Highlight a column header and then use the column filtering function to search for a name. You can learn the general area of the country as designated by division. By consulting the Telegraphers’ Pay Schedules you can identify particular locations within each division, which had telegraph stations where your relative might have worked.
Information in this spreadsheet comes mainly from 13 issues of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers (ORT) seniority lists published in pocket book format. This collection represents Northern Pacific telegraphers with some additional entries for subsidiary Minnesota & International Railway, Big Fork & International Falls Railway, and Camas Prairie Railroad. Information on the books themselves is included on a separate sheet.
Entries are last name first with either initials or names in subsequent columns.
Division information changes reflect administrative decisions the NP made. In some cases, telegraphers held seniority on two divisions as a result. City and state information is available only for those members holding office in the ORT.
Job description was indicated through a series of specialty symbols (* for non-member, for example). In later years, the symbols become fewer. Compilers were less able to designate every kind of promotion and the variety of symbols became unmanageable. Eventually # was used to designate any kind of promoted service, including dispatcher.
Non-members were working telegraphers who didn’t want to be union members, or telegraphers promoted to managerial positions, who no longer were required to pay dues. Hard times might have delayed paying annual dues. Once promoted to dispatcher, a telegrapher was no longer required to belong to the ORT, becoming instead a member of the American Train Dispatchers Association.
Each telegrapher’s seniority date usually indicates when he or she hired out on that particular division of the NP. In some cases, employees who earlier were working in some other capacity transferred to telegraphers work and in those cases their “hire” date would be earlier than the seniority date. You will find many members shown on more than one division but with seniority dates reflecting first day of work.
Certificate numbers were issued consecutive in order of joining the union, but changed to a higher number if members dropped and then re-joined the union. Seniority dates remain constant unless broken by resignation and re-hiring.
In this list, the years following an entry reflect which ORT publication the information appears in.
Finally the “notes” entries display any additional information provided by individuals---first names when known and who provided that information [in brackets]; suggested married or maiden names indicated by start date information; or news items and their sources.
