“BRETHEN: It is beyond all doubt that the Supreme Being has placed man in a state of dependence and need of mutual support from his fellow man. Neither can the greatest monarch on earth exist without friendship and society. Therefore, the Supreme Being has implanted in our natures tender sympathies and most humane feeling towards our fellow creatures in distress, and all the happiness that human nature is capable of enjoying must flow and terminate in the love of God and our fellow creatures. So we, the members of this Order, do agree to assist each other, and conform to the following rules …”1

Charter, Ancient Order of Hibernians —
Filed with the Pennsylvania State Legislature, March 1871

1. Report of the Case of the Commonwealth vs. John Kehoe et al. … for an Aggravated Assault and Battery with Intent to kill Wm. M. Thomas, stenographically reported by R. A. West (Pottsville: Miners’ Journal Book and Job Rooms, 1876), 167.