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Pennsylvania Railroad Pension Records, 1900-1920
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Samuel H. Williamson, Miami University and MeasuringWorth
Version: View help for Version V1
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application/x-spss-sav | 3.1 MB | 08/30/2024 11:58:AM |
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application/x-stata-dta | 4.5 MB | 08/30/2024 12:02:PM |
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application/vnd.ms-excel | 6.1 MB | 08/30/2024 11:55:AM |
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text/x-log | 33 KB | 08/30/2024 11:56:AM |
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text/plain | 1.2 KB | 08/30/2024 11:54:AM |
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text/plain | 14.8 KB | 08/30/2024 11:55:AM |
Project Citation:
Williamson, Samuel H. Pennsylvania Railroad Pension Records, 1900-1920. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-08-30. https://doi.org/10.3886/E208785V1
Project Description
Summary:
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In 1900, the Pennsylvania Railroad, the largest
non-government employer at the time, introduced an innovative pension
system. Most railroad employees were
entitled to a pension based on their average earnings in the previous ten years
and the length of their service.
Retirement was mandatory at age 70, but workers in ill health could
retire after age 65 with the approval of their supervisors. The Pennsylvania Railroad pension became a
model for other railroads and large companies.
These data describe the first twenty years of the pension. Information about almost ten thousand
retirees was collected from the reports of the Pennsylvania Railroad Board for
the Eastern Lines from 1900 to 1920. The
data include names, occupations, average earnings, pension allowances, type of
retirement (mandatory at age 70 or by request of the retiree or his
supervisor), ages, years of service, and dates of retirement and death. The retirees are almost all male and white. Occupations were segregated by race and sex,
and the Pension Board intentionally excluded dining car workers, who were
predominantly Black.
During the first six years of the pension, average earnings
were computed by assuming full time employment, but the Pension Board began
using actual earnings in 1906. To study
the effect of this change, the Pension Board’s reports included both actual and
full-time earnings for employees who retired from 1906 to 1908.
Data were transcribed from Pennsylvania Railroad. (1900-1920). Annual Reports. Pension Board. Pennsylvania Railroad Records, (Series 9: Pension Department, 1899-1958). Urban Archives Center. Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia PA.
Scope of Project
Subject Terms:
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pensions;
railroads;
retirement
Geographic Coverage:
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Middle Atlantic states, U.S.
Time Period(s):
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1900 – 1920
Methodology
Data Source:
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Pennsylvania Railroad. (1900-1920). Annual Reports. Pension Board. Pennsylvania Railroad Records, (Series 9: Pension Department, 1899-1958). Urban Archives Center. Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia PA.
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