his deputies were acquitted. The Lattimer massacre was a turning point in the history of the United Mine Workers (UMW). The UMW, struggling to establish itself in Pennsylvania's coal mines, witnessed a dramatic upsurge of more than 10,000 new members. The incident helped end a longstanding myth about the docility of non-English speaking miners. Just three years later, the union was powerful enough to win large wage increases and safety improvements for miners throughout the region. It significantly boosted the union career of John Mitchell, an activist for the UMW who would be elected president of the national union due to his efforts during the Lattimer strikes. The crossroads where the Lattimer massacre occurred remained unmarked for 80 years. In 1972, the United Labor Council of Lower Luzerne and Carbon Counties and the UMW erected a small memorial on the site. List of victims According to a contemporary report in the New York Herald, there were 21 killed in the Lattimer massacre: Michael Cheslock (Ceslak); only miner who was a U.S. naturalized citizen Sebastian Bozestoski, age 35 John Chobonshi, age 23 Adalbert Czaja, age 27 John Futa, age 29 John Gastack, age 32 Antonio Grazke, age 33 Frank Kodel, age 24 Andrew Kollick, age 30 Andre Nikzkowuski, age 27 Rulof Rekenits, age 35 John Ruski, age 28 John Sheka, age 27 John Tranke, age 32 John Turnasdich, age 27 Stephen Urich, age 27 Andrew Varicku, age 28 Andrew Yerkman, age 31 Stanley Zagorski, age 45 Adam Zamoski, age 26 Andrew Zeminski, age 31 John Zernovick, age 33 Working from what he describes as "known gravesites" rather than contemporary documents, in his book The Guns of Lattimer self-described "philosopher and theologian rather than a historian" Michael Novak lists the following 19 names of Lattimer shooting victims: Broztowski Čzaja Česlak Chrzeszeski Futa Grekoš Jurić Jurašek Kulik Mieczkowski Monikaski Platek Rekewicz Skrep Tarnowicz Tomašantas Zagorski Ziominski Ziemba See also List of worker deaths in United States labor disputes List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States Footnotes Further reading M. Mark Stolarik, "A Slovak Perspective on the Lattimer Massacre," Pennsylvania History, vol. 69, no. 1 (Winter 2002), pp. 31–41. "Blood Flows at Lattimer," Scranton Republican, Sept. 11, 1897, pg. 1. "Strikers Fired Upon," Hazelton Sentinel, Sept. 10, 1897, pg. 5. External links The Summit Times: Lattimer: A Time to Remember Congressional Record :100th Anniversary of the Lattimer Mine Disaster 1897 labor