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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1892 | 7 |
| 1893 | 4 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 3 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
33 stories matching spous
- The Rolling Pin’s Final Word
A widower who couldn't stop praising his late wife’s domestic skills quickly learns to stop complaining about his current spouse.
- An 1874 Public Shaming of a Missing Wife
A husband publishes a newspaper notice to strip his spouse of financial agency after she leaves their home.
- The Ghost of the Johnson House
A boarder in Ellensburg vanishes on the morning train, leaving behind a spouse in poverty and a wake of unpaid debts.
- The Disappearing Spouse: A 19th Century Public Shaming
In an era before no-fault divorce, a Seattle husband took to the public press to publicly renounce his wife's debts and dictate his marital authority.
- A Wife’s Revenge Against a Craps-Playing Husband
An angry spouse leads a constable to raid a gambling den to recover stolen household money.
- The Unmasking of 'Robert' Gaffney
After twenty years living as a man, a spouse sentenced under the 'lazy husband' law is released with a ruling on gender and marital obligation.
- Two Widows Claim One Miner’s Relief
A Roslyn explosion reveals a double life, pitting a common-law partner against a returning spouse.
- A Deadly Encounter in a Roslyn Coal Camp
A miner returns home to find an intruder in his bed, resulting in a violent stabbing that leaves his wife at death's door.
- The Boardinghouse Elopement
After ten years of marriage, a local landlady sells the furniture and vanishes with a boarder, leaving her husband to plan a maritime pursuit.
- 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 Price of Marriage: Judge Hanford’s Ruling on Community Debt
A federal judge defines the unequal stakes for husbands and wives when a spouse faces a crushing legal judgment.
- The Divorce Case of the Pipe-Smoking Bride
A suburban Tacoma man files for divorce, citing his wife’s preference for tobacco over domestic obedience and her alleged indiscretions with neighbors.
- The Piano, the Pool Table and the Bar: A Roadhouse Wife's Last Hand
Julia Lillis says her husband has gambled and drunk away the takings at the Hyde Park House, the resort he keeps by the South Seattle race track, and now means to sell the furniture out from under her. A judge froze it first.
- The Jailer’s Trust: A Domestic Tragedy in Tacoma
A prisoner allowed a day-pass to visit his wife leaves behind a trail of blood and a horrific crime scene after a fit of uncontrollable jealousy.
- A Costly Five Weeks of Marriage
A Gilman storekeeper finds his marriage ends in a sour legal dispute and a drained bank account.
- The First Suit for Alimony Without Divorce in Washington
A husband leaves his wife and moves in with his son, but a judge intervenes to ensure the abandoned spouse retains the little property they had.
- Indigenous Couples Legally Wed in Shelton
Four Indigenous couples at Skokomish hold a ceremony to secure legal recognition of their long-standing marriages.
- A Mother-in-Law's Reign of Terror
A divorce filing in Seattle reveals a domestic life shattered by constant, uninvited interference from a spouse's mother.
- A Legal Battle Over Abandonment and Affection
A Tacoma woman sues her husband's companion for $10,000, claiming the woman used 'wiles and arts' to alienate him from his family.
- Two Men Arrested for Assaulting Wives
Tacoma police jail two husbands following violent domestic disputes; both face immediate judgment in court.
- The Unlucky Bachelor of Seattle
A cautionary tale from the 1880s about the perils of marriage and the high-speed heartbreak of being a widower in a hurry.
- A Public Separation on the Courthouse Steps
A Tacoma couple’s attempt to end their marriage in Seattle ends in a public spectacle of incompatibility.
- The Perils of the Telegraph
A look at the chaotic and often hilarious errors produced by local telegraph operators.
- The Divorce Courts of the Windy City of the West
Seattle's divorce courts see a surge in activity, with six marriages severed and one annulled in a single day.
- The Unsettled Estate on the Edge of Lake Union
A legal notice from 1877 reveals the struggle of a widow attempting to settle a deceased spouse's debts by liquidating land near the wild, undeveloped frontier of Seattle's Lake Union.