Honoring Ancestors Who Died in Mines

On Labor Day we commemorate working people and the labor movement by observing Labor Day, our national holiday established to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations." Labor Day was born out of the Industrial Revolution and that revolution was fueled by coal. Many of my ancestors worked in coal pits in Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, and the United States. Today, I would like to remember and honor those men who were killed working in coal mines.

John Franklin Austin (1915-1943)
Age at Death: 27
Relationship: First husband of the wife of my third cousin once removed, Clyde Hilton Key (1911-1987)
Parents: Harry F. Austin and Mattie E. Parker
Cause of Death: Crushed between a train and the wall of the coal mine.
Death Location: United States
New Nipper Killed in the Mine

William Collins (1850-1917)
Age ag Death: 67
Relationship: Second husband of my great great grandmother, Clementine (Wells) Riggin (1846-1932)
Parents: William Collins and Mary Lang
Cause of Death: Killed by a fall of slate at the Donk Brothers Coke & Coal Company
Death Location: United States
Coal Mining: A Dangerous Occupation

George White Dick (1871-1925)
Age at Death: 54
Relationship: Husband of my first cousin times removed, Henrietta Brown Muir (1874-1939)
Parents: Thomas and Margaret White
Cause of Death: Shock following injuries sustained after being crushed at Hopeturn Colliery
Death Location: Scotland

Andrew Cairns Muir (1902-1936)
Age at Death: 34
Relationship: Adopted son of my first cousin three times removed, Nathaniel Muir (1872-1936)
Parents: Birth -- Andrew Cairns and Elizabeth Cameron; Adopted: Nathaniel Muir and Ann "Annie" Hutton
Cause of Death: Died of injuries sustained when the roof of the mine where he was working collapsed and fell on him.
Fatal Colliery Accident

Alexander Paterson (1886-1944)
Age at Death: 57
Relationship: Husband of my third cousin once removed, Henrietta Cassells Lively (1892-1948)
Parents: John Paterson and Marion Scoular
Cause of Death: Asphyxia after being smothered by a fall of coal, stone, and dirt when mine ceiling collapsed.
Death Location: Scotland

James Richardson (1896-1921)
Age at Death: 24
Relationship: Second cousin twice removed
Parents: Hugh Richardson and Janet Muir
Cause of Death: Changing a trolley pole and came into contact with a live wire and he was electrocuted.
Electrocuted in the Frederick Mine

James Richardson (1886-1921); photo courtesy of Ancestry.com
member and DNA match BarbZale

William Brown Shaw (1866-1878)
Age at Death: 12
Relationship: Step-son of three times great uncle Robert Orr Muir (1839-1917)
Parents: Unknown father and Mary Watson (Shaw) Muir
Cause of Death: Died of injuries sustained when he fell out of cage ascending the pit shaft.
Death Location: Scotland
Fatal Coal Pit Accident

Daniel Boone Wells (1856-1910)
Age at Death: 54
Relationship: Third great uncle
Parents: James Wells and Mary Hearelson
Cause of Death: Killed instantly under a fall of coal at the face of his room at the Lumaghi Coal Company's No. 2 mine.
Death Location: United States
Coal Mining: A Dangerous Occupation

Traugott Lange's Descendants

As I write this post I administer seven DNA tests, have four in the lab being processed and have five kits on order. I'm still learning how to use DNA to effectively enhance my family history research, but what I have learned so far has been a big aid to increased understanding of my ancestors.

Of my four grandparents, the family history we knew the least about was my maternal grandfather, Gustav Lange, who was born in Zamosty, Russia (now in Ukraine); immigrated to Winnipeg, Canada, in 1911; married Wilhelmina Schalin in 1915; settled in Prince George's County, Maryland, where they owned a farm; and had nine children, who are now all deceased.

Mom's pedigree chart; image courtesy of Ancestry.com

Before Mom died, she took a DNA test and her results were unsurprising. The three matches with hints she did have were with her children -- my brothers and me. She was inordinately tickled to say we were proven by science! I was able to figure a few more relationships using her DNA matches. All were from her Schalin family, the history of which is well documented in a book entitled Our Schalin Family, 1770-2003, by Lucille Fillenberg Effa.

One of Mom's matches recently led to several breakthroughs in the Ludwig branch. Caroline (Ludwig) Lange was Mom's paternal grandmother. (Ludwig Breakthrough: DNA and Chocolates) Earlier this week a new match led to more discoveries about the Lange family.

Snippet of the master spreadsheet I maintain of all the DNA tests I administer;
the new match is highlighted; created using Microsoft Excel

What was interesting about this match was that it was the first one my brothers and I had on Mom's side of our family tree that wasn't also shared by Mom. If my brother had not tested, I could never have made the relationship connection. Another critical finding aid was the Lange family bible an aunt gave me earlier this year. Because of that bible, I knew one of Grandpa Lange's brother's was Traugott Lange. He went by Fred T. Lang when he and his family moved to California in the late 1920s.

The DNA test named A. L. shared no common ancestor. However, the shared geographies were Russia/Ukraine and Winnipeg so I suspected this was a match on Mom's side of the tree. As I looked through the pedigree of the person who took the test, the name Fred T. Lang jumped out at me, as well as his son, Peter Charles Lang (1919-2007). A. L. was the great grandson of Traugott Lange/Fred T. Lang. How exciting!

When Traugott and his wife, Katherina Magdalena Hirt, moved from Winnipeg to the U.S., they settled in Los Angeles County, California. Many of their descendants still live in the county. Thankfully, California is a fairly open state regarding public records so I was able to put a name to A. L. and learn more about him and his siblings. As they are all living, that's all I will reveal here.

Diagram illustrating the relationship between my brother and his new Lange/Lang
DNA match; created using Microsoft Powerpoint

3 Sep 2016 Update: Today the DNA test named A. L. matches with my Mom and me as well my brother mentioned in this post. I must have discovered the A. L. match when it was very new and results were still populating.

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Lange Family Bible Unlocks the Life of Traugott Lange
Ludwig Breakthrough: DNA and Chocolates