Jan. 26, 1887 Condolence Letter from WM. J. Gleason in Cleveland, OH
February 20, 2018William J. Gleason wrote this condolence letter to John F. Armstrong on 26 January 1887. On the letterhead, he was listed as the Secretary of the Cleveland, Ohio Office of Elections. Gleason was born in County Clare, Ireland in 1846 and immigrated to the US the following year with his parents.
Gleason grew up in Cleveland and, in 1878, organized the Robert Emmett Centennial celebration. He served as the president of the local branch of the Irish National Land League of America and met with Charles Stewart Parnell and John Dillon when they visited Cleveland in 1880. He represented Ohio at the 1881 Land League convention and the Irish National League of America (INLA) conventions thereafter. He served on various committees for the INLA and was appointed to its Council of Seven, an advisory committee to the organization’s president.
References
Thomas Power O’Connor, M. P., and McWade, Robert, Esq., Gladstone-Parnell And the Great Irish Struggle: A Graphic Story of Injustice And Oppression Inflicted Upon Irish Tenantry, And A History Of The Gigantic Movement Throughout Ireland, America, and Great Britain For “Home Rule”, Also A Complete History Of The Great Times Conspiracy, With Biographies Of The Great Leaders Gladstone, Parnell, Davitt, Egan And Very Many Others (Philadelphia, Pa.: Hubbard Bros., 1890), 634-640; digital images, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/gladstoneparnell1890ocon : accessed 6 March 2018).—-Notes: There is a short bio of Gleason on pp. 634-640.
“W. J. Gleason Seriously Ill – Conspicuous Citizen Suffers Attack of Heart Failure While In Office – His Condition Is Still Precarious – Trained Nurse and Daughter Watch at His Bedside – Prominent in Political, G.A.R., and Irish-American Circles.” Cleveland Leader (Cleveland, OH), 19 January 1905, online archives, Genealogybank.com (https://genealogybank.com : accessed 27 February 2018), citing original p. 10.