The Coal-Throwing Lodger
A domestic dispute in a third-floor rooming house leads to a trial over property and manners.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Susan McConnell, a comely, middle-aged woman, was on trial in Justice Caldwell's court yesterday for hitting Andrew Baraco on the head with a lump of coal in the ABC lodging house, on Third between University and Union streets, February 7. The case had its origin in the fact that the prosecuting witness lives in rooms beneath those occupied by Susan McConnell and had his peace of mind disturbed by a racket overhead. He went up to remonstrate and as a result got hit with a piece of coal. The point on which the decision hinged was whether or not Baraco used abusive language to his upstairs neighbor and provoked the assault. Five witnesses swore he said, 'G—d you,' while five others affirmed that Baraco was a perfect gentleman. The state won the case and Susan McConnell paid $5 and costs for being a good marksman.
“The state won the case and Susan McConnell paid $5 and costs for being a good marksman.”
This neighborhood dispute in 1893 feels strikingly contemporary, reflecting the friction of high-density living and the enduring, petty grievances of rooming house life in Seattle. While the specific weapon—a lump of coal—is a relic of the era, the legal struggle over ‘peace of mind’ and noise complaints remains a core challenge in the city's housing dynamics.
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