Mother Mary Jones: Hellraiser Extraordinaire The Mother Jones Magazine website suggests that perhaps "Mother Jones' greatest achievement may have been creating the persona of Mother Jones" (Gorn). The image and character of Mary Harris Jones greatly influenced the early labor movement. “Mother” Jones, as she was called, presented herself as a stately, elderly woman who wore only black clothing in public and perhaps even “exaggerated” her date of birth and age to appear older than she was (Gorn). According to Mother Jones, she was born in Cork, Ireland in 1830 (Jones); however some historians believe that she may have been born around 1837 and perhaps even in 1844 (Musil). Known for her fiery temper and outspokenness, Mary Jones rose to prominence as a union fighter after her tailoring business burned in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 (Gorn). Mary Jones' strong will and aggressive personality arose from her family history. His grandfather was hanged in Ireland because he was an Irish freedom fighter (Hawse). His father, a factory worker, moved to the United States to open a better path for his family (Jones). As a young woman, Mary Jones studied to be a teacher, but also learned her favorite trade as a seamstress (Jones). In 1861 she married a member of the Iron Moulder's Union (Jones), a hard worker like her father. Unfortunately, in 1867 she was displaced as mother and wife when yellow fever hit Memphis, killing her husband and children (Jones). Not knowing what to do in the aftermath of the fever epidemic, he moved to Chicago and opened a tailoring business (Jones). Her early life and experiences as a seamstress for the wealthy may have sparked Mary Jones' interest. in the workers' rights movement (Women). In her autobiography, Mary Jones states: “I looked out the glass windows and saw the poor, the shivering, unemployed, hungry wretches, walking along the frozen lakefront. The contrast between their condition and that of the tropical comfort of the people for whom I sewed was painful for me. My employers didn't seem to notice or care. (Jones)” Mother Mary Jones, while very focused on the rights of male workers, also supported the cause of children and working women. He may have created the first sort of “poster child” by organizing a march of child workers on Philadelphia's Independence Hall in 1903 (Jones).