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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 10 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1909 | 1 |
48 stories matching indebted
- 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 Tragedy of a Guardian's Greed
A sick pioneer's recovery is threatened by the revelation that his own brother, who managed his affairs, billed him for everything from streetcar fares to tobacco for horses.
- 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.
- Settling Up Before the New Year
A Snohomish City blacksmith issues a stern public notice for customers to settle their debts before 1879.
- Collapse of the Steilacoom Distilling Plant
A creditor seeks a receiver for a charcoal and creosote plant that failed to sustain operations after only four months.
- An End to the Firm of Frost & Fowler
A straightforward dissolution notice captures the fleeting nature of 19th-century business partnerships in Snohomish County.
- Populists Clash with the Militia
Legislators demand the state militia disband after accounts of drunken revelry at the inaugural ceremonies.
- The Struggle for the Ballot
A political critique on the influence of Charles M. Bradshaw in securing women's suffrage.
- The Steilacoom Gold Rush Fever
Reports from Colville suggest a new mining boom is drawing men away from the territory's established industries.
- County Commissioners Hunt Down Missing Treasurer’s Funds
A forensic audit reveals that former Yakima County Treasurer John A. Splawn left a deficit of over a thousand dollars, sparking a legal demand for repayment from his estate.
- The Tragedy of Wynooche Charley
A local Indigenous man loses his life in a sudden accident at the Cosmopolis wharf, leaving the community to mourn a familiar figure.
- 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 Stevedore’s Claim: A Waterfront Legal Battle
After loading a massive cargo of spars, timber, and planks, a Seattle laborer took the ship owners to federal court to recover his unpaid wages.
- 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.
- The Skykomish Land Swindle
A judge censures a predatory agent for defrauding an elderly pioneer farmer out of his land in a mortgage scheme.
- 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.
Also about this, in other words
- The Constitutional Debt Fight
As the constitutional convention debates municipal debt limits, local editors fear Oregon-style fiscal conservatism will hinder growth.
- A City on the Brink: Olympia’s 1891 Debt Crisis and the Fight Over Jobs
Facing a constitutional debt limit, Olympia’s city council considers firing the deputy clerk, assistant city attorney, and city engineer—while a motion to revoke the street railway franchise fails by a tie.
- The City’s Endless Debt Cycle
Tacoma’s casual approach to borrowing is mortgaging the future.
- School Board Debt Scandal
Walla Walla residents head to the polls to rectify the school board's unauthorized debt, but skeptics wonder who really benefits from the higher interest rates.
- A County Asks to Refinance Its Credit Card
Pend Oreille County carries $183,000 in 8-per-cent warrants it cannot pay, plus $18,000 in accrued interest. On September 7 voters are asked to swap the whole pile for $200,000 in 4-per-cent bonds — a second time, because the first election was voided on a technicality.
- Seattle's Schools Were Running on Borrowed Money—and the Bill Was Due
In 1895, the school board urged voters to ratify a stack of bonds and warrants incurred to build schools, warning that the alternative was a six-month school year—or repudiation.
- Seattle's Schools on the Brink: The 1895 Debt Vote That Could Have Cut the School Year to Six Months
With floating warrants piling up and the tax base shrinking, School District No. 1 asked voters to ratify about $387,000 in debt and refinance it before the school term was cut from ten months to six.
- The City Clerk’s Sharp Rebuke to the Intelligencer
In 1878, Seattle’s local government publicly called out the city’s leading newspaper for 'misrepresentation' regarding the municipal debt.