More Working-Class History

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-zmss8-11a4da4

Irish immigrants, who toiled in the mines of Leadville, Colorado, in the late 1800s are largely forgotten. Many died penniless, buried in paupers’ graves.  But now a Colorado professor has dug up their stories and their struggles. The Heartland Labor Forum brings us a report on the Irish Immigrant Miners’ Memorial. Then, Remember our Struggle with Ariana Blockmon, who covers the 1916 Springfield (MO) Streetcar Strike.

From the Irish Times

See the Irish Times story here.

A Little Bit Of Our Working-Class History

There is a great introduction to mine worker labor history in Pennsylvania over at the Marker Quest blog.

I hope that worker and labor history is your thing. If you know our history then you will be able to see where you fit in, you will be a participant in your own life and in the lives of others. If you don't know your history then you're more likely to be watching events and your life passing by.

Here's where the post over at the Marker Quest blog gets started. Please go over there and read the entire post.

His name was John Siney, and he was born in Queens County, Ireland, in 1831. When he was still quite young, his family's potato crop failed and they relocated to the community of Wigan in Lancashire, England. As a child, John worked as the bobbin boy in a cotton mill; as a teenager, he was apprenticed to a brickmaker. You can imagine, therefore, that from a very early age he was acquainted with the plight of the working man - which, in the 19th century, could be very grim indeed.

While living in Wigan, John helped to organize the Brickmakers' Assocation of Wigan, for which he served as president seven times. In 1863 he set sail for the United States, settling in the anthracite mining town of St. Clair in Schuylkill County; other immigrants from Wigan had settled in the same area, so he knew some of his neighbors right away. It was probably not the best time to be coming to America, what with that Civil War we had going on, but he found work first as a laborer and then as a miner. Mining was an industry that always needed more workers, and one of the few industries willing to hire immigrants, so getting a job wasn't hard. What was hard was getting a decent wage, and John joined his first strike in 1864, protesting for a pay raise.

The strike was successful - the mine bosses reluctantly raised the wages - but it came at a cost. Coal was a vital commodity for the Union in the ongoing war, and the strike threatened its supply, so public sentiment was not altogether in favor of the strikers. Worse, the success of the strike was short-lived; the war ended in 1865. Coal was necessary during the war because it powered naval ships and railroad engines, both of which were needed to transport soldiers and munitions, but with the cease-fire came a reduced need for either of those things. It was still an important resource, as coal had replaced wood as the primary means of providing homes with heat and light, but the demand during peacetime was not as great as it had been during wartime.

 

  

“They said that if I questioned..."

“They said that if I questioned a 6,000-year-old earth, I would question whether other parts of Scripture should be read scientifically and historically.
They were right. I did.

They said that if I entertained the hope that those without access to the gospel might still be loved and saved by God, I would fall prey to the dangerous idea that God loves everyone, that there is nothing God won’t do to reconcile all things to Himself.
They were right. I have.

They said that if I looked for Jesus beyond the party line, I could end up voting for liberals.
They were right. I do (sometimes).

They said that if I listened to my gay and lesbian neighbors, if I made room for them in my church and in my life, I could let grace get out of hand.
They were right. It has.

They told me that this slippery slope would lead me away from God, that it would bring a swift end to my faith journey, that I’d be lost forever.
But with that one, they were wrong.

Yes, the slippery slope brought doubts. Yes, the slippery slope brought change. Yes, the slippery slope brought danger and risk and unknowns. I am indeed more exposed to the elements out here, and at times it is hard to find my footing.

But when I decided I wanted to follow Jesus as myself, with both my head and heart intact, the slippery slope was the only place I could find him, the only place I could engage my faith honestly.
So down I went.

It was easier before, when the path was wide and straight.

But, truth be told, I was faking it. I was pretending that things that didn’t make sense made sense, that things that didn’t feel right felt right. To others, I appeared confident and in control, but faith felt as far away as friend who has grown distant and cold.

Now, every day is a risk.
Now, I have no choice but to cling to faith and hope and love for dear life.
Now, I have to keep a very close eye on Jesus, as he leads me through deep valleys and precarious peaks.

But the view is better, and, for the first time in a long time, I am fully engaged in my faith.

I am alive.
I am dependent.
I am following Jesus as me—heart and head intact.
And they were right. All it took was a question or two to bring me here.”

- Rachel Held Evans
(June 8, 1981 - May 4, 2019)
[Credit: Adam Twining/Tom Cantwell]
Shared from Sad Jesus

Jerusalem ["And did those feet in ancient time"] by William Blake

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon Englands mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On Englands pleasant pastures seen!

And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold:
Bring me my arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!

I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In Englands green & pleasant Land.

"Homestead Works" by John Pennell, date unknown but probably early 1900s. Taken from the Steel Mill Pictorial Facebook page

Primitive Methodists and Coal Miners

One of my favorite blogs is the My Primitive Methodists blog, a "community archive for the 19th century working class movement known as the Primitive Methodists." I find it interesting for the history that it provides, but I also it inspiring. Please take a look and support the effort.

It's hard to argue with a religion that takes the points made in the following excerpt seriously:

The Primitive Methodist Chapel became central in village life. A lofty Christian experience developed. Christ was in the midst. Prayer Meetings were spiritual meals. Class Meetings were genuinely experimental, truly educational and really inspirational. Love of fellows deepened. From the Colliery Chapel as a centre, gracious influences emanated that invigorated all phases of public me. These little Bethels were often miniature colleges. Deep conversations on important life topics that increased knowledge, developed ready utterance and equipped men for public work, were the order of the day. Strong religious experience was at the root of the social and industrial reforms occupying the minds of intelligent miners in our church. Preaching the democratic gospel of Jesus, emphasizing liberty of conscience, equality of opportunity, brotherhood of man, and Saviourhood of Christ; it was only to be expected that in mining areas our church should be interested in the working conditions of the people. Laymen inspired by our principles became associated with Trades Union matters. Trusted by their fellows, taught in our Class Meetings and Pulpits to express themselves clearly, large numbers were appointed Union Officials. In times full of danger and risk, these Primitive Methodists strongly advocated the just and righteous claims of the miners, when up against a tyrannical capitalism. They were men of fine intelligence, possessing the truly human touch and aflame with zeal for a noble cause. Take John Johnson as a shining example. The story of the suffering of these heroic souls is great reading. Unselfish, sacrificial, Christian products of our church they were. Embedded in the constitution of the Miners’ Associations of Durham and Northumberland lie lofty social and industrial ideals, that were first conceived in the minds of leading laymen of our church. Miners they were, and also Christian gentlemen. Read the fine ethical, human and spiritual emblems adorning the splendid Miners‘ Lodge banners that visit Durham City annually for the Gala Day, and you get creations of the heart and soul of ardent moral and spiritual giants, and Primitive Methodist local preachers. In days when the collier was treated as a chattel, a cog in the industrial wheel, a tool and not a man, with no acknowledged right to organise for industrial justice, then this Church, through its godly men, did much to lift the standard of life. Colliery Directors have paid tribute to our Church’s influence on the miners’ moral life, by employing evangelists like the Rev. William Gelley to preach at their colleries, to bring salvation to the workers and so stop idle time and increase output. Brutal pugilism, beastly drinking, degrading gambling often yielded to the potency of love’s evangel. The standard was improved by bringing Christ into the miners’ lives and homes. Those pit village homes, situated in drab streets, took on a new air of neatness and cleanliness when Primitive Methodism arrived there. What a rich family idea was present in colliery village Churches! Bearing one another’s burdens, sharing one another’s joys, weeping with those that wept and rejoicing with those that rejoiced. The appetite for the House of God was keen, the relish for religious services was marked, the heart and flesh cried out for the living God. Troubles were conquered in the praise service, carking cares were overcome by the joy of the Lord. Minds were opened to the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and sound judgment, wholesome character, and strong personality were realised amongst the mining folk.

It is not such an easy task to state clearly and strongly the present day effect of Primitive Methodism on the social, industrial, moral and spiritual life of coal miners. Good and great men and women there are still in our midst, who, while saturated with the spirit of our Church, are vital factors in ,the wide, varied life of mining centres, and forcibly mould public opinion. Men of the type of Councillor Peter Lee, Chairman of the Durham County Council, Agent of the Durham Miners’ Association, Primitive Methodist Local Preacher and Sunday-school Teacher, serve as illustrations. Furthermore, a large number of miner local preachers are possessed of considerable ability and keep abreast of the thought and literature of modern times, and take an intelligent part in the civic affairs of their districts and sweeten the atmosphere with their powerful and fragrant personalities. Mr. W. Smith, J.P., of Cramlington, Northumberland, who so impressed Berwick-on-Tweed District Synod and Hull Conference, is a case in point. He is Christian, poet, philosopher, social reformer and humorist thrown into one man. What a testimony these men are bearing today to the redeeming, moralising, progressive force in Primitive Methodism! They abundantly prove that moral wholesomeness, Christian robustness, and humanity are ingredients of a worthy character that grows in the soil of our Church in mining areas. A survey of the coal fields calls up names of present day men and women of the collier class who are seers, statesmen, readers, thinkers, mystics, poets, saints, and humanitarians. We think of Mr. John Williamson, of Brandon, a local preacher, is great lover of books, and a true poet.

The White Slaves of England by J Cobden, 1853---Found on Wikipedia.