See letters, photographs and other ephemera from two of Seattle's early families.
White Pass and Yukon Railway tracks and mountain view, ca. 1899
During the Klondike Gold Rush, the White Pass was one of the routes used by prospectors to travel from Skagway to the Yukon gold fields. In April 1898 the White Pass and Yukon Railroad Company was formed in an effort to establish an easier way through the pass. Construction on the railroad began the following month. Thousands of workers worked around the clock in treacherous conditions to complete the project. The railroad track was completed at White Pass on February 20, 1899 and reached Lake Bennett on July 6, 1899. The final spike on the railroad was placed on July 29, 1900 in Carcross, B.C.
Identifier: spl_ap_00142
Date: 1899?
View this itemLatimer Hill, ca. 1906
Transcribed from back of photograph: "About 1906. Taken by Henry Ritchie. Latimer Hill." Location of Latimer Hill unknown. Possibly located in Illinois where members of the Latimer Family resided prior to arriving in Seattle.
Identifier: spl_lj_059
Date: 1906?
View this itemNarcissa Latimer letter to Sarah Latimer, November 29, 1868
Narcissa Leonora (Nora) Latimer Denny was the daughter of Alexander and Sarah Latimer. She had four sisters: Eliza Alice Latimer Fowler (1856-1934), Harriet Ellen Latimer Stephens (1859-1938), Clara Latimer Bickford (1861-1934), and Emma Chesney Latimer Reynolds (1864-1946). Narcissa married Orion Denny on April 1, 1889. The letter is addressed to her mother, Sarah, and discusses attending church and Sabbath school, gifts she received for her birthday and the differences between life in Minnesota and Illinois. The letter is written from Macomb, Illinois.
Identifier: spl_lj_008
Date: 1868-11-29
View this itemUnknown girl, ca. 1865
Tintype portrait of unidentified girl.
Identifier: spl_lj_017
Date: 1865?
View this itemUnion soldiers, ca. 1865
Tintype portrait of five Union soldiers. Likely taken during the Civil War.
Identifier: spl_lj_015
Date: 1865?
View this itemCouple standing next to large logs, August 1897
Transcribed from back of photograph: "Washington Logs, Iowa People. Aug '97. Photo by N.L.D. 4338 ft. of lumber on top log. August 1897."
Identifier: spl_lj_056
Date: 1897-08
View this itemArthur Bickford, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by L.E. Meason in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Clara Latimer Bickford was the daughter of Alexander and Sarah Latimer and sister of Narcissa Latimer Denny. She married Arthur Farrington Bickford in 1888 in Minnesota. They lived in Seattle from roughly 1892-1900 before moving to Oregon.
Identifier: spl_lj_037
Date: 1880?
View this itemNative American baskets in home of Mabel Thompson, ca. 1900
Transcribed from back of photograph: "Part of Mabel's collection of Indian baskets. A corner in her room - photo by O.O.W. Denny. Mabel Thompson in Seattle." In the 1900 census, H.G. and Mabel Thompson are listed at 1108 Seneca St. (later 1204 Boren), the same address as Orion Denny. Mabel was the daughter of Orion Denny and Eva Flowers Coulter (who he married in 1874 and divorced a few years later). Mabel married Howard G. Thompson in 1894.
Identifier: spl_lj_060
Date: 1890?
View this itemArthur A. Denny, ca. 1880
Portrait of one of Seattle's founders, Arthur Denny. Photograph taken by Peterson & Bro. in Seattle, Washington Territory.
Identifier: spl_lj_045
Date: 1880?
View this itemUnknown man, ca. 1865
Tintype portrait of unidentified man.
Identifier: spl_lj_014
Date: 1865?
View this item