Favorite Archival Object: Back taxes & backstories: Seattle's 1877 delinquent property owners

Back taxes & backstories: Seattle's 1877 delinquent property owners

9/12/20243:46

Seattle Municipal Archives' Archivist Anne Frantilla gives a tour of the 1876-1877 list of delinquent City taxes. These lists were turned over to the King County Treasurer for collection and, once collected, proceeds were returned to the City Clerk. The list includes the name of the delinquent individual or business, a description of the property, assessed valuation, and taxes owed.

SMA MATERIAL CITATIONS
— Tax Lists, 1874–1875, Record Series 8004-01: Tax Lists for the City of Seattle, Volume 1, Page 8
— Delinquent Tax List, 1876-1977, Volume 2, Page 18, Record Series 8004-02: Delinquent Tax List for the City of Seattle
— Delinquent Tax List, 1877-1878, Volume 3, Page 31, Record Series 8004-02: Delinquent Tax List for the City of Seattle
— Petition by Sarah B. Yesler for equalization of property taxes assessed for property located in Section 29, Township 25 North, Range 4 East, W.M., on the east side of the south end of Lake Union. Petitioner's property was assessed as disproportionately higher than neighboring properties. A hand-drawn map is included, May 19, 1885, Item 993604, Box 26, Folder 3, Record Series 1802-04: City Clerk General Files
— E. A. Doud filed for damages to his building on Washington Street between Second and Third, which resulted from a fire on 9 February 1884. He had no insurance, he said, because he was unable to obtain coverage for his building "on account of its proximity to Chinese quarters." The building was torn down "by employees of the City during said fire with the intent to check the spread of the fire." Doud stated there was no need to tear the building down because the fire never reached the building. Doud's request for reimbursement was denied, February 14, 1884, Item 990459, Box 4, Folder 8, Record Series 1802-04: City Clerk General Files
— A petition, signed by 30 residents and property owners, was submitted requesting that the fire limits be reestablished in North Seattle. The petitioned believed that the fire limits as it had been established was a detriment to their locality, July 11, 1890, Item 992044, Box 16, Folder 3, Record Series 1802-04: City Clerk General Files
— [Seattle's Great Fire 1889] [Looking south down Front Street (now 1st Avenue) from Spring Street toward Madison] [California Meat Market], June 6, 1889, Item 105457, Record Series 0207-01: Fleets and Facilities Department ImageBank Digital Photographs
— [Henry and Sarah Yesler in front of their home at First and Jefferson], July 4, 1883, Item 111170, Record Series 0207-01: Fleets and Facilities Department ImageBank Digital Photographs
— Anderson's New Guide Map of the City of Seattle and Environs, July 1890, Item 313

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
— Plat Map of Yesler & McGilvras (Addition Sec 34, Town 25, Range 04), March 3, 1875, King County Records
— Bird's-eye View of the City of Seattle, Puget Sound, Washington Territory, 1878, A. L. Bancroft & Company, Digital ID MAP119, World and Regional Maps Collection, University of Washington: Special Collections (Public Domain)
— Wong, Marie Rose. Building Tradition : Pan-Asian Seattle and Life in the Residential Hotels. La Vergne: Chin Music Press Inc., 2018. Print.
— "United States Census, 1880,” FamilySearch, Entry for Henry L. Yesler and Sarah B. Yesler, 1880.

All of the videos from the "Favorite Archival Object" series feature the following:
– Footage in introduction titles: Seattle Channel, Item cs_112119_3071924V
– Music: "The Plan's Working" by Cooper Cannellis from YouTube's Audio Library (Creative Commons)

7022424