September 23, 2020, St. Thomas, The Caribbean Genealogy Library (CGL), a research library for history, culture and genealogy located in St. Thomas, is shifting from in person events at the library to virtual events. The library is known for offering lectures on Virgin Islands history, workshops on conducting genealogy research, and author events. They have not held any such events since the COVID pandemic started earlier this year. CGL is following the trend that libraries in the U.S. mainland and elsewhere in the world are pursuing by developing virtual programing.
CGL will host their first virtual author event September 27th, 2020 with Danish historian and author Ann Nørregaard. Ann is the author of “Dollar fo’ Dollar Kulkvinderne på St. Thomas 1870-1917” (translation, Dollar fo ‘Dollar, The Coal Women of St. Thomas 1870-1917). Nørregaard will give her presentation from Denmark, to an audience mostly in the USVI and United States, and hosted by CGL using Zoom.
Ann’s research for “Dollar fo’ Dollar Kulkvinderne på St. Thomas 1870-1917” took three years. The book is currently available only in Danish. The book is first and foremost a depiction of the coal workers’ strikes in 1892 and 1916. It is also an attempt to describe the everyday life of the coaling women whose occupation contributed significantly to the shipping industry. The book is based on police court protocols, censuses, church books, cadastral records, newspaper articles, contemporary accounts and finally the author’s fascination with these hard-working women.
Many of the coaling workers in St. Thomas were women, though men also participated in this work. They carried heavy baskets of coal onboard steam powered vessels in the Charlotte Amalie harbor. Nørregaard explains that, “The coal work on St. Thomas was not the easiest way to earn a living, but if you, like most coal women, were the sole breadwinner, the cash settlement – “the tallies” – for every basket of coal you carried on your head was an attractive choice. The coal carriers were far from belonging to the social elite, but they were not without abilities and they emerged victorious from the two conflicts that arose with their employers.”
The conflicts are the coal carriers strike that occurred on September 12th, 1892, and the November 25th, 1916 strike of harbor workers which included the coal carriers. The latter event resulted in the formation of the first labor unions. The strikes in 1892 and 1916 were victories for the workers, who achieved higher wages and better working conditions.
In Nørregaard’s virtual presentation she will discuss why she chose to research this topic, the resources she used to conduct the research, and she will discuss the 1892 strike and the 1916 strike and what followed. She will also use census records and historic maps to illustrate where the coal women lived, with whom and under what conditions.
Ann Nørregaard has a master’s degree in history and archaeology from the University of Copenhagen. Her main interests are the history of women in the Medieval Europe, and maritime history. She is the author of several publications about Danish and maritime history.
The Caribbean Genealogy Library (CGL) was founded in 2000 with the mission to identify, preserve and provide access to Caribbean genealogy, history and cultural heritage information resources for the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean, and to encourage their use for family history documentation, education, and scholarship.
CGL is the only library on St. Thomas that focuses solely on history, culture and genealogy. It offers workshops, lectures and events through the year. The volunteer run research library is located in Al Cohen’s Plaza. Email CGL for more information on registering to attend its virtual programs at caribgenlibrary@gmail.com. You can also visit the library online at www.cgl.viand search the catalog, see indexes of records, and view digitized records.
