Mother Jones

Dedication Born of Tragedy

In 1861, Mary wed George Jones; the couple went on to have four children. George was a member of the Iron Moulders Union, which presented Mary with a glimpse into union life and politics. Sadly, George and all four children succumbed to a yellow fever epidemic that swept Memphis in 1867. After the death of her family, Mary returned to Chicago, where she resumed work as a dressmaker. Mary's services as a dressmaker were often sought after by aristocratic families; for Mary, this heightened the contradictions between the poverty of the workers and their families living off the wealth gained from the labor of workers. In 1871, tragedy struck again when the Great Chicago Fire burned much of the city, leaving thousands homeless—including Mary.

With few options for shelter, Mary spent many evenings listening to the speakers in a hall where the Knights of Labor held meetings. The Knights of Labor, the precursor organization to the Industrial Workers of the World, was made up of soldiers from both sides of the Civil War who had come together to tackle the social issues and problems arising from the growth of industrialization in America.

From approximately 1880 onward, Mary became immersed in and dedicated to the labor movement, first in Chicago and then on a national scale. It was during this time that Mary was bestowed with the title Mother Jones—the miner's angel. Mother Jones had become renowned for her ability to motivate workers, often when hope had deteriorated over the course of a long strike. She also gained a reputation for her ability to organize meetings against all odds, for holding meetings in places where meetings were forbidden, and for being able to broker deals between parties thought to be too far apart to [Page 843]find common ground. Mother Jones is famous for breaking new ground by organizing support among women and children during strikes in order to keep up the morale of the striking workers and deter workers from crossing picket lines, as well as to disrupt and agitate against the use of “scab” labor during strikes.

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