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British Labor from 1800 to 1850 We will now backtrack in time and review the story of British Labor and Industrial Revolution. We do this in order to understand why the Irish, who had every reason to detest the English, still found it necessary to go to England to work in order to live. Some ideas can be seen as we relate a few excerpts of the condition of labor at this period of history. The English population was 10 million in 1790. From 1811 to 1813 they had the Luddite crisis. In 1817, there was the Pentridge uprising, followed in 1819 by Trade Union activity, the Owenite crisis. From 1831 to 1832 there were multiple movements which made up Chartism, called Union Labor. Cotton mills became the agent of the Industrial and Social Revolution. Cotton mills were barrack-like buildings with mill chimneys, factory children, clogs and shawls, and dwellings cloistered around mills with harsh discipline. The mill worker was a minority of adult workers in the mill. Cotton hand loom weavers outnumbered the mill worker. The mass of workers crowded into small quarters. There was conflict between the aristocratic manufacturers and the landless, pauperized laborers. These people were simultaneously subjected to an intensification of economic exploitation and political oppression. The master was supreme over the worker. From 1800 to 1820 children, six years of age, worked from 5 AM to 9 PM. Their food was gruel, oatcake, water, milk potatoes, and bits of bacon fat. The factories were eight stories high, with 600 people in a factory. In 1818 the steam engine enabled the mill to do all the jobs which formally were parceled out to wives and children at home as piece meal work for wages. In 1830 there began agitation concerning wages. From 1821 through 1822 in Ireland there were successive failures of the potato crop. This drove many to permanent migration in England. From 1829 to 1830, mass evictions of peasant freeholders swelled the numbers traveling crowded boats to Liverpool. The more fortunate, who could save the passage money, traveled to Canada and America from 1830 through 1840. This is why we find the families of Kilmartin’s, Neary’s, and others moving to Leeds, Bradford, and North Bierly. Other families like the Driscoll’s, Guiry’s, and the Donegan’s were moving to America. There was a need for men to perform heavy manual labor in mines. The base of the industrial society required an excess of physical energy. Irish labor was cheep and had been demoralized in Ireland by a sub-standard economy and by conacre, the dividing of the land of a family into smaller holdings. This forced too many people to work small pieces of land. They had acquired a reputation of fickleness, as energy was no asset in Ireland. A good tenant was penalized by doubling the rent. In England, the Irish did astonishing feats, they persevered in the severest, most irksome, most disagreeable kind of rugged labor. The Irish would work anywhere, anytime, and captured all the lowest levels of manual labor. We find out that this is what happened in America during the heavy flow of Irish to New York. The most enduring cultural traditions, which the Irish peasantry brought to England, was that of a semi-feudal nationalistic church, their Catholic faith. From 1838 to 1843 in Ireland land eviction by landlords was at its peek. This was the prime cause for the flood of Irish paupers into English factories. They worked at reduced wages, which threatened the standards of living of the low paid English worker. So followed the substitution of the potato economy of Ireland for the bread economy of England, with unwholesome consequences. Conditions were so bad in Ireland that the Poor Law was passed in 1838. The law called for the building of poor houses for the poorest peasants. England, because of its total control of Ireland, had to take care of the Irish when they came to England under full citizens rights. If we added all these circumstances together and pour on the impossible conditions created by the Potato Famine, from 1845 through 1847, we can clearly understand why Thomas Kilmartin, along with milions of others, tried to escape to America. With the help of those who had already reached America of Canada, the time was ripe. I will not try to write any of the details of the Great Famine, but I do recommend that everyone read a remarkable book called "The Great Hunger," written by a woman named Cecil Woodham-Smith, published by Harper & Row of New York. The book describes, in great detail and vivid fashion, the ultimate suffering placed on the Irish after 150 years of suppression of any semblance of liberty by the British government. The character of the Irish was forged in this cesspool of disease, repression, and the memory of over two million deaths. BACK TO CONTENTS | HISTORY HOME PAGE The Kilmartin’s in Bradford and Leeds Before departing from the European shores, we must remember that Thomas and Ann Kilmartin spent at least 10 years in the area of Bradford and Leeds, in the county of Yorkshire, England. We can only give a sketch book picture of the area. Bradford was the principal seat of the worsted manufacturers. The population in 1801 was 13,264 exploding to 103,788 in 1851. The town is pleasantly situated in the junction of three picturesque valleys on one of the tributary streams of the River Aire. It is located ten miles west by south of Leeds, and 196 miles northwest of London. The appearance of the town from a distance is very striking. Parts of it lies in a low area, with larger portions on surrounding hills. Some of the hills rise gradually, while others rise abruptly to a considerable elevation. Houses are built of stone, with some of the older houses in the lower parts narrow and irregular. The Parish of Bradford abounds in those important mineral substances; coal, iron, and excellent building stone. (Tom was listed as a mason laborer.) The Parish was ten miles long, nine miles wide, on 33,710 acres of land. It was broken into hills and dales, including an extensive range of high moorlands, and Bradford Canal with its 12 locks. At the opposite side of town is the Lancanshire and Yorkshire Railroad Station of the Great Northern Railway. Mount St. Marie Chapel is at Slott Hall in a neat edifice, built in 1824 and enlarged in 1837. A new St. Patrick’s Church building is now on Westgate, built in 1849. There is a Roman Catholic school at John and Queen Streets. North Bierly, a township celebrated or its extensive coal and iron works, has 11,711 inhabitants, 3090 acres of land, and is located 2 to 4 miles south of Bradford. Michael, my grandfather, was born at 110 Vincent St., in 1857. Leeds is also noted for its coal mines. It could have been that Thomas first found work in Leeds, as his first child was born in Leeds in 1851. He then followed the work to either Bradford or North Bierly. Fare to America was not very expensive. It varied in 1850 from $18 to $25. Most of the ships came out of Liverpool, England. The early voyages to America, from 1800 to 1850, were in sailing ships. Some of those ships had very hazardous crossings. In the 1840’s and 50’s many lives were lost because of overcrowding, disease, lack of food, poor sanitation, and greed by ship owners. They would take as many trips as possible with no regard for the safety of the passengers. Great crimes were committed by Lord Palmerton, a large landowner in Sligo, along with other landowners. They were evicting tenants off the land, and shipped them off to Canada. Thousands died in Canada while others were turned back from New York. This caused a special Emigration Commission to be set up in New York. Its purpose was to regulate all movements of ships carrying emigrants to New York. At the time of Thomas Kilmartin’s crossing, many of these safety factors were in operation. BACK TO CONTENTS | HISTORY HOME PAGE Life in Corning, New York The first time I found a record of Thomas in the U. S. was in the 1860 New York State Census for Corning, (Steuben County) New York. He was living with the family of Michael Kilmartin, who was also listed as Gilmartin on property bought. Michael appears to have been a close relation, possibly a brother or a cousin. Michael arrived in America in 1848. He moved to Onandaga County, Skaneateles Township, and met Jane Connolly, who lived in Auburn with two sisters. They were married on September 16, 1859 at Holy Family Church, 85 North Street, Auburn, N.Y. Their first child, James, was born on July 16, 1851. James was baptized on August 3, 1851, at Holy Family Church. The family moved to Corning sometime in 1853 or early 1854. Their second child, Luke, was born in 1854 in Corning. Their daughter, Catherine, was born in 1856. Michael was naturalized in 1853. His family was listed on the 1855 N.Y. State Census.
The photo depicts Market Street in Corning viewed from the west looking east. East Market Street until 1972 was residential ( all of East Market Street was razed in 1972 for an urban renewal project after the Hurricane Agnes flood ). As I remember from his obituary, Michael Gilmartin resided somewhere in the 200 block of East Market Street at the time of his death. The present library is close where the 200 block of East Market was prior to 1972. While I don't know for certain if that was the Gilmartin residence in 1860's, it is fairly likely that it was. If you look at the 1867 photo, you will see some residential structures in the background. That is probably the first block of East Market Street. That being the case, the Gilmartin residence would have been just beyond the right hand limits of the photo.- by Ron Yost, great-great grandson of Michael Gilmartin. Photo from the Corning History Website
Click on the map to see a large view of this panoramic map of Corning, circa 1882. Michael was a tailor by profession. He seemed to be successful as he bought property, owned homes, and remained in Corning until his death in 1903. Michael is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery, in Corning.
Photo from the Corning History Website
Thomas seemed to have a special relationship with Michael. I have been unable to determine from the records in what way they were related. Thomas was Godfather to their daughter, Catherine. According to the 1860 census, the two families apparently lived together. Let me show, by listing their children, how they were so friendly:
We can see that Thomas worked and planned for the arrival of his wife, Ann, and their four children. They arrived in November 1860, on the Great Western. They stayed in Corning and had three more children. It is probable that they had watched the developments of the mines and railroads, along with the increase of activity of the coal fields of Blossburg and Fallbrook, and decided to move south in 1865. I am sure they kept in contact with the Corning Kilmartin’s, because on many occasions the children visited and stayed with them. My mother told of visiting them, with Dad, soon after their marriage in 1911. We found from court records at the probate of the Will of James, in 1922, that there were five addresses listed. Three of the girls were married and had the names of Heverly, Dunleavy, and Yost.
Fall Brook Hotel, Fallbrook, Pa, from the Kevin Neimond collection, used with permission Editor's Note: In November
2002 I was contacted by Ron Yost, a great-great grandson of Michael Gilmartin,
referred to in this chapter. Ron was able to research the relationship between
Michael and Thomas and reasonably determined that Michael and Thomas WERE
brothers. Ron states, "...the obituary for Michael Gilmartin in the June 12,
1903 Corning Evening Leader listed Thomas Gilmartin of Arnot, Pennsylvania as
Michael's surviving brother. Reasonably assuming its accuracy, this establishes
that Thomas and Michael were indeed brothers. However, the obituary did not give
Michael' place of birth. Likewise, his gravestone states, "Native of Ireland"
without giving a specific town." BACK TO CONTENTS | HISTORY HOME PAGE Tioga County, Pennsylvania A short chronological history should be appropriate in order to understand the Area that Thomas and Ann were going to live:
Roads entering the town were regarded as private. Persons deemed objectionable to the mining company could be arrested as trespassers. The houses occupied by the workers and their families were only rented to them. The companies managed to have the state legislature in Pennsylvania and New York pass bills that permitted the company to evict the tenants with only ten days notice. The workers were paid once a month with company currency, which was good only in the company stores. Credit in the stores was advanced to the workers between paydays. This system of fines for misdemeanors was easily taken advantage of by the company superintendents. It kept many workers in debt to the company and kept them dependent on it. There were no labor difficulties between 1845 and 1873, but the company built up a vast reservoir of resentment. In the winter of 1873 the demand for semi-bituminous coal fell off. The company withheld cash wages, allowing the workers company credit in their stores for three months. In November of 1873, as Herbert Gutman tells the story in the "Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography," July 1959 edition, "The companies offered the men no more wages until the following May. The miners refused and formed a local union, "The Miners and Laborers Benevolent Union of Tioga County," to speak for them. The companies immediately fired the Union leaders. In 1873, all who refused to sever their connection with the Union were threatened with eviction. The men protested bitterly, saying that the employers were forcing them to "put on the badge of serfdom." A Fallbrook official declared, " we are justified in our proceedings, to our consciences and before God and man." The owners believed that the cold weather and business depression would force the men to terms, destroy the union and save the Tioga System. The owners were wrong. The people of the region began to prove that they could exert pressure. The merchants and the farmers showed their sympathy for the miners by lodging them in their homes and hire lawyers to test the eviction in court. John Sidney, a Union leader, after observing the support citizens had given the Union, called it a "City of Refuge." The lockout failed. In March, 1874, the operators recognized the Union (for a while) and the men went back to work. The Miners and Benevolent Association met its death in the long strike. The struggle over wages lasted from February to July, 1875. The public was now suspicious of the mining community because of the violence of the Molly Maguires. Their killings and agitation was in the anthracite area of Hazelton and Scranton. The public was now unsympathetic. As the strike dragged on the Union funds became exhausted and the organization collapsed. The miners, ever a tuneful lot, expressed their feelings in a song written by one of their minstrels: "Well, we’ve been beaten, beaten all to smash, and now sir, we begin to feel the lash, as wielded by a gigantic corporation which runs the commonwealth and ruins the nation, Our union lamp, friend John Siney, no longer shineth, It’s gone up where the gentle woodbine twineth." The excesses of the Molly Maguires had injured the miners cause at the time. The Kilmartin’s, Driscoll’s, Hayes, Neary’s, Clarke’s, and loyal friends in the three coal mine area continued the long dreary years fighting poverty, stupidity, and the tight reins of inescapable hopelessness. The eight hour working day was passed in Congress in 1868, but its effects never reached the mines or steel workers. In 1869 miners pay was $14.00 a week. Outside labor was $11.00 a week, and a platform mans weekly salary was $11.50 for inside labor. Labor conditions, ranging from strikes to little work to full employment, lasted right on through 1900. Union President John A. Mitchell called a strike in 1900 which lasted six months. Only President Teddy Roosevelt’s threat to send in the Army persuaded the owners to submit the dispute to arbitration. By October 23, 1902, the strike was settled and the miners went back to work. The award extended the eight hour day, raise the miners wages, and recognized the authority of the Union. Many of the abuses of the miners life still occurred. Safety hazards, explosions, and death, were still big problems. The family album has several pictures of the clan gathered together on the "Porch" of their family home, dressed in their Sunday best, celebrating some special occasion. They looked like proud aristocrats, which in our eyes they are. Other pictures show them posing in baseball uniforms, sledding, or on a hay ride, able to find fun and activity in their homes.
THE GILMARTIN’S IN 1893- FROM FAR LEFT BACK ROW IS MICHAEL GILMARTIN (AUTHOR’S GRANDFATHER), ELIZABETH (O’NEIL) GILMARTIN (MICHEAL’S WIFE) CATHERINE (GILMARTIN) O’HARA (DAUGHTER OF TOM AND ANN), WILLIAM O’HARA, THOMAS KILMARTIN, ANN KILMARTIN, EILSHA CLARKE (DAUGHTER OF JOE & MARY CLARKE), NORA (HAYES) GILMARTIN (TAYLOR’S WIFE), WILLIAM (TAYLOR) GILMARTIN, HANNA (GANEY) GILMARTIN (WIFE OF JAMES KILMARTIN), MR. GANEY (BROTHER OF HANNA) . YOUNG BOY STANDING TO THE LEFT OF CENTER IS JOSEPH GILMARTIN, (SON OF MICHAEL), SEATED IS JOSEPH CLARKE, DIRECTLY BEHIND JOSEPH IS HIS WIFE MARY ( KILMARTIN) CLARKE, IN FRONT OF JOSEPH IS FRANK CLARKE (STEP-SON OF JOE CLARKE), SEATED BOY IS JAMES GILMARTIN (AUTHOR’S FATHER), & THE BABY TO RIGHT IN FRONT IS NELLIE GILMARTIN, DAUGHTER OF HANNAH (GANEY) GILMARTIN. Dad (James Patrick Gilmartin) tells the story of riding down the snow covered hills from the town of Arnot and crashing into a cow, causing Dad to break his leg. Mother (Katherine Guiry Gilmartin) told of her hay ride to Canton with her first boyfriend, Jack Feeney. I have collected several books with pictures of Blossburg, surrounding towns, and centennial memorials. Katherine (Gil-martin Kaufmann), Joe (Gilmartin), and I remembered the trips we took to Morris Run as very young children, going to the abandoned mine, crossing the steep slate hills, and picking berries. One berry expedition brought me a face to face encounter with a rattlesnake. Our Tomboy neighbor crushed the demon with a large rock. I still see the fangs from the eyes of an eight year old boy. Many epitaphs are written on the grave stones, one I have written down: Farewell dear wife, my life is past, My love was true while life did last, And now for me, no sorrow make, But love my children for my sake. Industrious husband have I been, Many troubles have I seen, But they have brought me leave to rest, In hopes to rise among the blest.
Main St. Blossburg, Pa in 1899
Blossburg PA, early 20th Century.
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Blossburg, Pa Mary and I took our three children, Joan, Regina, and Edward, to the last home Frank Guiry lived in. The home was formerly lived in by all the Guiry’s from 1899-1948. Frank closed the house and sold it in 1948. We toured the house and I could vaguely remember where I slept in a feather bed. I did remember, however, the outhouse and the well down the road, now closed. The heaping slag pile had disappeared for road repairs, and the mine was closed. BACK TO CONTENTS | GO TO CHAPTER 13 | HISTORY HOME PAGE
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