The Fire Chief’s Citizenship Trial
Seattle’s fire chief faced a dramatic trial over his citizenship, accused of obtaining naturalization papers fraudulently while a member of the force.
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.
The charge against Chief A. B. Hunt, of the fire department, of obtaining fraudulent naturalization papers was heard by Commissioner Emery yesterday afternoon and was dismissed after the whole story had been gone over thoroughly. The only positive evidence that Hunt was born in Canada was that of T. J. Kelly, though several witnesses testified that he had told them that such was the case, and this was met by that of the accused man's father, who swore that he was born in the United States. The announcement of the commissioner's decision was treated with applause by the friends of the chief. James S. Hunt, father of the defendant, testified that his son was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1861. The court gave its decision, discharging Hunt on the grounds that his birth in the United States gave him citizenship in the same, and that his return to this country was a clear exhibition of intention to assert his citizenship here.
“The announcement of the commissioner's decision was treated with applause by the friends of the chief, who crowded around him to shake his hand.”
This case highlights the intense political scrutiny of public servants in 1890s Seattle, where 'citizenship status' was frequently weaponized by political rivals to purge opponents from city departments. The intense, factional infighting within the fire department remains a recurring theme in the history of Seattle’s civic institutions.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.