Finding Your Roots

"The night engineer of pumping engine was fired upon by two men from door of engine house, but was not injured.

The two former engineers, James McBrearty and Patrick Devine, had struck against a reduction of wages and the man fired at had taken one of their places."

Okay, what just happened?

It seems here, your great-great-grandfather, Patrick was fired from his job for striking, and along with a former colleague, he shot at the man who had replaced him.

Is this uh, mode of behavior, has it been passed down?

Maybe acting out impulsively, but I try to get, you know, contain that and do it in an imaginary way as an actor.

That's about the most I can do.

I have to ask you, man, what's it like to read that, to think that is your ancestor shooting another man?

Wow, like the... imagine thinking this through.

"This is what we're gonna do."

- Yeah.

- "We're gonna get a gun, we're gonna ambush him."

They had a plan, that's criminal.

Although many Irish miners were arrested during these turbulent years, and some were even executed, it appears that no criminal case was ever brought against Patrick.

So we could only speculate about what he actually did, and whether it was an isolated incident.

It could have been one of many.

I was gonna wonder, like if he did this once, what are we not finding out about whatever he got up to?

What do you make of your great-great grandfather's actions?

Well, I'm gonna gather that he was a very strong headed man, opinionated man, believed in what was right and what was wrong.

Had the wherewithal to stand up.

You're proud of him?

I don't, I mean, look, it's a different time and I don't believe you should fire guns at people to get what you need, but then again, it's not 1875 right now.

It makes me think, I don't know, did it really solve it anything?

Did it help?

Did he feel like he succeeded?

I don't know.

There's no way to answer Brendan's questions, but in the years that followed, the labor movement gained momentum and a relative peace descended on Pennsylvania coal country.

Patrick seems to have benefited from this peace.

The 1900 Census shows him working again in the mines, meaning that somehow he got himself rehired despite having fired shots at his replacement.

Wow.

By the time that census had been recorded, Patrick, your ancestor, had likely been a coal miner for more than 30 years.

As you can see, he and Margaret now had eight children ranging in age from nine to 30, including your great-grandfather Patrick F Divine.

Through his employment in the mines, your great-great grandfather, an immigrant, was able to reach one of the cornerstones of the American dream.

He purchased his own home.

Isn't that amazing?