John Siney (1831-1880)
St. Clair, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Pioneering labor organizer and leader of the Workingmen's Benevolent Association (WBA) of Schuylkill County, a union of anthracite mineworkers. Formed nearby in 1868, WBA had 20,000 members in 22 districts; secured state mine safety laws and the first labor contract in the industry. Siney was president of the Miners National Association and was active in the Greenback Labor Party.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In the anthracite coal fields of Schuylkill County, miners worked one of the most dangerous jobs in 19th-century America, and John Siney rose to become one of the movement's pioneering voices. The Workingmen's Benevolent Association he helped lead, formed nearby in 1868, grew to 20,000 members and won some of the industry's first mine-safety laws and its first labor contract. Siney went on to head the Miners National Association and championed the Greenback Labor Party.
Why it matters
The struggles of anthracite miners like those Siney organized laid groundwork for the American labor movement, helping establish the idea that workers could bargain collectively for safety and fair wages.
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Related people
- · John Siney
Related events
- · Workingmen's Benevolent Association
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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In the early 19th century, Pennsylvania's anthracite fields held some of the hardest, cleanest-burning coal in America — but it was worthless without a way to move it. The Schuylkill Navigation Company answered that problem, completing a 108-mile canal from Philadelphia up to Port Carbon in 1828. For a quarter century this spot marked the canal's northern end, where coal from the surrounding mountains began its journey to the industrial cities of the eastern seaboard.
Molly Maguire Executions
Pottsville, PA · est. 2006
On June 21, 1877—a day remembered in the anthracite region as 'Black Thursday'—six Irish immigrant mineworkers accused of belonging to the secret society known as the Molly Maguires were hanged here, with four more executed the same day at Mauch Chunk. The convictions rested largely on the testimony of Pinkerton detective James McParlan, who had infiltrated the coalfields on behalf of powerful mining and railroad interests. To this day historians debate the guilt of the accused, the fairness of the trials, and even whether the organization truly existed.
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Pottsville, PA · est. 1982
Carved from Northampton and Berks counties in 1811 and named for the river that drains it, Schuylkill County sits atop the southern anthracite field. Pottsville, its seat, grew from a frontier borough in 1828 into a coal-boom city by 1911. Through the 19th century, hard coal mined here was hauled by canal and rail to fuel the furnaces and homes of the industrializing East.
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In the mid-1920s the Pottsville Maroons carried this small coal-region town into the young National Football League, and in 1925 they compiled a record many considered the league's best. They capped the season by beating a Notre Dame all-star squad in a heavily promoted pro-versus-college game in Philadelphia — only to be denied the NFL title in a bitter league ruling. Strong local loyalty couldn't keep them, and the franchise left for Boston in 1929.