Clarence H. Snyder was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 26, 1902. He was the youngest of three boys. Different sources give slightly different versions of both his early life and his descent into alcoholism. He dropped out of school at 14 due to either the death or illness of his father. He took night classes, however, and by the time he had married his first wife, Dorothy, and they had a child on the way, he had worked his way up to a responsible job at City National Bank in Cleveland. A friend recommended that Dorothy drink beer to help her through some of the distress of her pregnancy and Clarence started to brew beer at home. His consumption of beer and other alcohol went quickly out of control and he was fired from a series of jobs. Eventually he was unable to find a job and according to some versions of the story, found himself on the streets. Dorothy heard of a new treatment for alcoholism with a Dr. Bob in Akron, Ohio and insisted that he either see this doctor and undergo his revolutionary treatment or accept her terms for a divorce. Snyder experienced a conversion to sobriety in the hospital under Dr. Bob's care and Dr. Bob became Clarence Snyder's sponsor in the Oxford Group meetings in Akron which were part of the foundation of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Snyder returned to Cleveland in 1938 and started first one and then many chapters of what he was the first to call Alcoholics Anonymous. He is responsible for the tradition of sponsorship in A. A. and rotating leadership within the groups. He himself sponsored the first woman in A.A. and was instrumental in the establishment of A. A. groups for women and for blacks. He was part of the team that wrote "The Big Book" and facilitated the break between the religious Oxford Groups and A. A. which opened the way for Roman Catholic alcoholics to participate in A. A. Snyder would have been considered one of the founders of A. A. along with Dr. Bob and Bill W. but for his sometimes abrasive personality which led to a break in relations with Bill W.
Clarence Snyder also continued to use his full name in public rather than the approved "Clarence S." form. This also alienated many in the A. A. hierarchy. He died in 1984 in Florida where he and his third wife, Grace, had moved and where they ran frequent fundamentalist Christian retreats to help alcoholics in recovery. Snyder's story is featured in the first several editions of Alcoholics Anonymous' "The Big Book" where he is called "The Home Brewmeister". A more detailed version can be found in his authorized biography by Mitchell K. entitled "How It Worked, the Story of Clarence H. Snyder".
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Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Clarence Snyder A.A. Papers, Ms. 2008.008, Brown University Library.
The Clarence Snyder papers consist of letters, periodicals and ephemera dealing with the critical early years of the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous, the now international organization which created and administers a twelve step recovery program for alcoholics. The Snyder collection focuses on the Cleveland, Ohio area and contains materials dated from as early as 1939 into the early 1980's when Snyder moved to Florida. All of the major A. A. figures are represented in the papers: Dr. Bob, Bill W. and his wife Lois, Ruth Hock, Henry Parkhurst, and Clarence Snyder himself. Many of the important early A. A. events are also represented: the writing of the Big Book, the rapid expansion of A. A. chapters in Cleveland, the funding and administration of A. A. and the split between Bill W. and Clarence Snyder.
Most of the materials, which were collected and then arranged by Snyder, were filed in alphabetically labeled albums which constitute the first series. The materials were slipped into plastic sleeves and the sleeves were then clipped into three ring binders. Albums "S", "Y" and "X" were never fully assembled. No Album "Q" was found in the boxes. The original order of the lettered albums has been retained for the albums series but all materials have been transferred to folders.
The periodicals which Snyder saved for important articles on alcoholism and A. A. constitute the second series. The articles cover important events like the Rockefeller dinner, a public acknowledgement of early A. A. work, and actor Robert Young's story as a recovering alcoholic. These are filed in alphabetical order.
The third series consists of a single poster issued by A. A. portraying in vivid color the evils of alcohol.
Series four is housed separately and consists of five boxes of Snyder's audio tape collection. 139 of the audio tapes are an oral history by Snyder, including his talks on sponsorship, the 12-steps, and the four absolutes. Other strengths of the collection are speeches, interviews and personal audiotapes by Bill Wilson, Duke Puddock and Warren Chrisholm, and oral histories of A.A. founders including Claude Fullerton, Fay Chase, Catherine Werling, Al Marineux, Gene Edmiston, Roy Yeargen and Ernest McKenzie. Most tapes are personally recorded and unpublished; some are issued by the A.A. Grapevine and the A.A. Roots Revival Group.
Several books and two sets of bound periodicals, originally included in the collection, have been cataloged separately.
The collection is arranged into the following series:
The Clarence Snyder AA Papers collection was purchased on September 30, 2005.
Brown University Library catalog record for this collection:
This collection includes monographs that were cataloged separately. They can be found under the following search entry:
The audiocassettes are also housed separately. For the catalog record to this series of the collection, see
Album A covers the period of 1938-1941 and focuses on Cleveland. Many of the letters are personal requests for Snyder's help with an alcohol problem. Many are written by friends and relatives of alcoholics and most mention the newness of the treatment and the hope it offers.
Album B covers 1942-1943 and includes papers dealing with a special testimonial dinner for Dr. Bob, Clarence's stint in the army, letters from Clarence's first wife, Dorothy, and his second wife, Selma, and a twelve page speech given by Snyder in Chicago.
Album C covers 1944-1951 and includes Snyder's written drafts of several of the biographies in the early editions of "The Big Book", some early A. A. history in Cleveland and materials on various conferences including the fifth general service conference, the 20th anniversary A. A. International Convention in St. Louis, Missouri, and a 1951 conference in Belfast, Ireland.
Album D covers 1945-1950 and contains information on the first major A. A. convention in Cleveland in 1945 including a 20 page register of A. A. members all over the country, and letters from Henry Parkhurst, who was Bill W.'s first convert and instrumental in the publication of "The Big Book".
Album E contains papers from the Cleveland A. A. Central Committee from 1940-1944 including early minutes, bulletins and about 20 pages of Clarence's notes on the committee.
Album F consists of miscellaneous early A. A. material on Cleveland, including letters from many of the important people of the era : Henry Parkhurst, Ruth Hock, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob.
Album G also contains miscellaneous early A. A. material from 1938-1950, including the Unhappy Drinker article that inspired Clarence to seek help from Dr. Bob and the hand-out from the first International A. A. Conference, a 64 page cartoon booklet by Virgil F. Partch called "Bottle Fatigue". Also includes the proposal made in the late 1940's by Bill W. and Dr. Bob to turn the leadership of A. A. over to the General Service Conference.
Album H contains more miscellaneous early A. A. material and includes approximately 20 pamphlets and a paper called "One Wife's Story" inscribed by Lois Wilson, Bill W.'s wife.
Albums I and J contain materials from the 1940's including some important letters from Henry Parkhurst.
Album K contains material from the same period including a pamphlet on A.A. by Snyder, Jimmy Burwell's "Evolution of A.A. 1939-1941", and approximately 30 newspaper articles.
Album L contains 34 A. A. pamphlets including the first pamphlet on sponsorship which Snyder wrote, a booklet on "The Problem Drinker in Industry" and material from the first International Conference of A. A. in Cleveland in 1950. Also includes brief biographies of Dr. Bob and Bill W. by Nell Wing.
Album M consists of 60 rosters from A.A. meeting covering the dates 1940-1960, all from the Cleveland area. These rosters are a "who's who" of early A. A. and clarify the rapid expansion of A. A. in the Cleveland area.
Album N contains letters and miscellaneous materials from the 1940-1950's and the 1970's. The most important materials are several letters from Henry Parkhurst and material from the 40th International Convention in Colorado in 1975.
Album O contains early 1940's Cleveland A. A. group histories most of which were compiled by Norman C. Ebert, the recording statistician for the Cleveland Central Committee. These are the only complete manuscript histories of Cleveland's original A. A. development.
Album P consists of a short unbound run of Cleveland Central Bulletins and several letters related to their publication. Snyder considered the bound volumes of Cleveland Central Bulletin, Cleveland, Ohio and The Road Back, Dublin Groups, Dublin, Ireland to be part of this series. These bound volumes have now been cataloged separately.
Album Q consists of newspaper clippings relating to A. A. from a variety of newspapers.
Album R contains miscellaneous A. A. memorabilia from conventions and retreats, certificates of appreciation for Snyder's guest speaker appearances and information on various anniversary celebrations of numerous Cleveland groups.
Album S contains flyers and programs for retreats and conventions from the 1960's into the early 1980's for which Clarence Snyder was often the keynote speaker.
Album T consists of ephemera not all of which is A. A. related. There are papers on Snyder's car, photos of several early members of A. A. and obituaries of others as well as newspaper articles on Snyder.
Album U contains important A. A. letters some of which concern the finances of the organization. The letters cover the period from the early 1940's to the early 1970's. There are also several letters from Grace, Snyder's third wife.
Album V contains letters and postcards dating from the 1940's into the 1980's to Clarence Snyder from A. A. members and from his first wife, Dorothy.
Album W consists of Clarence Snyder's notes for talks he frequently gave at A. A. meetings and speeches he gave at conventions. These notes offer insights into his philosophy on important topics like sponsorship and the twelve steps.
Album X consists of photocopies of letters at least some of which are found elsewhere in the collection.
Album Y includes several small address booklets as well as scribbled names and numbers which probably represent people A. A. had been asked to contact. There are notes for speeches, a list of highlights from Snyder's life which are not in chronological order, and an incomplete World War II savings stamp booklet, as well as church bulletins, letters and photocopies of letters with dates ranging from 1939 to 1955 and memorabilia from several Founders' Day celebrations notably 1987 and 1993.
This series is cataloged as Hay Star HV5278 .C53x and housed separately from the other series and consists of the audiocassette collection of Clarence Snyder. 139 of the audio tapes are an oral history by Snyder, including his talks on sponsorship, the 12-steps, and the four absolutes. Other strengths of the collection are speeches, interviews and personal audiotapes by Bill Wilson, Duke Puddock and Warren Chrisholm, and oral histories of A.A. founders including Claude Fullerton, Fay Chase, Catherine Werling, Al Marineux, Gene Edmiston, Roy Yeargen and Ernest McKenzie. Most tapes are personally recorded and unpublished; some are issued by the A.A. Grapevine and the A.A. Roots Revival Group.