Born May 1, 1830
Cork, Ireland
Died November 30, 1930
Silver Springs, Maryland
Labor organizer
As a child of Irish rebels, Mary Harris “Mother” Jones grew up understanding the injustices suffered by the poor at the hands of the powerful. She married a union organizer in 1861 and, after losing her husband and four children to yellow fever in 1867, moved to Chicago, Illinois, and became active in the labor movement. At various times affiliated with the Knights of Labor, the Industrial Workers of the World, and the United Mine Workers, Jones was, above all, an independent, unstoppable, and fiery agitator. A self-described “hellraiser,” Jones defied police officers, judges, and corporate bosses in her unwavering support for the rights of mine workers, textile workers, and child laborers.
“Mother” Jones was born Mary Harris on May 1, 1830, in Cork Ireland. (Some historians dispute that birth date, claiming she was really born closer to 1840.) Mary grew up in rural Ireland. Her parents were tenant farmers who worked the land of a wealthy estate owner. They were active in the Irish resistance to British rule. Jones stated in her autobiography, “I was born in revolution.” Jones’s father, Robert Harris, was forced to flee Ireland in 1835 after participating in a violent uprising of tenant farmers against the landlord.
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