Theodore Debs

[1] The Debs paterfamilias was the Protestant heir to a factory who broke with his family after falling in love with Marguerite, a Catholic employee of the firm.

[1] He was relieved of his fortune en route by a con man and had been forced to take a series of physical jobs to make ends meet, finally saving a small nest egg and establishing a grocery store in 1855.

From a young age he idolized his older brother, the charismatic and eloquent Eugene, nine years his senior, carrying on correspondence with him when he was away and joining him in literary and social activities when he was at home.

[4] By the late 1880s, Theodore was working full time as Gene's personal secretary for the B of LF, maintaining an office in the business section of Terre Haute.

[5] As the union's chief functionary, Gene Debs received a torrent of correspondence each day, dictating an endless stream of reply mail to Theodore, who quickly gained proficiency as a typist.

In the words of one biographer: "For more than forty years, when Gene felt the need of long-visioned counsel, undying devotion, a service sacrificial, tender, selfless, he turned to Theodore.

The American Railway Union was essentially bankrupted and driven underground by the costly prosecution and jailing of its national leaders and blacklisting of its rank and file members.