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John T. Ridge Collection

Call Number

AIA.068

Dates

1735-2002, inclusive
; 1860-1989, bulk

Creator

Ridge, John T.

Extent

10.25 Linear Feet
in 2 manuscript boxes, 3 record cartons, 3 oversize flat boxes, 3 media boxes, 12 custom boxes, and 5 oversize folders

Language of Materials

Materials primarily in English, with some publications in Irish.

Abstract

John T. Ridge is a founding member and current president of the New York Irish History Roundtable. The son of Irish immigrants, Ridge is a Brooklyn-based historian whose work focuses on the influence of social events and organizations such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians, St. Patrick's Day parades, and Gaelic language clubs, with particular emphasis on the greater New York City area. Materials in this collection include books, booklets, buttons, ribbons, periodicals, ledgers, postcards, broadsides, photographs, advertisements, correspondence, event programs, sheet music, and newspaper and magazine clippings related to Irish and Irish American history in the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries. The majority of the collection documents fraternal and social Irish American organizations in the New York area, as well as numerous nationalist and republican organizations or initiatives.

Biographical Note

John T. Ridge is a founding member and current president of the New York Irish History Roundtable. The son of Irish immigrants, Ridge is a Brooklyn-based historian whose work focuses on the influence of social events and organizations such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians, St. Patrick's Day parades, and Gaelic language clubs, with particular emphasis on the greater New York City area. He has also led guided tours of immigration facilities and area cemeteries, and given lectures on various aspects of Irish and Irish American history. In addition to numerous essays and journal articles, Ridge also wrote the books The Flatbush Irish, Celebrating 250 Years of the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade, Erin's Sons in America: The Ancient Order of Hibernians, and Sligo in New York: The Irish From County Sligo, 1849-1991.

Arrangement

Files are arranged into two series, thereunder alphabetically:

Series I. Social Organizations and Early Irish America

Series II. Patrick Mullin Irish People Materials

Scope and Contents Note

This is an intentionally assembled collection of materials related to Irish and Irish American history in the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries. Materials include books, booklets, buttons, ribbons, periodicals, ledgers, postcards, broadsides, photographs, advertisements, correspondence, event programs, sheet music, and newspaper and magazine clippings. The collection documents various fraternal and social Irish American organizations, with particular emphasis on the Ancient Order of Hibernians divisions located in the greater New York City area, including photographs, convention proceedings, and ledger books. Other materials document American expressions of Irish nationalism and republicanism, including those of the American Commission on Irish Independence, the American League for an Undivided Ireland, the Friends of Irish Freedom, Irish Northern Aid, and the Loyal National Repeal Association. Of note is an issue of John Mitchel's radical nationalist New York newspaper, The Citizen. While the majority of the collection is political in scope, some folders contain advertisements, documents, or photographs of Irish actors, commercial goods, or theatrical performances.

Access Restrictions

Open for research without restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by John Ridge, the creator of this collection, were transferred to New York University in 2013. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; John T. Ridge Collection; AIA 068; box number; folder number; Archives of Irish America, Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by John Ridge, 2012. The accession number associated with this gift is 2013.007.

Related Archival Materials

Collection on the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AIA 046)

Irish Republicanism Collection (AIA 022)

Collection processed by

Rachel Searcy

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-02-06 13:55:51 -0500.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is written in: English, Latin script.

Processing Information

Materials in this collection were retrieved as a hurricane salvage effort, resulting in varying degrees of water damage to all parts of the collection. Nearly all items have been flattened, dried, and cleaned, while those requiring attention have also been encapsulated and rehoused. Because of the state in which materials arrived at the archives and because the materials constitute an intentionally assembled collection, items were separated by format, size, and extent of damage. Panoramas were surface cleaned, humidified, flattened, and placed into mylar enclosures. Some tape was trimmed from the edges to reduce adhesive residue. Folder titles have been supplied by an archivist. Additional material, including bound volumes, scrapbooks, postcards, and assorted clippings and correspondence, required treatment for mold. These items were frozen by Preservation staff, cleaned once the mold was inactive, and have been integrated into the collection.

Revisions to this Guide

February 2017: Updated by Megan O'Shea and Andrea Kutsenkow to include additional materials treated for mold by the Barbara Goldsmith Preservation and Conservation Department

Repository

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012