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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 3 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 4 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 7 |
| 1862 | 3 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1872 | 11 |
| 1876 | 70 |
| 1877 | 65 |
| 1878 | 46 |
| 1879 | 5 |
| 1880 | 10 |
| 1882 | 11 |
| 1883 | 51 |
| 1884 | 38 |
| 1885 | 41 |
| 1886 | 19 |
| 1887 | 29 |
| 1888 | 71 |
| 1889 | 105 |
| 1890 | 26 |
| 1891 | 90 |
| 1892 | 152 |
| 1893 | 100 |
| 1894 | 129 |
| 1895 | 169 |
| 1896 | 1 |
| 1897 | 12 |
| 1898 | 13 |
| 1899 | 21 |
| 1900 | 6 |
| 1902 | 4 |
| 1903 | 55 |
| 1904 | 47 |
| 1905 | 7 |
| 1907 | 6 |
| 1908 | 30 |
| 1909 | 75 |
| 1910 | 14 |
| 1911 | 4 |
| 1912 | 6 |
| 1914 | 10 |
| 1915 | 19 |
| 1916 | 28 |
| 1917 | 7 |
| 1918 | 2 |
| 1919 | 1 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 6 |
| 1924 | 10 |
| 1925 | 5 |
| 1928 | 1 |
1,651 stories matching promis
- Breach of Promise Suit Filed Over Lost Home
A local woman sues for damages after her suitor allegedly reneged on a marriage promise that included the security of a home.
- The Widow Clapsadle's Second $10,000 Proposal
After settling her first breach-of-promise suit for $150, Mary E. Clapsadle is back in court, demanding either marriage or $10,000 from Charles W. Eastabrook.
- Breach of Promise Lawsuit Dismissed
A judge rules that a marriage agreement based on cohabitation is not a binding legal contract.
- Villard’s Broken Promise to Seattle
After failing to deliver rail service to Seattle, Henry Villard’s company begins pulling up tracks, cementing Seattle’s economic frustration with Tacoma’s rail dominance.
- The Unraveling of the Fisher Breach-of-Promise Suit
A sensational trial in Judge Osborn’s court exposes the complicated past of a woman suing for breach of promise, as both parties air their grievances publicly.
- Broken Promises at the Spokane Council
A failed federal attempt to force Spokane tribal members onto reservations leaves a legacy of distrust and looming conflict.
- The Ex-Husband’s Breach of Promise
A woman sues her former spouse for $25,000, alleging he courted her for remarriage only to marry another woman.
- The Struggle for Yakima Irrigation Rights
Kennewick editors push back against accusations of land-grabbing, demanding only the water rights promised to the lower valley.
- The Delegate Bunko: Party Math and a Patronage Promise
Seattle's Letter Writer Carson is accused of letting King County lose convention delegates, while Collector Saunders denies breaking a promise to a Seattle longshoremen's leader.
- She Married the Man She Sued — Then Her Lawyers Came for Their Cut
A breach-of-promise case ends in a wedding, but the attorneys who won the judgment want $6,100, and the newlyweds leave for Walla Walla with papers in hand.
- The Broken Promise of the Gross Earnings Tax
A scathing look at corporate influence in Olympia, where politicians promised to repeal a tax break for the Northern Pacific Railroad and failed.
- The Million-Kiss Lawsuit
A breach-of-promise trial in Seattle brings a jilted suitor's personal letters into open court, revealing a bizarre tally of affection.
- A Fugitive's Reckoning
A French woman sues her partner for $15,000 after he allegedly abandoned her in America—while he sits in jail for human trafficking.
- The Battle for Vashon's Roads
A local editorial argues that historic promises to improve road access for Dockton residents must take priority over new proposals for a Magnolia Beach road.
- She Sued Him for $10,000—Then Married Him Before Trial
A long-running Woodinville breach-of-promise case collapsed when a minister, a widow and a reluctant bachelor slipped out of the courthouse and came back married.
- The Myth of the Promised Land: 1885
A reader challenges the city's booster press, exposing the gap between industrial promises and the reality of a struggling population.
- The Price of Tacoma’s Railroad Growth
After a grueling two-year standoff, the city grants Jim Hill massive concessions in exchange for long-promised freight terminals and a new depot.
- Everett’s Baptism by Fire
After major conflagrations reveal a pathetic water supply, local labor leaders demand a municipal water system.
- A $2 Promise, a $1.50 Payday, and a Fight at the Tacoma Theatre
Two high-school supers said they were promised $2 for four Ben-Hur performances. When they objected to $1.50, the theater men were arrested for assault.
- Farmers Organize Against Northern Pacific Monopoly
Producers in Ellensburg hold an indignation meeting to protest freight discrimination and the railroad's broken land grant promises.
- The 'Golden Eagle' Store's Grand Opening Promises to Sweep Seattle
A new clothing house sets up shop on Front and Seneca, promising low prices, quality goods, and free souvenirs to all who visit their grand opening.
- The Promised Land on the Snake River
A speculative real estate venture in 1889 promised that Pasco—the 'Gate City of the Northwestern Empire'—would soon be the greatest railroad hub in the West.
- Seattle’s 'Reform' Government Promised Clean Streets and Low Taxes. Two Years Later, the Bill Came Due.
A furious 1894 editorial accuses the Democratic city administration of breaking every campaign promise—keeping Whitechapel open, protecting gambling, and cutting day laborers while salaried officials kept their pay.
- The Feathered Truce: How Seattle High School Girls Promised to Save Birds
In a rare moment of progressive activism in 1900, students at Livingston Avenue High School pledged to stop decorating their hats with the plumage of songbirds, responding to a plea from a local ornithology advocate.
- The Divorcee, the Second Promise, and the $20,000 Suit
Annye Brockman says her ex-husband pledged to remarry her, lived with her for years, then wed another woman.