Breaker boys were usually children employed to separate impurities from coal
During the mid-1860s, coal producers began employing “breaker boys” to break apart larger coal chunks and get as many impurities off them as possible. These boys were usually children, although elderly coal miners were also sometimes given jobs as breakers. The practice continued until the 1920s despite public disapproval.
With the growing demand for coal in glass and iron factories, mine owners had to find ways of producing better quality and more quantity. The breakers picked rock, slate, sulfur, clay, and soil from the fuel and also sorted them into groups of similar sizes. Needless to say, it was grueling work.