Collection Summary
Information for Researchers
Administrative Information
Biographical Chronology
Scope and Content of Collection
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Frank Roney papers,
Date (inclusive): 1870-1917
Date (bulk): (bulk 1878-1886)
Collection Number: BANC MSS C-B 366
Creator:
Roney, Frank, 1841-1925.
Extent:
Number of containers: 2 boxes
Linear feet: 0.8
Repository: The
Bancroft Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Abstract: Contains materials given by Frank Roney to Ira B. Cross to complete his book,
History of the Labor Movement in California, including correspondence, writings, materials relating to Roney's activities with labor organizations in San Francisco,
clippings and ephemera. Writings include Roney's diary when he first arrived in San Francisco, the manuscript of his autobiography
Frank Roney: Irish Rebel and California Labor Leader,
and drafts and articles about the labor movement including anti-Chinese sentiment.
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog
Languages Represented:
English
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Frank Roney papers, BANC MSS C-B 366, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Related Collections
Ira Cross: California Labor Notes, BANC MSS C-R 12
Haskell Family Papers, BANC MSS C-B 364
International Workingmen's Association Records, BANC MSS C-A 306
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Roney, Frank, 1841-1925--Archives.
Cross, Ira B. (Ira Brown), b. 1880. History of the labor movement in California.
Federated Trades Council.
Iron Molders' Union of North America.
Knights of Labor.
Representative Assembly of Trades and Labor Unions of the Pacific Coast.
Workingmen's Party of California.
Pacific Coast League of Deliverance.
Iron Trades Council.
Iron industry and trade--San Francisco (Calif.).
Labor unions--California--San Francisco.
Labor movement--California--San Francisco Bay Area--History.
Chinese--Employment--California--San Francisco.
Manuscripts for publication.
Diaries.
Autobiographies.
Cross, Ira B. (Ira Brown), b. 1880.
Roney, Frank, 1841-1925. Frank Roney: Irish rebel and California labor leader.
Administrative Information
Provenance
The Frank Roney papers were removed from the Ira Cross: California Labor Notes collection (BANC MSS C-R 12), which were given
to The Bancroft Library by Ira B. Cross in 1933.
Biographical Chronology
Frank Roney
1841 |
Born in Belfast, Ireland on August 13th |
1875 |
Settled in San Francisco, California in April |
1877 |
The Workingmen's Party of California is formed |
1878 |
Served as chairman of the executive committee of the Workingmen's Party of California |
1880 |
Served as president of the Seamen's Protective Association |
1882 |
Arrested for anti-Chinese propaganda activity for the League of Deliverance. Roney was tried and declared not guilty for misdemeanor
charges in San Francisco on July 25th.
|
|
Served as president of the Representative Assembly of Trades and Labor Unions of the Pacific Coast |
1885 |
The Representative Council of the Iron Trades is formed. Roney was the organization's secretary in 1885 and president in 1886 |
ca. 1906 |
Met historian Ira B. Cross and began giving him assistance in writing his book,
History of the Labor Movement in California.
|
1915 |
Completed his autobiography. Published in 1931, as
Frank Roney: Irish Rebel and California Labor Leader.
|
1925 |
Died in Long Beach, California on January 24th |
Scope and Content of Collection
The Frank Roney Papers, 1870-1917, consist of a selection of correspondence and writings given to Ira B. Cross to complete
his book
History of the Labor Movement in California. A substantial amount of this collection is material devoted to Roney's activities with various labor organizations in San
Francisco. This material contains union meeting reports and printed circulars. There are also documents regarding a strike
of San Francisco iron workers in 1886, led by the Representative Council of the Iron Trades. Roney's documented involvement
with the League of Deliverance reflects the anti-Chinese sentiment apparent in the California labor movement during the late
nineteenth century.
His writings include his diary (1875-1876) and a handwritten draft of his autobiography, later published as
Frank Roney: Irish Rebel and California Labor Leader in 1931.