Topics in Chronicling America - Molly Maguires

An Irish secret society known as the Molly Maguires is thought responsible for a string of violent attacks in the Pennsylvania coal fields. After Pinkerton detective James McParlan goes undercover to join their ranks, 20 Mollies are tried, convicted, and hanged. Read more about it!

Jump to: Sample Articles

Important Dates:

• 1862-1875. Wave of assaults, robberies, and murders attributed to the Molly Maguires.
• January-June 1875. “The Long Strike,” scene of some of the most violent crimes in labor history.
• 1876-1877. Molly Maguire Trials.
• January 21, 1877. Ten Mollies convicted of murder hanged. Known as “Black Thursday” or “Day of the Rope.”
• December 18, 1878. Jack Kehoe, alleged Molly Maguire leader hanged for the murder of mine boss, F. W. Langdon.
• December 15, 1889. The suicide of Franklin B. Gowen, former railroad president leads to conspiracy theories.
• 1911. Pinkerton James McPartlan recounts his infiltration of the Molly Maguires in various newspapers.

Suggested Search Strategies:

• [Try the following terms in combination, proximity, or as phrases using Search Pages in Chronicling America.] Molly Maguire, Mollie Maguire, Molley Maguire, Mollies, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Workingman’s Benevolent Association, McParlan, McParland, Gowen.
• It is important to use a specific date range if looking for articles for a particular event in order to narrow your results.

Sample Articles from Chronicling America:

• "The Molly Maguires," The Evening Telegraph (Philadelphia, PA), March 25, 1867, Fourth Edition, Page 1, Image 1, col. 4.
• "Molly Maguire Assassins," The Daily State Journal (Alexandria, VA), August 14, 1872, Page 1, Image 1, col. 6.
• "Crime in the Coalfields," Sunbury American ( Sunbury, PA) , November 27, 1874, Page 1, Image 1, col. 7.
• "The Labor Strikes in the Anthacite Coal Regions in this State," The Somerset Herald (Somerset, PA), March 03, 1875, Page 2, Image 2, col. 2.
• "The Molly Maguires," The Elk County Advocate (Ridgeway, PA), May 25, 1976, Page 4, Image 4, col. 4.
• "The Molly Maguire Murder Trials," The Columbian (Bloomburg, PA), May 26, 1876, Page 2, Image 2, col. 1.
• "The Great Pennsylvania Executions," New-York Tribune (New York, NY), June 21, 1877, Page 4, Image 4, col. 3.
• "The Undismayed Mollies," The Somerset Herald (Somerset, PA), July 11, 1877, Page 2, Image 2, col. 6.
• "The Gallows!," The Carbon Advocate (Lehighton, PA), June 23, 1877, Page 3, Image 3, col. 3.
• "The Two Jacks," Daily Globe (St. Paul, MN), December 19, 1878, Page 2, Image 2, col. 5.
• "On the 18th ult., in Pottsville, Pennsylvania," Arizona Silver Belt (Globe City, AZ), January 10, 1879, Page 1, Image 1, col. 1.
• "Big Life Insurance," Pittsburg Dispatch (Pittsburg, PA), December 18, 1889, Page 6, Image 6, col. 4.
• "James McParland's Three Year Pursuit of the Molly Maguires," The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA), November 26, 1911, Page 6, Image 6, col. 1.
• "The Detective's Initiation by the Molly Maguires," The Washington Herald (Washington, DC), November 26, 1911, Magazine Section, Page 6, Image 40.