The Girl Who Ran Away: A Battle for Custody in Whatcom County
When W.M. Hart returned from British Columbia with a young girl he had sent to school, he sparked a public feud with her father, revealing the complex realities of child welfare and family law in the Pacific Northwest.
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.
Whatcom County, March 19 — It is the second case of a woman arriving alone in Whatcom county this year. Mrs. Tickler died at her home in this city and was buried yesterday after about forty years of residence.
Several years ago the government took Mrs. Tickler's land here to locate Fort Bellingham, and drove her off by force of arms. She vigorously fought the irregular proceedings and gave one-third of her claim to Mr. Whitworth to mean it back again for her, which he did. Upon this place she lived and died, respected by all her neighbors. Her first settlement here was in 1854.
A chamber of commerce, including all the bay cities, is being organized by leading citizens.
Wednesday morning W.M. Hart and wife arrived here from New Westminster, and Miss Nellie Gallagher also came home with her parents. Hart states that he took the girl to school there at her own request, as she did not want to go home because of bad treatment. On the other hand, Mr. Gallagher states that the girl has always been cared for tenderly at home and cites the neighbors to prove that she has not been abused. Each party has a plausible story to tell and it is difficult to fathom the facts in the case.
The entire county of Whatcom and all the towns therein are prospering and receiving population at the rate of 500 actual settlers every month.
This 1893 account of a custody dispute over a minor mirrors modern debates about parental alienation, child welfare interventions, and the legal rights of non-biological guardians. While the language is dated, the core conflict—two adults claiming superior care for a vulnerable child—is a timeless family law struggle.
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