The Belles of New England: The Women of the Textile Mills and the Families Whose Wealth They Wove

by William Moran

A Book Review by Krista Ruud

March 2009

William Moran’s history of New England’s textile mills chronicles the experiences of the owners and workers who made the industry an integral part of America’s past. For anyone interested in industrialization, immigration, or the history of New England, The Belles of New England: The Women of the Textile Mills and the Families Whose Wealth They Wove is book that not only effectively discusses how the mills are entrenched in social and labor history, but also places the mills within historical context by explaining how the mills affected or were affected by abolitionism and the Civil War, the Irish potato famine, prejudice against immigrants, women’s rights, and labor unions. Moran, a journalist by trade, spends much of his time making the female mill workers stand out as individuals heroically working to help their families or themselves and putting the textile mill work in context throughout the history of America, though he fails to thoroughly discuss mill owners and bosses beyond those who built the first mills.

Overall, Moran did a great job of giving the reader background on the various workers in the mills and conditions they faced. He gave specific examples and stories of women from New England who took jobs in the new textile mills as a way to help out their families or provide themselves with an education and greater opportunities. Many female New Englanders in the early 1800s felt that the only way they could escape the fate of working on a farm their entire life or leaving their fate up to men was to earn their own money at a textile mill. One example is Laura Nichols who saved enough money while working at a mill in Connecticut to attend Mount Holyoke. She eventually became a teacher, married, and worked as a missionary in Africa. Moran went beyond just providing basic information on the early mills. He included discussions of the social lives of the women as well as what their lives were like while they were working in the mills. He told of the boarding houses in which these women lived, magazines they published like The Factory Girl’s Garland, the social and literary groups they formed, what they spent their money on, and how they were treated by men in the community. Moran discussed most of this in the first chapter of his book, thus weaving a comprehensive tale of owner’s dreams of success and women’s dreams of freedom in what is, in my opinion, the best chapter of The Belles of New England.

As the inaugural mill owners died and less socially conscious family members or associates took over, the conditions in the mills grew worse. As that happened, New Englanders left the mills and Irish immigrants took over the vacated jobs. Moran did more than just describe the Irish workers’ lives in the United States; he first started with a broad and heart-wrenching history of the potato famine in Ireland that consequently brought many workers to New England in the first place. He also supported his history of the mills and social conditions through various examples and stories about the conditions in which the Irish lived, the discrimination in the community and workplace they faced regularly, and the struggle by the Irish to set up Roman Catholic churches in the mill communities.

It was surprising to learn that by the early 1900s there were more French Canadian immigrants working in the New England textile mills than Irish immigrants. Few Americans would have any idea that so many French Canadians immigrated to the United States, particularly to do mill work. These women and men took the jobs that no one else wanted so their families could scrape by and survived. Again, beyond just describing the appalling conditions these workers faced daily, Moran told of the French Canadians’ struggles to rise above prejudice from Americans and even Irish immigrants as well as their longing for home and desire for a better life that rarely came because of their low pay. Moran gave more than just facts about the mills; instead, he wove in tales of individual struggles that gave a human element to the millions of women and men who walked through the doors of the New England textile mills.

While Moran did a commendable job writing about the various women who worked in the textile mills, he failed to give a similarly comprehensive background of the textile mill owners. His second chapter, and consequently one of the shortest chapters, did give information on mill founders like Francis Cabot Lowell, Nathan Appleton, the Lawrence brothers, as well as a few others. These men, though, had been introduced in the previous chapter and the reader just gained knowledge of how they were able to set up the mills.

There was little information on how these men used their wealth and there was almost no information throughout the rest of the book on how the descendants of the mill founders and future mill founders used their wealth. Part of the title mentions the families who were affected by the work done in the mills, yet only a small fraction discusses that wealth. Consequently, The Belles of New England usually showed mill management as greedy and unconcerned with the plight of their workers. While this was often true, it would have been more interesting to learn about specific bosses and owners and possibly learn why they acted as they did and if they ever suffered consequences for treating workers so badly. There was one story about a corrupt mill boss who treated his workers horribly and took money from them. Moran told of how the boss changed occupations eventually and went to work for the railroads. One day he stuck his head out of a moving train, his head hit a pole, and he was decapitated. When the workers at the mill he ran heard of his fate, cheers rang out as the women and men he had treated unfairly finally felt that fate had caught up with the horrible man. This was one of the only stories that gave a mill owner or boss, corrupt or not, more than a name. Understanding how these men used their wealth and the motivation behind the inhumanity they created would have given this book an extra dimension.

William Moran had many great sources that he used throughout the book. From quotes and poems about the mills by women workers, owners, bosses, priests, and authors of the time to books and newspaper articles written on the subject, Moran had more than enough information and stories to portray textile mill workers as heroes in their own right. Furthermore, Moran branched his research out beyond just the mills to social and historical issues of 19^th and 20^th centuries. For example, Moran chose to research and discuss how slavery played a vital role in the textile mills’ success because most of the cotton came from the South. He pointed out that many workers opposed slavery, but knew it was vital to their continued employment, though many mill owners financially supported politicians who were against abolition because slave freedom may cause problems for the industry. However, when the war began, several sons of mill owners fought (and died) for the North.

Moran’s wealth of information was a problem with the book at times. Moran just had too much information which made for some questionable organization. While the first five chapters of the book were basically a chronological history of the New England textile mills from the early 1800s to the early 1900s, chapter six, entitled “Wretched Refuse” seemed to be a dumping ground of stories and information that either could not fit anywhere else or he had neglected to fit into the proper chronological chapters. After ending in the 1940s in chapter five, Moran took the reader back to the 1820s with a hodge-podge of early labor history, issues with immigration in America, attempts at strikes by some workers in some factories, and many tales of unhappy female workers and the conditions they suffered through. This unorganized chapter abruptly slowed down the pace of the book, though the pace picked back up for the rest of the book.

Chapter seven was an in-depth look at a strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912 where women from many different backgrounds were finally able to set aside their differences and successfully work together to get fair pay, hours, and conditions. Moran provided background for the strike as well as showing that there is not just one side to any disagreement. Besides just quoting striking workers and unhappy bosses, Moran researched how the community and nation reacted to the strike. By focusing on one strike that impacted New England and the textile industry, the author was able to fully demonstrate the climate of industry in the early 20^th century and what it took from workers to make a strike successful.

The Belles of New England: The Women of the Textile Mills and the Families Whose Wealth They Wove opened by eyes to how much I did not know about industry on the east coast and how that industry was a vital part of American history and politics. Although I wish a map of New England and the mills mentioned were included in the book since I do not know the area well, descriptions and photos helped me visualize what the textile mills would have been like. I would recommend this book to anyone who teaches about industrialization and immigration. Although I knew they were closely knit together, I did not realize how much they depended on each other and how different America might have been had mills and factories not been around to support the waves of immigrants or if millions of immigrants had not come to America and provided the mills with workers. Furthermore, many women and men like Sarah Bagley, Jennie Collins, and General Benjamin Butler who are not usually mentioned in history books were honored for their hard work to change the conditions of the mills and help workers. Moran helped give names to the downcast faces of workers who helped shape America.

As a teacher who helps her students learn about many of these topics, this book helped me to understand how all these subjects were interconnected. As I read the book my mind raced with all the new knowledge I was gaining - knowledge that I look forward to sharing with my students in the future. The information I learned will no doubt become an important part of my lessons as I plan and teach about industrialization and immigration at the turn of the 20^th century. In this book there are some parts Moran could have left out and some information I wish he would have included or expanded on, but overall this was a great social and labor history of New England’s textile mills and the vital role women played in the mills’ success from their founding until many of them moved South.