Joseph Toyn (28 September 1838 – 27 January 1924) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

. Born in

Tattershall Tattershall is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A153 Horncastle to Sleaford road, east from the point where that road crosses the River Witham. At its eastern end, Tatters ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, Toyn worked as a bird-scarer on a farm from the age of six. After a variety of other farm work, when he was fourteen, he began working on a canal barge, then three years later became an ironstone miner in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. After some time, he was promoted to become an overman, but soon resigned to work underground again.Joyce Bellamy, "Toyn, Joseph", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.II, pp.368-370 In 1872, Toyn was a founder of the Cleveland Miners' Association, serving as a delegate from his mine, then in 1875 he became the union's president. The following year, the union appointed him as its full-time agent. As agent, he was the leading figure in setting up a conciliation board to resolve disputes in the industry, which he credited with preventing any strikes during his time in office. Through his work for the union, Toyn regularly attended the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

, and also served on the board of the

Miners' National Union The Miners' National Union (MNU) was a trade union which represented miners in Great Britain. History The union was founded in November 1863 at a five-day long conference at the People's Hall in Leeds. It was originally known as the National Ass ...

(MNU). However, in 1892, he persuaded the union to leave the MNU and instead affiliated to the rival

Miners' Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in Engla ...

(MFGB). This federation was campaigning for an eight-hour maximum working day, an issue which Toyn strongly supported. Toyn was elected to the executive of the MFGB in 1896, but served only a single year. He also became active in the

Labour Electoral Association {{Short description, Political motive of the Labour Electoral Association The Labour Electoral Association was a political organisation in the United Kingdom which aimed to get working men elected to Parliament. Foundation The issue of political re ...

, which proposed him as a Liberal-Labour candidate in the Cleveland by-election, 1902. However, by this time, the Cleveland Miners were affiliated to the Labour Representation Committee, forerunner of the Labour Party, and were hoping to sponsor a rival candidate. Ultimately, Toyn decided not to run. Toyn was appointed as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

in 1906, and was also prominent in the local

co-operative movement The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...

and as a

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primiti ...

lay preacher Lay preacher is a preacher or a religious proclaimer who is not a formally ordained cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presidi ...

. He retired from his trade union posts in 1911.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toyn, Joseph 1838 births 1924 deaths English trade unionists People from East Lindsey District Presidents of British trade unions