John Williams Pearce was the youngest child born to Robert Pearce and Martha Williams Pearce, a Cornish couple of modest means. At age eleven, he left home to work as a cabin boy on a fruit trading ship. Six years later he enlisted in the Royal Navy, serving four years.
He married in Cornwall in 1868 and emigrated to the US in 1870, settling in western Pennsylvania. The 1870 census lists John Pearce as a coal miner living with his wife Lucy and infant son Nicholas in Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County (see Notes).
Hard years followed. The 1880 census shows the family in now-defunct Mifflin Township, Dravosburg. Listed as a laborer, John is shown as having been unemployed five months of the previous year. Two of John's baby sons had already died.
At the same time, he was helping to build the steel industry that eventually powered the regional economy:
[In] 1879 ... he entered the employ of the National Tube company during the construction of the rolling mill. Afterwards, he returned to the coal mines and in 1886 again returned to the tube works, where he had been employed up to the time of his death.
--McKeesport Daily News (see Sources)
Despite alternating between the mines, the mill, and joblessness, John Williams Pearce must have shown remarkable energy and leadership. Immediately after the horrific Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889, he led a group of steel workers to help with rescue efforts. The men traveled by boxcar to the flooded area. Their progress was severely hampered by destruction: railroad tracks and telegraph lines had been washed away. The team worked among carcasses of people and horses. Even amid the flood waters, fires broke out in wrecked buildings.
As of 1900, John Pearce was living in McKeesport and working as a labor foreman at National Tube Works. Two more young sons had died. His son-in-law was killed in an accident in the very mill where John Williams Pearce worked. John signed Chal Dickson's death certificate.
A tireless worker, John Williams Pearce advanced to serve as superintendent of labor at National Tube Works. He died at work at 7:20 a.m. on October 11, 1923, at age 78--a full 67 years after that first job as a cabin boy.
His death merited a front-page story in the McKeesport Daily News, with ample information about his career and family.
Photos and Bible records from the estate of Melissa LaVerne Dickson. If you copy them, please give credit to this good lady for her meticulous care of family heritage.
Notes:
The news story about Pearce's death mentions that he first settled in "Boston-on-the-Yough." This refers to Boston, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, designated as Elizabeth Township in old and newer censuses. Boston is four miles southeast of McKeesport.
John Williams Pearce's death certificate indicates that his parents were John Pearce and Martha Williams. The father's first name might be incorrect; other records suggest that his name was Robert.
Assuming that the 1870 census record is correct, baby Nicholas was born in England in February 1870, and John Williams Pearce was employed in western Pennsylvania by mid July of the same year. Possibly Lucy Ann Heayn Pearce migrated separately from her husband, when Nicholas was a babe in arms. Contradicting this is the 1900 census, which lists both John and Lucy as emigrating in 1869--making Nicholas's birth in England impossible. A search of John's immigration and naturalization records is needed, as well as a search for Nicholas's birth record. However, the 1870 and 1880 censuses show Nicholas born in England.
Sources:
Photos from the estate of Melissa LaVerne Dickson.
1851 England Census, Robert Pearce, Feock, Cornwall.
1861 England Census, Robert Pearce, St Foeck, Cornwall. John Williams Pearce, 15, is listed as a blacksmith.
1870 US Census, Elizabeth, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
1880 US Census, Dravosburgh [sic], Mifflin Township, Allegheny, Pennsylvania
1900 US Census, McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
1910 US Census, McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
1920 US Census, McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
"Labor Foreman at Tube Plant Dies Suddenly," McKeesport Daily News, October 12, 1923, pp 1, 22, via McKeesport Heritage Center.
1923, Pennsylvania death certificate.
He married in Cornwall in 1868 and emigrated to the US in 1870, settling in western Pennsylvania. The 1870 census lists John Pearce as a coal miner living with his wife Lucy and infant son Nicholas in Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County (see Notes).
Hard years followed. The 1880 census shows the family in now-defunct Mifflin Township, Dravosburg. Listed as a laborer, John is shown as having been unemployed five months of the previous year. Two of John's baby sons had already died.
At the same time, he was helping to build the steel industry that eventually powered the regional economy:
[In] 1879 ... he entered the employ of the National Tube company during the construction of the rolling mill. Afterwards, he returned to the coal mines and in 1886 again returned to the tube works, where he had been employed up to the time of his death.
--McKeesport Daily News (see Sources)
Despite alternating between the mines, the mill, and joblessness, John Williams Pearce must have shown remarkable energy and leadership. Immediately after the horrific Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889, he led a group of steel workers to help with rescue efforts. The men traveled by boxcar to the flooded area. Their progress was severely hampered by destruction: railroad tracks and telegraph lines had been washed away. The team worked among carcasses of people and horses. Even amid the flood waters, fires broke out in wrecked buildings.
As of 1900, John Pearce was living in McKeesport and working as a labor foreman at National Tube Works. Two more young sons had died. His son-in-law was killed in an accident in the very mill where John Williams Pearce worked. John signed Chal Dickson's death certificate.
A tireless worker, John Williams Pearce advanced to serve as superintendent of labor at National Tube Works. He died at work at 7:20 a.m. on October 11, 1923, at age 78--a full 67 years after that first job as a cabin boy.
His death merited a front-page story in the McKeesport Daily News, with ample information about his career and family.
Photos and Bible records from the estate of Melissa LaVerne Dickson. If you copy them, please give credit to this good lady for her meticulous care of family heritage.
Notes:
The news story about Pearce's death mentions that he first settled in "Boston-on-the-Yough." This refers to Boston, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, designated as Elizabeth Township in old and newer censuses. Boston is four miles southeast of McKeesport.
John Williams Pearce's death certificate indicates that his parents were John Pearce and Martha Williams. The father's first name might be incorrect; other records suggest that his name was Robert.
Assuming that the 1870 census record is correct, baby Nicholas was born in England in February 1870, and John Williams Pearce was employed in western Pennsylvania by mid July of the same year. Possibly Lucy Ann Heayn Pearce migrated separately from her husband, when Nicholas was a babe in arms. Contradicting this is the 1900 census, which lists both John and Lucy as emigrating in 1869--making Nicholas's birth in England impossible. A search of John's immigration and naturalization records is needed, as well as a search for Nicholas's birth record. However, the 1870 and 1880 censuses show Nicholas born in England.
Sources:
Photos from the estate of Melissa LaVerne Dickson.
1851 England Census, Robert Pearce, Feock, Cornwall.
1861 England Census, Robert Pearce, St Foeck, Cornwall. John Williams Pearce, 15, is listed as a blacksmith.
1870 US Census, Elizabeth, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
1880 US Census, Dravosburgh [sic], Mifflin Township, Allegheny, Pennsylvania
1900 US Census, McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
1910 US Census, McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
1920 US Census, McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
"Labor Foreman at Tube Plant Dies Suddenly," McKeesport Daily News, October 12, 1923, pp 1, 22, via McKeesport Heritage Center.
1923, Pennsylvania death certificate.
John Williams Pearce was the youngest child born to Robert Pearce and Martha Williams Pearce, a Cornish couple of modest means. At age eleven, he left home to work as a cabin boy on a fruit trading ship. Six years later he enlisted in the Royal Navy, serving four years.
He married in Cornwall in 1868 and emigrated to the US in 1870, settling in western Pennsylvania. The 1870 census lists John Pearce as a coal miner living with his wife Lucy and infant son Nicholas in Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County (see Notes).
Hard years followed. The 1880 census shows the family in now-defunct Mifflin Township, Dravosburg. Listed as a laborer, John is shown as having been unemployed five months of the previous year. Two of John's baby sons had already died.
At the same time, he was helping to build the steel industry that eventually powered the regional economy:
[In] 1879 ... he entered the employ of the National Tube company during the construction of the rolling mill. Afterwards, he returned to the coal mines and in 1886 again returned to the tube works, where he had been employed up to the time of his death.
--McKeesport Daily News (see Sources)
Despite alternating between the mines, the mill, and joblessness, John Williams Pearce must have shown remarkable energy and leadership. Immediately after the horrific Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889, he led a group of steel workers to help with rescue efforts. The men traveled by boxcar to the flooded area. Their progress was severely hampered by destruction: railroad tracks and telegraph lines had been washed away. The team worked among carcasses of people and horses. Even amid the flood waters, fires broke out in wrecked buildings.
As of 1900, John Pearce was living in McKeesport and working as a labor foreman at National Tube Works. Two more young sons had died. His son-in-law was killed in an accident in the very mill where John Williams Pearce worked. John signed Chal Dickson's death certificate.
A tireless worker, John Williams Pearce advanced to serve as superintendent of labor at National Tube Works. He died at work at 7:20 a.m. on October 11, 1923, at age 78--a full 67 years after that first job as a cabin boy.
His death merited a front-page story in the McKeesport Daily News, with ample information about his career and family.
Photos and Bible records from the estate of Melissa LaVerne Dickson. If you copy them, please give credit to this good lady for her meticulous care of family heritage.
Notes:
The news story about Pearce's death mentions that he first settled in "Boston-on-the-Yough." This refers to Boston, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, designated as Elizabeth Township in old and newer censuses. Boston is four miles southeast of McKeesport.
John Williams Pearce's death certificate indicates that his parents were John Pearce and Martha Williams. The father's first name might be incorrect; other records suggest that his name was Robert.
Assuming that the 1870 census record is correct, baby Nicholas was born in England in February 1870, and John Williams Pearce was employed in western Pennsylvania by mid July of the same year. Possibly Lucy Ann Heayn Pearce migrated separately from her husband, when Nicholas was a babe in arms. Contradicting this is the 1900 census, which lists both John and Lucy as emigrating in 1869--making Nicholas's birth in England impossible. A search of John's immigration and naturalization records is needed, as well as a search for Nicholas's birth record. However, the 1870 and 1880 censuses show Nicholas born in England.
Sources:
Photos from the estate of Melissa LaVerne Dickson.
1851 England Census, Robert Pearce, Feock, Cornwall.
1861 England Census, Robert Pearce, St Foeck, Cornwall. John Williams Pearce, 15, is listed as a blacksmith.
1870 US Census, Elizabeth, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
1880 US Census, Dravosburgh [sic], Mifflin Township, Allegheny, Pennsylvania
1900 US Census, McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
1910 US Census, McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
1920 US Census, McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
"Labor Foreman at Tube Plant Dies Suddenly," McKeesport Daily News, October 12, 1923, pp 1, 22, via McKeesport Heritage Center.
1923, Pennsylvania death certificate.
He married in Cornwall in 1868 and emigrated to the US in 1870, settling in western Pennsylvania. The 1870 census lists John Pearce as a coal miner living with his wife Lucy and infant son Nicholas in Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County (see Notes).
Hard years followed. The 1880 census shows the family in now-defunct Mifflin Township, Dravosburg. Listed as a laborer, John is shown as having been unemployed five months of the previous year. Two of John's baby sons had already died.
At the same time, he was helping to build the steel industry that eventually powered the regional economy:
[In] 1879 ... he entered the employ of the National Tube company during the construction of the rolling mill. Afterwards, he returned to the coal mines and in 1886 again returned to the tube works, where he had been employed up to the time of his death.
--McKeesport Daily News (see Sources)
Despite alternating between the mines, the mill, and joblessness, John Williams Pearce must have shown remarkable energy and leadership. Immediately after the horrific Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889, he led a group of steel workers to help with rescue efforts. The men traveled by boxcar to the flooded area. Their progress was severely hampered by destruction: railroad tracks and telegraph lines had been washed away. The team worked among carcasses of people and horses. Even amid the flood waters, fires broke out in wrecked buildings.
As of 1900, John Pearce was living in McKeesport and working as a labor foreman at National Tube Works. Two more young sons had died. His son-in-law was killed in an accident in the very mill where John Williams Pearce worked. John signed Chal Dickson's death certificate.
A tireless worker, John Williams Pearce advanced to serve as superintendent of labor at National Tube Works. He died at work at 7:20 a.m. on October 11, 1923, at age 78--a full 67 years after that first job as a cabin boy.
His death merited a front-page story in the McKeesport Daily News, with ample information about his career and family.
Photos and Bible records from the estate of Melissa LaVerne Dickson. If you copy them, please give credit to this good lady for her meticulous care of family heritage.
Notes:
The news story about Pearce's death mentions that he first settled in "Boston-on-the-Yough." This refers to Boston, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, designated as Elizabeth Township in old and newer censuses. Boston is four miles southeast of McKeesport.
John Williams Pearce's death certificate indicates that his parents were John Pearce and Martha Williams. The father's first name might be incorrect; other records suggest that his name was Robert.
Assuming that the 1870 census record is correct, baby Nicholas was born in England in February 1870, and John Williams Pearce was employed in western Pennsylvania by mid July of the same year. Possibly Lucy Ann Heayn Pearce migrated separately from her husband, when Nicholas was a babe in arms. Contradicting this is the 1900 census, which lists both John and Lucy as emigrating in 1869--making Nicholas's birth in England impossible. A search of John's immigration and naturalization records is needed, as well as a search for Nicholas's birth record. However, the 1870 and 1880 censuses show Nicholas born in England.
Sources:
Photos from the estate of Melissa LaVerne Dickson.
1851 England Census, Robert Pearce, Feock, Cornwall.
1861 England Census, Robert Pearce, St Foeck, Cornwall. John Williams Pearce, 15, is listed as a blacksmith.
1870 US Census, Elizabeth, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
1880 US Census, Dravosburgh [sic], Mifflin Township, Allegheny, Pennsylvania
1900 US Census, McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
1910 US Census, McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
1920 US Census, McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
"Labor Foreman at Tube Plant Dies Suddenly," McKeesport Daily News, October 12, 1923, pp 1, 22, via McKeesport Heritage Center.
1923, Pennsylvania death certificate.
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