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 |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 1 |
| 1895 | 3 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1910 | 1 |
23 stories matching demeanor
- The Race War in Roslyn: How Seattle’s Coal Mines Became a Battleground for Labor and Lynching
As strikers hold the line, the company imports Black miners from Illinois to break them. The result is not just a labor dispute, but a violent racial confrontation that exposes the dark underbelly of Washington's industrial boom.
- The Judge Who Was Both Defendant and Accused
In a stunning legal double-header, Judge Wickersham is convicted of seduction in one court, then immediately indicted for perjury by the federal grand jury in the very same day.
- Armed Guards, a Locked Forecastle, and One Sailor Who Swam for It
Seattle's Sailors' Union accused a British ship of shanghaiing five men at Port Blakely; one escaped by jumping overboard, while the Shipowners' Association called the charges 'all bosh.'
- Stolen at Six, He Waited Seventeen Years to Ask a Policeman for His Mother's Address
A quiet hospital steward in Seattle writes to New York's famous Inspector Byrnes and signs a name nobody in this city had ever heard him use.
- The Brother vs. Brother Tragedy
A Seattle jury delivers a verdict in a fatal downtown shooting between two brothers.
- She Sued Him for $10,000—Then Married Him Before Trial
A long-running Woodinville breach-of-promise case collapsed when a minister, a widow and a reluctant bachelor slipped out of the courthouse and came back married.
- 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 'Prison Evangelist' of the Seattle Jail
After two weeks of revival, a former variety actress turned missionary offers a glimpse into the transient lives and moral reckonings of the Pacific Northwest.
- The Morphine Abyss
A woman shares her harrowing descent into morphine addiction and her recovery at the Keeley Institute, offering a rare, personal testimony of 19th-century narcotic dependence.
- The Loophole Arsonist
A man accused of burning down his own house escapes conviction because the law failed to define arson as a crime when committed against one's own property.
- Manacled to the Courthouse
Two murder suspects arrive in Judge Snell's court in shackles to face capital charges as the city watches.
- A Territory Mourns: Olympia Buries Charles H. Mason
When Washington Territory's secretary and frequent acting governor died in 1859, Chief Justice McFadden and Olympia's leading men gathered at the capitol to call him a public servant 'of both soul and nerve.'
- The Dealer in the Gambling Den
In the rowdy timber town of Sedro-Woolley, the local gamblers have found a unique way to keep the peace: replacing the standard rough-hewn card shark with a captivating young woman.
- The Seattle-Portland Cockfighting Feud of 1892
A high-stakes cockfighting match between Seattle and Portland descended into chaos, accusations of cheating, and a referee's decision that sparked a regional sports rivalry.
- The Fallen Clergyman of Seattle
A once-renowned lecturer and minister of the gospel descends into alcoholism, leaving behind a trail of unanswered letters and ruined potential.
- A Jury in Colville Wastes No Time on a Wife Poisoner
George Pepoon showed no more feeling at his murder conviction than he had through the whole trial — the jury reached its verdict in 67 minutes, on a single ballot.
- The Fractured Philosophy of Josua Klein
Once a confident leader of a 'radio-active philosophy' retreat, Josua Klein sits in a Tacoma jail cell, broken and waiting for deportation.
- The Case of the Missing Boarder
A Steilacoom landlady finds herself in a tangle of confusion when a new arrival is mistaken for a long-lost acquaintance.
- The Pugilist’s Surprise
A strongman looking for a wrestling match in early Seattle learns that a quiet demeanor doesn’t always mean a lack of spirit.
- The Telephone Franchise Fight: A Speculator's Bid Rejected
Aldermen refused S. H. Piles a phone franchise because he wouldn't name his backers or put up a bond — and the competitor they did trust never built a line.
- The Uncharted Sphere of a Seattle Businesswoman
A local female shopkeeper in 1872 challenges the rigid gender expectations of the era through quiet, competent labor.
- The Day Seattle Stood Still: A Sunday of Sobriety and Silence
In November 1876, the city’s saloons closed their doors for a rare day of peace, while the newspaper editor noted with relief that there were no fights to report.
- The New Year’s Eve Rebellion
When a husband dismisses his wife's domestic responsibilities with a callous remark, she plots a glittering, high-society revenge that forces him to reconsider his marriage.
Also about this, in other words
- The Great Table Etiquette Debate
An editorial scrap between the Intelligencer and the Post-Intelligencer over whether eating with a knife is a sign of 'vulgar' breeding.
- The Inner Life of a Dining Room Waiter
A frank, cynical look at the power dynamics between restaurant staff and customers in early Seattle.
- A Kenton Picnic Speech and the Justification of Native Displacement
At a Kenton picnic, Judge Orange Jacobs cast pioneer survival as historical necessity and used dehumanizing rhetoric to defend the displacement of Native Americans.
- The Strict Moral Geometry of the Schoolroom
Teachers debate the merits of strict discipline, the threat of school suspensions, and the 'moral atmosphere' of the classroom.
- An Etiquette Dispute Over a Business Letter
A Walla Walla man takes deep offense at the formal address used in a professional letter to his wife, revealing the rigid social anxieties of the era.
- The Ethics of Prohibition and the 'Beastly' Public
An editorial critique of a prohibitionist’s sermon that labels the common public as cowardly and corrupt.
- The Art of Moral Discipline in the 1885 Classroom
A look back at the rigorous and often controversial methods of classroom management and character building in 1880s Seattle schools.
- An Invitation to a Celestial Feast
An 1877 dispatch offers a rare, albeit patronizing, glimpse into the intricate social etiquette and lavish dining culture of Seattle’s Chinese mercantile class.