Have you heard of Frederich Drumpf, a German immigrant who operated a restaurant in Seattle in the 1890s?

Real historians use original documents and verify their sources, and in this essay by Seattle historian Rob Ketcherside, we see that getting at the truth about Mr. Drumpf required painstaking research.

A full-of-errors portrayal of early Seattle was told in a biography of the German immigrant who became Fred Trump, grandfather of Donald Trump.  The author of that biography even misidentified the building where Fred Trump had his restaurant by assuming that the street name-and-numbering system in Seattle is the same now, as in the 1890s.

One of the purposes of my blog, Wedgwood in Seattle History, is to highlight resources which are available, many of which are on-line.  This excellent essay by Seattle historian Rob Ketcherside gives the documentation of how he arrived at his conclusions, and it is so good that I wanted to share it with my readers as an example of real historical research.

The sidebar of Rob’s blog lists resources which he uses, his blog articles and articles he has written for the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.  If you are interested in street clocks, history of the street car system, or photography of old Seattle, Rob’s writings are the place to find the real story.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of 1893, used to accurately locate buildings.