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 |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 1 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1916 | 2 |
19 stories matching mamma
- The Child on the Train
A conductor discovers a feverish little girl wandering a train alone with only her doll for comfort.
- No Work, Then Gunshots: A Tacoma Family's Despair
Albert McAchren shot his wife and himself in a Tacoma lodging house after a year without steady work; his young daughter survived to tell the story.
- Fifteen Minutes to Confess: The Morphine Trial of Port Townsend's Captain De Lion
A former mayor, Chilean consul and dry-dock promoter worth half a million dollars sits in superior court while his emaciated wife describes a year of morphine, delusion and a pocket watch set on the table between them.
- The Orphan’s Plea: A Poem That Moved Seattle to Tears on Decoration Day
As the city honored Civil War dead with solemn processions and speeches, a young girl’s grief over her father’s unmarked grave brought the Grand Marshal to tears.
- The Boy Who Tried to Buy His Mother’s Freedom
When his mother was jailed for a minor offense, a seven-year-old Seattle boy arrived at the police station with two dollars and a heart-wrenching plea to take her place in the cell.
- The Balloon Girl of Seattle
A three-year-old child tethered to toy balloons is carried away by the wind, leading to a frantic maritime rescue six miles out at sea.
- The Proposed 'Professor of Maternity'
A state legislator introduces a bill to create a 'Chair of Maternity' at the University of Washington, aiming to instruct female students in the 'duties of motherhood.'
- A Divorce, a Vanished Lawyer, and a Plot to Hide the Property
Ella J. Nance says her husband and his brother conspired to put their community property beyond her reach—and her attorney has disappeared with her fee.
- The Misery of the Miser’s Hoard
A destitute family in 1870s Seattle survives a devastating house fire only to unearth a fortune hidden beneath the ashes of their former home.
- Tragedy at Samamish Slough
A mother’s desperate attempt to save her child ends in a heartbreaking loss.
- The Tragedy at the Medicine Bottle: A Seattle Child’s Fatal Mistake
In a heartbreaking incident that has gripped the community, three-year-old Howard Pontius drank from what he thought was a treat, but was actually his mother’s morphine prescription for a cold.
- A Toddler’s Three-Hour Trek Through the Sagebrush
A local mother’s panic turned to relief after tracking her two-year-old child through the scrub for miles.
- The Search for the Girl Who Welcomed Villard
A photograph of a young woman who delivered a welcoming address at the university grounds is sought by the wife of Henry Villard, prompting a city-wide search.
- The Town Takes Up the Drill
Thirty local men gather at the Knights of Pythias hall to master military maneuvers, driven by a newfound surge of community patriotism.
- A Letter to a Lost Candidate
A ten-year-old girl writes to Hon. H. J. Snively following his election defeat, offering support and expressing the political allegiances of a young Democrat.
- A Pullman Elopement, Interrupted by Long Distance
A young couple marries in Colfax, then calls home to ask forgiveness. The bride's mother refuses to believe it and vows never to forgive them.
- A Potlatch at Neah Bay: Blankets, Money, and a Makah Celebration
A newspaper correspondent visits a Makah potlatch and finds hundreds gathered, a wealthy widow, and gifts of cash and blankets distributed to friends and relations.
- The Great Apple-Thieving Bear of Seattle
Local boys and a captain team up to take down a persistent bruin that had been raiding a private orchard.
- The Funeral Faux Pas
A daughter’s confusion during a somber Seattle funeral creates a moment of awkward levity in the midst of mourning.
Also about this, in other words
- A Seattle Preacher Tells Society Women They Are Marching Their Children to the Gallows
Preaching to women only on "Dying Mothers and Starving Children," Rev. M. A. Matthews calls society "the emptiness of emptiness" — and blames card parties, prizes and maternal neglect for juvenile crime.
- The 'Mashers' of the Shopping District
An editorial calls for public accountability for men who harass women in Tacoma's downtown streets.
- The Tragedy of Mamie's Pet Deer
A pet deer, raised with the freedom of a house cat, is senselessly killed by a hunter in the Skagit Valley.
- The Cow that Fought Back
A routine attempt to clear a barn lot turned into a violent ordeal for an elderly local resident.
- The Victorian Era's Original 'Manosphere' Rant
A satirical lecture from 1879 captures the era's obsession with policing women's appearances and the absurdity of 'social performance' in the Pacific Northwest.
- The West's First Woman Police Officer
A daring new appointment brings a female officer onto the beat to clean up public behavior in her community.
- The Bigamist of the Boise Mines
A woman leaves her second husband to run away with her first when he returns from the mines with a pocket full of gold.
- A Mother’s Tragic Descent
A young woman’s mental health crisis in the Harvard House leads to a desperate, late-night intervention.