
On the eve of the Labor Day Weekend, I would like to introduce you to Mary Harris Jones, more commonly referred to as Mother Jones. Mother Jones was a fearless union organizer. At one time she was called the most dangerous woman in America. It is thought that the American Classic song,”She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain” was written to honor her and to this day there is a magazine that investigates and reports injustice titled Mother Jones.
Mary Harris Jones, or “Mother Jones”, was born to a tenant farmer in Cork, Ireland, in 1837. Her family fled the potato famine when she was just 10, resettling in Toronto. She trained to be a teacher and took a job in Memphis, where on the eve of the Civil War she married a union foundry worker and started a family. But in 1867, a yellow fever epidemic swept through the city, taking the lives of her husband and all four children. A widow at 30, she moved to Chicago and built a successful dressmaking business – only to lose everything in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Jones then threw herself into the city’s bustling labor movement, where she worked in obscurity for the next 20 years. By the turn of the century, she emerged as a charismatic speaker and one of the country’s leading labor organizers, co-founding the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).
She traveled the country to wherever there was labor struggle, sometimes evading company security by wading the riverbed into town, earning her the nickname “The Miner’s Angel.” She used storytelling, the Bible, humor, and even coarse language to reach a crowd. She said: “I asked a man in prison once how he happened to be there and he said he had stolen a pair of shoes. I said if he had stolen a railroad, he would be a United States Senator.” Jones also had little patience for hesitation, volunteering to lead a strike “if there were no men present.” A passionate critic of child labor, she organized a children’s march from Philadelphia to the home of Theodore Roosevelt in Oyster Bay, New York with banners reading, “We want to go to school and not the mines!” At the age of 88, she published a first-person account of her time in the labor movement called The Autobiography of Mother Jones (1925). She died at the age of 93 and is buried at a miners’ cemetery in Mt. Olive, Illinois.
She said: “Whatever the fight, don’t be ladylike.”

MARY HARRIS JONES YOU ROCK!
The information in this post first appeared in the The Writer’s Almanac.
I invite you to share a link to your story of an inspiring woman.
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What an incredible woman, Bernadette, with such a tragic early life. It is amazing how she rose up and overcome these obstacles.
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It does seem that some of the most unselfish people have overcome great tragedy.
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Bernadette, thank you for this post – what an inspiring, formidable lady! I felt so for her and the loss of her entire family when young and then her whole business, she must have felt like giving up by then but instead persevered to help so many across the whole country. A fantastic entry for your Friday Feminist series! Wishing you peaceful weekend! 😀❤️
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Thanks Annika for your support and comment.
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Thank you for this one, Bernadette. Strong women all, I believe – but some are more “out there” than others and have taken on bigger challenges. I echo Robbie’s comment and shall have to locate a copy of The Autobiography of Mother Jones.
xx,
mgh
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Thank you Madelyn. Enjoy your weekend.
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You too, Bernadette – from one strong woman to another. 🙂
xx,
mgh
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Bernadette, I can at first only utter…WOW, to your tale about this wonderful lady ‘ Mary Harris Jones’. What a rich and strong life! The courage and clarity in all she does.
It is so much greater when you hear about her dramatic sorrows and misfortunes.
You, Bernadette and Mary Harris has inspired me this morning.
Thank you
Miriam 😊🦋
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Miriam thank you for your wonderful comment.
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Reading that actually made me shiver. Shiver with sadness for what Mother Jones endured in her early life – imagine moving from Cork to Toronto, let alone then going to Memphis and raising four children only to lose them all to Yellow Fever (not to mention your husband too). But the shiver of sadness turns to a shiver of overwhelming admiration for one woman who simply would not give up. That she channeled her emotion into the good of others makes me weep with joy. Mother Jones is a reminder to us all that we can if we will and that the only thing holding us back is ourself. Thank you Bernadette … you have lifted up my day with gratitude.
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Thank you friend. As I said earlier it does seem the women who have survived the fire become the most generous and heroic.
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Bernadette–what a great post about a woman I had never heard of before. I absolutely love her determination and her strength. Thanks for sharing such a strong woman with us today!
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Thank you for your comment. It is fun when I am told I have introduced a new person to the people who follow this column.
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Thank you thank you. I’m reading this first thing on a Friday morning and first of all ashamed that I never knew really who Mother Jones was. Second of all then I got angry that this woman and her work were never taught in either my history classes nor my children’s. Third, I’m thankful to you for educating us all about this incredible woman. Inner and outer strength. Wow ❤️
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Thank you for your thoughtful comment. It encourages me to keep working on Herstory.
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You make a difference! Thanks..❤️
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What a great story about Mother Jones. She is truly inspirational. I’ll leave a link honoring my nurse colleagues on this Labor Day Weekend.
http://www.shallowreflections.com/hard-registered-nurse/
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Thank you for reading and commenting. But thank you most of all of for leaving a link for stories about other women. We can never have too many.
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Another amazing woman with the strength to stand her ground. Thank you for sharing, Bernadette.
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Thank you for all your support.
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Reblogged this on All About Writing and more.
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Wow, Bernadette. What a life of tragedy, strength, and determination. I read Mother Jones magazine and knew a little about her from that but not the personal details. Her fight continues beyond her death. Thanks for sharing Mary’s story.
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What a wonderful lesson of the story of Mother Jones. The great truth is, and always has been, we are all created equal. No matter who you are , a man or woman, where you come from, how rich or poor you are , what your religion is , all people on earth are EQUAL. The frustrating question is …Why is this so hard for humans to believe in equality? As John Lennon said so beautifully ….”Imagine”…..
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Debbie, thanks for taking the time to make this very true and heartfelt comment. Yes, Imagine..,
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It ‘s nice to hear of those who fought against child labor. I love her quote, “I asked a man in prison once how he happened to be there and he said he had stolen a pair of shoes. I said if he had stolen a railroad, he would be a United States Senator” powerful, with a tinge of humor. Love it! Thank you for sharing her story Bernadette.
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what an amazing woman-she had the heart of a warrior . .and a saint.
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Goodness Bernadette she was surely a very special lady. I loved the shoes and railway quote. 🌼🌼🌼
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