Mary Harris came to North America as one of the many Irish fleeing famine in their country. She pursued her education and became a schoolteacher.
It was Mary’s marriage to George E. Jones that was the first step in what would change her life forever. George was a member and an organizer of the National Union of Iron Moulders. She would learn about the plights of workers in dangerous situations while employers shrugged responsibility. She became dedicated to their cause.
Mary wouldn’t get involved firsthand until the tragic loss of her husband and three children. She quickly became a mother figure to the many union families she helped rally for just treatment. She earned herself the nickname Mother Jones.
Mary couldn’t have known it, but her voice and her actions would have some of the most lasting effects on miners and their families. Her talents and her fearlessness are only two points of her remarkable legacy.