Philip Nash

The “Self-Proclaimed King of Leadville” Philip Nash arrived in Leadville in 1883 after he fled from Pennsylvania and adopted the alias of Philip Frenny. He was one of many miners during the 1880s who left the Pennsylvania anthracite region in search of work.

It was unknown until his gruesome death that he had been a high ranking member of a secret society of Irish miners called the Molly Maguires for decades and had attracted attention from the Pinkertons, a security and detective agency trying to crush the movement. At the time, the Molly Maguires had resorted to violent tactics and were seen as a security threat, which caused many to carry anti-Irish sentiment. On many occasions, the Pinkertons came to Leadville, searching for Mollies that fled from the East; however, Nash avoided capture. It was said that on a few occasions, Nash encountered James McParland, a notorious detective at the time.

Unfortunately after his death, Nash’s name was disparaged for being involved with the Molly Maguires, and his death was sensationalized. Nash can be remembered for his leadership among the Molly Maguires, advocating for workers rights in the mines, and being a leader in the Butlers Township chapter of the Ancient Order of the Hibernians, one of America’s oldest Catholic fraternal organizations. Nash is currently buried in the Evergreen Cemetery Catholic Free Section.