The passing of a pioneer at Ninth and Mill
A quiet life comes to an end as a Washington territory settler joins his wife in rest.
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.
Early yesterday morning, after a long and painful illness, the result of a complications of the heart, Peter Andrews breathed his last at his residence on Ninth and Mill streets. The deceased was a native of Quebec, and was 70 years of age. At the age of 21, Peter Andrews moved to the State of Maine, where he engaged in farming. In 1851, he married Miss Mary Panlevine. In 1864, with his wife and four children, he came West and settled on Cedar River, Washington Territory, where they resided until 1870. Since losing his wife two years ago, Mr. Andrews had been quite downcast, and looked forward to the time when he could join her in the land beyond the skies. He was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and lived an upright, thrifty Christian life.
“Since losing his wife, Mr. Andrews had been quite downcast, and looked forward to the time when he could join her in the land beyond the skies.”
Ninth and Mill streets—modern-day Ninth Avenue and Mill Street (now near the bustling industrial and residential intersections of the Yesler Terrace area)—serves as a reminder of how quickly the original homesteads of Seattle's early white settlers were absorbed into the city's grid. While few 1886-era homes survive in this neighborhood, the story captures the profound, quiet loneliness of the pioneer generation as the territory transitioned into a state.
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