Ummel, Daniel (1855-1945)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1945 Jan 25 p. 3

Birth date: 1885 Jun 27

text of obituary:

DANIEL UMMEL

Daniel Ummel, son of Rev. John and Lydia Muller Ummel was born Locle, Switzerland, on June 27, 1885, and departed this life at Ransom, Kansas, on January 2, 1945.

In 1872 he came to America with his father, three brothers, and two sisters. The family settled in Davis county, Iowa, and later moved to Gentry county, Missouri. He left this home in 1891 to become a coal miner in Indiana and Illinois. His Christian concern for the miners who worked under him resulted in efforts to improve their working conditions. In this he was joined by a socially minded youth of 18 by the name of John L. Lewis, and together they organized the first Miner's Union. Mining conditions improved so markedly that the union principle quickly spread to neighboring mines.