With help from fellow historians, Joe Manning of Massachusetts has uncovered the fate of child laborer Giles Edmund Newsom who worked in Bessemer City.

The boy was injured in 1912 and photographed by Lewis Hine of the National Child Labor Committee.

Manning's research and Hine's photographs depicting working conditions and child laborers have garnered attention through The Lewis Hine Project.

Through the project, Manning conducts thorough research about child laborers from a century ago and writes about the findings.

Hine's famed photography was exhibited in Gaston County several years ago in "Standing on a Box: Lewis Hine's National Child Labor Committee Photography, Gaston County, 1908."

A Gazette article in March discussed Manning's hope of finding whatever happened to Newsom, who was injured just days before his 12th birthday at Sanders Cotton Manufacturing Co. in Bessemer City.

Since then, Manning has received help from historian Alta Mitchem Durden of North Augusta, S.C., and Brian Brown, who works in reference services at the Gaston County Public Library.

Article written

The results are what Manning was looking for, but there's a hitch.

Newsom's death certificate has some flaws including the wrong name. The name appearing on the death certificate is Charles A. Newman.

Manning has evidence to prove that the death certificate is Newsom's. The boy's date of birth listed on the death certificate is the same date listed on Newsom's 1918 draft registration, according to Manning.

No one named Charles Newman born around 1900 appears in state census records in 1900 or 1910, according to Manning.

"He wasn't just a poster child for child labor. He was a person with feelings," Manning said.

Searching for living descendants

Newsom was working at Modena Cotton Mills when he died of Spanish flu on Oct. 18, 1918, and is buried at Hollywood Cemetery in Gastonia, perhaps in an unmarked grave near his parents, according to Manning.

A collaborative effort from Durden led to the uncovering of the death certificate.

Manning has exhausted his resources in attempting to correct the name on Newsom's death certificate and asks for help.

"I just think that this is an important history," Manning said. "It exemplifies a lot of North Carolina and American history in the story of this boy. This boy represented child labor. I'm always pretty much on the side of the common person. I've taken great interest in Giles."

Manning thinks that Newsom may have living descendants who can aid in changing the name on the death certificate.

He's also open to support from the public in getting the name changed. Manning thought perhaps the city of Gastonia could work on a way to commemorate the child laborer's memory.

"Giles Newsom is a situation worth recognizing by the city. It's sort of recognition of someone who got no recognition," he said.
by W. Allen, Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, NC.
Giles Newsom's legacy as Poster child, if you were, for children's rights articles extends to The Library of Congress to the UK.

With help from fellow historians, Joe Manning of Massachusetts has uncovered the fate of child laborer Giles Edmund Newsom who worked in Bessemer City.

The boy was injured in 1912 and photographed by Lewis Hine of the National Child Labor Committee.

Manning's research and Hine's photographs depicting working conditions and child laborers have garnered attention through The Lewis Hine Project.

Through the project, Manning conducts thorough research about child laborers from a century ago and writes about the findings.

Hine's famed photography was exhibited in Gaston County several years ago in "Standing on a Box: Lewis Hine's National Child Labor Committee Photography, Gaston County, 1908."

A Gazette article in March discussed Manning's hope of finding whatever happened to Newsom, who was injured just days before his 12th birthday at Sanders Cotton Manufacturing Co. in Bessemer City.

Since then, Manning has received help from historian Alta Mitchem Durden of North Augusta, S.C., and Brian Brown, who works in reference services at the Gaston County Public Library.

Article written

The results are what Manning was looking for, but there's a hitch.

Newsom's death certificate has some flaws including the wrong name. The name appearing on the death certificate is Charles A. Newman.

Manning has evidence to prove that the death certificate is Newsom's. The boy's date of birth listed on the death certificate is the same date listed on Newsom's 1918 draft registration, according to Manning.

No one named Charles Newman born around 1900 appears in state census records in 1900 or 1910, according to Manning.

"He wasn't just a poster child for child labor. He was a person with feelings," Manning said.

Searching for living descendants

Newsom was working at Modena Cotton Mills when he died of Spanish flu on Oct. 18, 1918, and is buried at Hollywood Cemetery in Gastonia, perhaps in an unmarked grave near his parents, according to Manning.

A collaborative effort from Durden led to the uncovering of the death certificate.

Manning has exhausted his resources in attempting to correct the name on Newsom's death certificate and asks for help.

"I just think that this is an important history," Manning said. "It exemplifies a lot of North Carolina and American history in the story of this boy. This boy represented child labor. I'm always pretty much on the side of the common person. I've taken great interest in Giles."

Manning thinks that Newsom may have living descendants who can aid in changing the name on the death certificate.

He's also open to support from the public in getting the name changed. Manning thought perhaps the city of Gastonia could work on a way to commemorate the child laborer's memory.

"Giles Newsom is a situation worth recognizing by the city. It's sort of recognition of someone who got no recognition," he said.
by W. Allen, Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, NC.
Giles Newsom's legacy as Poster child, if you were, for children's rights articles extends to The Library of Congress to the UK.