a voice.
- The predatory business of 'confidential' loans
A Seattle reporter goes undercover to expose local money lenders charging exorbitant interest rates to the desperate.
- A Saloon Showdown in Tacoma
A complicated dispute over a local watering hole descends into a flurry of mutual arrests and legal maneuvering.
- Acquitted at Noon, Back in Handcuffs by One O'Clock
Frank Goodrich spent five months in the county jail awaiting trial on a charge of enticing Chinese laborers. A federal jury cleared him — and he tasted freedom for only a few minutes before a deputy marshal seized him on a fresh complaint.
- The National Theater Manager Skipped Town With the Glassware
H. H. Kline vanished from Olympia's National Theater, leaving unpaid salaries, a bar tab, and empty beer bottles—while police took charge of the building.
- The Soap-Making Distillery Bust of South Seattle
A federal raid on a modest South Seattle property reveals an enterprising soap-maker operating without a permit, leading to the seizure of his entire livelihood.
- The Janitor's Failed Replevin of Romance
A Seattle janitor attempted to sue his former flame for the return of bedroom furniture after she refused to marry him, only to be laughed out of court.
- Bankrupt Merchants Jailed for Contempt
Judge Hanford jailed Seattle clothier Samuel Njac and Alexander Isaacs for contempt over $15,000 owed creditors.
- The Great Soap Bust of South Seattle
A federal raid on a clandestine distilling operation leaves a local man out of soap and out of luck.
- The Strange Case of the Disputed Horses
A local market company and a private buyer clash in court over the rightful ownership of two horses, proving that even a simple livestock dispute requires a judge's intervention.
- The Price of Debt on the Frontier
A legal summons from 1878 reveals the high-stakes reality of credit and collateral in early Snohomish, where a $100 loan could lead to the seizure of one's livelihood.
- The Revenue Collector’s Raid on a South Seattle Distiller
Federal authorities shutter a clandestine operation in South Seattle, seizing a menagerie of equipment and livestock from a local man.
Also about this, in other words
- A Desperate Escape on Commercial Street
A Russian immigrant narrowly survives a lodging house fire that authorities suspect was sparked by coal oil.
- The Wire War: Railroad vs. Telegraph
A legal standoff erupts between the Postal Telegraph Company and the Northern Pacific Railroad along the tracks between Tacoma and Kalama.
- A Railroad Feud in Whatcom
Citizens of Whatcom are up in arms after a railway company performs a bare-minimum, last-minute track laying to save their franchise.
- The Unpaid Bills of the James Street Cable Line
A legal dispute over the James Street cable railway ends in a victory for the company, leaving material suppliers with no way to recover their losses.
- The Expensive Cipher Mistake That Rocked Colfax
A bungled telegram message causes a small-town grain buyer to accidentally trigger a massive payout to local farmers.
- Predatory Behavior and the Messenger Boys
The arrest of a waiter reveals a pattern of abuse targeting A.D.T. messenger boys in the rooms above downtown saloons.
- The Perils of the Telegraph
A look at the chaotic and often hilarious errors produced by local telegraph operators.
- Modernizing the Woods
The shift from oxen to steam power and wire cables is changing the face of the logging industry along the Wishkah River.