My paternal grandfather, Ira Lee Pauley, Sr., was the first of three children born to Charles Edgar Pauley and Virgie (Chapman) Pauley. He was born in the unincorporated community of Sun, a coal company town in southern Fayette County, West Virginia, located just off U.S. Route 19 and about two miles north of Mt. Hope. Fayette County is located immediately southeast of Kanawha County. Fayette County includes much of the New River Gorge National River on its southern edge and the Gauley River National Recreation Area on its northern border with Nicholas County. Mt. Hope is on the county's southern edge.
After working in the coal mines as a teen, Ira moved to Southern Illinois around 1921 and continued mining coal. An Illinois mining report shows that on Friday, 25 January 1924, his leg was injured between cars (age 22, single, of DuQuoin). He missed 52 days of work. There is no indication of which mine he was working at. He was taken to a local hospital where Thelma worked as a nurse. The wedding announcement says she was a nurse at Marshall Browning Hospital in DuQuoin. This hospital started admitting patients in 1922.
The Perry and Franklin County, Illinois, area had many coal mines. The Sun Coal and Coke Company (from Fayette County, West Virginia) had two mines there and a Kanawha Fuel Company. This may be the connection that got Ira to Southern Illinois. It could also have been through information from his Aunt Coatney, who was living in the area.
In August of 1932, the Illinois coal miners’ strike reached a breaking point in Franklin County. On 25 August 1932, it was reported that “fifteen striking miners who attempted to invade Franklin County, Illinois Mining District, in Franklin County were met at the county line by a large force of deputies and state highway police, and after a short battle in which several were wounded, the army was forced to retreat. At least three were shot in the fracas, and 100 were clubbed to such an extent that they were forced to go to hospitals for treatment.” The strike was between the United Mine Workers of America and a breakaway group, the Progressive Miners of America. While I am not sure what, if any, interactions Ira Sr. may have had regarding this dispute, we know he was working as a coal miner during this time.
Ira registered for the WW II draft (for men born after 17 February 1897 and on or before 31 December 1921) on Sunday, 16 February 1941. His residence is RFD #1, Mulkeytown, Franklin, Illinois. His birthplace was Sun, WV. Thelma is listed as the person who would always know his address. He listed his employer as the Bell & Zoller Mine Company in Zeigler, Ill., and his place of employment as Zeigler #2 Mine in Zeigler, Ill. This mine opened in 1918.
At the 1940 census, he is listed as a coal mine motorman.
The December 1941 Zeigler Safety Gram noted that "Illinois produced 4,446,480 tons of coal during October 1941. Franklin County produced 842,043 tons of coal from 12 shipping mines employing 6,345 men for an average workday per month of 13.8 days." This website notes that the Zeigler #2 mine, located in Franklin County, IL, operated until 1951.
He was still working in the mines as a repairman at the 1950 federal census. By 1953, he was no longer working there. Thelma said in 1984 that they moved to Wilmington in 1953 because "Ira was out of work after the war and several people told him there was plenty of work upstate."
NOTES:“Old Mulkeytown sprung into existence in a very early day; the trading point took its name from the Mulkey family. John Mulkey put up the first store about 1835. The Mulkeys have been very prominent in the county's history. Judge Mulkey, who became very prominent as a jurist, sprang from this family of Mulkeys in the county. The Mulkeys and John Kirkpatrick (believed to be the first settler in Tyrone Twp.) were related. They held religious meetings at the home of John Kirkpatrick soon after his coming to Franklin County in 1818. As a result of these meetings, a church was organized in about 1823, which became known as the "Christian Church," being the first organized in the state of Illinois. For nearly a century, the Mulkeys and Kirkpatricks have been identified with this old church. From this church's influence, more than eleven Christian churches have been organized.” From Franklin County History, Chapter XII, Tyrone Township page, online at https://franklincoil.genealogyvillage.com/fch072.html

Updated April 2, 2026