Joseph Maddison

“The oldest coal miner in the world works in Springhill mines.” At least, that’s what a headline in the Evening Mail claimed on November 24, 1906.

The miner, Joseph Maddison, was 75 years old at the time. He was born in Durham, England, where he started working in the mines when he was just six years old. According to William Watkins, who wrote the article, Maddison had worked as a miner a total of 69 years, a quarter century of them in Springhill.

Watkins wrote, “Probably there is no other man in the world with such a record of service in coal mines as Joseph Maddison of this town.”

Watkins, a union leader, had a specific purpose in mentioning Maddison: “Who will say this is not a case worthy of a state pension?”

We found no documentation that would suggest Maddison was granted the suggested pension.

Maddison passed away in Springhill on March 1, 1921.

The poor-quality scan below from the 1906 article is the only picture we could find of Maddison.

In 1923, Nova Scotian company BESCO started a pension fund that helped many miners retire – but not out of compassion. See the story at https://notyourgrandfathersmining.ca/BESCOs-pension

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