The Tragic End of a Young Printer
A promising young man’s health fades after years of working in a local print shop, ending in his untimely death.
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.
Frank H. Probst, son of George Probst of Neosho, died at Prosser on January 7, 1894, aged 19 years and 7 months. He was born at Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1874, and removed with his parents to Yesler Avenue, Seattle, in 1878. He received a good public school education here. He later worked at the P-I office for three years with the trade of a printer. His health failing last summer, he was sent to Prosser, in Eastern Washington, for the benefit of his health, but it was not to be. He caught a cold, which developed into the grippe and he died. His body was returned to Seattle for interment.
“His health failing last summer, he was sent to Prosser, in Eastern Washington, for the benefit of his health, but it was not to be.”
The 'grippe' (influenza) was a constant threat in the late 19th century, frequently claiming young lives who lacked modern medical interventions. This story serves as a reminder of the fragility of health for working-class youth in early industrial Seattle, where print shops and manual labor were common entry points for employment.
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