View XML QR Code

Mickey Neylan photograph collection, 1890-1992

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Neylan, Mickey
Title
Mickey Neylan photograph collection
Dates
1890-1992 (inclusive)
1930-1960 (bulk)
Quantity
0.37 cubic feet, (195 photographic prints in 1 box and 1 folder)
Collection Number
PH0449
Summary
Photographs from the Ault and Neylan families documenting relationships with labor and political movements including the Seattle Typographical Union #202, the International Typographical Union, and the Seattle Union Record, as well as Equality Colony in Bow, Washington
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Request at UW

Languages
English
Return to Top

Biographical Note

Mickey Neylan was the Secretary of the Seattle Typographical Union Local 202, a trade union representing employees in the newspaper printing industry. Neylan began her relationship with the trade union as a secretary to her brother Harry (Erwin Bratton) Ault, editor of the Seattle Union Record. The Ault family background shows influences of the political ideology of the Socialist Democratic Party. They were residents and co-founders of the Equality Colony, a socialist community established in 1897 in Bow, Washington.

The Equality Colony attracted settlers committed to demonstrating the practicality of socialist living. Early colonizers included Ed Pelton and Carey Lewis. Among the families who joined the settlement were J.B. and Ruie Iler Ault, who arrived in 1898 with their children. Their daughter Miskel Adeline Maize "Mickey" Ault was born in the colony on April 18, 1900; she was one of eight children. Mickey's older brother, Harry E. B. Ault (1883–1961), left the colony in 1900 but went on to have a major influence in regional labor journalism.

Harry learned printing and newspaper work on Industrial Freedom, the colony's official newspaper (ca. 1898–1902), and later became editor and manager of the Seattle Union Record, a labor newspaper published by the Central Labor Council of Seattle, the predecessor to the King County Labor Council. Under his leadership, the Union Record grew from a weekly to a daily in 1918 and played a central role in reporting and interpreting the events leading up to the Seattle General Strike of 1919. The paper struggled financially through the 1920s and ceased publication in 1928. After leaving the Equality Colony, Mickey became active in Seattle's labor movement. She initially worked as a secretary to her brother, Harry, at the Seattle Union Record, which began her long association with the printing and newspaper trades. She later served as Secretary of the Seattle Typographical Union Local 202, which was established in 1882 and represented newspaper printers in the region. Local 202 was part of the typographical workforce that voted in favor of joining the 1919 General Strike, though the international union ultimately prohibited participation because the required three-fourths approval threshold was not met. Local 202 later merged with other regional locals, forming Local 99 in 1974.

Mickey Ault married George Neylan on July 11, 1925, and, later, Lawrence J. Cunningham on March 25, 1944. She remained connected to the labor community throughout her life. Mickey Neylan passed away on April 11, 2004.

Return to Top

Content Description

Photographs from the Ault and Neylan families offer a compelling visual history of their personal and political worlds. The collection captures their enduring relationships with the labor and political movements of their time, from local Seattle chapters to national organizations. Images document the activities of the Seattle Typographical Union #202, the International Typographical Union, and the Seattle Union Record, while also providing rare documentary evidence—ten photographs—of the socialist Equality Colony in Bow, Washington. The scope broadens to include the national labor movement, featuring portraits of iconic figures such as Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, creating important insights through the lens of a personal experience of this transformative era.

Return to Top

Historical Note

The Equality Colony was a socialist cooperative settlement established in 1897 in Skagit County, Washington, by the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth (BCC). The BCC, a Maine-based socialist political organization, emerged in 1896 from a faction of the Populist Party that sought to create model cooperative colonies as a first step toward transforming the nation into a "cooperative commonwealth." Although the BCC's long-term political aims were never realized, its short-term objective led to the founding of the Equality Colony, named after Edward Bellamy's book Equality. The community operated until 1907.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

To the extent that they own the copyright, the donor has transferred the copyright of the materials to the University of Washington; however, copyright in some items in this collection may be held by their respective creators. Users are responsible for researching copyright status before use.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in 3 series:

SERIES 1: EQUALITY COLONY, 1898-1907

SERIES 2: UNION INVOLVEMENT, 1891-1975 Subseries A: Seattle Union Record, approximately 1891-1970 Subseries B: Seattle Typographical Union, 1928-1975 Subseries C: Union Printers Home, 1944-1952 Subseries D: Assorted Union Photographs and Labor Events, approximately 1891-1967

SERIES 3: FAMILY AND FRIENDS, approximately 1890-1992

Acquisition Information

Donated by Georgia Griffin and Justice Bridgeman on behalf of Mickey Neylan,

Related Materials

Harry E.B. Ault papers, 1899-1956

International Typographical Union Local 99 records, 1882-1981

Mickey Neylan papers, 1892-1979

Peter L. Hegg Equality Colony photographs, 1898-1900

Seattle Union Records business records, 1903-1928

Processing Note

Separated from the Mickey Neylan papers 4518 (Accession No. 4518-001) in 2008.

Processed by Elizabeth Pelley, 2019; Bianca Rossignol, 2025.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection


April 3, 2026

CC0

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West

Loading...
Loading...