Spirits Alive at the Eastern Cemetery
collage of map, women in a factory, and Maine state seal

The Great Turnout of 1841: Factory Girls and Maine’s First Labor Strike with Elizabeth DeWolfe

Winter Lecture Series 2021

This is the second lecture in our series. In 1841, nearly 500 female factory workers walked out of Saco’s York Manufacturing Company and paraded up Main Street, chanting and singing. They gathered in a local church, formed a committee, and sent the factory owner a document articulating their complaints about wages, housing, and paternalistic rules. In this illustrated talk, we’ll explore the life of New England “factory girls,” and the opportunities and challenges mill work brought. We’ll examine the tense days that followed the “turn-out” and see how a strike in one Maine town connected to national agitation for women’s rights, including suffrage.

Learn more about our Winter Lecture Series on our website.
Jannette & William Ruby's headstones in the snow, February 2021

Subterranean Celebrity: Jannette C. Pierre Ruby

Died: October 21, 1805

Jannette (also in records as Jennett, Jeanett, Jannett) C. Pierre (also in records as Pear!) Ruby was only 22 years old when she was buried in Eastern Cemetery. The first wife of noted black abolitionist Reuben Ruby, who she married in Portland at age 16, she preceded their son William A. in death by a year. Jannette's slate headstone can be found inside the gates very near the Portland Freedom Trail marker on Congress Street. Carved with an urn and willow, the stone's face is not in good shape but can still be read clearly:

In memory of
Mrs. Jannette C.
Wife of
Mr. Reuben Ruby,
Died Oct. 21, 1827;
AEt. 22
Blessed are the dead that died in the Lord.

Similar to many women of this era, there is not much easily found in written records for Jannette. The daughter of Peter Pierre and Elizabeth Shepherd Pierre (unadorned plots), who are also buried in Eastern Cemetery, she had at least 3 siblings.

Take a look at all of our Ruby family images on Flickr.

You can suggest a subterranean celebrity! Just send an email—it doesn't take much to make a nice little story. An index of all of our Subterranean Celebrities is available.