Breach of Promise Suit Filed Over Lost Home
A local woman sues for damages after her suitor allegedly reneged on a marriage promise that included the security of a home.
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.
Edwin M. Stewart was made the defendant yesterday in a $10,000 breach of promise suit brought by Louisa Peterson. In her complaint, Miss Peterson alleges that in September 1890, Stewart promised to marry her and give her a comfortable home; and on this account, she remained single, expecting to become Mrs. Stewart. On May 1 of this year, she says, Stewart refused to keep his promise to marry her. By reason of her losing the chance for a home, she wants $10,000 damages.
“By reason of her losing the chance for a home, she wants $10,000 damages.”
While 'breach of promise' suits are largely a relic of the 19th-century legal system, the underlying desperation regarding housing and economic security remains a resonant, if painful, theme in Seattle's history.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.