Research the archive
Narrow 25,724 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 |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 4 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 6 |
| 1863 | 4 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 9 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 16 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 8 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 7 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 19 |
| 1892 | 22 |
| 1893 | 52 |
| 1894 | 33 |
| 1895 | 36 |
| 1899 | 4 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 5 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
261 stories matching collector
- A Customs House Boss and the Fight to Run Washington
A federal deputy collector resigns in Seattle and accuses the custom house crowd of building a machine for Senator Squire.
- Political Uprising at the Port Townsend Democratic Club
A planned 'indignation meeting' against the local customs collector backfires, leading to a party coup and the removal of the club's president.
- The Federal Jobs That Came With Life Tenure
A new civil-service order gives Puget Sound customs officers—from deputies to private secretaries—protection that even a change of administration may not break.
- The Perilous Seat of the Customs Collector
A history of the Puget Sound customs office reveals a chronicle of smugglers, political infighting, and violent tragedies.
- Democratic infighting over the deputy collector
A power struggle in the local Democratic party leaves the deputy collector post in limbo amid accusations of gambling and political debt.
- The Customs Collector and the Straw Men of Puget Sound
A Tacoma official accuses Collector J. C. Saunders of padding the customs payroll with political workers—including a no-show inspector—for work never done at the Interstate Fair.
- The City Collector’s Year-End Ultimatum
Before the turn of the New Year in 1877, Seattle’s city collector warned residents that delinquent property taxes would lead to the immediate seizure and sale of their homes.
- The Bear That Bit Back: Deputy Collector’s Narrow Escape from Tax-Collecting Felines
In a bizarre twist of frontier justice in Toledo, Washington, two tame bears were unleashed on a deputy revenue collector after their Italian owner refused to pay taxes.
- The Oath That Failed: A Chinese Registration Case Collapses
A Seattle federal commissioner rules that deputy collectors had no authority to administer the oath required by the Chinese registration laws—undercutting a perjury charge against Chin Un Chong.
- The San Juan Boundary Standoff
A dangerous confrontation between American custom officials and British authorities at San Juan Island risks international conflict.
- The Scramble for the Customs House
With a new President taking office, candidates are fighting for the most lucrative federal post in Washington state.
- 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 Mystery of the Vanishing Gold
A government shipment of gold disappears between Seattle and Port Townsend, leaving investigators baffled by a tampered seal.
- Collector Victor Smith Removed from Port Angeles Post
The controversial Collector of Customs for the Puget Sound District is dismissed, replaced by Fred A. Wilson.
- The Embargo on Beef and the Collector of Customs
Tensions rise at Port Angeles over a federal order prohibiting cattle shipments to Victoria, sparking a heated war of words between the Standard and local authorities.
- The 'Pompous Autocrat' of the Sound
A Seattle newspaper lashes out at a revenue cutter captain who refused to aid a vessel in distress, claiming his uniform shouldn't be 'rubbed the wrong way.'
- The Paper That Stood Between Jung Wing and Deportation
Arrested at a Point Roberts cannery for lacking a registration certificate, Jung Wing wins a month to prove he is the man named on a lost Portland certificate—or face deportation.
- The Tax Collector’s Secret: How Seattle Officials Hid Debts to Profit from Advertising
A local newspaper exposes a scheme where the School District collector withheld tax information, forcing taxpayers to pay exorbitant advertising fees to clear liens they didn't know existed.
- The Silent Cutters of Puget Sound
A standoff at the Custom House reveals that government revenue vessels sat idle while local sailors risked their lives in the waves.
- Embezzlement Scandal at the Border
A Blaine deputy collector of customs is arrested for pocketing government import duties, sparking fears he might have fled across the international line.
- Crackdown on Human Trafficking in the Pacific Northwest
Federal officials in Portland and Seattle move to deport Japanese women brought into the country for forced labor and prostitution.
- Tacoma’s Floating Border: 142 Chinese Passengers Ordered Back Aboard the Mogul
A Northern Pacific steamer brought 242 Chinese travelers to Tacoma in 1893. Collector Wesson admitted 100, stretched a World’s Fair loophole for 32 actors, and ordered the rest deported—while smugglers counted the cost.
- Federal Customs Officials Arrested for Opium Smuggling
A sweeping investigation into corruption at the Customs House leads to the indictment of the collector and several inspectors for facilitating illegal entries.
- The Clumsy Forgery of a Political Appointment
Dr. Alfred N. Marion was amused to receive a fake appointment letter as deputy collector of customs, a prank aimed at Seattle's political circles.
- Canada’s Naturalization Papers Denied at the Border
Federal authorities reject the residency status of Chinese British subjects, sparking a test case for immigration restrictions.
Also about this, in other words
- The Collector of Port Angeles Strikes Back
A scathing defense against accusations of corruption involving the Port Angeles Town Company.