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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 5 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1916 | 3 |
30 stories matching err
- A White-Haired Husband's Thousand-Mile Hunt for the Wife Who Vanished
Since his wife eloped with another man last August, J. B. Small has crisscrossed the country and now reaches Seattle with nothing but a clue and a broken heart.
- Spokane Prophetess Predicts End of World
An elderly Spokane woman has prophesied that the world will end on December 30th, sparking religious fervor among the local tribes.
- The Jailer's Hospitality
Skagit County prisoners find their incarceration is surprisingly comfortable.
- The Murderer Stays Behind Bars
A federal judge refuses to release a death-row inmate, ruling that while the state court erred, the prisoner must exhaust his legal appeals first.
- Spokane Delegation Breaks for John B. Allen
A legislative stalemate over the election of John B. Allen reveals fractures in the Spokane delegation and a bitter feud between political factions.
- The Islander's Printing Contract Ruled Invalid
The Washington Supreme Court finds that San Juan County erred in awarding a printing contract to the Islander, directing the work to the Graphic instead.
- Tacoma’s Million-Dollar Water Scandal
Citizens are fighting to repudiate a massive bond issue for a municipal water plant they claim is worth only a fraction of the cost.
- The Great Jury Debate: When Washington Women Fought for the Bench
A landmark 1888 legal dispute threatened to strip women of their newly won right to vote and serve as jurors in Washington Territory.
- The Town That Forgot to Define Its Borders
A paperwork blunder in Kennewick’s precinct boundaries leaves residents of three major additions accidentally disenfranchised, forcing a two-month delay for harbor elections.
- A Young Bride's Escape to the City
After marrying a rancher, a 15-year-old runaway leaves the isolation of her forest home for the bright lights of Tacoma.
- The Lake Keeps Its Secret: A Tragedy of Adultery in Wenatchee
A local man and a married woman drown together on the lake; while her body is recovered, he remains lost to the depths, serving as a grim moral lesson for the community.
- Stevens County Tried to Tax the Railroad at Nearly Double. It Cost $12,000.
The state supreme court ruled the commissioners had no business overriding the state tax commission's valuation of the Spokane Falls Northern — and the county treasury paid for the lesson.
- The Fight for a Juvenile Officer
Community members push for the appointment of a female juvenile officer to protect vulnerable girls, despite political pushback and accusations of outsiders interfering in local county affairs.
- The Fight Over the River
Washington's Fish Commissioner clashes with Oregon courts over the right to arrest fishermen on the Columbia River.
- A Small-Town Wage Fight Goes to Arbitration—and Both Sides Pay Half
When a Richland nursery salesman disputed his pay, the town improvised a three-man board instead of a courtroom.
- The Dangerous Habit of Ignoring Contagion
An 1886 editorial warns Seattle residents against the 'criminal' practice of visiting neighbors and public schools while carrying the germs of diphtheria and scarlet fever.
- A Minister's Daughter Confesses to Forgery—and Promises a Tell-All Book
Winifred Moter, now Mrs. A. G. Daniels, waived examination on a $300 check charge and was bound over to superior court, while her father, a Newport minister, was expected to arrange bail.
- The Last Laugh of Charles Nordstrom
As the Seattle Star reports on May 15, 1899, condemned murderer Charles Nordstrom sits in his cell, seemingly indifferent to the death warrant signed that morning. While the legal machinery grinds toward his execution for the murder of a police officer, one man’s sarcastic smile and contemptuous silence speak louder than any final prayer.
- A $5,000 Check and a Textbook Vote: the Supreme Court Says the Bribery Case Must Be Tried
Book agents accused of buying a state school-board vote with a five-thousand-dollar check get their indictment reinstated — and the case heads back to a Thurston County jury.
- The Clerk Who Stole Everything to Run Away
A young Seattle clerk, blinded by a whirlwind romance at a Washington Street boarding house, betrayed his own mother to fund a desperate escape to San Francisco.
- The Unintended Comedy of a Seattle Home-Grown Play
A young Seattle playwright attempts a 'powerful' American drama, only to accidentally create a farcical scene involving nightshirts, chin-wiping, and a very confused father-in-law.
- The Hatchet-Wielding Cook Who Saved Her Pastor
An Episcopal clergyman’s tendency to deliver fiery lectures almost led to a bloody end until his cook intervened with a carving knife.
- Rainier Is Taller Than the Map: The Barometer Fight Over Washington’s Mountain
A new summit reading revived a two-year-old claim: Olympia’s Dr. Riley had used three government barometers to put Mount Rainier near 15,000 feet—well above the official 14,444.
- A Wife's Testimony Was Enough: Supreme Court Reverses Divorce Denial
The Washington Supreme Court ruled that a wife's own account of cruelty and habitual drunkenness could justify a divorce, reversing a lower court that had dismissed Nellie Lee's case.
- The Moral Gatekeeper: Snohomish’s New Battle Over Who Gets to Sell Liquor
A new state law requires liquor license applicants to prove 'good moral character,' turning county commissioners into judges of private virtue and sparking a fierce debate over who gets to define morality in the Territory.
Also about this, in other words
- The Perils of the Telegraph
A look at the chaotic and often hilarious errors produced by local telegraph operators.