McVicar, Kate

McVICAR, KATE (Katie), shoe worker and union leader; b. c. 1856 at Hamilton, Canada West; d. there 18 June 1886. Katie McVicar, daughter of a poor Scottish tinsmith and his English-born wife, joined two older sisters in the Hamilton labour force in the early 1870s. Like most women who went into factory work in the late 19th century, she began as a single woman, living at home, in order to augment her family’s income. However, unlike most, she remained single and continued to live at home until her early death at the age of 30. Her comparative longevity as a factory operative accounts to some degree for her emergence as a prominent leader in the Knights of Labor. --Introduction