Samuel "Sam" Fielden (February 25, 1847 – February 7, 1922) was an English-born American Methodist pastor, socialist, anarchist and labor activist who was one of eight convicted in the 1886 Haymarket bombing. Biography Early life Samuel Fielden was born in Todmorden, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Abraham and Alice (née Jackson) Fielden. Fielden barely knew his mother, who died when he was 10 years old. His father was an impoverished foreman at a cotton mill and was, himself, an active labor and social activist. He was active in the 10-hour day movement in England and was also a chartist. Samuel Fielden went to work at the age of eight in the cotton mills and was impressed with the poor working conditions. He emigrated to the United States after he had come of age. In 1869, he moved to Chicago where he worked various jobs, sometimes even traveling to the south to pursue work opportunities. Finally, he settled permanently in Chicago and became a self-employed teamster. He also studied Theology and became a lay preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Although the church never ordained him, he served as a lay pastor in several congregations of workers in downtown Chicago. There he became acquainted with socialist thinking and in 1884, joined the cause full-time, becoming a member of the American Group faction of the International Working Men's Association, and later being appointed its treasurer. He became a frequent and eloquent speaker in the labor rights cause. He married in 1880 and had two children, the second of which was born while he was in prison. Haymarket On May 4, 1886, Fielden was working delivering stone to German Waldheim Cemetery and had not heard of the planned demonstration at Haymarket for that night. He had promised to speak to some workers, but upon returning home, he learned of an urgent meeting of the American Group at the office of the Arbeiter-Zeitung, a German-language workers rights newspaper. Feeling it was his duty to attend this meeting as treasurer of the American Group, he abandoned his other engagement. It was only after he arrived at the meeting that he learned of the Haymarket demonstration. A short time later, there was a request from the Haymarket for additional speakers and Fielden, along with Albert Parsons, agreed to go and speak. They arrived just as August Spies was finishing a speech of his