The Political Gambler of the Puget Sound
A look back at the life of Captain Marshall Blinn, the independent candidate who once chartered a steamer to campaign for Congress across the territory.
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.
A private telegram received here yesterday announced the sudden death of Captain Marshall Blinn in San Francisco. Captain Blinn left the Sound about two weeks ago to attend the graduating exercises of his daughter, Ida. He was a native of Maine and came to the Pacific Coast in 1860. During the sixties, he was a part owner in the Seabeck mill property, the firm at that time being Adams & Blinn. In 1868, he sold out his interest to Mr. Adams and located with his family in Olympia. Captain Blinn came prominently before the public in 1870 when he accepted the nomination for Delegate to Congress tendered him by a handful of bolters from the Republican ranks. Captain Blinn had lots of money, and he stirred up a lively campaign, chartering the steamer Wilson G. Hunt and giving a free excursion all over the Sound to a party of his political and personal friends. Among his chief backers in that memorable campaign were Julius Dennison, Capt. G. R. Hale, Sam D. Howe, Judge C. C. Hewitt, Rev. C. A. Huntington, Arthur T. Denny, and several other well-known citizens. Party lines, however, were too firmly drawn on that occasion, and with all the Captain’s speech-making and outlay of money, he received less than 500 votes in the entire Territory. He was a man of firm convictions, temperate, moral habits, and a good citizen. Since selling out of the sawmill business, Captain Blinn has been engaged in prospecting and mining. He was a man of considerable means and leaves property in various sections of the country, including Seattle and Olympia.
“Captain Blinn had lots of money, and he stirred up a lively campaign, chartering the steamer Wilson G. Hunt and giving a free excursion all over the Sound.”
Marshall Blinn’s 1870 campaign—an expensive, high-profile gamble involving chartered ships and influential backers—serves as a reminder that Seattle’s history of monied politics and political 'bolters' is as old as the city itself. Today, while campaign methods have shifted from steamships to digital media, the tension between wealthy independent candidates and established party machines remains a constant in local governance.
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