Working in Trenton's Factories & Homes

Factory Work

Trenton's industrial development accelerated in the mid-1800s and during the 19th century Trenton's mills and factories produced paper, button, leather belts, cooking utensils, cotton and wood fabric, liquor, and industrial machinery, but most importantly iron, steel, rubber, and pottery. These enterprises drew immigrants from Europe, especially Eastern and Southern Europe, through the late 19th and early 20th century and then African Americans moving from southern states in mid-20th century.

The John A. Roebling’s Sons Company was a world leader in the production of wire cable for the construction of suspension bridges and one of Trenton’s major industrial enterprises. Its factories were established in Trenton, NJ, in 1848 and Roebling’s sons built a steel and wire mill and created the town of Roebling, NJ, in 1905. These factory sites attracted thousands of workers, many of whom were Eastern and Southern European immigrants in the early years and later African Americans fleeing Jim Crow South during the Great Migration. 

In the early 1900s another factory site was established south of Trenton. The factory site was called Kinkora and its associated company town was known as Roebling. See the Roebling Museum  for more details and to visit.

Thousands of employee records from the late 1910s to the 1950s from both locations have been preserved. One of these cards is shown on the right.

Data available include demographic and personal information such as name, address, age, marital status, birthplace, nationality, naturalization/citizenship status, and literacy/fluency in English and other languages, as well as a detailed history of Roebling factory employment, including factory location, specific periods of employment, and documentation of layoffs, terminations, and rehires. ​

A project undertaken through a collaboration among the Trent House, the Roebling Museum, and the Trenton Historical Society and funded by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities has created a database of several thousand records for analysis. 

To obtain a copy of the database for analysis, send your request to [email protected]. 

The information on these records offers a wealth of information on industrial workers of the first half of the 20th century and the ability to connect this information to that from other sources such as the Census and Family Search, which would fill out the details of family households, and others like church records.  

There are many questions that could be explored with these data, including:  

• What were these workers’ personal lives and employment experiences and how did they differ based on race, nationality, or other characteristics?
• How were these personal lives and employment experiences different depending on their work site – Trenton or Kinkora/Roebling?
• How did workers’ personal lives and employment experiences and differences by race and immigration status change during the decades covered by the records?
• What local, regional, national, or international events or trends were associated with differences and changes in these workers’ lives, particularly for immigrants and African Americans?
• How do these same patterns and dynamics continue to play out today with African Americans, immigrants, and other groups of workers?

Domestic Work

Both immigrants and native-born residents found work in the home of Trenton's well-to-do families. The Stokes family of Woodlawn was one such family.

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Two generations of the Stokes family owned and occupied the house during the post-Civil War, Gilded Age, and Progressive eras. Edward H. Stokes bought the property from his father-in-law, Joseph Wood, in 1861 and his son gifted it to the City of Trenton in 1929. The almost 70 years that the Stokes family lived in the house and employed a number of domestic servants was one of tremendous change in the nation, the region, and the city of Trenton.

During those years, the federal census recorded twenty individuals not related to the Stokes family who were living and working on the property. They served in a range of positions in the Stokes household, including governess, chambermaid, nurse, gardener, coachman, and cook. Most were recorded in only one census year, but some remained in the Stokes employ over more than one intercensal period. 

In 2025 a project, funded by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, was conducted to understand what more could be learned about the lives and experiences of individuals employed by the Stokes and how their stories can be told. The project explored a wide range of online sources to learn more about three of these individuals before and after their employment with the Stokes - Sarah Lanning, Sarah Rowland, and Bridget Coleman. The project report by Denise McCormack, who conducted this research, can be found here.