We drove to Pottsville to see what records we might find about my Irish ancestors' time in Pennsylvania. I was excited to see the actual record of my great-great grandfather John Coates becoming a citizen of the United States. It's odd to see him referred to as a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.
I was surprised to find out that this area of Pennsylvania was the place where the infamous union-busting brutality that the miners suffered at the hands of the coal mine owners and their hired thugs from Pinkerton. Directly across the street from the county court house stand the jail where miners were hung. This jail is an imposing site set on a slight hill and is still in use today.
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