Timeline
1808-1820—only 12,000 tons of coal mined
1833— Frederick W. Geisenheimer took out his patent for smelting iron with anthracite coal, and coal production boomed in the hard coal regions of PA, 120 miles by
50 miles
1840—1 million tons/year mined—created huge demand for unskilled workers
1859—8 ½ million tons mined
1847-48—first migration of Irish immigrants into the coal towns, due to potato famine and land seizures—1.2 million between 1846-1854--the operators actively recruited in
Ireland to maintain a supply of “greenhorns”-created riots among the Welsh and English miners--in one 7-year period [no date, quoted in Lens, p. 34] 566 miners were killed,
1,655 in Schuylkill County—1/4 of the work force-- were children ages 7-16, working first as breaker boys and then as miners
“pluck-me”—mine stores
“bobtail” check—mine scrip
1857-1877—miners averaged 36 weeks work/year
“patches”—small miners communities
“tick” or “book”—credit at company store
“pape”—Catholic miner
Miners Journal —claimed from 1860-67, there were 63 unsolved murders
“ . . .in a section of the country densely populated, teeming with mineral wealth of vast importance to the progress and growth of the nation, where business has settled into legitimate channels, where law is respected and maintained by7 the vast majority of the community, where capital in the amount of hundreds of millions is invested and wields its strong arm in maintenance of the rights and property. . .” Dewees, p. 22
[In his
January 15, 1862Franklin Benjamin Gowen was sworn in as District Attorney of Schuylkill county—by mid-summer, he became alarmed at the Democratic political strength, especially for the office of County Commissioner who had control of jury selection—the Republicans had always excluded Irish-Catholics—in Carbon County, two
Irish had been elected majority county commissioners while another was elected to PA
State Legislature--
May 5, 1862—miners strike in Cass Township at Heilner Breaker over cuts in hours—Gowen sent for sheriff
June 14, 1862—celebration in Audenreid, PA, to create enthusiasm for more PA volunteers— Frank Langdon , a pit boss accused by
John “Black Jack” Kehoe
of shortweighting the men, was stoned to death—verdict of the coroners jury: “Death at the hands of persons unknown” –in 1877, Kehoe, described by Dewees as “a large, wellbuilt, handsome man, but with a cold, cruel eye. (p. 143) was convicted of this murder and hanged to
July, 1862—Jack Kehoe moved to Girardville, at the western end of Schuylkill
County
Fall,1862—draft resistance and riots around Pottsville in Schuylkill County
October, 1864—James Shields and James O’Hanlon, both Union army with the
48 th
PA Volunteer Regiment, were in a saloon in Cass Township, and got into a fight with John Stinson, who called O’Hanlon “a bloody English bastard”—Hugh Curran
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stabbed Shields to death—DA Gowen ordered the arrest of Curran and Stinson but no witnesses could be found; O’Hanlon was the only prosecution witness—
During this period, there were 17 murders in Schuylkill County, 11 of them mine bosses, who had either fired a worker or had a disagreement with a worker—six mines dynamited, mine buildings burned-
The Act of February 27, 1865 —one of the most infamous pieces of state legislation, it made legal the formation of private police forces, which allowed the armed Coal and
Iron Police totals authority, and suspended any constitutional guarantees—authored by
Gowen, whose company had pressured the state legislature, complaining that local law enforcement was not protecting their property and interests—according to Pinkerton,
Gowen stated “The State cannot accomplish these things [protection of nonunion workers]; she has repeatedly tried, and tried in vain” (Pinkerton, p. 17)

July 10, 1865—murder of William Williams, a bar owner in New Philadelphia, .” brother of a foreman at the Tamaqua Steam Mill, who had fired three “drunken” employees (Lewis, p.37)

August 16, 1865—Cass Township mine boss disappeared after firing three workers

August 22, 1865—mine superintendent in Schuylkill County was shot “on a public highway in broad daylight” after firing four Irish workers

January 10, 1866—Henry H. Dunne, shot outside Pottsville, was a manager for a large mine—an active Republican, he had demanded that all draft laws be enforced during the war

1866-boss of Glen Carbon Coal Co. shot to death a mile from his home after a dispute at work with three Irish miners—eyes shot out, allegedly because of an old Irish superstition that the last thing a dying man sees is imprinted on his retina
(Lewis, p. 39)
1867— John Siney leads first strike at the Eagle Colliery to protest a 10% wage cut— the strike was successful and the workers formed
The Workingmen’s Benevolent
Association (WBA) which soon grew to 30,000 members
1868-1875—constant struggle in the mine fields—first strike in 1868 was for the 8hour day, then, after Avondale, for better safety in 1869, the WBA got its first contract, with the sliding wage scale—a six-month strike in 1870, the Long Strike in 1875— defeated unionism
September 1, 1869—Gowen promoted to President of the Reading Railroad, and uses his power to gain control of the coal fields—creates The Anthracite Board of
Trade , an association of mine operators to control both the price of coal and the wages paid—for operators who bargained with the WBA, Gowen doubled the rates for shipping their coal
September 6, 1869—the Avondale Mine disaster, killing 111,including nineteen children younger than 14—even though the workers were Welsh, the fire created a huge movement in the area—families from as far away as Pottsville walked to Avondale to bring clothing and relief—led to the first multi-ethnic union movements in the mining towns—but the operators spread a rumor that the Irish had set the fire, so they were excluded from the newly-formed Wilkes-Barre Miners Union
March, 1871—Paris Commune
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Winter, 1871-72—drop in wages and hours throughout the area—series of dynamitings and fires—also alleged beatings of anyone who speaks out against “the
Mollies”
June 28, 1872— John Siney calls a mass meeting in Frackville—on July 1, 55 gondolas filled with coal were pushed down a ravine
1873
1873—In the midst of The Panic of 1873, the operators agreed to a fixed price of
$5/ton for coal and to divide the market among only six companies—The Reading got
28%, the largest share
Gowan makes the decision to hire McParlan, since his power as both president and DA, and the strength of the Coal and Iron Police, were futile—allegedly paid
Pinkerton $100,000 to bring in dozens of “labor spies”—eventually compiled a list of 347 names, including 14 who were described as murderers/accessories
— worked though Supt
Franklin, who headed Pinkerton’s PA offices, and Philly police Captain
Robert J.
Linden, a active Mason and Scotch Episcopalian
According to Pinkerton, Gowen stated :”We want the laboring men, of whatever creeds or nationalities, protected in their right to work to secure sustenance for their wives and little ones, unawed by outside influences. We want the miner to go forth cheerfully to the slope, or the shaft, for labor in the breast or in the gangway, wherever it may seem to him for the best, void of the fear in their hearts when he parts from his wife at the cottage-gate in the morning, that it may be their last farewell on earth . . .”
(Pinkerton, p. 17. This quote in Lewis, p.50 is horribly mangled, typical of the whole book)
October, 1873— James McParlan , using the name James McKenna , arrives in
Port Clinton to begin the campaign—
November 1, 1873-- he changed strategy and came back as a kind of dandy, instead of a bedraggled miner—takes a room and hangs out at
Patrick “Big Pat”
Dormer’s
Sheridan House, on Center St. in Pottsville—only one block from the headquarters of the Coal and Iron Police
November, 1873- July 1874—workers on the PA rail system and at least 17 other railroads struck (Gutman, p. 295)—opposed wages cuts, nonpayment of wages, blacklisting, iron-clads—while Gutman looks at the railroad strike of 1877, the strikes were in the hard coal areas of PA, creating an atmosphere that encouraged the unskilled immigrant mine workers—these strikes were “unorganized”—that is, there was no formal
0rganization—and spontaneous but directed against good issues—most workers were unorganized, though the BLE had a real contract, with 10,000 members and a conservative president, Grand Chief Engineer Charles Wilson
—railroads responded to
Panic of 1873 by discharging 1,400 shopmen from NY Central and all roads cut wages— worst of all, many simply refused to pay the wages owed-11/30/73, the PA system announced a wage cut for engineers and firemen would be cut 10% the next day, in violation of the BLE contract which required negotiations on any change—the strikes showed the power of their workers to at least temporarily disrupt traffic on the roads— also showed community support from other workers and, in the case of the New Jersey
Southern Railroad, where the issue was $ 40,000.00 in unpaid wages, from small businessmen as well—some railroad workers were owed five months back pay!—
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The Lehigh Valley Railroad moved coal from Pittston to Waverly, NY—workers had taken a 10% cut in December, 1873, with the agreement that the wage would be restored when traffic picked up—boss reneged and workers walked—took over Waverly, closed taverns
December, 1873—3,000 engineers and firemen held a surprise strike, over the advice of Ch. Wilson--went as far as Cincinnati, and was called “the greatest railroad strike” in the nation’s history--
Some decisive actions: removing pins from trains, throwing coal and oil into boilers, shot one scab
1874
January 21, 1874—McParlan is introduced to
Michael “Muff” Lawler
, alleged bodymaster of the Shenandoah division, who got McParlan a job at the Indian Ridge colliery—McParlan rented a room at Lawler’s in Shenandoah
Father McDermott , a local priest, denounced the Mollies in Mount Carmel, and two of his parishioners, Edward O’Toole and Joseph Lafferty, were beaten up in broad day light for defending him
March 1, 1874—McParlan met Jack Kehoe for the first time a the Hibernian
House in Girardville—the next day, he moved from Lawler’s to the house of Fenton
Cooney , who was married to the sister of Frank McAndrew , who became McParlan’s best “friend” and supporter—as Pinkerton wrote in 1877, “McAndrew held true to
McKenna in his darkest hour.” (quoted Lewis, p. 69)
In March, 1874, McParlan and McAndrew attended Mass at St. Anthony’s, in
Pottsville, where Father O’Reilly denounced “the Mollies” and urged all communicants to resign at once
March 17, 1874—an estimated 500 members of the AOH have the parade in
Mahanoy City, including divisions from Girardville, Tamaqua, and Shenandoah
Governor Hartranft appointed Kehoe as high Constable of Girardville, and he was re-elected in November, 1874—AOH members also served on school boards, in tax assessor’s office and was possible as jury commissioner in Schuylkill County—in one borough, a Mollie was chief of police--Rhodes claims the Mollies are at the height of their powers (quoted Lewis, p. 87)
Modocs
—founded by Welsh miners as a fraternal group, and became the operators’ vigilante force—were especially strong in Mahanoy City, led by “Bully Boy”
Thomas
In March, 1874, railroad workers at the Susquehanna Depot shop struck—the local sheriff of Lackawanna County, urged by the railroad officials to raise a posse and drive the strikers from railroad property, refused to arrest any strikers until they received their back wages
In general, the railroad bosses took a hard line against the strikes, hiring scabs and bringing in Italians and German workers as scabs—fired many strikers, and after the strikes, forced workers to sign iron-clads to get their jobs back, though the strike leaders remained off work and blacklisted—created a policy against “intimidation or interference with others willing to work.”
Gutman p. 314. Iron-clad contract
Thomas Jefferson Foster --editor of The Shenandoah Herald , who hated the
Mollies and repeatedly blasted them in his paper—ironically, Foster supported the WBA
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during the Long Strike: ”The miners and laborers of the Schuylkill Coal Region have made a noble fight. . . “(5/29/1875. quoted in Lewis, p. 121)
April 14, 1874—McAndrew meets McParlan at Cooney’s and went to Coughlin’s
Lofty Saloon, where McParlan was introduced to Alex Campbell , owner of the
Columbia House in Tamaqua, who was bodymaster in Tamaqua, a division chief and second only to Kehoe—later that night, McParlan was inducted into the A.O.H. in a ceremony, Lawler presiding, in a sitting room over the saloon—in his written report,
McParlan gloated that “So you see, victory is won at last.” (quoted Lewis, p. 77)
AOH sign: Q: The Emperor of France and Don Carlos of Spain unite together, the
Pope’s right to maintain.” A:” Will tenant’s rights in Ireland flourish if the people united and the landlords perish?”
In 1874, the first Polish miners arrive, along with a Polish-speaking parish priest near Shenandoah—met Molly Malloy , sister-in-law of James “Powder Keg” Kerrigan , a miner and bodymaster, and begins to go out with Molly
June, 1874—McParlan was appointed secretary of the Shenandoah division of the
AOH, with the support of Lawler, Campbell and Kerrigan—Muff Lawler was the bodymaster, and McParlan the secretary—
August 11, 1874— Gomer James , a Modoc, killed Edward Cosgrove in a fight—though James was acquitted an a trial, Lawler allegedly put out a hit on him
August 13, 1874—two supporters of Father Field, a priest at St. Ignatius in
Centralia, who opposed the Mollies, Michael Lanahan (shot) and Thomas Dougherty
(garroted) were killed—called by Columbia County coroner as “death at the hands of unknown assailants”
McParlan prevents the killing of a Jewish couple in Mananoy City called the
Triers, who owned a tailor’s shop—foils John “The Cat” Mahoney and claims to tell the story to the Triers’ son, Charlie, in Denver, in 1915 or so—met Mahoney in Michael
Clarke’s bar—Clarke was bodymaster in Mahanoy City
October 3, 1874—official “white paper” issued by Bishop Wood, condemning secret societies, with a reference to “ribbonmen” and especially the AOH
October 31, 1874—fire In Mahanoy City, with competition between two fire companies, led to the shootings of Burgess George Major and Dan Dougherty
—Major was shot by Jack McCann , a member of the Wiggans Patch Division, but the wounded
Dougherty was charged with the murder of Major—at a trial in Lebanon County,
Dougherty was acquitted and McCann became a fugitive and disappeared from the area
“I shall run the road. I am through [with] compromise. I have offered everything but the right of the company to operate its own property subject to the laws which created it.” Erie VP James Clarke (3/30/1874) Gutman p. 316
Also lockouts at Cambria Iron Works in Johnston, PA—also the mine operators of Tioga County
Cambria was an enormous power in the area, 75 miles west of Pittsburgh—6,000 men and boys worked the mills and mines in good times, making iron rails—total control of towns—the miners in 1871 negotiated a sliding scale, based on the price for rails-coal had been mined in this area since 1792—semi-bituminous coal near Blossburg, PA—
The “Tioga system” meant that all land and social activities were considered the company’s private right and property—enforced all roads into the area as private ways— company scrip, discounted by 10% if a miner wanted cash—as John Siney stated, “there
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is no law or justice but the law and justice made by the Superintendent.” (1874—quoted
Gutman, p. 330)—a deputy commissioner of mines reported that the operators had created “absolute personal government in the midst of a republic.”(1874.quoted Gutman, p 331)
In 1874, 300 miners joined the newly-established Miners National Association after the Cambria Iron Works cut wages—by 1874, the wages of the non-union iron workers increased 17% but the union miners got only 8%, amidst rumors that the company was to crush the union
In Tioga, the miners created the Miners and Laborers Benevolent Union of
Tioga County, which planned to affiliate with the MNA—in response the company posted iron-clad contracts near each mine shaft—the State BLS official tried to intercede, offering a compromise by the operators rejected “any public interference by any officer of the state.”
A key issue in the Tioga lockout was the support of the community, which the iron workers of Johnstown did not have—challenged the eviction proceedings—drew comparisons to slavery and prevented the operators from hiring scabs during the strike— in March, 1874, when work picked up, the operators rehired the strikers and recognized the union
Tioga and Johnstown went separate ways: Johnstown remained non-union and the working conditions were terrible, with repeated pay cuts, but in Tioga, the union survived for several years until the next panic, when the lack of funds and work made it impossible to maintain
Whole issue of “secret societies”—the Ancient Order of Hibernians was formed as Irish immigrants arrived in the US—as typical ethnic society—at the same time, the
Ku Klux Klan was being organized, on the same structure, in response to the refusal of
“government” to protect “human rights”
In Cambria, the mine general Manager Daniel J. Morrell created hysteria by claiming that he had received Ku-Klux letters that warned him “to prepare for death.”— also hired 100 “special policemen” to protect the mines—creates the pattern of accusations of violence, secrecy and anti-American that was used against the Mollies and enforced by private armies—the Johnston Tribune stated that “labor writers and orators are, one and all of them, apologists for crime.” (7/1874. quoted Gutman, p.336)
October, 1874: Bishop Wood of PA stated “The Molly Maguires is a society rendered infamous by its treachery and deeds of blood—the terror of every neighborhood in which it existed . . . the disgrace of Irishmen . . . the scandal of the Catholic Church . .
.” (quoted Lewis, p. 10)
December 4, 1874—beginning of The Long Strike, called by John Siney— operators reduced wages 10-20%--the real goal was to wreck the Miners and Laborers
Benevolent Association , the successor to the WBA—10,000 miners involved
December 18, 1874—mine watchman Frederick Hesser, coroner in Shamokin, was murdered at work
March, 1875—Edward Coyle, a union leader and AOH chief, was killed at the
Plank Colliery, which belonged to The Reading—a mine boss, Patrick Vary, fired into a group of strikers—vigilantes roamed the patches
Random violence as the strike gets worse—Gowen sent armed guards on all freight and passenger trains, hired scabs—
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Whole issue of state militia—in some areas it was friendly to the strikers, as was
Governor John Hartranft , who refused to allow the railroad to call directly for militia—had to come as a request from the county sheriff, who was finally “persuaded” by the railroad to call for help (cf. Frank Murphy) in June, 1875—eventually there were
1,800 militia and an artillery group with 30 pieces of cannon in Susquehanna Depot, with a population of 8,000, to proclaim martial law—no one could even walk on company property without a special pass—refused to take back the leaders and threatened to move the depot to Elmira, collapsing community support—the militia cost the state $25,000. since soldiers received salary for a half month, though they really served only 5-6 days)—by military power, the Erie regain control of Susquehanna Depot
May, 1875—mines begin to reopen as the strike dissipates—Gowen was delighted because the union had been smashed
June 3, 1875-confrontation at Glover’s Hill to pull out scabs—miners led by
McParlan—state sent militia
June 8, 1875—union makes last effort to reach a settlement, but Gowen refused— cut wages 20%, blacklisted all of the leaders—the mines become armed camps
AOH plans two actions during the Long Strike:
 revenge on William “Bully Boy” Thomas, a friend of George Major, and a
Modoc, who vowed, with Major’s two brothers, Jesse and William, to kill
Dan Dougherty for George Major’s death
 revenge on Gomer Jones, for killing Edward Cosgrove
June 28, 1875—four men, John Gibbons, John Morris, Thomas Hurley and
Michael Doyle (members of the Shenandoah Divison, AOH, with Lawler as Bodymaster) went to Mahanoy City to ambush “Bully Boy” Thomas—they shoot Thomas at work but don’t kill him—Thomas was able to identify Gibbons and Hurley to Captain Linden
July 5, 1875—murder of Benjamin Yost , a cop in Tamaqua---a German and a
Mason, he was the brother-in-law of Dan Shepp , the richest man in Tamaqua—Shepp was a great friend to Kerrigan, who later became a rat—in March, 1875, Yost had arrested and beaten in jail Thomas Duffy , who vowed revenge, supported by Alex
Campbell and Kerrigan—Lewis claims a deal was worked out with James Roarity , the bodymaster from Coaldale, to have him get rid of Yost if the Shenandoah men killed
John P. Jones , the general superintendent of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Co., who had fired and blacklisted Hugh McGehan, who then volunteered, along with James
Boyle and John Carroll and Kerrigan—they shot Yost as he extinguished a street light---a key murder, for which they were later convicted
July 13, 1875—McParlan wrote a 44-page report from his room at Cooney’s in
Shenandoah—asks to be relieved of his assignment
August 14, 1875—a miner Billy B. Love (alias) kills Squire Thomas Gwyther, an aged Welsh Justice of the Peace—Love flees and was never seen again
August 14, 1875—killed Gomer Jones, in retribution for the murder of Edward
Cosgrove at the annual picnic of the Shenandoah Rescue Hook & Ladder Company— murdered by Thomas Hurley —witnessed by 13-year-old Patrick Scanlon, who gave testimony to Barrett, with the promise not to release the info until after Scanlon died, which he did on December 7, 12948—Barrett then prints the story in The Herald
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August 15, 1875—Tom Foster started a new newspaper in Shenandoah, The
Daily Herald , and urged vigilante action—“Lamp post elevation”—McParlan estimated that there were 8,000 residents of Shenandoah, 1,500 Irishmen and 40 AOH members
August 29, 1875— Michael J. Doyle and Edward Kelly traveled to Tamaqua, at
Kerrigan’s direction, to plan the murder of James P. Jones, and wait in Carroll’s saloon— joined by Condy Trimble—they prepare the case and then on September 3, 1875, kill
Jones on the main street in Lansford—chased by a posse as they fled toward Tamaqua and eventually captured Kerrigan, Doyle and Kelly--put into jail in Mauch Chunk
Hysteria followed, with Foster’s newspaper fanning the flames—coffin notices, armed groups, rewards, denunciations by priests of the Mollies, anti-Catholic mania—
Captain Linden stays in Shenandoah to organize the vigilantes
September 1, 1875—murders of Thomas Sanger , a superintendent of a nonunion Heaton Colliery in Raven Run, a patch of 300 residents, and William Uren , both
English bosses—McParlan fingered James Doyle, Charles McAllister, Tom Munley,
Charles O’Donnell and Friday O’Donnell—Foster fans the hysteria in
The Herald by calling for “swift retribution” against “an organized secret body of assassins . . .driving out every boss whom they may dislike. Nothing remains but to take the law in our own hands and drive out the men who are known to be at the bottom of murders in this district. . .” (quoted Lewis, p. 159-160)
James Riles , a saloonkeeper in Shenandoah, is targeted for refusing to provide alibis, and is shot once and leaves the area—another target was August Gable , boss carpenter at Gowen’s West Shenandoah Colliery, who had fired several Irish miners—
The Coal and Iron Police surrounded his house as protection
September 24, 1875—an attempted murder in Audenried of James O’Brien, a miner, was overturned by and Fred Brink, a Coal and Iron cop, who shot Charles McCool and arrested four others—McParlan feared his role would be exposed
September 26, 1875—McParlan ordered to Tamaqua to intimidate witnesses in the Jones murder but he warns the potential victims, who get protection
Ocotber, 1875—series of retributions—breaker owned by Dan Shepp burned, vigilantes take over Shenandoah to terrorize everyone while searching for the mollies— almost capture Tom Hurley—marauding mobs, one of them Welshmen, led by a friend of
Gomer Jones, who shot up Muff Lawler’s saloon
The Herald editorialized :”There is a band of outlaws with the above name [Molly
Maguires] infesting Schuylkill County, who if justice were meted out to them, would be hanging higher than Haman . . .when these foreigners come to this country and undertake to tamper with our free institutions . . .then it is time for an uprising on the part of the people . . .for the purpose of exterminating these brutal and ignorant scoundrels.” (quoted in Lewis, p. 184)
December 9, 1875—false rumors around Mahanoy City that Robert Heaton and two witnesses to the Sanger-Uren murders had been killed by an imported man— reputedly a cousin of the O’Donnells named Patrick O’Donnell, from Donegal, nicknamed “The Avenger,”who was later hanged in London for killing an informer on a steam in south Africa--
December 9, 1875—murder of
Charles O’Donnell
at Wiggan’s Patch, near
Mahanoy City as part of a massacre by armed vigilantes—both his daughter and young
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son were slaughtered--tied up James Blair and John Purcell—killed the wife of Charles
McAllister, who fled,
Gowen now takes a more active role, desperately (and unsuccessfully) trying to connect the Mollies to the WBA—begins pressing McParlan to become a public witness—wants to start with Kerrigan, Doyle and Kelly, who are still in jail— The Herald screams for revenge for the Yost and Jones murders
January 18, 1876—first trial, Commonwealth v Michael J. Doyle for the murder of James Jones—a lawyer from the Lehigh Valley Railroad Co was “loaned” to the prosecution—McParlan is designated by Kehoe to go around the hard coal country, raising funds for Kelly’s defense—still sent daily reports
Mary Ann Kerrigan is now worried about what her husband, Powderkeg, might do—as Doyle’s trial progresses, a number of witnesses identify both Doyle and
Kerrigan—as Kerrigan is afraid for his life, after accounts from a jailer that Kerrigan was trying to fix witnesses, McParlan visits Dan Shepp and admits his real identity—at 5 a.m. the next morning, Kerrigan made the first of his many confessions to Shepp, always claiming to be an innocent bystander—
February 1, 1876—jury convicts Doyle of first-degree murder
Kerrigan makes a 210-page confession, especially mentioning Alex Doyle as “the biggest villain in the whole gang; he was cognizant of the murder of Yost, and for the purpose of having Jones Killed, he supplied Carroll with the men to kill Yost.” (quoted in
Lewis, p. 220)
Gowen ordered 17 murder warrants issued, and on February 5, 1876, all of the leaders are arrested—Alex Campbell, Joames Roarity, Hugh McGehan, James Boyle,
James Carroll and Thomas Duffy are charged with the murder of Yost—later the next day, warrants issued for Tom Munley, Thomas Hurley, Jimmy Doyle, Charles McAlister and Friday O’Donnell for the Sanger and Uren murders—Hurley and McAlister were captured, but Doyle fled and Hurley went to the Colorado gold fields, where he cut his throat in 1880, rather than submit to a warrant to return to Schuylkill County—
Suspicion now raised about McParlan
Lewis admits that Gowen’s real motive was to create area of investment for
London financiers, for whom “Molly Maguire and “union agitator” were synonymous— started what Kenny calls “the showcase trials of 1876” (p. 271)
March 27, 1876—trial of Edward Kelly for murder of John P. Jones--convicted
May, 1876—trial for the murder of Benjamin Yost—Carroll, Roarity, Boyle,
MeGehan and Duffy—Gowen was the prosecutor and simultaneous ordered the arrest of
Kehoe and eight others, using McParlan’s info, for the murder of “Bully Boy” Thomas— all Catholics excluded from the jury—both Kerrigan and McParlan testify for the prosecution, and McParlan was “a superb witness” during three full days of testimony
(Lewis, p. 249) and “That McParlan was telling the truth was now generally admitted by all classes in the community. Very few even of known “Mollies” longer denied it. He was recognized not only as a truthful witness, but as a fair, cautious, unprejudiced one; appreciating, if not to an unusual at least to the full extent, the sanctity of an oath.”
(Depees, p. 310) witnesses for the Mollies were then arrested for perjury
June 21, 1876—Alex Campbell arraigned for being “an accessory before the fact” in the murder of John P. Jones—for allegedly helping in the planning-- in the murder of
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John P. Jones—found guilty on July 1, 1876, by a jury of 11 Dutchmen and one
Welshman after Gowen’s oration on “premeditated murder”–Judge Samuel S. Dreher, who had already sentenced Kelly and Doyle for the same crime—even though several witnesses testified that Kelly, Doyle and Kerrigan had not visited Campbell’s tavern the night before the murder, Campbell was convicted, “represented a major triumph for the prosecution and an ominous precedent for the other Molly Maguires awaiting trial.”
(Kenny, p. 220)--Judge Pershing also ruled that only prosecution witnesses would be paid fees
July 1, 1876—trial of Tom Munley and Charles McAllister for the Sanger/Uren murders, while Campbell’s trial was going on—McAllister requested separate trial, so
Munley was tried from June 27-July 12, 1876 before a jury of Germans—only
McParlan’s testimony was available to tie Munley to the crime, so the question was whether the rat’s uncorroborated testimony would stand up, in the face of witnesses from
Munley’s family who testified that he was home on the night of the murder—when the jury found him guilty in one day of first-degree murder, leaving the witnesses open to charges of perjury—Munley had emigrated from County Mayo in 1864 and, as with
Campbell, on august 28, 1876, was sentenced to death (Kenny, p. 221)
January, 1877—Reading’s annual report stated: “A landed estate of two hundred and fifty square miles had to be taken from the control of an irresponsible trade-union, and its inhabitants rescued from the domination of a oath-bound association of murderers.
. . . After more than four years of the most earnest and unremitting labor, the Company has been entirely successful in reclaiming its property. The labor unions have been practically dissolved; and it is truly believed that the great majority of the miners and laborers of the coal fields have been changed from enemies into friends and adherents of the Company.” (quoted Broehl, p. 349)
May, 1877-when Gowen went to England for a a meeting of the stockholders,
Thomas Wilde Powell stated, in introducing him:” [Gowen] had the difficult task two or three years ago of attacking one of the most terrible and unscrupulous bodies of trades’ union bullies and assassins that ever infected any region in the world. . . . [he] broke up that loathsome combination. The result is that he now has contented set of men at work, who are satisfied with their employers, and that there now exists a reign of contentment and happiness where formerly there existed a reign of terror, bullying, burning and assassination.” (quoted Broehl, p. 348)
June 21, 1877—The Day of the Rope/Black Thursday—10 men hanged, the largest mass execution in US history:
Mauch Chunk: Alex Campbell (Morgan Powell, John P. Jones)
Michael J. Doyle (John P. Jones),
John Donohue (Morgan Powell)
Edward Kelly (John P. Jones)
Pottsville: James Boyle (Benjamin Yost)
James Carroll (Benjamin Yost)
Thomas Duffy (Benjamin Yost),
Hugh McGehan (Banjamin Yost)
Tom Munley (Sanger/Uren)
James Roarity (Benjamin Yost)
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March 25, 1878—Bloomsburg: Patrick Hester (Alexander Rea)
Peter McHugh (Alexander Rea)
Patrick Tully (Alexander Rea)
The first executions in the history of Columbia County
March 28, 1878—Mauch Chunk: Thomas Fisher (Morgan Powell)
June 13, 1878--Pottsville: Dennis Donnelly (Sanger/Uren)
December 18, 1878: Pottsville: Jack Kehoe (Frank Langdon)—there were extensive appeals for pardon and clemency, and Hartranft waited until after the fall election (when Powderly was elected Mayor of Scranton) to sign the death warrant— when a new witness claimed that Kehoe had not been present at the Langdon beating, the
Pardon Board met on December 17 but refused to reopen the case
January 14, 1879—Mauch Chunk: James McDonnell (George K. Smith)
Charles Sharp (George K. Smith)—in this case,
Governor Hartranft issued a reprieve which arrived just as the hanging took place—he dallied around before making his decision
January 16, 1879—Pottsville: Martin Bergin (Patrick Burns)
October 9, 1879—Sunbury: Peter McManus (Frederick Hesser) John O’Neil had also been convicted of this murder but, at the last moment, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment “on the grounds that he was feeble-minded.” (Quoted Kenny, p. 276) in all, 19 were hung, the last in January, 1879, just before the commutation letter arrived
Dewees stated :” [The Molly organization] was a school for criminals, and many of its pupils are still at large. That school is now closed, it is hoped forever. . . .They are a class of criminals whose origin is traced to another land, and who are imbued with ideas and prejudices for which there is no shadow of foundation in this country.” (p. 353-354)
As the K of L organized, however, with its strong Irish leadership-Powderly, who had toured the country in support of the Land League, which combined Irish nationalism with labor radicalism, was elected Mayor of Scranton in 1878--Pinkerton accused the
Knights of being “an amalgamation of the Molly Maguires and the Commune.” (quoted
Kenny, p. 281)—also the K of L was, at the beginning, a secret organization, and opposed by the Catholic Church
Note : there is even a disagreement on the proper spelling of the group. Lewis uses
“Molly” while Pinkerton uses “Mollie.”
A.O.H.
Girardville-Jack Kehoe
Mahanoy City—Mickey Clarke
Tamaqua/Storm Hill—Alex Campbell & John Carroll
Shenandoah—Muff Lawler/Pkeg Kerrigan/McParlan
Coaldale—James Roarity
Lost Creek—Pat Butler
Mount Lafee—Jerry Kane
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