A Family Reunited After Five Years of Silence
A man's long search for his wife and children ends in Ballard after a misunderstanding led to a mistaken belief that he had died.
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.
Mr. H. Baker of Bismarck, who had been in the country but a few years, came west to Washington hoping to find work. Finding the local prospects unsuitable, he headed to California to send for his wife later. Before leaving, he gave his wife a power of attorney to dispose of their property. However, after he arrived in California, he heard that his wife had also traveled west. He wrote to her, but the letter was returned marked 'present address unknown.' A postmaster informed him that his wife, believing him dead, had moved away. For five years, Mr. Baker searched for his family, handicapped by his imperfect English. He eventually came to Ballard, Snohomish, and Seattle looking for clues. A photograph sent to his parents in the old country finally alerted him to his family's location in Ballard. They have since reunited and live in a home on the east side of Ballard.
“The last time Mr. Baker saw his youngest boy he was an infant nursing in his mother's arms, and when he saw him here he was wheeling a barrow of wood for his mother.”
Ballard, which in 1892 was a distinct town, has since been annexed into Seattle. This story of a 'lost' family highlights the intense struggle of immigrant families in the Pacific Northwest to build new lives amidst language barriers and the lack of modern communication.
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