Archie Russell, 1874-1901
The fifth name engraved on the steelworkers’ monument is that of Archibald Russell. Born in Conception Bay, Newfoundland c. 1874, Russell was one of the thousands of Newfoundlanders who immigrated to Cape Breton in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to find work in the steel and coal industries. [1] According to historian Ron Crawley, these men were often discriminated against and employed on the most dangerous jobs. [2] Even before the Dominion Iron and Steel Company had completed the $15 million Sydney steel works in 1902, the plant had seen its first fatalities. [3] On 8 June 1901, Archie Russell was working in the open hearth department when an improperly attached block and tackle let go and crushed his skull, killing him instantly. Historian Donald MacGillivray notes that normally such an accident would receive a verdict of “accidental death,” although in the case of Russell the coroner’s inquest specifically blamed “the carelessness of the officials.” [4] The memorial lists 66 more workplace deaths for the first decade of production at the plant, although that number is almost certainly a low estimate. This is stark evidence of the dangers that came with working in the steel industry during the first decade of the 20th century.
Footnotes
[1] MacGillivray, “Russell, Archibald (Archie),” Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Historian Ron Crawley finds that between 1891 and 1901 more than 2,500 of these men came to Cape Breton. Ron Crawley, “Off to Sydney: Newfoundlanders Emigrate to Industrial Cape Breton, 1890-1914,” Acadiensis vol. 17, no. 2 (Spring, 1988), 29.
[2] Crawley, “Off to Sydney,” 45.
[3] Craig Heron, Working in Steel: The Early Years in Canada, 1883-1935 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1988), 20.
[4] MacGillivray, “Russell, Archibald (Archie),” Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.
Footnotes
[1] MacGillivray, “Russell, Archibald (Archie),” Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Historian Ron Crawley finds that between 1891 and 1901 more than 2,500 of these men came to Cape Breton. Ron Crawley, “Off to Sydney: Newfoundlanders Emigrate to Industrial Cape Breton, 1890-1914,” Acadiensis vol. 17, no. 2 (Spring, 1988), 29.
[2] Crawley, “Off to Sydney,” 45.
[3] Craig Heron, Working in Steel: The Early Years in Canada, 1883-1935 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1988), 20.
[4] MacGillivray, “Russell, Archibald (Archie),” Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.