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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 8 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1904 | 1 |
28 stories matching indebt
- King County's Missing $61,000: Treasurer Accused of Embezzlement
A committee's report reveals that former County Treasurer George D. Hill is indebted to King County for over $61,000; the board orders legal action against him and his bondsmen.
- The Political Brawl Over Seattle’s Debt
At a heated series of ward meetings in 1892, Republicans and reformers clashed over city finances, corruption, and a controversial proposal to tax 'abandoned women and gamblers.'
- The Last Stand of Bebe Low: A Saloon Keeper’s Final Plea
In August 1876, Seattle saloon owner Bebe Low publicly demanded his debts be settled before disappearing from the city, leaving behind a cryptic notice and a legacy of vanished frontier commerce.
- The Struggle for the Ballot
A political critique on the influence of Charles M. Bradshaw in securing women's suffrage.
- Fireman Suspended for Unpaid Debts
The Seattle Fire Department takes a hardline stance against members failing to pay their financial obligations to colleagues.
- The Seattle Bazaar Bankruptcy Scandal
Bank sues Samuel Levy, alleging the Seattle Bazaar’s closure and stock seizures were a scheme to defraud creditors.
- The Struggle to Keep the Lights On
A local electric utility faces receivership as debt and equipment failures threaten to leave the city's businesses in the dark.
- The Mystery of the Missing Check
A deep-seated accounting discrepancy involving former City Treasurer W. L. Ames leads to calls for a formal investigation and legal action.
- The Sheriff’s Unwelcome Guest
An indebted Seattle businessman is arrested on a steamboat just as he was about to skip town for Whatcom.
- Theft Allegations and Anti-Asian Tropes
A railroad worker is accused of absconding with company funds in a case reflecting the xenophobic framing of the era.
- The 'Boycott' Against the Marsh Café
When the Queen City Assembly of the Knights of Labor blacklisted a local Seattle eatery over an unpaid debt to a defunct newspaper, it ignited a town-wide showdown over journalistic dignity and worker solidarity.
- The Almshouse Arbitration
King County commissioners call upon a committee of prominent citizens to settle long-standing claims over the construction of a new almshouse.
- A Grand Jury’s Gift of Milk
Seattle’s Children’s Home receives a life-changing donation from the civic body overseeing the county’s legal affairs.
- The Five Million Dollar Railroad Grudge
A prominent Walla Walla railroad contractor accuses the Northern Pacific of malicious legal tactics that destroyed his business.
- The Treasury Scandal of 1887
A team of expert auditors discovers that King County’s former treasurer, George V. Hill, systematically pilfered thousands of dollars using creative accounting and 'lost' tax records.
- The Seattle Oratorio Society’s Plea for Professionalism
A stern warning to amateur musicians: without discipline and rehearsal, the choir risks turning their public performance into a local scandal.
- The Social Duty of Wealth in 1878 Seattle
A local editor challenges a wealthy property owner who claimed he owed nothing to the community that built his fortune.
- The Surprise Ballot: How Women Upended Seattle Politics in 1887
When Washington women were granted the vote, skeptics assumed they wouldn't use it—until they turned out in such force they shocked the political establishment.
- The Infant Glee Club of 1878
Before the city’s grand theaters were established, a neighborhood girl organized Seattle’s first children’s choir in her mother’s parlor.
- 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 Mill That Asked Workers to Wait for Lumber
A Seattle receiver said the Standard Mill Company could survive only if loggers and mechanics agreed to be paid out of the product of their own labor. The court let 35 cents on the dollar go to labor claims.
- The Diamond Palace Jeweler Who Vanished With the Stock
Simon Rumpf’s 'Diamond Palace' is placed in receivership after creditors allege he conspired to transfer his stock and then disappeared.
- A Plea for the Mariners of Seattle
Chaplain Thomas Reies appeals to the city for a waterfront sanctuary for the thousands of sailors who make the 'Queen City' their port of call.
- A Drunkard Sold His Mother's Grave for Whiskey Money
Arthur Schmieg deeded the Lake View cemetery lot holding his mother and uncle to a saloonkeeper to cover a liquor debt — and the family went to court to stop the bodies being dug up.
- The Empire of the Sun: How a New Hotel in Seattle Will Define the Territory
A glimpse into the ambitious construction of the new British Hotel, signaling Seattle's rapid growth and confidence as a territorial capital.