Clarence Snyder A.A. Papers (Ms. 2008.008)

Biographical note

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".