In response to tales of violence in the coalfields,Philadelphia's Alan Pinkerton National Detective Agency dispatched agents to the area to uncover the source. These agents returned with tales of a secret society known as the Molly Maguires operating in the Carbon and Schuylkill County area.
Pinkerton engaged an Irish immigrant named James McParlan to infiltrate the society. McParlan established himself in Pottsville and then began a series of one-week trips to various places in the region where he might be able to pass himself off as murderer and forger and a former member of the AOH seeking to join a local branch. His first visit was to St.Clair where he stayed at Taggart's hotel in the north end of town. Hearing rumors that Patrick Dormer was a "Sleeper" (a Molly and a member of the AOH), he promptly repaired to Dormer's saloon just over the borough line and preceded to charm his was into the gigantic saloon keeper's confidence. Speaking and singing in a broad Irish brogue, McParlan lurched around the saloon, dancing a jig, downing whiskey, singing a Donegal ballad celebrating the killing of land agent Bell by Pat Dolan's Mollies, playing cards, fist fighting with a man he caught cheating at cards, telling stories, passing what he alleged to be counterfeit money, and dropping hints of past affiliations with the AOH. He played the wild Irish lad so convincingly that Dormer was won over and a month later, introduced him to "Muff" Lawler, the body master- the chief officer- of the AOH branch in Shenandoah. McParlan later claimed to have gained admittance to the Ancient Order of the Hibernians who were said to direct the Molly Maguire violence. According to this later testimony, members presented their grievances to the local Body-master who appointed men to deal with the situation without the knowledge of the lodge as a whole.
The Molly Maguires
One of the most famous episodes of the Irish battle for improved conditions for miners remains the tale of the Molly Maguires. Through the wider perspective of history, the tale of the Molly Maguires tends to shift its position in history from one of cruel violence to one of brave revolt against oppression. Their tale is one in which the roles of tyrant and hero shift in direct proportion to who tells the tale. Yet, the common thread of every telling is that here were Irishmen determined to improve the lot of their fellow workers - by whatever means necessary. The Irish who arrived in the Pennsylvania coalfields fought conditions nearly as bad as those they had left Ireland to escape. Little protective legislation for safety, working conditions or labor existed. Immigrants were faced with inadequate safety conditions, lack of sanitary facilities, low pay and high accident rates in the mines. Over 500 miners were killed in one 7-year period and approximately 1,600 were injured or crippled. The problem was not limited to adults. In 1870, an estimated 5,000 of the 22,000 workers were under the age of 16. The first battle for improved conditions was waged by John Siney and the Workmen's Benevolent Association, which led the first strike in 1868. Another strike began in 1871 but the gains made were far from adequate.
Meanwhile a secret society was formed of miners determined to deal with the injustices in their own way. The group was christened the "Molly Maguires" named for a seventeenth century Irish conspirator, Connor Maguire. As Siney and the WBA fought their battles in the legislature, the Molly Maguires were rumored to use vandalism, robberies, threats, assaults and even actual killings to win their goals.
With the collapse of the Workers Benevolent Association, miners in the anthracite regions were left with no voice to speak for them. Violence erupted throughout the coalfields as angry miners sought to use violence to force recognition of their hardships.
