This post is part of a pilot student project created for the University of Florida class, Raising History from the Grave: Primary Historical Research in Literary Analysis and Public Humanities taught by Dr. Leah Rosenberg. The students focused on members of the Black Caribbean diaspora who worked on the Panama Canal or in the Canal Zone, the U.S. territory that surrounded the Panama Canal for much of the 20th century. These employees were originally classified as Silver employees because they were paid in silver currency as opposed to the Gold employees who were American citizens paid in gold currency. The term is still used today by both the community and scholars. The students worked with Pan Caribbean Sankofa, a community organization dedicated to preserving the history of Caribbean people in Panama, who identified community leaders as subjects for the project. Students consulted a wide array of archival materials in the Panama Canal Museum Collection and other institutions and learned how to use these resources to highlight individual accomplishments and connect lives to their larger communities through the digital humanities. For other posts, see Raising History from the Grave.

Beginnings

Luther McDonald Hartley was born to Nathan Hartley and Susana Williams in 1891, possibly 1892. That he was born in the early 1890s is not in doubt; there are different accounts, however, of the location of his birth. His grandson Arcelio Hartley grew up believing that his grandfather was born in Mindi, Panama. Later, Arcelio found evidence in official Panama Canal records that Luther had been born in Jamaica and believed that he came to Panama when he was very young. The U.S. Census contradicts this information but is not consistent. In 1920, the Census lists Luther as having been born in Colón. The 1930 Census lists his place of birth as Panama while the 1940 specifies that he was born in the Canal Zone. This lack of clarity in the official records is important to note and points to the importance of oral history projects like that of Pan Caribbean Sankofa.

Luther Hartley’s parents were from Clarendon, Jamaica, a rural parish famous for its beauty and its varied agricultural crops. However, in the second half of the nineteenth century when Luther’s parents were likely living in Clarendon, the circumstances were very difficult. Planters refused to sell land to peasants, and the Jamaican colonial government did not invest in the roads, schools, or hospitals ordinary Jamaicans needed to transport their crops or raise their children. Jamaica’s sugar industry was in collapse and bananas had yet to emerge as the country’s major industry. Wages were low and unemployment high. Many Jamaicans were poorly housed. Many suffered from malnutrition. These circumstances may have influenced Nathan Hartley and Susana Williams to leave for Panama (James 19-21).

Frankfield Lutheran Church, c.1890-1914, Clarendon, Jamaica. National Library of Jamaica.
Most of the tobacco exported from Jamaica is grown in Clarendon. Source: A field of tobacco, May Pen, Jamaica. [Date not indicated] Keystone-Mast Collection. Owning Institution: UC Riverside, California Museum of Photography. Calisphere. April 26 2024
St. Peter’s Anglican Church is one of the Heritage Sites left standing in Clarendon, Jamaica from 1715. Source: Edwards, Kitty. “St Peter’s Anglican, Alley, Vere, Clarendon.” Jamaican Ancestral Records, 12 Mar. 2014. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

In addition to his reputation as a center for agriculture, Clarendon is known as the birth place of prominent Jamaicans such as the early Rastafarian leader Leonard Howell (1898-1981) and the author Claude McKay (1890-1948) (The National Library of Jamaica).

Claude McKay was an influential leader during the Harlem Renaissance who was a native of Clarendon. Source: Wilson, James Matthew. “Claude McKay’s Harlem Shadows and the Light of Faith.” The Catholic World Report, 8 Apr. 2021. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Leonard Howell was also from Clarendon, and is still a symbol of the Rastafarian Movement in both Jamaica and around the world. Source: “Leonard Howell: Jamaica’s First Rasta.” Article, Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

Life on the Railroad

Hartley joined the workforce of the Panama Railroad when he was around 18 to 20 years old and remained on the workforce for over 40 years, until he retired in 1954. He worked as a Brakeman, a flagman and “track shifter,” or” “switchgear” (Arcelio Hartley). The Panama Railroad was one of the most important and dangerous aspects of the Canal’s construction. In 1904, the Panama Canal Railroad recruited workers to remove the “spoil” – mud, rock, and other material – from the Canal site so work could continue uninterrupted. The numerous trains moving both people, freight, and debris across the zone each day, the heat, the noise, the necessity of continually moving the tracks, and danger of landslides all made Hartley’s job perilous.

In 1910, the trains carried over 2.25 million passengers and 1.25 million tons of commercial freight. The trains also carried nearly 40,000,000 tons of debris away from the construction zone. At this time, the Panama Canal Railroad was the busiest railway in the world, with 574 trains passing by each day (The Panama Railroad). This was impressive, yet nonetheless made work particularly treacherous.

Each job on the railroad was dangerous due to the number of trains and the conditions in which the men worked. The responsibilities of these workers, which included shifting tracks and directing trains amid the environmental rumble of the famous Culebra Cut, were daily challenges. Landslides were also common factors in deaths or injuries. An estimated 5,609 laborers were killed during the project, and an even higher amount of life-changing injuries occurred (“The Panama Canal’s Forgotten Casualties.”). Accidents were so common that the Panama Railroad Company Committee had “a comprehensive and continuous accident prevention program” (Panama Railroad Company Committee). The possibility of being injured or killed on the job was very high.

This video from 1912 depicts the American mindset towards the workers of the Panama Canal and the scope of the project. To the filmmakers, the Canal was not as dangerous as it was “famous” and “powerful.” They mention the statistics of the shovels made in America to build the Canal, but do not mention the lives lost during construction. Additionally, they speak in awe of the Culebra Cut and Cucaracha Slide’s fame without mentioning how each was responsible for the death of many workers. The language used to describe these two included the words, “annoying and disturbing.” Additionally, Theodore Roosevelt is documented as a project manager, despite only having visited the Canal once before it’s completion. The video displays little regard to the project’s effects on the workers and the environment, ultimately narrating from a substantially limited perspective.

Brakeman and Flagman

In the report of a 1911 accident, Hartley is listed as a brakeman; on his metal check, dated nearly two decades later, he is classified as a flagman. The Panama Railroad Rules and Regulations (1912) indicates that these were very closely related positions: the Rear Brakeman was also known as the flagman (148). Both were classified as “trainmen” and reported to the Train Master and served under the conductor while on the train. The Head Brakeman was responsible for the front of the train and the flagman was responsible for the rear of the train. In addition to “tending to the brakes,” brakemen had many responsibilities, including displaying signals, attending to lighting and ventilation for all cars, assisting the conductor with the passengers (including making sure that they did not violate regulations) and in all things pertaining to the safety of the train, including stopping the train if parted and the reuniting of the cars (148-149). (See the description from Panama Railroad Rules and Regulations below.)

It is his duty to attend to the brakes; take care of and properly display train signals; attend to the lighting and ventilation of all cars and assist the Conductor … in all things requisite for the prompt and safe movement of the train and the comfort of the passengers

If the train should part, he must immediately stop the rear portion and send forward the most reliable person he can secure to make STOP signals until the front portion comes back while he protects the rear.

Flagmen like Luther Hartley used specific flags and lamps to indicate the direction, time of day, and whether workers were present while the train traveled. The colors were green, white, blue, and red (Panama Railroad Company Committee 56). For example, the flagmen would display a blue flag to signify that men were working around the train; due to the high risk of danger surrounding the job, workers were the only ones permitted to remove it (Panama Railroad Company Committee 56).

Disabilities within the Workforce of the Panama Canal

At 10:52 am on December 16th, 1911, at the age of 21 years old, Hartley was working as a brakeman when an accident occurred at Pedro Miguel that crushed his foot. As a result, his leg was amputated (Personal Injury Register Book). Arcelio noted that his grandfather lived on the Atlantic side of the Canal in Colon, and the accident occurred on the Pacific side of the canal and demonstrated how far workers might travel in the course of their work. Hartley was one of over 5,000 workers the Canal authorities reported as injured on the job in 1911, the year with the highest recorded number of worker injuries during the construction (Leiffers).

This traumatic event altered the rest of his life both physically and financially. In addition to the physical pain, Hartley had to navigate the legalities and payments of his prosthetic. Luther Hartley faced many difficulties in addition to the physical pain, including petitioning the Canal administration for a prosthetic leg. Hartley retired from this position as a flagman in 1954 at the age of 64 (Arcelio Hartley). He worked with a prosthetic leg throughout his career of 40 years. Aside from the prosthetic, he did not receive disability compensation.

Audio clip: Arcelio Hartley speaks on Hartley’s struggle to obtain compensation for a prosthetic leg after the accident (Hartley).

This account highlights the constant dangers and discrimination workers faced while on the railroad. Hartley paid for his first prosthetic leg, despite the Isthmus Canal Commission’s responsibility for supplying prosthetics needed for work injuries. This prosthetic was described as a ‘cork leg’ and he received it about a year after the accident. (Arcelio Hartley).

In a letter dated 1917, Luther requested that he be provided a new artificial leg for free. Another letter from the late 1920s indicates that he received a new leg in 1922 but that he suffered pain because numerous components of the leg were broken. In 1952, Hartley had to, once again, request that his prosthesis be replaced.

Click on the letters below. Thank you to the Hartley Family for sharing them with us.

Prosthetics in High Demand

Due to the substantial amount of accidents, the Isthmus Canal Commission anticipated the need for prosthetics in the Canal Zone. In 1904, a steady increase of extreme work-related injuries began. Instead of altering working conditions, Canal authorities focused on improving the availability of prosthetics in order for the employees to continue routine work (Guffey and Williamson 61).

Several companies provided prosthetics to injured Panama Canal workers. One company in particular, A. A. Marks, was a prominent supplier for Canal workers. Though they had previously produced prosthetics, A. A. Marks found it imperative to modify their products for Canal workers (NYAM: History of Medicine and Public Health).

An indication of the prevalence of workplace injury among Black workers, also called Silver workers because of their classification as non-American employees paid in silver currency, is the fact that A. A. Marks produced prosthetic limbs for Black and Brown workers (Guffey and Williamson 65). Historically, white has been the most prevalent skin tone for prosthetic limbs, but in advertisements referencing the Panama Canal that was not the case.

Two years later, the Isthmian Canal Commission started supplying these artificial limbs to Canal workers. By 1912, over 200 prosthetics had been distributed to workers suffering from work-related injuries (Guffey and Williamson 64).

A. A. Marks’s success at the Canal eventually provided them with an opportunity to advertise their product nationwide – doctors could even specifically request their company’s prosthetics for use.

A.A. Marks prosthetic advertisement to the Panama Canal that circulated in the early 1900s. (American Medicine 19 no. 5, May 1913: 5 cited in Leiffers)

There were several preconceptions of these commonly used prosthetics. One of these is the use of the term “cork leg.” However, according to A. A. Marks, the term “cork leg” was a misnomer because cork was never used as a prosthetic material due to its insufficient resistance to external forces. The term ‘cork leg’ was used synonymously with prosthetic leg and was possibly derived from peg legs, one of the first versions of the prosthetic leg. Cork was often used as insulation to the peg (Marks 18). Hartley’s prosthetic more than likely had rubber. By using rubber, A. A. Marks was able to increase durability, and they used it in all prosthetic models available at the time of Hartley’s accident. As the popularity of prosthetics spread, an increasing number of workers were able to return back to work.

Workers Compensation in the Canal Zone

The U.S. policy on benefits for disabled workers was complex and changed over time. The Isthmian Canal Commission began giving compensation to Silver workers for disabilities caused by work accidents in 1907 when workers were offered 30 days of pay. The ICC increased these benefits in 1908, 1914, and 1916 when employees were offered up to 2/3 lost earnings if the worker could prove that he was not at fault for the injury and that it occurred during his work time. In 1917, a special fund for “alien cripples” was established, but it required that employees return to their home countries, which many were unwilling to do, especially as the funds offered were often relatively small in comparison to the injury sustained and the men’s long-term financial needs (Leiffers).

The U.S. Congress repeatedly debated the policy for compensation and pensions for disabled Canal workers and changed the policy several times during Luther Hartley’s lifetime. There are no records indicating that Luther Hartley received monthly compensation as a result of his disability while he worked.

Audio Clip: Arcelio Hartley recounts that his grandfather received $5 a month and a box of dry food items such as powdered milk after he retired in 1954. This was not in recognition of his disability but rather provisions made for Silver workers who were not included in the official pension system.

1936 Hearing

After much delay, the issue of compensation for disabled workers was brought to the attention of a United States Congressional Committee. In February of 1936, there was a Congressional Hearing on the Superannuation Disability Pay and Disposition of Certain Lands within the Panama Canal Zone. They considered which workers would be eligible and how much they would be compensated. Superannuation Disability Pay is compensation for retired workers who were disabled on the job; this was often done by taking the current base pay and adding a lump sum on top.

The issue was that disability compensation was not technically mandatory for relief; it was on a “may pay” basis for disabled workers. The hearing discussed this may pay to become “shall pay,” with a goal of guaranteeing $125 a month to retirees and an additional $1 – $25 a month for individuals with disabilities (United States Senate 1936).

Image Above: A page from the U.S. Congress Committee 1936, where disability pension was discussed for one of the first times in the Canal Zone. Source: United States Senate. Panama Canal, Superannuation Disability Pay and Disposition of Certain Lands. Congressional Hearing, Jan. 31, Feb. 13, 1936.

Audio clip: : Arcelio Hartley explains that Luther was able to work after his accident. Casma Henlon who interviews him notes that Luther’s situation was somewhat unusual. The U.S. often “discarded” Silver employees who were injured on the job rather than offer disability compensation (Hartley).

1953 Hearing

In 1953, a congressional hearing was held on “Increased Benefits to Disabled Alien Employees of the Panama Canal.” Representatives of the Panama Canal Company met on July 23, 1953 in an attempt to pass H.R. 5861. If passed, the bill would increase the amount of relief paid to disabled alien employees of the Canal Zone government from the present rate of that time at $1 per month for each year of service to $1.50 per month for each year of service. There would be an increase in the maximum benefits from $25 a month to $45 a month.

Payments before this were under the act of July 8th, 1937, which made disabled employees serve at least ten years of work before getting relief (United States Senate 1953). The hearing of 1937 was quite similar to the hearing of 1936, because 3,200 disabled workers were receiving $25 a month (United States Senate 1937). It is unlikely that Hartley was one of them.

Source: United States Senate. To Amend the Act Approved July 8, 1937, Authorizing Cash Relief for Certain Employees of the Canal Zone Government. Congressional Hearing, 1953-07-28. N.p., 1953. Print.

A major push for change was enacted in part by the concern that if individuals did not receive a beneficial amount, they would leave and cause a decrease in the number of available workers. The actual process of establishing this policy was long, and not everyone saw its effects. It is important to understand the slow-moving progress of equality for Canal workers with disabilities and equally important to recognize that so many who were disabled, like Luther Hartley, did not receive what was promised.

Luther Hartley’s Legacy

Despite facing hardship at the Panama Canal, Hartley lived a successful and vibrant life. He was married to Ethel Walters of Jamaica and had three children: Eveline, Hanrow, and Gornett. Luther enjoyed hunting and had a property in Rio Rita where his grandchildren played.

Gornett Hartley, Luther’s son, followed in his father’s footsteps and worked on the Panama Railroad for many years. In an article for The Panama Canal Spillway he describes starting as an “errand boy” in 1939 and holding several other positions – “always…with the Panama Railroad.” (The Panama Canal Spillway, April 2, 1979)

**Gornett Hartley, Certificate of faithful service during WWII, 1946.**

Arcelio Hartley, Gornett’s son and Luther’s grandson, spent his career with the Panama Canal on the water instead of the rails. Arcelio rose to the highly regarded and difficult rank of Panama Canal Pilot, earning the respect of his colleagues and community. But his work outside the monumental waterway that his grandfather helped build was perhaps his greatest tribute to the generations that came before him. In 1997, then Port Captain Hartley, was honored for his contributions to the Atlantic-side community, described by others as “counselor”, “mediator”, “father”, “godfather”, “advocate”, and “friend”. He continues to give his time and expertise to organizations committed to preserving the history of the West Indian community in Panama, currently serving as the President of SAMAAP, the Society of Friends of the West Indian Museum of Panama, the Vice-President of CGM, The Corozal, Gatun, Mt. Hope Cemetery Preservation Foundation, and is a Director of Pan-Caribbean Sankofa.

Two of Luther Hartley’s grandchildren, Armando Hartley and Arcelio Hartley, have greatly helped this research project by lending documents and vital information. With this information, we were able to learn who Luther Hartley was, document his legacy, and understand situations other workers like him had gone through.

Luther McDonald Hartley passed away in a hospital in Coco Solo, on February 4th, 1962 before real change could be made (The National Archives). His final resting place is located in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Colón, Panama.

Source: Find a Grave. *Mt. Hope Cemetery in Colón, Panama. EST. 1908.*, 29 July 2009, Accessed 26 Apr. 2024. Print.

Words of Thanks and Dedication

We would like to thank the Hartley Family for all of their help, information, and stories they shared with us as we created this blog. We would also like to thank Dr. Leah Rosenberg, as well as Dr. Betsy Bemis and Mr. John Nemmers at the University of Florida’s Special and Area Studies Collections, for their invaluable guidance and aid in creating this historic blog. A very special thanks is due to Dr. Caroline Leiffers who provided the information about Luther Hartley’s injury from her research of the Personal Injury Register Books held in the Records of the Panama Canal at the National Archives.

Our work is dedicated to Luther’s ancestors, the many others who are connected to the Panama Canal’s construction, and those who seek the truth regarding one of the biggest projects in history.

Sources:

A field of tobacco, May Pen, Jamaica. [Date not indicated] Keystone-Mast Collection.
Owning Institution: UC Riverside, California Museum of Photography. Calisphere. April 26 2024
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/kt7n39p9zr/

Edwards, Kitty. “St Peter’s Anglican, Alley, Vere, Clarendon.” Jamaican Ancestral Records, 12 Mar. 2014, jamaicanancestralrecords.com/parishes-2/clarendon-2/st-peters-anglican-alley-vere-clarendon/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

Ernest Hallen (American, 1875-1947), Culebra Cut. Toe of Rock Slide, South End of Gold Hill, Showing Wreck of Steam Shovel #224, 1913. 2003.100.43.53.

Find a Grave . Mt. Hope Cemetery in Colón, Panama. EST. 1908., 29 July 2009, images.findagrave.com/photos/2009/209/CEM47067481_124886326191.jpg?size=photos1024. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

Goldberg, Johanna. “A. A. Marks Company.” Books, Health and History, NYAM History of Medicine & Public Health, 19 Dec. 2014, nyamcenterforhistory.org/tag/a-a-marks-company/. Accessed 19 July 2024.

Hartley, Arcelio. Arcelio Hartley Oral History Interview. Pan Caribbean Sankofa and the Panama Canal Museum Collection. (2/1/2024).

Hartley, Armado. Armado Hartley Oral History Interview. Pan Caribbean Sankofa and the Panama Canal Museum Collection. (2/17/2023).

Hartley, Luther. Letters Requesting New Prosthetic Legs. Panama Canal Museum Collection. Gift of the Hartley Family.

Heald, Jean Sadler. Picturesque Panama, the Panama Railroad, the Panama Canal,. [Chicago, Printed by C. Teich & company, 1928. Print.

Hearings before the Special committee on the Investigation of the Panama Railway Company. February, 13, 1905.

Isthmian Canal Commission. Personal Injury Book, January 11, 1906 – October 1 1907

James, Winston. “Becoming the People’s Poet: Claude McKay’s Jamaican Years, 1889-1912.” Small Axe, vol. 7, no. 1, 2003, p. 17.

Leiffers, Caroline. “Hurted on the P.C.: Disability and Community on the Panama Canal.” Memory Lane Symposium, U of Florida, 13 September, 2022. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/live/sL-a4TsgzRM?si=FSLkQb_LqxBpxyb-

“Leonard Howell: Jamaica’s First Rasta.” Article, jamaicagleaner.com/gleaner/20140202/news/news41.html. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

Lewis, H. Edwin. American Medicine. Vol 19. 1913.

Making Disability Modern : Design Histories, edited by Bess Williamson, and Elizabeth Guffey, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ufl/detail.action?docID=6276164

Marks, George Edwin. A Treatise on Artificial Limbs With Rubber Hands and Feet. New York city, A. A. Marks, 1901. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/01030342/>.

Miscellaneous. “Luther Hartley Employment Record.” Familysearch.org, 10 Nov. 1930, www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9X3-L2G8?i=1090&cc=2193241&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQVSH-77XM.

Nichols, Aurin Bugbee, and Tirzah Lamson Nichols. Panama Canal Collection, 1846-1923 (bulk 1906-1914). Vol. 48, Jan. 1911, p. 58.

Publisher: Panama Rail Road Company. Rules and Regulations for the Government of Employees of the Operating Department, revised 1912. https://ufdc.ufl.edu/pcmi012189/00001.

Senior, Olive. Dying to Better Themselves. University of the West Indies Press, 1 Sept. 2014.

The Best Film Archives. “Panama Canal Construction in 1912.” Duhem Motion Picture Company, 20 Mar. 2016, youtu.be/YKj42vXeFus?si=FgjgtsGg4-FiWNma. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

The National Archives. “Gorgas Hospital Mortuary Death Records, 1906-1991.” Archives.gov, The National Archives, 6 Feb. 1963, aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=363&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&sc=9258,14174,9262,9265,9266,9268,9270,9279&q=Luther+Mcdonald+Hartley&bc=sl,fd&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=17084.

“The Panama Canal’s Forgotten Casualties.” The Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW21), 23 Apr. 2018, ibw21.org/editors-choice/the-panama-canals-forgotten-casualties/. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

United States Census . “Luther M. Hartley Census .” Familysearch.org, 1920, www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCVB-8SP.

United States Senate. Increased Benefits to Disabled Alien Employees of the Panama Canal. Congressional Hearing, 1953-07-23. N.p., 1953. Print.

United States Senate. Panama Canal, Superannuation Disability Pay and Disposition of Certain Lands. Congressional Hearing, Jan. 31, Feb. 13, 1936. N.p., 1936. Print.

United States Senate. Superannuation Compensation for Certain Employees of Panama Canal. Congressional Hearing, Mar. 10, 22, 1937. N.p., 1937. Print.

United States Senate. To Amend the Act Approved July 8, 1937, Authorizing Cash Relief for Certain Employees of the Canal Zone Government. Congressional Hearing, 1953-07-28. N.p., 1953. Print.

University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries. “Operation Room, Panama-Colon Hospital,” Print., 1910. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.

Warshaw Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, 1893. Print.

Wilson, James Matthew. “Claude McKay’s Harlem Shadows and the Light of Faith.” www.catholicworldreport.com, The Catholic World Report, 8 Apr. 2021, www.catholicworldreport.com/2021/04/08/claude-mckays-harlem-shadows-and-the-light-of-faith/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.