Thanks to Donald Serfass for the feature (TN 5-31-25) about famous people buried in our area.

Some facts about our history — Kehoe was not the “alleged leader of a reputed vigilante group” labeled the “Molly Maguires.”

A recently published book by Anne Flaherty entitled “The Passion of John Kehoe and the Myth of the Molly Maguires” (Hibernian Press, 2023) thoroughly documents the events of that era using local newspaper reports from those times.

In over 1500 footnotes, she documents how and why the label “Molly Maguires” was introduced by a complicit media at the behest of company owners who were experiencing sabotage and beatings by exploited individual workers. There is no evidence of any organized group of saboteurs.

John Kehoe was a bar and boardinghouse owner in Girardville who hosted meetings of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a chartered benevolent organization to support Irish immigrants.

Local AOH chapters remain active to this day. Because he was politically active and supported efforts at union organization for the miners, he was placed on a list for arrest by the Pinkerton Agency (hired by company owners) — as were many other men-and 21 men (none of them miners!) were executed by the Courts. Flaherty documents how and why these men were “victims of setups.” Kehoe’s case is a very clear example of false accusation and conviction.

My personal involvement (as a State Parole Agent) is having been tasked in 1978 to do an independent investigation for the PA Board of Pardons, I read the entire original transcription in the Schuylkill C. Clerk of Courts Office of the Kehoe trial and saw that there were no witnesses or evidence presented!

Just the perjured statements from a Pinkerton agent. I reported back to the Pardon Board that this case would never result in a conviction in today’s courts.

The rest is history. (Flaherty documents that some of the non-Irish jury did not even speak English!) We need to bury the “Myth,” wake up the uglier parts of our history, and be thankful for the many contributions of our Irish immigrants.

David thor Straten-Mohr

Franklin Twp.