4. Revolution Journal 1
To my grandson, Rhys
December 3rd 1781
I think you need to know about my life in the past. I hated my past, I hated the past, and I
want to forget them all!! I am so tired, but I can’t sleep right now.
You may be curious about our family’s past at your age now, and I think you need to know
about your ancestors.
So, Rhys, read carefully.
A long time ago, about 30years ago, when I was a young father, my family was very poor.
So, I had our own house, and my own farm. I farmed everyday, every hour. I got food from
the farm. My family could eat and live well at that time. However, there flood for a week,
and then everything swept away. We lost everything and had nowhere to go.
5. I decided to move our family to the cities. We were starving to death, and felt
desperate. There was no way to earn money in the countryside without a farm. I had
no choice. I couldn’t build another farm. So, at last, I let my family to move to the city
and earn money together as a family. At that time, there were steam engines, and it
created a great demand for coal.
James Watt, who was an inventor, invented the steam engine in1781. Steam engine is
a machine that produces continuous rotary motion. The engines could be sited
anywhere that water and coal or wood fuel could be obtained. It is used in almost the
entire machine; trains, boats, and more.
The society seemed to have the new innovation start because of the invention of the
steam engine. The machines moving seemed so surprising and better for me. I
thought that in few years, chances to earn money would get larger. They said that they
will pay little amount of money, but we all agreed to work there. We worked everyday,
and every hour to get the money we needed to for live and for food. My family and
myself had a really hard time living. I hated my life so much. I hated when my kids
were crying cause they were hungry. I felt so ashamed, and so sorry because I couldn’t
do anything for them. I hated life because things weren’t going as well I was expected.
6. As Tylor said, mine workers were paid a few dollars a week, and children were paid
55pence a week. It was not enough. I was not a good father. I let my children work hard
for my own good. I was ashamed for myself. My oldest son couldn’t get any job,
because he didn’t got any education when he was young.
After that innovation, I noticed our environment was getting worser. I had to go mining
for Louis Tylor everyday, who wanted to sell as much coal as he could.
I’m just difficult, wishing society would improve later on to my generation later.
From, your great great great grandfather
7. They are the minesr in
the British industrial
revolution.
They are small children, who are working in the
mines. (Child Laboring)
8. Revolution journal 2
To Rhys,
1842 (Mines Act)
New job!
I was pleased and excited of my new job. To start with, I moved to a new house,
and it was located in the center in the city, close to my workplace. All the
factories and houses were all crowded there, like a garden filled full with flowers.
Here was the busiest place, and where everything started. However, as time
passed, our environment got polluted. Everybody threw their trash on the street.
About once a week, some people brought a lot of water from the river to clear
the street. Then, the water would flow along the street and clear all the trash,
bringing the dirty water to somewhere else. Also, amount of clean water
decreased and all the land got polluted so badly. Further more, people invented
more and more things that they needed and the demand for coal increased. For
example, the electric car was invented then, so the wealthy riches needed a lot
coal to run their cars.
I felt so thankful to James Watt, who invented steam engine. James Watt let me
a job, which I couldn’t have got one.
9. Everybody except the rich were working as a miner.
There was no middle class. There were only high- and low classes, the rich and
the poor.
As I compare my young life with old-age life, I saw the big changes. At the
beginning, there were total 50 people working in the mines. However, as time
passes, more and more people came here, like my family and started to work
here. However, at the same time, more and more people died in the work.
They also looked hungry, tired, and dirty, like me. I felt very sad and helpless,
like all the other fathers, like me. Earning money all together, including with my
kids were heartbreaking. The other fathers looked pitiful. I looked pitiful. Why
do we live like this and never improve our lifestyle? But for money, I have to let
my whole family to do this in the end. I forced my children aged 5 or more to
go to the mine and work as well as others do. I think I made a good choice on
having more and more children. Now, our family could earn much more
amount of money in the mines. Children couldn’t get money as I do, but at
least they earn money. I am very satisfied with that. I once heard Tyler, saying
about miners doing child labor, and saving time for them.
Many people got killed during their work day. They couldn’t get their
compensation for their life in the work. The mine owners were treating the
miners so poorly. As soon as one died, they employed another worker to
replace for the dead man.
10. Every week, when our family earnd the money, the first thing we paied for was the
house, food and water. After the payments, we had no money left. So that meant
that our earning at the end of the week was 0, and my family couldn’t get ahead
financially develop to higher level.
Wish you well,
Your great great grandfather
11. This is a photo about mine
disaster. The mine is collapsing,
and black smoke is coming out.
This is canary bird, that can feel
the methane gas. They usually
help miners.
12. Journal Entry 3
To Rhys,
Year 1896
My heart was palpitating so hard like a fighter’s fist. I felt so unstable.
As I worked, I felt bad things might happen to me. The land was shaky, and the workers,
including me were going much deeper in the ground as years passed.
I once had thought of me dying like my son in the mines. I was so scared. However, me, the
head of the household, couldn’t let my family down.
However, on January 28th 1896, the most unforgettable day of my life, I felt extremely bad. I
decided to rest for one day for the first time in my life. Other members of my family said that
they wanted to go to their work, and I let them go to their work as usual. I slept the whole day,
until I heard a great sound. BOOM!!
I was so surprised. ‘What was that?’
I quickly went outside and asked people around me. People had no time to answer my
question. People were running everywhere, screaming and crying. There was no solution. I
must find them. I ran the fastest to the coalmine. There were a lot of people, like about 1000
people were all around the mine. They were crying and trying to go in there like me. I went
with them, carried by the flow of people to the mines. A few hours passed, and I could finally
see what had happened. It was a huge mine disaster. The mines were all collapsed and some
men were getting big rocks out of the way. They were working fast like a machine.
13. I waited for a long time, but then I noticed that the strong man’s purpose of removing the
big rocks wasn’t to save people. It was to make the tunnel again to let other people work in
the mines. The mine owners ordered them to remove all the big heavy rocks. As days went
by, I couldn’t eat or sleep well. I still went to work in the mines, but there was less income
of coal. I needed my larger my family to earn money. I lost all of my family. The problem
was that I was so lonely with nobody around me. I felt bad that my family was under,
breathing methane gas.
The effect of the mine disaster was so big. Most people lost their families. However, coal
mining seemed to continue forever. I was sad; I couldn’t live here any longer. I decided to
move to my hometown.
However few years later, my wife came to me. She said that she was kept between the big
rock for 3 months, and a miner found her during mining. As soon as she was saved from a
man, she said that she found our children all dead underground. Like my wife’s situation,
there were many people found in the ground by miners. I met my wife, and we needed to
larger our generation because we lost all our children.
After the disaster and losing everything, I decided to continue my family and go on forever
and I started a new life.
Love,
Great grandfather.
14. Bibliography
"Human Migration - Industrial Revolution." Human Migration - Industrial Revolution.
N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
"Steam Train on Pinterest." N.p., n.d. Web.
"Remembering James Watt." Kinneil Estate Boness. N.p., 18 Jan. 2011. Web. 19 Mar.
2015.
"Miner - Industrial Revolution Webquest." Miner - Industrial Revolution Webquest. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
"Sixteen Tons." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
"Mining Accident." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.
"American Singer Canary Birds." American Singer Canary Birds. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar.
2015.
