Finding aid for the Thomas Saxton Ireland Papers
Title:
Thomas Saxton Ireland Papers
Repository:
Western Reserve Historical Society
Phone: 216-721-5722
http://www.wrhs.org
Creator:
Ireland, Thomas Saxton
Dates:
1879-1969
Bulk dates:
1930-1969
Quantity:
5.61 linear feet (14 containers and 1 oversize folder)
Abstract:
 Thomas Saxton Ireland (1895-1969) was a Cleveland, Ohio, politician, lawyer and writer who ran as a conservative Republican candidate for the office of mayor of Cleveland, 1959, as well as numerous other political offices. He was a correspondent for the Plain dealer and several other newspapers and authored a number of books, including several on the Saint Lawrence Seaway and one on the Sam Sheppard murder case. The collection consists of materials relating to Ireland's many political campaigns, manuscripts of published and unpublished books, correspondence, drafts of newspaper articles, scrapbooks, genealogical materials relating to his family, various certificates and personal miscellany. The collection is useful for understanding Ireland's ardent advocacy of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, his mayoral campaign and other political activities, and his attitudes as a conservative Republican in the 1950s and 1960s. Also included are some materials which reflect the rampant anti-communist sentiment of the period.
Identification:
MS 4312
Location:
closed stacks
Language:
The records are in English

Biography of Thomas Saxton Ireland

Thomas Saxton Ireland (1895-1969) was a politician, World War II veteran, lawyer and writer from Cleveland, Ohio. He received a baccalaureate from Princeton University (1918) and law degrees from Boston University (1923) and Harvard Law School (1927). As an heir to the Grasselli Chemical Company fortune, he was independently wealthy and spent his life running (albeit unsuccessfully) for political office, writing books which espoused conservative Republican philosophy, and publishing articles in various newspapers. During his life he ran for six political offices in Ohio, including United States Senator (1946), United States Congressman (1958), and mayor of Cleveland (1959). He lost his bid for every office except an unexpired six-week term as Cleveland Municipal Court Judge (1937). He also was a correspondent for the Plain Dealer, The Daily Sentinel-Tribune (of Bowling Green, Ohio) and the Columbus Dispatch. Ireland was a vociferous supporter of the construction of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and wrote a book enumerating the potential benefits of the Seaway to the United States and the Great Lakes region. In Ireland's 1959 mayoral campaign against incumbent Anthony Celebrezze, he stressed expanded public transportation. He also supported the county home rule issue and favored the hiring of more police officers to improve safety on the city's streets. A lifelong Republican, Ireland supported Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign. In 1951 he wrote a manuscript entitled "Atomic Offense" (unpublished), which advocated a preemptive nuclear strike against the Soviet Union before it could develop a sufficient nuclear arsenal. An avid swimmer, Ireland drowned off Hawaii's Waikiki Beach in 1969 at age 73.


click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Thomas Saxton Ireland


click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Grasselli Chemical Company

Scope and Content

The Thomas Saxton Ireland Papers, 1879-1969 and undated (1930-1969), consist of materials relating to his many political campaigns, manuscripts of published and unpublished books, correspondence, drafts of his newspaper articles, drafts of speeches, opinion pieces, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, genealogical material, various certificates, and personal miscellaneous items.

The collection is useful for understanding the history of Cleveland, Ohio, politics, Ireland's advocacy of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, his mayoral campaign and political activities, and his beliefs as a conservative Republican in the 1950s and 1960s. Some materials reflect the rampant anti-communist sentiment of that period.

Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged in six series.
Series I: Political Materials is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Series II: Writings is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Series III: Correspondence is arranged chronologically.
Series IV: Newspaper Clippings is arranged chronologically.
Series V: Miscellaneous is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Series VI: Scrapbooks is arranged chronologically.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material: Related Material

The researcher should also consult PG 418 Thomas Saxton Ireland Photographs.


Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Anti-communist movements -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Children -- Employment -- United States.
Cleveland (Ohio) -- Politics and government.
Cold War.
Conservatism -- United States.
Eastern question (Far East)
Holland family.
Ireland family.
Ireland, Thomas Saxton, 1895-1969.
Political campaigns -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Political campaigns -- Ohio.
Republican Party (Ohio)
Saint Lawrence Seaway.
Sheppard, Sam
United States -- Politics and government -- 20th century.
United States -- Social policy.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4312 Thomas Saxton Ireland Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Mrs. Thomas Ireland, 1975.

Processing Information

Processed by Richard Hite and Daniel Linke in 1988.


Detailed Description of The Collection



Series I: Political Materials, 1946-1964; undated

Box 1 / Folder 1
Political materials relating to Ireland's 1959 Cleveland mayoral campaign and other bids for office, includes biographical material, 1959




Box 1 / Folder 2
Political materials relating to Ireland's 1959 Cleveland mayoral campaign and other bids for office, specifically position papers and news releases, 1959




Box 1 / Folder 3
Political materials relating to Ireland's 1959 Cleveland mayoral campaign and other bids for office, including correspondence, filing documents, and campaign paraphernalia, 1959




Box 1 / Folder 4
Political materials relating to Ireland's 1959 Cleveland mayoral campaign and other bids for office, speeches, 1959




Box 1 / Folder 5
Political speeches endorsing other Republican candidates, 1954-1964




Box 1 / Folder 6
Political commentary, 1946-1962





Series II: Writings, ca. 1930-1960; undated

Box 1 / Folder 7-9
Book Manuscript, "Atomic Offense", ca. 1950




Box 1 / Folder 10-11
Book Manuscript, Child Labor As A Relic of the Dark Ages, 1937




Box 1 / Folder 12-13
Book Manuscript, The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Deep Waterway to the Sea, 1934




Box 1 / Folder 14
Book Manuscript, The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project, ca. 1955




Box 1 / Folder 15-21
Book Manuscript, Ireland Past and Present, 1942




Box 2 / Folder 22
Book Manuscript, "The Sheppard Case", 1955




Box 2 / Folder 23-30
Book Manuscript, "Wake Up America!"(never published), ca. 1951




Box 2 / Folder 31-34
Book Manuscript, War Clouds in the Far East, 1935




Box 2 / Folder 35-39
Book Manuscript, Untitled work about the merger of Canada with the United States, ca. 1930




Box 2 / Folder 40
Book review clippings of Ireland Past and Present, 1942-1943




Box 2 / Folder 41
Correspondence and business materials relating to the publication of Ireland's books, including sales and royalty figures, ca. 1930-1960




Box 2 / Folder 42
Articles written for the Plain Dealer about Germany after World War II, includes stories about some of the Nuremberg trials and executions at Landsberg, 1948




Box 2 / Folder 43
Articles written for a number of American newspapers about his travels through Europe, undated




Box 2 / Folder 44-45
Articles written for a number of American newspapers about his travels through the Pacific-rim nations and other parts of Asia, 1957




Box 2 / Folder 46
Articles written for a number of American newspapers about his travels through South America, 1957




Box 2 / Folder 47
Articles written for a number of American newspapers about his travels throughout the Caribbean and parts of South America, undated




Box 2 / Folder 48
Articles written for a number of American newspapers about his travels through Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, 1956




Box 2 / Folder 49
Articles written for a number of American newspapers about his travels through Europe and parts of Northern Africa, 1955




Box 3 / Folder 50
Articles written for a number of American newspapers about the St. Lawrence Seaway, 1948




Box 3 / Folder 51
Articles written for a number of American newspapers about miscellaneous topics, 1946




Box 3 / Folder 52-54
Political opinion pieces arranged alphabetically by title, 1941





Series III: Correspondence, 1879-1969; undated

Box 3 / Folder 55-67
Correspondence, 1879




Box 4 / Folder 68-69
Correspondence, 1965-1969




Box 4 / Folder 70
Correspondence from the Ireland family, undated




Box 4 / Folder 70
Correspondence from Ireland to others, undated




Box 4 / Folder 70
Correspondence to Ireland, arranged alphabetically by sender, undated





Series IV: Newspaper Clippings, 1935-1969; undated

Box 4 / Folder 71-73
Newspaper clippings, 1935-1957




Box 5 / Folder 74-78
Newspaper clippings, 1957-1969





Series V: Miscellaneous, 1931-1969; undated

Box 5 / Folder 79
Genealogy notes, Ireland and Holland families (more genealogical materials are found in Oversize Folder 1), undated




Box 5 / Folder 80
Information on tours, 1955




Box 5 / Folder 81
Certificates, 1931-1969




Box 5 / Folder 82
Membership cards, 1935-1969




Box 6 / Folder 83
Passports, 1948




Box 6 / Folder 84
International Association of Bridge, Structural, and Ornamental Iron Workers, 1936




Box 6 / Folder 85
American Bar Association, Ohio Bar, 1965




Box 6 / Folder 86
Funeral information, 1969





Series VI: Scrapbooks, 1933-1969

Box 7-12 / Folder 87-108
Scrapbooks, 1933-1969