One of the captains of industry of the 19th century America, Andrew Carnegie helped build the well known American steel industry, a long process that took him from rags to riches. Carnegie as a very wise boy knew what the future of the country was and that was railroaded. Carnegie worked hard and pinched every penny he could to become one of the richest entrepreneurs of his time.
             Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, the capital of Scotland, in 1835. Andrews's father was a weaver, a profession his son was expected to follow. When the steam-powered looms came to Dunfermline in 1847 hundreds of handloom weavers became expendable. His mother then worked to feed the family by opening a small grocery shop and mending shoes. With the family in desperate need of help from becoming too poor to survive Andrews mother pushed the family to leave Scotland and move to the land of opportunity, America. In 1848 the family moved to Pittsburgh, and William Carnegie secured work in a cotton factory, and son Andrew took work in the same building as a bobbin boy working for $1.20 a week. Carnegie later worked as a messenger boy in the city's telegraph office. Andrew, a hard worker, took every job seriously performed them to the best of his abilities and was always looking for new responsibilities. For example, he memorized Pittsburgh's street layout as well as the important names and addresses of those he delivered to. He was also known to take full advantage of a small library that a local businessman made available to working boys. Carnegie moved up quickly within the telegraph company learning the system and cutting time on sending and receiving messages. He soon became the fastest telegraph operator in New York. One of the men Andrew met at the telegraph office was Thomas A. Scott, then beginning his career at Pennsylvania Railroad. Scott was taking by young Andrew and referred to him as "my boy Andy." He then hired him as his private se...