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www.celtic-connection.com
JUNE 2009
THE DAY OF THE ROPE:
In Memory of the Molly Maguires
Make way for the Molly Maguires They're drinkers, they're liars, but they're men. Make way for the Molly Maguires, You '11 never see the likes of them again.
VEN after 132 years, much of the history remains shrouded in intrigue and secrecy. It was on June 21, 1877 when 10 men were hanged at Mauch Chunk [an Indian name meaning Bear Mountain and renamed Jim Thorpe in 1953] and Pottsville, Pennsylvania.
The men were part of a group of Irish Pennsylvania coalminers who were known as the Molly Maguires - members of an ultra-secret society that used violence and intimidation in their bitter struggle against the powerful and ruthless mine owners who were the main suppliers of coal in the United States.
Being a miner in the middle of the Nineteenth Century presented unimaginable hardship for the men and their families who were paid very little and lived in awful poverty.
They were forced to live in company-owned towns and were paid in currency only good at company-owned stores. If they were injured or killed, often times their children were forced to take their place or they would literally be thrown out of their homes with nothing.
It was this very situation that was ripe for unionization and labour struggles and that was exacdy what happened. Violence erupted and people were killed on both sides of the struggle.
In 1868, John Siney, an Irish immigrant who had been working in coal-mines in England, formed the Workingmen's Benevolent Association (WBA). Siney's main objective was to try and improve pay and working conditions for the miners.
In a seven year period in Pennsylvania, 566 miners were killed and a further 1,665 were seriously injured. One of the worst disasters took place in Avondale colliery in 1869 when a fire killed 179 miners.
This resulted in the County passing legislation that stated that all mines must have more than one opening and that it was the responsibility of the mine-owners to provide effective ventilation. State mine inspectors were employed but because of the power of the mine-owners this legislation was rarely enforced.
John Siney was a moderate trade unionist who believed in negotiating with the employers and strictly forbade the use of violence by his members. The WBA threatened strike action and after a short dispute the coal-miner owners agreed to a small wage increase.
Part of this deal involved Siney promising that he would not allow miners who used or advocated violence to remain a member of the
Franklin B. Gowen, president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, whose company also owned a large number of coal-mines, feared that the activities of the WBA would reduce profits.
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
In 1873 Gowen hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency as to the best way to destroy the union. The Pinkerton Agency employed an Irish immigrant, James McPartlan, who infiltrated the union and assumed the alias James McKenna.
McPartlan found work in the mine and joined the WBA and the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), a Catholic organization, whose motto is friendship, unity and Christian charity.
Over the next two years McPartlan collected evidence of criminal activities by the Molly Maguires. This included the murder of about 50 men, who were mostiy managers of coal mines in the region.
John Kehoe, one of the leaders of the Molly Maguires became suspicious of McPartlan and began investigating his past. McPartlan was tipped off that Kehoe was planning to murder him so he fled the area.
In 1876 and 1877 McPartlan was the star witness for the prosecution of John Kehoe and the Molly Maguires.
Twenty members were found guilty and were executed. This included Kehoe, a former union activist, who was convicted of a murder that had taken place 14 years previously.
McPartlan's testimony sent 10 men to the gallows, he testified that the AOH and the Mollies were one and the same and that the defendants were guilty of murder.
There was a great deal of controversy about the way the trial was conducted. Most of the witnesses, like James McPartlan, were on the payroll of the railroad and mining companies whose objective was to destroy the trade union movement.
A scaffold was erected in the Carbon County Prison. State militia with fixed bayonets surrounded the prison. Miners and their families arrived, many walking through the night to honour the accused. The scene was sombre and silent.
Tom Munley's aged father had walked more than 10 miles to assure his son that he believed his innocence. Munley's wife arrived a few minutes after the gate was closed. She screamed at the gate with grief, throwing herself against it until she collapsed, but she was not allowed to pass to say her final goodbye to her husband.
On June 21, 1877, four men were hanged at Mauch Chunk, Carbon
AN ANNIVERSARY MASS is held at the jail every June 21
THE EERIE HANDPRINT of Alexander Campbell on the wall of the Carbon County Jail ...that can never be erased.
THE GALLOWS where the Mollies were hanged in the old Carbon County Jail.
County: Alexander Campbell, John 'Blackjack' Kehoe, Michael Doyle, and Edward Kelly. Six men were hanged in the prison at Pottsville, Schuylkill County: James Doyle, James Carrol, Thomas Duffy, Hugh McGeehan, Thomas Munley, and James Roarity.
Allegedly, Alexander Campbell, just before his execution, slapped a muddy handprint on his cell wall proclaiming eternal innocence.
He said, "There is proof of my words. That mark of mine will never be wiped out. It will remain forever to shame the county for hanging an innocent man."
Despite many efforts to remove the mark, including painting over and tearing down and rebuilding the wall, the hand print remains in the same spot and never goes away.
Ten more condemned men were hanged over the next two years.
Following the trial that was later described by a Carbon Countyjudge, John P. Lavelle, as follows: "The trial of the Molly Maguires was a
BETTY LOU AND THOMAS McBride who own the Old Jail and Heritage Centre.
surrender of state sovereignty. A private corporation initiated the investigation through a private detective agency. A private police force arrested the alleged defenders, and private attorneys for the coal companies prosecuted them. The state provided only the courtroom and the gallows."
In 1883 Franklin B. Gowen left his post as president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad and returned to his law practice. On December 13, 1889, he committed suicide in his hotel room by shooting himself in the head.
The legacy of the Molly Maguires is kept very much alive today in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.
I recently spoke with Hugh Dugan, past-president of The Alec Campbell Mauch Chunk Division 1 of Carbon County Ancient Order of Hibernians regarding some of the events organized by the AOH in the memory of the Molly Maguires.
He said one of the main events is called The Day of the Rope.
Dugan explained, "We celebrate a memorial anniversary Mass for the Molly Maguires every June 21, or nearest date. It's actually quite impressive with all the flags and the four provinces of Ireland represented.
"The altar is set-up directly underneath the scaffolding and you can actually look down and see the trap doors where the prisoners were hung and dropped.
"On the scaffolding there are actually four ropes because they hung four at a time, each facing one another. I understand that after they dropped the trap door, not all of them died right away but dangled there.
"It's pretty gruesome when you read the details of the hangings. The AOH have been holding this mass every year since 1997."
The Day of the Rope Mass will be held this year on June 20, at the oldjail museum.
Dugan said, "Also, at our annual St. Patrick's Day parade, we make two stops along the route.
"The first one is at Immaculate Conception Church where the priest blesses the parade.
"The other one is at the oldjail where our division of the AOH gets out of the parade line with all our flags for a very solemn occasion.
"A bagpiper plays Amazing Grace and the AOH ladies lay a wreath in honour of the Mollies and we read aloud each of the names of those who were hung there - there is absolute silence, you can hear a pin drop .. .it's pretty emotional."
I also spoke with Betty Lou McBride who along with her husband Thomas bought the oldjail when it came up for sale and turned it into a museum.
"In 1981, our family moved from Naples,FloridatoJimThorpe," said Betty Lou. "Tom was originally from a coal patch town about 10 miles from here, and when we moved here he restored several historical buildings in the downtown area. We also ran The Treasure Shop, an Irish Import and general gift shop, which is now run by our daughter.
"In August 1994, the Carbon County Prison was put up for sale by the Carbon County Commissioners. My husband heard about it and immediately purchased it.
"In May 1995, we opened the Old Jail and Heritage Centre for tours, which run from Memorial Day weekend to Labour Day.
"The museum is operated as a nonprofit museum. The oldjail museum building is an outstanding example of Nineteenth Century prison architecture and is on the National Register of Historic Sites."
The town of Jim Thorpe also honours the memory of The Mollies with a pub called The Molly Maguires, which is owned and operated by Dublin-born, Noel Behan, who is also an AOH member.
For more information about the Old Jail and Heritage Centre, visit: www.theoldjailmuseum.com. [Special thanks to Franciscan Father Ed Costello and Franciscan Friar Phil Kelly for information and background about the Molly Maguires.]