A Lonely Death in Everett
A young woman who arrived from Seattle is found dead in a lodging house room following a binge.
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.
A woman named Ida McDonald was found dead in bed in a lodging house on Hewitt Avenue this morning. She came from Seattle four or five days ago and had evidently been drinking excessively for several days. She was a good-looking woman of about 25 years of age. In her stocking was found a copy of a message as follows: 'James Townsend, Standard Theater, Seattle: Ida is in Everett, at Clancy & Monro's dance hall. Ida McDonald.' Coroner Limerick decided that death resulted from alcoholism and that no inquest was necessary.
“Coroner Limerick decided that death resulted from alcoholism and that no inquest was necessary.”
This sad, brief notice captures the harsh realities of the transient life for women in 1890s Washington, where lodging houses and dance halls were centers of both work and tragedy. It echoes the precariousness of life for those migrating between Seattle and Everett in search of work or escape.
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