Clair B. Woodford Whitley County miner in 19th Century Korea : Part 1

• Published Feb 13, 2021 2:30 PM KST
• Updated Feb 13, 2021 2:34 PM KST

By Robert Neff

On January 17, 1901, a group of young men from Whitley County, Indiana began one of the greatest adventures of their lives ― a three-year-contract as supervisors at the gold mines in northern Korea owned by Oriental Consolidated Mining Company (OCMC). One of these men was Clair Byrum Woodford, a handsome youth with blue eyes and brown hair.

Woodford was only 24 years old (he turned 25 while enroute), but unlike his peers he was experienced. He had served in the Spanish American War (but never left the United States or saw combat) and was a carpenter by trade. His cousin, Thomas R. Marshall ― a successful lawyer and friend of the OCMC's, probably facilitated his selection to the group of young men.

For many of these men, getting to Korea was the hardest part of their adventure. They traveled by train to San Francisco without any problems but three days after they boarded the steamship they encountered a “regular typhoon” that left most of them violently seasick. On the next leg of their journey ― Japan to Korea ― aboard a small coastal steamer, an oil lamp broke and set fire to the cabin. According to Homer Hulbert, the editor for the Korea Review (a monthly published in Seoul at the time), it was “the prompt application of the biceps Americanus” that prevented the ship from being lost at sea.

When they finally arrived at Jemulpo (modern Incheon) they were then forced to walk ― in the dead of winter ― to the mining camps north of Pyongyang. Many of the men suffered from the cold and exhaustion and several quit before the year was up but not Woodford; he seemed to relish the work and once his contract was completed he signed another one and then another one.

Life at the mines was exciting but dangerous. There were frequent accidents that often claimed limbs and lives, tigers and wolves prowled the mountains and occasionally claimed the lives of unwary miners or their family members, bandits ― especially Chinese ― often raided the regions surrounding the mines, and there was the occasional war. As we have seen, and if we are to believe the miners' accounts, these dangers paled in comparison to the sea journeys to and from Korea.

Every couple of years or so, Woodford returned to the United States to visit family and friends. In 1905 he complained that while aboard the steamship he was “sometimes thrown from his bunk and his trunk would tumble from one side of his room to the other. It was necessary at times to fasten the dishes to the table or to place a railing around the table to keep the dishes and the victuals from falling to the floor.”

Life at the mines was also very lonely. Many of the miners were avid letter writers ― even if their letters were only filled with complaints of nothing to write about ― and Woodford seems to have been no exception. For his 34th birthday, he received a “postcard shower” of 40 birthday cards in one mail shipment. He declared it to be “the most refreshing shower he had experienced for many a long day.”

He also reciprocated with his own presents which he hand-carried or mailed back home including: “a number of curios and relics of an ancient civilization consisting of knives of various kinds from small ones to large saber-like swords and Chinese razors, metal gods and images, silver opium pipes, strings of money, a bride's ornaments, candle sticks, wooden chains, iron police 'billy,' silver and brass utensils and ornaments, a finely mounted leopard skin containing the head and claws, a magnificent black bear robe, silk work of the Chinese and Japanese, hunting bows, and a vast variety of other articles…”

There was another person he frequently corresponded with ― an English woman named Lillian May Evans, who he had met in England when he traveled to the United States via Europe in 1911. It was a memorable trip and he was quite smitten with her. We can imagine that he spoke of her quite fondly to his cousin, Thomas R. Marshall ― who was now governor of Indiana and would become Vice President of the United States in 1913.

For nearly four years Woodford and Lillian maintained their long-distance relationship but in late 1914 or early 1915 he proposed to her and she agreed to marry him. On June 30, 1915, Woodford (who will now be referred to as Clair) married Lillian in Manhattan, New York and then traveled to Indiana on their honeymoon where they remained for a couple of weeks before they sailed for Korea.

Lillian got the full treatment of the sea voyage. According to a letter from the happy couple, “they had a very rough voyage of about three weeks and did their share in feeding the fish.” Fortunately they arrived safely and were soon “comfortably situated in their new home [at the mines] with a Chinese cook.”

The reference to the Chinese cook probably appealed to many of their friends in Indiana but life at the mines was not that comfortable. Some miners' wives complained about having to sweep snakes out of the attics and floors in the morning. Living near the mills was deafening as the machinery could be heard from miles away. Disease was rampant (including Spanish Influenza) and the mortality rate of children was quite high ― despite the OCMC having some of the best medical facilities on the peninsula.

On April 17, 1917, the Woodfords had their first daughter, Rae, and almost exactly three years later (April 22, 1920) they had their second daughter, Elizabeth. It seemed like the family was happy. They lived in a fairly nice house, Clair made more than $200 a month ― quite a princely sum; and the small rough-mining-town-atmosphere had transformed into a thriving American small-town community ― complete with clubs, library, school, movies, tennis courts, electricity, running water and phones.

As we shall see tomorrow, things at the camp were improving ― everything that is except the Woodford marriage.

My appreciation to the Lower Family for graciously providing me with copies of their family albums and to Diane Nars and Jan Downing for their invaluable assistance.

Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books including, Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.