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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 14 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 7 |
| 1893 | 4 |
| 1894 | 16 |
| 1895 | 20 |
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| 1902 | 1 |
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| 1904 | 2 |
88 stories matching solicit
- The Salvation Army’s Yellow Band Warning: A Seattle Scam Exposed
Adjutant Nelson of the regular Salvation Army steps into The Seattle Star to warn citizens that 'God's Regular Army' is a fraudulent group soliciting donations under false pretenses.
- An Arrest at a Disreputable House
A theft on Washington Street leads to charges of larceny and solicitation.
- The Price of Compassion: King County's 1877 Call for Bids
In an era before robust public social services, King County officials solicited private bids for the 'care, lodging and medical attendance' of the city's indigent poor.
- The Forgotten Dry Dock: Seattle's Missed Opportunity
In 1887, a committee’s failure to finalize a dry dock project drove local jobs away, forcing the city to reckon with the consequences of industrial stagnation.
- The Pioneer Wagon Shop of Old Seattle
A look at the essential craftsmanship that kept the streets of 1870s Seattle moving.
- City Charter Nullified: Seattle Police Turn to Private Charity
With the municipal charter declared void by the district court, Seattle's police force has been forced to solicit donations from local businesses to keep the streets safe from crime.
- The Hustlers of the Waterfront: Regulating Seattle's Hotel Runners
In 1878, the Seattle City Council cracked down on the aggressive solicitors who haunted the docks, requiring them to wear badges and pay a quarterly tax for the right to hawk boarding houses.
- The Business of Death in King County
A stark 1877 notice reveals how Washington Territory handled the burial of those who died in poverty.
- The Pioneer Wagon Shop's Promise of Work
In an 1877 classified advertisement, a local craftsman highlights the necessity of reliable logging and repair work in a growing frontier Seattle.
- The Pioneer Wagon Shop of 1875
A craftsman’s call to the growing city of Seattle to supply iron-wrought wheels and reliable repair work for a rugged frontier landscape.
- Forging a Growing City: The Pioneer Wagon Shop
While Seattle’s entrepreneurs advertised exotic goods, T. W. Hunt kept the city moving by building the heavy wagons essential to the region's logging industry.
- The Impostor and the Army
A man posing as a member of the Salvation Army was caught panhandling for personal gain, drawing a stern rebuke from the organization's local leadership.
- Seattle Tries to Buy Its Own Canal
Boosters fan out to raise a $300,000 subsidy for the Lake Washington canal and tide-flat fill, promising work to Seattle men and asking every resident to become a committee of one.
- Hard Times Hit the Congregation
The Ohaveth Sholem congregation votes to suspend the hiring of a rabbi to manage the financial fallout of the 1893 depression.
- The Portrait Scheme Scam
A group of Seattle women are out money after an elusive photography company vanishes from the Epler Block.
- Spanning the Black River
As Seattle grew in 1877, the County Commissioners sought to replace a private ferry with a permanent crossing over the now-vanished Black River.
- Who Cares for the Poor in King County?
A call for sealed bids to provide housing and medical care for the county's indigent population in 1877.
- The Price of Public Charity in 1877
King County seeks the lowest bidder to house and feed the poor, a stark reminder of the nineteenth-century approach to social safety nets.
- Bidding on the Destitute: Seattle’s 1877 Poverty Contracts
Before modern social safety nets, King County put the care of its 'indigent poor' up for competitive bid, seeking the lowest price for housing and medical services.
- The 'Green Goods' Trap Catches the Prominent
Federal authorities warn that soliciting counterfeit money through the mail is a criminal offense, catching many high-status professionals in their web.
- The 'Law and Order' Battles of Old Seattle
As municipal elections approached in 1885, rival factions clashed over the 'principle' of regulating vice, revealing a city struggling with its own moral identity.
- A Falling Out Over the Postmastership
When two business partners both quietly sought the same political appointment, their professional union came to an abrupt end.
- The Hard Sell at the Church Social
A bashful young man finds himself trapped at a church fair, unable to escape the relentless solicitation of two persistent young women.
- The Struggle for the Snoqualmie Pass
A new wagon road connecting Seattle to Eastern Washington promises to redirect trade currently flowing to Portland.
- The Skagit River Jam Scandal
A public spat between two men regarding the funds collected to clear the Skagit River, a vital waterway for early logging and shipping.