Kate Mullany was a nineteen-year-old Irish immigrant when she became the head of her household. Her father had died in 1864, leaving behind a sickly mother and three sisters, and a brother who depended on her to survive. Like many daughters of Irish immigrants in Troy, New York, she went to work in the one place that offered steady pay to women: the collar laundries. Troy, New York, at the time, was known as Collar City. The detachable linen collar had become an essential fixture of respectable dress. Troy produced most of the nation's collars, but before they reached the market, they had … [Read more...] about Kate Mullany: An Irish Immigrant Who Helped Working Women Organize