I could really use a little help here.

Now, for some background on why I need help.I am currently working on a
history of the Washington County Poor House. It's amazing how much of the
history that often is NOT told can be inferred from the demographics of the
Poor House. And it leads me to research some rather obscure subjects.

The sudden influx of (Champlain)canal "boatmen" into the PH every winter was
something I at first considered merely a weather indicator: that was when it
got COLD in NY! (Even I knew that.) But their seasonal stay every year until
spring turned out to relate to the fact that the canal FROZE OVER every year
and stopped functioning. That meant that canal workers (who were almost all
transient by definition)-- especially those who were single -- were actually
seasonal workers who became unemployed & homeless each winter and went into
the PH. That all by itself was rather fascinating -- but then I began to
notice the incredible proportion of boatmen  whose "cause of dependence" was
"loss of an arm". I haven't crunched all the statistics yet; but it is
patently obvious that there was not yet any OSHA to pester people about safe
working conditions! Then I went looking for information about working
conditions on the canals in the 1800s.

I'm having a heck of a time finding anything except "glowing" histories of
the glories of the canal era. Apparently not too much was published about
the downside in human terms. Several years ago I found a reference on-line
that intrigued me; now I want to follow up on it. The Yale newspaper
reported on an exhibit at which a man named Daniel Bender spoke. Here's what
the article said:
------------------------------------------------------------------
American history major Daniel Bender '95, who recently published an article
in the Connecticut History Journal, presented a lecture on the "uneasy
peace" that Irish laborers on the canal experienced between 1828 and 1848.

Unlike most other canal workers in the country, Bender noted, the laborers
made no discernible attempts at resistance despite barely tolerable working
conditions.

"The contractors were the undisputed masters," Bender said. "They provided
housing, food, alcohol, and wages. The Irish were separated by their
lifestyle, their religion, and their accents. The canal was
all they had."

Bender discussed the hardships of daily life on the canal: the routine
danger, endless workdays, and unfair paltry wages. "This system was one of
the most oppressive forms of labor to exist in the
United States," he said.
--------------------------------------------

Now, that's a man I'd like to communicate with. He may have some answers to
my questions about all those lost arms! (Or he may be able to refer me to
some good sources.) I'd like to start by reading the "paper" they refer
to -- but the article doesn't cite his paper very well. It must have been
published in 1994 or 1995 in the Connecticut History Journal. Unfortunately,
I haven't
found (here in Texas) any way to get a list of what articles they published
those years. And if I subscribe to even ONE MORE historical society -- I may
have to go to the PH myself! Can anyone help me track this article and/or
this author down? It will be much appreciated. Thanks, Linda