Ancient Order of Hibernians Cuyahoga County Divisions Records
(1880–2011)
Description
The Ancient Order of Hibernians, Cuyahoga County Divisions (f. 1871) was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, to provide social gatherings, cultural events, and charitable opportunities for the Irish American community in northeast Ohio. The Ancient Order of Hibernians began in 1520 in Ireland as a reaction to the efforts of Henry VIII to become head of the church in Ireland. The group’s main purpose was to protect the Catholic Church and priests especially during the 17th century in Ireland when the existence of Roman Catholic priests was illegal according to Oliver Cromwell’s legislation. According to the 1949 Ancient Order of Hibernians program, the Cleveland group was dedicated to the ideals of “Friendship, Unity, and True Christian Charity”. The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) was established in the United States in the 1830s in reaction to the mounting wave of religious bigotry, discrimination, mob action, and violence against Irish immigrants. The organization was started in New York. This collection consists of annual reports, applications for membership, announcements, bylaws, clippings, constitutions, correspondence, dues booklets, dues ledgers, financial records, letters, lists, membership cards, minutes, proclamations, programs, a ritual booklet, a thesis, and a wake service booklet — This collection is of value to researchers interested in Irish-American organizations in the Cleveland, Ohio area, specifically the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians and Men’s AOH. It includes information about the Cleveland area and Cuyahoga County divisions. Around 1948 Cleveland was home to five Ancient Order of Hibernians divisions (1, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8) and two divisions (2 and 5) of Ladies AOH. By 2011 other divisions mentioned are the LAOH division 5/10 and the Augustine Boland /William Berry Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. The history of the organization is documented in a thesis by Nicole Creech included in the files which compares early 20th century activities.
Additional finding-aid link(s): http://ead.ohiolink.edu/xtf-ead/view?docId=ead/OCLWHi0288.xml;query=;brand=default
Description adapted from the holding repository’s finding aid; it may describe the larger collection that contains the AOH/LAOH material.
The AOH does not hold these materials. Access, reproduction, and rights are governed by the holding repository under its own terms.