It’s clear to me that I’ve adopted the work ethic of the generations before me, but while I would self-identify more closely with the term “middle class,” I’d make the distinction that my ancestors were true “working class” citizens. While we both may have put in grueling 8-16 hour days, their jobs certainly appeared to require more brute strength and manual work on average than any of my desk jobs. I do not envy their hard work. I especially do not envy some of their extremely dangerous tasks and projects.
Harry Samuel Millhouse, abt. 1983, Millhouse family reunion at Ben Williams’ house.
Week 36: Working
My maternal great grandfather, Harry Samuel Millhouse, was one of the men in my family tree who took on the risks of working in active mines and mills. The earliest record I have of Harry’s employment history comes from his World War I draft registration card signed on 12 September 1918. He reported his occupation as a laborer for National Tube. He was only 20 years old and had just gotten married to my great grandmother, Annie Diamond Williams, that March.
Ancestry.com, Harry Samuel Millhouse WWI draft registration card, Marshall County, West Virginia, U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005; Family History Library microfilm; United States, Selective Service System, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, M1509, 4,582 rolls.
National Tube was located in Benwood, West Virginia, just north of Harry and Annie’s home in McMechen. It specialized in creating tubular goods for piping natural gas, plumbing, and other industrial innovations of the time. According to AbandonedOnline.net, it had also constructed a 500-ton blast furnace to reduce its dependence on Carnegie Steel for raw materials, and it was capable of producing 1.25 million gross tons of pipe and boiler tubes. That level of output in the early 1900s tells you Harry must have had some rough days at work. Plus, we’re left to speculate how and when his thumb and finger were chopped off on his left hand, as noted on his draft card.
In 1930, Harry was working as a laborer in a steel mill, but by 1940 he had moved on to working in a coal mine. A coal miner’s job is the furthest you could possibly get from a cushioned career. Not only is it practically guaranteed that you will leave each shift covered in filth and reeking of dirt, it’s in no way guaranteed you’ll leave your shift at all. Mines can be unpredictable, and explosions are sadly bound to happen. And Benwood became the location of the third worst mining disaster in the state’s history.
The Independent-Herald, “An Appalling Disaster at Benwood Mine,” 1 May 1924, Hinton, West Virginia, USA, p.1.
Luckily for Harry, he did not meet a tragic fate on the job. However, he was worked to the bone. The 1940 U.S. federal census shows Harry was operating the lower station of an electrical division coal company. He worked on hourly wages, had been employed consistently for the previous 52 weeks, and admitted to the enumerator that he had worked 70 hours in just the previous week. In 1948, life slowed down for him a bit and his work hours were cut down to 8 hours a day, but he did get a raise in July of that year. His wages went up to $14 for 8 hours of work.
Annie Diamond (Williams) Millhouse, personal diary entry, 15 Apr 1954, privately held by Kira D. Foltz.
Harry eventually called it quits at the mines and officially retired in November of 1961.
Annie Diamond (Williams) Millhouse, personal diary entry, 3 Nov 1961, privately held by Kira D. Foltz.
Annie Diamond (Williams) Millhouse, personal diary entry, 4 Nov 1961, privately held by Kira D. Foltz.
A few years later, in 1968, he and Annie celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary! A short write-up appeared about them in the local paper, and it mentioned he was a retired employee of Hitchman Coal Company in Benwood.
Unknown newspaper, “Golden Anniversary Celebrations,” 1968, Benwood Hill, West Virginia.
Hitchman Coal made headlines for another reason, too. Back on 18 May 1942, a heavy explosion occurred there, taking the lives of five men. It was the second coal mine blast in West Virginia that week. There is now a monument on the site honoring the men who died that day. It’s a blessing Harry Millhouse was not among them.
The Leader, “McMechen Mine Blast Claims Lives of Three,” 21 May 1942, Hinton, West Virginia, USA, p.7.
The Raleigh Register “Mine Inspector Blamed for Blast,” 28 May 1942, Beckley, West Virginia, USA, p.6.
It’s no wonder steel and coal miners were forced to rally together and form unions. Their health and working conditions have always been at such high stakes. Their lives are actually on the line each day they clock in. Harry belonged to the United Mine Workers of America, and rightly so. I am fortunate in the fact that my job — though at times quite stressful and taxing — has not taken such a physical toll on me or my coworkers to have the need to form a union. Regardless, I appreciate the dedication Harry and so many of my other ancestors displayed when it came to making a living. Researching their sacrifices also helps me put my daily working situation into perspective.
Annie Diamond (Williams) Millhouse, personal diary entry, undated, inside front cover, privately held by Kira D. Foltz.
Comments
Post a Comment