Samuel Fielden went to work at the age of eight in the cotton mills and was impressed with the poor working conditions. He emigrated to the United States after he had come of age. In 1869, he moved to Chicago where he worked various jobs, sometimes even traveling to the south to pursue work opportunities. Finally he settled permanently in Chicago and became a self-employed teamster. He also studied Theology and became a lay preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Although the church never ordained him, he served as a lay pastor in several congregations of workers in downtown Chicago.