Whiskey Men and Mining

Foreword:  Mining and liquor were inexorably bound together in America in the 19th and 20th Centuries.  Those who worked in the mine, many of them immigrants from Europe, were a thirsty lot for whom alcohol was a balm for the hardships of their employment.  Some mine-owning entrepreneurs were involved in the liquor trade.  This post is devoted to the men who exited the mines and having saved their money opened liquor establishments, often carving out notable local reputations for themselves and their families.

Like many Irish immigrants the Monaghan family began their American journey by working as miners in the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania during turbulent times.  Then one of the clan climbed out of the mine and founded a liquor house that lasted more than a half century and established the Monaghans as a force in local business and politics.

The founding father, Bernard J. Monaghan Sr., was born in County Mayo in 1799 and emigrated to the United States in 1844, locating initially in Minersville, Pennsylvania, later moving to Ashland, — both towns within Schuylkill County, an important anthracite mining region.  Bernard was a coal miner, one of thousands of Irish engaged underground there.   Because of the wretched conditions in which the miners worked, an Irish terrorist group known as the Molly McGuires were a movement there in the 1870s, known for murder and mayhem.

The Monaghans seem to have risen above such bitter conflicts. Bernard Sr. was engaged in legitimate political life, active in the Democratic party.  Bernard’s son, John, born in Mayo in 1835, followed his father to America about 1847 and, according census data, also initially worked as a coal miner.  By 1858 he had made it out of the pit by saving his money and opening a wholesale liquor house in Ashland, operating successfully at that location for eleven years. Then John moved to Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, selling liquor. John’s sons eventually took over and continued the family’s success.  Over ensuing years John B. Monaghan's Sons continued to be an important part of the region’s commercial scene until shut down by National Prohibition.

The Monaghans, beginnings in the mines, by dint of hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit fashioned a business that survived more than 50 years and brought prosperity and recognition to family members as prominent local businessmen and political activists.  To paraphrase a tribute from one observer, the Monaghans “enjoyed the confidence of their city.”

Thomas Pepper, born in the U.S. and the son of an Irish immigrant miner, was raised at Mine Hill Gap, Pennsylvania, and went to elementary school there.  At an early age he joined his father in the mines.  Thomas started as a slate picker, subsequently becoming a driver and later a full fledged miner. In 1865, having saved some money from his underground toil, Pepper opened a store in nearby Ashland where he bottled and sold non-alcoholic  drinks.   After meeting limited success in this trade Pepper in 1872 entered into the liquor business.  He was much more successful selling whiskey, building a regional reputation for his liquor in Central Pennsylvania.  As they matured Thomas brought his three sons into the business.

His growing wealth ultimately allowed him to turn over the business to his sons who renamed it  “Thomas Moore’s Sons Co.”  This allowed Thomas to pursue other activities.   Like Bernard Monaghan and other Irish of his time, Pepper had a strong interest in politics.  A lifelong Democrat, he ran for the post of Schuykill Country treasurer twice and won.  He also served as a member of the Ashland Borough Council for two terms.   As a indication of his business acumen, he also served as a director of the Citizen’s National Bank of Ashland.

Despite Thomas Pepper having given up control of his company,  the indication is that he continued throughout the rest of his life to take an interest in the profitable business he had founded and built.  There is a curious entry in the 1890 U.S. census, just after he had yielded control to his sons.  When the census taker asked his occupation,  someone -- perhaps Thomas -- said “liquor merchant.”  That, however, is crossed out and “none” (no occupation) was substituted.

Working out of their small town the Peppers created a giant wholesale house, vigorously marketing their flagship “Old Rap Whiskey.”  Thomas Pepper’s Sons appears to have flourished during first two decades of the 20th Century, further enriching the family.  The advent of National Prohibition, however, forced the company to shut its doors. Thus ended a 48 year business success founded by Thomas Pepper, a coal miner and a coal miner’s son.

In September, 1919, when Charles Serasio died, the Lead (South Dakota) Daily Call newspaper hailed him as a respected and popular resident of the city.  The obituary did not mention the mining odyssey that brought Serasio to Lead and a premature death — nor addressed his success as a local saloonkeeper.

A born in Italy, Serasio immigrated to America in 1886 and almost immediately went to work in the copper mines of Calumet, Michigan.  After toiling underground for several years, he moved west to Great Falls, Montana, and the giant Anaconda Copper Mine.  As a seasoned mine worker Serasio probably had no trouble finding employment there during a period when the Anaconda was expanding rapidly.

By 1897 Serasio had left Great Falls and headed to South Dakota and the town of Lead that had been founded in 1876 after the discovery of gold in the vicinity.  Lead was the site of the Homestake Mine, shown above, the largest, deepest (8,382 feet) and most productive gold mine in the Western Hemisphere.  Serasio went to work digging for gold in the miles of tunnels that honeycombed the earth below Lead, despite the dangers of lung damage.

In 1899, Charles found a wife in Lead.  Over the next five years the couple would have four children. Whether it was family responsibilities or a growing recognition of respiratory problems, about 1909 Serasio stepped out of the mines for good.  A Lead business directory listed him as owning a saloon at No. 4 on the aptly named Gold Street.  He had discovered that rather than digging for gold in the ground, it could be made more easily by selling whiskey to thirsty miners, such as those Homestead hands shown here.

Although he proved to be highly successful as a saloonkeeper, Serasio constantly had to be looking over his shoulder for the forces of “Temperance.” 

When South Dakota went “dry,” Serasio shut down his Lead operations and with his family headed over the border to “wet” Sundance, Wyoming, about 50 miles away by road. There for a time he operated a drinking establishment. 

His many years in mining were affecting his health, however, and he moved back to Lead.  Not long after returning, Charles Serasio died.  The official cause was “acute  pulmonary tuberculosis.”  At 49 years old he left behind a widow and four minor children to mourn his passing.

Note: Longer vignettes on each of these mining “whiskey men” can be found on this blog at the following:  The Monoghans, April 11, 2017;  the Moores, November 20, 2012, and Charles Serasio, January 18, 2015.  

The Peppers Went from a Coal Mine to a Gold Mine

In Schuykill Country, Pennsylvania, the son of a coal miner who began his own career at the mines, subsequently moved into selling whiskey and founded a liquor business that his boys expanded into one of Pennsylvania’s most notable -- and lucrative.  It bore the founder’s name:  Thomas Pepper’s Sons Company.

Thomas was the son of Patrick and Marcella (Reilly) Pepper, who immigrated to the United States from Longford, Ireland, in the early 1830s.   They were married in New York City in 1836 where Patrick was employed in an iron foundry.   About 1839 or 1840 the couple moved to Schuykill County, Pennsylvania,  at the center of the anthracite coal region.  There Patrick found employment at a place called Mine Hill Gap and toiled there mining coal for the remainder of his working life.

Patrick and Marcella produced a family of twelve children,  ten of whom lived to maturity.  Thomas was the third Pepper among the youngsters, born in 1842.  He was raised at Mine Hill Gap, went to elementary school there, and at an early age went work with with his father in the mines.  Thomas started as a slate picker, subsequently becoming a driver and later a full fledged miner.


In 1863,  while still working in the mines,  Thomas married Elizabeth McDonald, a local girl whose parents like his were immigrants.  Her father, Patrick, was from Ireland; her mother,  Hannah, was from England.  Thomas and Elizabeth would raise a family of eight children, all of whom lived to maturity,  six boys and two girls.   As Roman Catholics, the parents were assiduous in raising the children in the Church.

About 1865, at the end of the Civil War,  Thomas moved to nearby Ashland,  a  Schuykill County town of about 4,000 population, located north of Harrisburg.  The main street is shown here about 1810.  Clearly having saved some money from his mining toil, Pepper opened a shop where he bottled and sold non-alcoholic  drinks.   After meeting limited success in this trade for the next seven years, in 1872 Pepper entered into the liquor business.

He was much more successful selling whiskey, building a regional reputation for his liquor in Central Pennsylvania.   Like many Irish of his time, Pepper had a strong interest in politics.  A lifelong Democrat,  he ran for the post of Schuykill Country treasurer twice and won.  He also served as a member of the Ashland Borough Council for two terms.   As a indication of his business acumen, by 1907 he also was a director of the Citizen’s National Bank of Ashland.

Throughout the latter part of the 19th Century Thomas Pepper was grooming several of his sons to follow him in the liquor trade.  He sent the eldest, Frank, through the public schools of Ashland and then on to the Bryant & Stratton Business School of Philadelphia in an effort to equip him for a career in commerce.   When Frank was 21, Thomas took him into the business.  A similar path was carved out for two younger sons,  Thomas R. and John W.  

About 1899 Thomas,  perhaps for reason of health given that he was only 57 years old,  retired from running his business and disposed of his interests to his three sons.  They quickly renamed it.   Under their management Thomas Pepper’s Sons Co. flourished. As their letterhead shown above indicates, they featured a number of their own brands,  including “Valley Brook Rye,” “Old Knighthood Rye,”  “Cumberland Rye,”  “Ashland Club Whiskey,” “Anthracite Rye,”  and their flagship brand, “Old Rap Whiskey.”  They also acted as distiller’s agents for a long string of Pennsylvania distilleries whose products they merchandised.

 

Working out of their small town the Peppers created a giant wholesale house and issued a series of stoneware jugs bearing their name.   They also marketed “Old Rap” vigorously,  retailing it in ceramic jugs and in bottles.  Its label was adorned with a gavel, possibly a reference to Thomas’s political interests, and proclaims the contents as “a mellow blend.”  The brothers also were generous in giveaways to saloons and taverns featuring their brands. Old Rap is represented here by a bar sign and a tip tray offered to favored customers.  Old Rap and and a second brand, Valley Brook, were trademarked in 1905 by the Peppers.

Frank seems to have been the most prominent of the Pepper brothers. His was a full  biography in the 1907 book “History of Schuykill County, Pennsylvania,”  although his brothers  Thomas Jr. and John are mentioned.  He, like his father, was an active Democrat and strong Roman Catholic adherent.   Frank was listed as a member of the Holy Name Society, the Knights of St. Joseph and the Elks Club.  Married, he had five children.

Despite Thomas Pepper having given up control of his company,  the indication is that he continued throughout the rest of his life to take an interest in the profitable business he had founded and built.  There is a curious entry in the 1890 U.S. census, just after he had yielded control to his sons.  When the census taker asked his occupation,  someone -- perhaps Thomas -- said “liquor merchant.”  That, however, is crossed out and “none” (no occupation) was substituted.  In the 1910 census, however, Thomas, now a widower, was recorded as a liquor merchant.


Thomas Pepper’s Sons appears to have flourished during first two decades of the 20th Century, further enriching the family.  The 1920 census found the sons still engaged in the liquor trade.  Thomas R.’s occupation is listed as “distiller”  and John W. as “liquor merchant.”
Frank, on the other hand, was accounted as selling “cigars, etc.”  This was just at the time that National Prohibition was being enforced and Pepper’s Sons was soon out of business.   Thus ended a 48 year business success founded by Thomas Pepper, a coal miner and a coal miner’s son.

Note:  Much of the material for this article was derived from an item in “History of Schuykill County, Pennsylvania.”   That volume contains biographies of both Thomas Pepper and son Frank.