Payroll Records

This series consists of sixty-one volumes of general payroll records, 1901-1906. Additionally, there are two volumes documenting work on township roads, 1898-1906; five volumes recording work done at Lansford Shops, 1900-1905; and two volumes documenting contract work done at collieries, 1894-1907. The general payroll records are by colliery number. With the exception of the payroll records for contract work, information in all volumes is recorded bimonthly, e.g. first half of June 1898, second half of June 1898. There are column totals at the bottom of each page, and a summary or recapitulation is given at the end of each bimonthly account. The general payroll records and the payroll records for township roads and Lansford Shops give the name and occupation of each worker, time worked, rates, gross amount earned, amounts of individual deductions, total deductions, and net amount due each worker. Deductions were for items such as a beneficial fund, water rent, house rent, hauling, coal, the J.C. Bright Store, religious denominations, and taxes. The townships for which there are payroll records are Rahn, Blythe, Schuylkill, and East Norwegian, all in Schuylkill County, and Mauch Chunk in Carbon County. The payroll information for contract work is reported by colliery number. Within each colliery listing, data is recorded in two-year time spans, e.g. 1894-1895, and gives workers' names in alphabetical order along with hours worked per month and daily earnings. At the end of each colliery report is information for selected years giving the number of men who worked per month and the average amount earned per day. In the back of each volume are combined colliery totals for selected years giving the number of men who worked per month and the average amount earned per day. These payroll volumes are arranged by type and then chronologically.