Surviving in a New Land
Jane is a woman who survived many tragedies and losses. We also know that she was born in Ireland but when she arrived in the United States is a mystery. Best guess is that she arrived sometime around 1850 when so many Irish were fleeing the results of a famine and poverty.
Jane's first husband was David Kelly (Abt 1833-1865) and they had six children. She had one more son from a second marriage after David died, but I am getting ahead of myself.
Jane's first child, Melvin, was born in Philadelphia in 1852. By the time their second child, William, came along two years later they were in Pittsburgh and David was working in the coal mines. The rest of their children (David, Isabell, Mary Jane & Sarah) were born in the Pittsburgh area and grew up in a coal patch.
Life in the Coal Patch
What was life in the coal patch like? Well most of the coal miners worked six days a week 10-12 hour days. This would leave Jane to look after all six children, take care of the house they rented and all other household chores.
The house in the coal patch was usually a duplex with two rooms on the first floor and two rooms on the second floor. There was usually a stove downstairs and an outhouse out back. The Coal Company would provide the housing but the miner would still pay a rent for housing. The houses for coal miners versus those for those employed in trade positions would be in the less desirable areas of the patch like near the railroad.
The coal patch would have a store, schools, medical care and a church. Therefore, the children would often receive an education. Life in the patch would be filled with hardships and worry but also with holidays and the celebrations that come with life.
Tragedy Strikes
In 1865, Jane experienced a tragedy that would cause insecurity for her and her children. David was killed one evening walking home from the local pub. He was assisting another man near the railroad tracks when they were both struck and killed by the train. This event would have placed Jane and her children at risk of losing their housing. Housing in the coal patch is for miners and if a miner dies or is not able to work anymore they would generally have 30 days to vacate.
Jane is now left without a miner in the home and with six children to continue to provide for. As far as we know, Jane has only lived in the coal patch. Does she know anyone nearby the patch that could help? We don't know but what we do know is that her son, Melvin, started to work in a nearby mine and they moved to a new coal patch.
Another Move
Now as children will, Melvin grew up and fell in love. He married in 1872 and eventually had six children of his own. This change for Melvin along with a tragic event for another coal miner triggered a change for Jane as well.
A fellow coal miner lost his wife when the stove exploded leaving him with eight children and no help. It wasn't uncommon for residents of the coal patch to marry one another without even meeting or knowing each other when the need arose. At the age of 37 Jane married Andrew Kettering and had another son, Samuel, in 1873.
In June of 1872 Jane's children, William, David & Isabell, were placed under the guardianship of a James Petty. It wasn't unusual for children to go into homes or given to others due to financial constraints. Jane's new husband did the same thing with his daughter Emma.
The Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette reports that there was trouble between David his brother Melvin and their step-father, Andrew Kettering, in November 1872. There was a complaint made by Andrew in front of an alderman stating that David and Melvin were threatening his life and that they were in the possession of pistols.
By 1880, Jane, Andrew, her daughter, Mary Jane, and Samuel are living in another coal patch. Meanwhile her sons, Melvin and David are working in the coal mines. William is working for the railroad at the Carrie Furnace (part of the steel industry) but may have spent sometime in the mines before that. Her youngest daughter Sarah has died prior to the 1880 census.
More Tragedy
Sometime in 1893 her son Samuel died at the age of 20.
In 1898, her grandson, William, died at the age of 15 to injuries incurred in the mine. Her son, William, died at the age of 43 by being crushed between cars. He worked as a brakeman for the railroad at the Carrie Furnace.
That same year she also died. Was if of a broken heart from the tragic losses of her children and grandchild? We don't know, all we know is she endured much in her 63 years. She left her home country of Ireland which itself had been a place of turmoil. Did she leave behind a sister, mother, father? Perhaps one day we may learn what her life was like before she came to America.
Until then, as I am with many of my grandmothers I am humbled by her sacrifice and resilience. Thank you Grandma Jane!
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