A Family’s Tragic End in the First Ward
A domestic dispute in Seattle ends with a wife dead, a husband in custody, and a toddler left in the wake of the violence.
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.
On Sunday morning, about 7 o'clock, the people of the First Ward were startled by the report of a gun, which came from a small house, just below the Oldfield house. It was soon ascertained that a man by the name of Alfred Anderson had committed suicide—or, as later reported by police, killed his wife. According to the investigation, he went home this afternoon and found his wife drunk and a strange man in the house, who quickly left. A quarrel arose; his wife tried to kill him with a knife, and in the struggle, the weapon accidentally entered her throat. The wound was eight inches long, running from ear to ear. When the police went to the place, they found the woman dead on the floor and her seven-months-old babe dabbling in her blood, which stood in pools on the floor. The dead woman leaves two other children, aged four and two years. Insane jealousy is believed to have caused the act.
“When the police went to the place, they found the woman dead on the floor and her seven-months-old babe dabbling in her blood.”
This 1885 report highlights the grim reality of domestic violence and the precariousness of life in the First Ward—a district near the current waterfront and Pioneer Square. While forensic and social services have evolved significantly, the intersection of substance abuse, isolation, and domestic homicide remains a persistent, tragic thread in Seattle’s local news cycle.
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