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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1859 | 3 |
| 1861 | 3 |
| 1862 | 4 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 30 |
| 1877 | 19 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 6 |
| 1882 | 6 |
| 1883 | 13 |
| 1884 | 12 |
| 1885 | 19 |
| 1886 | 11 |
| 1887 | 16 |
| 1888 | 14 |
| 1889 | 31 |
| 1890 | 7 |
| 1891 | 22 |
| 1892 | 74 |
| 1893 | 60 |
| 1894 | 57 |
| 1895 | 74 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 18 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 36 |
| 1904 | 15 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 4 |
| 1909 | 20 |
| 1910 | 5 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1915 | 9 |
| 1916 | 7 |
| 1917 | 8 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1923 | 4 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1925 | 2 |
| 1928 | 1 |
637 stories matching ill
- The Loss of a Young Street Merchant
Cecil Higginbotham, a twelve-year-old newsboy, passes away after a long illness, leaving his peers to mourn.
- The Rogue Marshal of Tacoma
Citizens formally impeach the City Marshal for cozying up to brothel owners and ignoring the law.
- The Bride of Sixteen and Her Husband of Fifty-Eight
A teenage bride petitions for divorce, citing a forced marriage, cruelty, and the abandonment of a child.
- A Desperate Jump at the Spring Street Wharf
Deserted, drinking, and despondent, Kate Johnson tried to drown herself in Seattle harbor—then fought the men who pulled her out.
- The Doctor Who Vanished: A Seattle Physician’s Fearful Disappearance Sparks Murder Theories
Dr. H.P. Harrington of Oakdale left his patients and his town in mid-April, leaving behind a trail of illness, a warning from a lynching victim, and friends who fear he was silenced.
- A Father's Vengeance: The Killing of the Muckleshoot Medicine Man
When three of Jerry Domnick's children died under Jim Bouchitt's care, the grieving father took a rifle into the woods — and the healer was found buried under a log near Soos Creek.
- The Mysterious Poisoning at the Fountain
A peculiar outbreak of illness in Seattle leaves townspeople baffled after drinking from a public water source.
- The Hermit of Hillsford’s Christmas Surprise
When the town's most ridiculed recluse fell ill, the 'prominent citizens' tried to force him into the poorhouse—until a local widow’s act of mercy revealed a shocking secret.
- The Judge Bans Messenger Boys from Seattle's Vice District
Declaring an end to the era of 'errand boys' carrying notes and parcels into houses of ill-repute, a local judge mandates a crackdown on child labor in the red-light district.
- The Vice President's Cousin and the $1,000 Port Townsend Swindle
A smooth-tongued 'loan agent' traded on Adlai Stevenson's name to collect membership fees from Port Townsend's most respectable Democrats — then hid behind unreturned abstracts and 'free stock' worth $100 a share.
- The Railroad Man Who Gave Seattle Its First Real Baseball Team — Then Lost Everything
W. R. Thornell organized the Pacific Northwest League and the 'Seattle Reds,' then lost his bank job over a forged note. Bright's disease took him at Paddock Memorial Hospital in Tacoma; he was buried in the city that once cheered him.
- The Presbytery’s Verdict: A Minister’s Scandal and the Price of Repentance
In a trial that captivated Snohomish County, Reverend H.P. Dunning faced charges of domestic abuse and neglect. The court’s nuanced ruling offers a rare glimpse into the moral policing of 19th-century clergy.
- Tragedy at Brush Prairie
After the long illness and death of his wife, a grieving man takes his own life in the room where she lay.
- A Local Champion Taken Too Soon
Amos Gardner, a well-known Seattle businessman, passes away following an illness contracted while nursing his children.
- The Disappearance of Charles Gerber
After vanishing from his home in Yakima, a local man is located in Kennewick, shedding light on a personal health struggle.
- 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 Day Smallpox Walked the Streets: How One Man’s Ignorance Sparked Spokane’s Deadliest Epidemic
A drunk man wandering through downtown Spokane with a rash on his face nearly triggered a disaster that killed hundreds—until a sharp-eyed pharmacist stepped in.
- The Siege at the St. Charles Hotel
A young woman recounts a harrowing night of confinement after a local man tricked her into his room, only to be met with a public denial and claims of 'blackmailing.'
- The Wig and the Wire: How a Tacoma Newspaper Owner Tried to Destroy a Judge
In the sensational Wickersham trial of 1889, prosecutor R.P. Radebaugh’s own past and his alleged conspiracy to frame Judge Wickersham for 'immorality' were laid bare in court.
- A 14-Year-Old Vanishes Between School and the Streetcar
Katie Arper disappeared after classes in Seattle, leaving behind a Tacoma orphanage, a devoted matron, and a young man named Hopkins.
- The Shadow of 1885 Lingers in Tacoma
Twenty years after the forced expulsion of the city's Chinese population, rumors of new arrivals trigger threats of vigilante action.
- Tacoma Park Board Erupts in 'Fossil' Feud
Facing mounting debt and public scrutiny, the city's Park Board lashes out at 'meddlers' and critics.
- The Unsung Tragedy of the Central Office
When the Chief Justice of the Washington Territory fell mortally ill in Seattle, a critical delay in emergency medical aid—caused by a lethargic telephone operator—sealed his fate.
- The Vampire Panic of Seattle
A grim, gothic account of a 'vampire' outbreak in a local immigrant community, documenting the desperate, violent lengths to which villagers went to protect their own.
- The Tragedy of a Ballard Shack
A destitute family in Ballard faces the loss of multiple children and a dying mother, revealing the harsh reality of poverty on the city's outskirts.
Also about this, in other words
- The Ill Wind Blowing Immigrants to Puget Sound
While conflict in Eastern Washington creates tragedy and displacement, Seattle finds itself an unintended harbor for those fleeing the violence.
- The Health and Independence of American Women
A lively contemporary debate centers on whether the 'ill health' of American women is a result of fashion or a symptom of their economic dependence.
- From Ilwaco to the Russo-Japanese War
A local physician departs for the front to serve as a surgeon for the Russian government.
- The Governor’s 'Health' Trip to California
An editorial questioning whether Governor Ferry's convenient absence from the state was truly medical or a calculated political maneuver to avoid accountability.
- The Shadow of Infantile Paralysis
As a polio outbreak grips the nation, public health officials in 1916 offer desperate, homespun advice to anxious mothers.
- The City’s Dirty Secret: A Plea for Seattle’s Health
In 1870, a local editorial warns that Seattle’s lack of sewage infrastructure is poisoning the community with disease, urging citizens to prioritize public health over fiscal caution.
- A Mental Health Crisis Near Kent
A woman suffering from severe mental illness is detained by authorities after a crisis at a local hotel.
- The Great 'Pauper' Row of 1892
When Seattle and Tacoma accused each other of shipping their 'indigent sick' across the sound, the city’s health officer stepped in to set the record straight.