A Belfast Wife's Letter: Find My Husband in Seattle
Martha Bateson last heard from her husband in 1888. Now she has written Seattle's police chief, hoping someone recognizes a tall, fair wood turner who once sent money home.
Chief of Police Rogers received a letter yesterday from Martha Bateson, dated at Belfast, Ireland, May 16. She is anxious to learn the whereabouts of her husband, James Bateson, who was last heard of in Seattle in August, 1888. He was a wood turner, and when working sent money regularly to his wife and two children. Bateson was at Spokane looking for work sometime during 1889. He is described as 32 years old, fair complexion, tall and stout.
“She is anxious to learn the whereabouts of her husband, James Bateson, who was last heard of in Seattle, August, 1888.”
Missing-person searches once ran through police chiefs and post offices; today they go through databases and social media, but the ache is the same. The Bateson letter is a reminder that migration to the Pacific Northwest could sever family ties as easily as it made fortunes. The paper printed his description in hopes that a stranger would connect the dots.
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