My great great grandfather, Michael Walsh, got lost in the coal strike. The United Mine Workers of America demanded higher wages, shorter workdays, and union recognition in eastern Pennsylvania. On 12 May 1902, the coal miners laid down their pickaxes, hammers, chisels, and pans. At this time most homes in America were heated with anthracite, that is hard coal. It lasted through October that year. In the end, the miners' demands were met. It was also the first time in American history that the federal government stepped in as an arbitrator to negotiate. Most important to me personally is that it was due to this strike that I lost my Michael Walsh.
Now, to clarify, when I say I lost him to the strike, I do not mean that he died in the mines. I do not mean that there was an argument on the streets and he died. No, I mean I lost track of him at that point.
It was reported by Commissioner of Labor Carrol D. Wright, at that time, that there was 147,000 strikers. Of those men, he estimated 8,000 to 10,000 returned to Europe. In addition, 30,000 left the area. Just picked up and left home. Some left families behind while they went in search of work. I believe my Michael, and perhaps some of his sons, were among those men who left the area.
He was born about 1847 in Ireland, in the midst of the Great Famine. My grandmother had told me the Walsh Family came from Dublin.
The next documentation I have of him is from the 1880 US Census. He is 33 years old, married to Anna, with three children: Katherine, Daniel James, and John. They lived at 67 West Lloyd Street in Shenandoah, PA. It was a large tenement house, according to the 1880 Census. At least 30 families lived there. Many miners. Most appeared to be immigrants or first generation.
Ten years later, in 1890, he is still in Shenandoah, according to A Directory of the eleventh census of the population of Schuylkill County, which I found through Ancestry.com. It does not list the rest of the family and by now he goes by Welsh. It simply reads, "Welsh, Michael, 45, miner." There is no Walsh listing. I do not have the 1890 Census to confirm or deny that information as a fire destroyed most of those records, but I believe it to be accurate.
In addition to the three children Michael and Anna have in 1880 (listed in the census), they have three additional. They are: Margaret Agnes (b. 1881), Martin Joseph (b. 1884), and Michael Joseph (b. 1893). All list their birth location as Shenandoah on various sources relevant to them.
The 1910 Census shows Anna and son Michael living at 306 1/2 West Lloyd Street. She rented. He worked in a colliery. She notes she had 11 kids but only six living. I have no record of the other five so they may have been stillborn or died in infancy or between available census records. She also notes that she is a widow. Hence, Michael died sometime between 1893 (when son Michael was born) and 1910.
I've not been able to find a death certificate for him. He may have gone north to New York. Walsh and Welsh are such common names that I have folders of possible matches but still cannot confirm any of them. He is ... for the moment anyway ... lost in the Coal Strike of 1902.
Sources:
Grossman, Johnathan, The Coal Strike of 1902: Turning Point in US Policy. US Department of Labor. Retrieved 30 November 2019: https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/coalstrike.
Year: 1880; Census Place: Shenandoah, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1192; Family History Film: 1255192; Page: 38A; Enumeration District: 203; Image: 0379
(c) 2019, Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman
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| Public Domain Image of miners in Hazelton, PA in 1900. |
He was born about 1847 in Ireland, in the midst of the Great Famine. My grandmother had told me the Walsh Family came from Dublin.
The next documentation I have of him is from the 1880 US Census. He is 33 years old, married to Anna, with three children: Katherine, Daniel James, and John. They lived at 67 West Lloyd Street in Shenandoah, PA. It was a large tenement house, according to the 1880 Census. At least 30 families lived there. Many miners. Most appeared to be immigrants or first generation.
Ten years later, in 1890, he is still in Shenandoah, according to A Directory of the eleventh census of the population of Schuylkill County, which I found through Ancestry.com. It does not list the rest of the family and by now he goes by Welsh. It simply reads, "Welsh, Michael, 45, miner." There is no Walsh listing. I do not have the 1890 Census to confirm or deny that information as a fire destroyed most of those records, but I believe it to be accurate.
In addition to the three children Michael and Anna have in 1880 (listed in the census), they have three additional. They are: Margaret Agnes (b. 1881), Martin Joseph (b. 1884), and Michael Joseph (b. 1893). All list their birth location as Shenandoah on various sources relevant to them.
The 1910 Census shows Anna and son Michael living at 306 1/2 West Lloyd Street. She rented. He worked in a colliery. She notes she had 11 kids but only six living. I have no record of the other five so they may have been stillborn or died in infancy or between available census records. She also notes that she is a widow. Hence, Michael died sometime between 1893 (when son Michael was born) and 1910.
I've not been able to find a death certificate for him. He may have gone north to New York. Walsh and Welsh are such common names that I have folders of possible matches but still cannot confirm any of them. He is ... for the moment anyway ... lost in the Coal Strike of 1902.
Sources:
Grossman, Johnathan, The Coal Strike of 1902: Turning Point in US Policy. US Department of Labor. Retrieved 30 November 2019: https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/coalstrike.
Year: 1880; Census Place: Shenandoah, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1192; Family History Film: 1255192; Page: 38A; Enumeration District: 203; Image: 0379
(c) 2019, Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman
Interesting- since you don't have a death certificate for him, he could have died...you just don't know? How sad! It's interesting for sure! What a peculiar thing- but brave thing- for the miners to do- that is an awfully long time to be without work.
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