Mary Jones: the ‘Mother’ of West Virginia unions

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — Union movements in early 20th century America were often disputes that threw the lives of those involved into turmoil. However, there was one woman who, despite the pushback, made it her life’s mission to help these unions flourish, including in West Virginia.

Born in Cork County, Ireland, sometime before August 1, 1837 , Mary Harris “Mother” Jones spent most of her life fighting for the poor and working classes.

Spending her early years in Canada, she moved around America working as a teacher and a dressmaker. After losing her husband, a member of the Iron Molders Union , and four children to an epidemic of yellow fever in 1867, she dressed only in black for the remainder of her life.

She moved to Chicago to continue her dressmaking work, but lost everything to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and decided to travel the country.

Spurred by the support she received from the Knights of Labor, Jones helped industrial worker movements and fought against child labor wherever she went. With her focus eventually turning towards miners, the United Mine Workers and others began to call her “Mother Jones.” She didn’t just seek support from the workers themselves, but also rallied their wives and children.

Jones spent most of the latter half of her life supporting unions and leading strikes, which would often lead to personal attacks and threats as well as banishment from towns or imprisonment, but she never mellowed.

In 1902, Jones helped Kanawha Valley coal miners organize , but their efforts proved fruitless and she soon went west to help other movements. Then in 1912, she returned to West Virginia after Paint Creek and Cabin Creek miners ran into trouble . The state was soon put under martial law.

In 1913, Jones was arrested in Charleston and moved to a military prison in the town of Pratt. After facing various charges, including conspiracy to commit murder and inciting riots , she was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by a military court.

Eventually, an agreement was made with miners, though not all of their demands were met. Jones was able to smuggle a pleading message out to Indiana Senator John Kerns, who was looking to open an investigation into the situation in West Virginia, which he read aloud to the Senate.

After 85 days of imprisonment, Jones and others were pardoned and released. She continued to travel and help West Virginia miners, though she opposed the march on Logan County that would lead to the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921, correctly believing that the march would result in a lot of bloodshed.

On November 30, 1930, Jones passed away in Maryland at the age of 100. More than 30,000 people attended her funeral and she was buried in the United Mine Workers Cemetery in Mount Olive, Illinois.

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