Immigrants Part of Our Past History
Part of our almost forgotten history lies in the northern part of county in the area known as Bells Mines. We know that John Bell, politician from Nashville, Tenn., came to Crittenden County, back while it was still Livingston county in the 1830s. He purchased a lot of land around the Tradewater river to start his coal mining company.
I’ve always wondered how did a politician from Tennessee find his way to far western Kentucky to purchase land and start a coal mine operation. As we all know back in the early 1800s Andrew Jackson, another politician from Tennessee, was here exploring for silver and created a couple of our old iron furnaces. My thoughts are John Bell knew Andrew Jackson from their political careers in Nashville, and perhaps Andrew Jackson told John Bell about the this area and it’s minerals.
***
Immigrants Come To America
By the early 1850’s and 60’s, European immigrants had learned of the need for mine laborers and they began to arrive at Bells mine seeking employment.
The American coal industry, relied heavily on immigrant labor during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Immigrants were recruited to the coal mines in various ways. I have always wondered how the immigrants knew about the Bells Mine Coal company. How did they know to travel through the unknown and come to this area. Maybe this will give some insight on how they knew to come here. Some were attracted by labor agents stationed in major ports of entry who often recruited new arrivals by painting a rosy picture of the living and working conditions in the mines. Other followed friends and relatives in a search for employment and a steady income to support their family.
In the decade from 1845 to 1855, large numbers of immigrants fled to the United States to escape the results of crop failure and starvation, civil and religious unrest, sever unemployment or almost inconceivable hardships at home. They also sought to escape the political unrest caused by riots. A lot came to the United States because all young men would be automatically drafted into the military. This is the reason the Hina family came to America and then to Bells Mines. The father wanted his sons to come here to escape being drafted and have a better life, but what their reasons were, they came to work and make a better life.
Many early immigrants were primarily natives of coal mining regions of Great Britain, Ireland and Wales, with large number of eastern and southern European immigrants flooding in during the late 19th century. Many of these were skilled miners.
***
Immigrants Arrive at Bells Mines
In the 1850 Crittenden County census an unbelievable number of immigrants already lived here, all located in the area of Bells Mines. From Germany there were families and individuals totaling 74, from England 42, France 5, Prussia 6, Wales 1, Scotland 1. From Prussia and Germany came craftsmen in the trade of Shoemakers and Blacksmiths.
In the 1860 Census more immigrants had come from England, Ireland, Denmark, France Baveria, Wales and from Switzerland and made the population ever more.
Besides this large number of immigrants, there were also living here a large number of people from the states of Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Indiana. Most all of the heads of these families were listed as miners.
***
Naturalization Application for Immigrants
These immigrants that came to America would need to fill out an "application for naturalization" and file his intent in either the county or circuit court. He could also file his intent in one state and, if he met all the requirements, became a citizen while living in another state.
The first statute dealing with naturalization was labeled the Naturalization Act of 1790 and allowed any white person, alien, of good character who have been in the United States for two years to become a citizen. Not included were slaves, indentured servants and most women. The applicant also had to renounce all allegiance and fidelity to every "foreign Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignty " and promise to support the Constitution of the United States.
After his period of time was up he would return to court and finalize the process and become a citizen. There are many of these applications located in the Crittenden County Clerk’s office in the old County Court record books. Here are a couple that I abstracted.
***
Order Book 2, June 14, 1858, page 2
This day Joseph Hina appeared in Court and on his solemn oath declared that he came from Baden on or about the ___ day of ___ while a minor under the age of 21 years that he hath resided in the United States for the span of 3 years previous that it was Bonafide his intention to become a citizen of the United States and to renounce forever all allegiance to any foreign Prince Potentate State or Sovereignty particularly Electorate of Baden whereof he is a citizen and subject and having adduced satisfactory proof to the court that he hath resided in the United States for 3 years past that for the first three years of that period he was a minor and under age and the said Joseph Hina is declared to be and is hereby admitted a citizen of the United States which is ordered to be certified. (The Hina family stayed in the community and has descendants living here today.)
***
Book 2, July 9, 1860, Page 426
Christopher Barnaby personally appeared in Court and produced a certificate duly authenticated showing that he has on the 12th day of April 1858 in the county court of Crittenden County in Kentucky and made the necessary declaration of his intention to become a citizen of the United States and having declared an oath that he will support the Constitution of the United States that he doth absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiances and fidelity to any foreign Prince Potentate State and Sovereigenty whatever and particularly Victoria Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland of whereof he was before a citizen or subject and having produced to the court satisfactory evidence of his having resided in the United State five years at least and in this state one year at least and that during that time he has behaved as a man of good moral character attached to the principals of the Constitution of the United States and will disposed to the good order and happenings of the save whereupon the said Christopher Barnaby is hereby admitted and declared a citizen of the United States.
(Christopher Barnaby stayed in Crittenden County and lived all his life in the Bells Mines community and had a small coal mine of his own, known as Barnaby’s Mine.)
***
Times were hard
In the 1860’s during the Civil War, times were extremely hard on the community of Bells Mines. There would be many days they weren’t able to work the mines and the Union army confiscated their coal barges and what coal they had mined, and took it for their own use, this left the mines unable to move what coal they had to other locations to sell for funds to pay the miners.
As the hard times for the coal company continued, many of these families once again packed their belongings and moved on to other places, some moved over the county line into Union County to work in their mines, (one of these families was Piper), many moved on to Southern Illinois, and I found several families moved to West Virginia, Texas and even out west. By the 1870s and 1880s most all of the original immigrant families that came to Bells Mines had moved to other parts of the country taking their history and family names with them. But without them in the beginning, Bells Mines Coal Company might not ever have been.
.jpg)
The Bells Mines community of 1860 shows some of the families that are living there. As you can see their occupation was "miner"
No comments:
Post a Comment