Andrew Carnegie Bobbin Boy
Andrew Carnegie was born in 1837. His father and his ancestors for a long way back had been weavers, and at the time of Andrew's birth the elder Carnegie owned three or four hand looms, one of which he operated himself, and hired extra hands for the others as the trade required.
Andrew was to have been a weaver, too, but new inventions were soon to abolish the industry, and William Carnegie, his father, was the last of the weaving line.
Andrew works as a messenger boy in a telegraph office, earning $2.50 per week. He memorizes street names and the names of men to whom he has taken messages.
This way, he is able to save time by recognizing the recipient of a message on the street. Soon after he is promoted to the position of telegraph operator and begins making $20 per month.
A bobbin boy was a boy who worked in a textile mill in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
He would bring bobbins to the women at the looms when they called for them, and collected the full bobbins of spun cotton or wool thread.
They also would be expected to fix minor problems with the machines. Average pay was about $1.00 a week, with days often beginning at 5:30 am and ending around 7:30 pm six days a week