The Lonely End of a Mission Lodger
A man identified as George W. King was found dead in a cheap Seattle lodging house, revealing the precarious lives of the city's vulnerable.
George W. King, as he was called by his fellow lodgers, but whose true name is said to be George Phopad, was found dead in a chair by the side of cot No. 13 in the Mission lodging house, a cheap basement place in a brick block on South Third street between Main and Jackson streets, at 1:30 yesterday afternoon. He sat down in the chair at about 7 o'clock yesterday morning and went to sleep. At dinner time he did not awake, and one of the lodgers found him dead. Heart disease is suspected as the cause. King was a quiet man about 32 years of age, rarely drank, and was in poor health. For two months he had been a roofer at the Mission lodging house, working in the kitchen to pay his board. When his effects were examined, the only thing found in his pockets was a nickel. His relatives are said to live in New Orleans. The body was taken to the morgue for interment in the Duwamish cemetery.
“When his effects were examined nothing was found to throw light upon his past life, and the only thing found in his pockets was a nickel.”
This brief report captures the anonymity and hardship experienced by laborers in 1890s Seattle. It serves as a stark reminder of the 'invisible' population of the era, mirroring ongoing challenges faced by Seattle's unhoused or precariously employed residents in neighborhoods that have long been sites of socio-economic struggle.
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