BIS building, St. Patrick's Hall, St. John's, NewfoundlandBIS c. 1906
The Benevolent Irish Society (BIS) is a philanthropic organization founded on 17 February 1806, a month before the Feast of St. Patrick, in St. John's, Newfoundland. It is the oldest philanthropic organization in North America. Membership is open to adult residents of Newfoundland who are of Irish birth or ancestry, regardless of religious persuasion. The BIS is a charitable, fraternal, middle-class social organization founded on the principles of "benevolence and philanthropy", and had as its original objective of helping the growing numbers of poor in St. John's, and providing the necessary skills which would enable people to better themselves. The rules of the BIS prohibited members from formally discussing political or religious questions, but the Society occasionally took a public political stand. In 1829 it participated in a large parade through St. John's to celebrate Roman Catholic Emancipation.
In the early years of the nineteenth century, St. John's had a large Irish population with some members of affluence. Many of these Irish both saw social needs which were not being met by government, and desired to belong to a fraternal, gentlemanly organization. Under Bishop O'Donel's patronage, they founded the BIS under the motto He that gives to the poor lends to the Lord.
By the 1820s, many BIS members were beginning to play prominent roles in the political life of Newfoundland and the Irish community in St. John's. By the 1840s the BIS had become so wealthy and influential that, next to the House of Assembly and the governor's council, the BIS was able to marshal considerable resources to address social problems and needs. In 1876 it sponsored the establishment in St. John's of the Irish Christian Brothers, and assisted with the maintenance of the Saint Bonaventure's College and the opening of St. Patrick's School.
The headquarters of the BIS, fronting on Queen's Road, backing on Military Road opposite of the Basilicia, with its side on Garrison Hill, was converted into a condominium residence in the late 1990s/early 2000s; the price of a single condo unit can reach over 1 million Canadian dollars. The BIS is now based about two minutes walk west at 30 Harvey Road.
Irish Canadians are Canadian citizens who have full or partial Irish heritage including descendants who trace their ancestry to immigrants who originated in Ireland. 1.2 million Irish immigrants arrived from 1825 to 1970, and at least half of those in the period from 1831 to 1850. By 1867, they were the second largest ethnic group, and comprised 24% of Canada's population. The 1931 national census counted 1,230,000 Canadians of Irish descent, half of whom lived in Ontario. About one-third were Catholic in 1931 and two-thirds Protestant.
Patrick Augustine Feehan, was an Irish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first archbishop of the newly-elevated Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois between 1880 and his death in 1902. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Nashville in Tennessee from 1865 to 1880.
A benefit society, fraternal benefit society, fraternal benefit order, friendly society, or mutual aid organization is a voluntary association formed to provide mutual aid, benefit, for instance insurance for relief from sundry difficulties. Such organizations may be formally organized with charters and established customs or may arise ad hoc to meet the unique needs of a particular time and place.
Michael Anthony Fleming, O.F.M. was an Irish-born Franciscan who served as the Roman Catholic Church bishop of the Diocese of St. John's, Newfoundland. He was principally responsible for changing a small mission with several priests in four parishes into a large diocese with over 40,000 congregants and was the single most influential Irish immigrant to come to the Colony of Newfoundland in the 19th century. He was the principal force behind the creation of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John's.
The Masonic Temple built in 1894 at St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada is an example of Victorian construction which includes pilasters, free-standing columns and multiple pediments. The Masonic Temple was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in April 1995.
The Newfoundland Tricolour, or the Pink, White and Green, is an unofficial flag seen in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and is mistakenly believed to have been an official Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador, or more commonly, of the island of Newfoundland specifically.
The Loyal Orange Association in Canada, historically the Loyal Orange Association in British America and also known as the Loyal Orange Association of Canada, Grand Orange Lodge of Canada, or simply Orange Order in Canada, is the Canadian branch of the Orange Order, a Protestant fraternal organization that began in County Armagh in Ireland in 1795. It has played a large part in the history of Canada, with many prominent members including four prime ministers, among them Sir John A. Macdonald and John Diefenbaker.
A fraternal order is a voluntary membership group organised as an order, with an initiation ritual and traits alluding to religious, chivalric or pseudo-chivalric orders, guilds, or secret societies. Fraternal orders typically have secular purposes, serving as social clubs, cultural organizations and providing a form of social welfare through reciprocal aid or charitable work. Many friendly societies, benefit societies and mutual organisations take the form of a fraternal order.
The Nickel Theatre was the first movie theatre in Newfoundland. Part of the five-cent picture show craze that brought daily movies to almost every city and town all across North America, the Nickel opened in the Benevolent Irish Society's St. Patrick's Hall on July 1, 1907, one of a chain of B.F. Keith's Nickels in New England and Eastern Canada. Three more five-cent shows opened in St. John's by October 1907, all in large pre-existing community halls like the Nickel, rather than the small storefront nickelodeon typical of the time in the United States, Ontario, and larger cities in Canada. The Nickel is remembered fondly as the beginnings of moviegoing in Newfoundland, its name is used today for the local film festival. While cinema had debuted in December 1897, and moving pictures played in St. Patrick's Hall before 1907, the Nickel indeed offered the people of St. John's daily public amusement for the first time.
A fraternity or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in the Western concept developed in the Christian context, notably with the religious orders in the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages. The concept was eventually further extended with medieval confraternities and guilds. In the early modern era, these were followed by fraternal orders such as Freemasons, the Rosicrucian Society of England, and Odd Fellows, along with gentlemen's clubs, student fraternities, and fraternal service organizations. Members are occasionally referred to as a brother or – usually in a religious context – frater or friar.
Bis or BIS may refer to:
The Knights of Equity (KOE) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization established in the US in 1895 and still in active operation in the 21st century. The group is among the oldest Irish-Catholic membership associations in America. With some 65 local chapters, called "courts," during its period of greatest influence, the group was an important Catholic political and fraternal benefit society. The early society organized Irish Catholics in America against discrimination and gave financial aid to impoverished Irish immigrants.
The Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World (IBPOEW) is an African-American fraternal order modeled on the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. It was established in 1897 in the United States. In the early 21st century, it has 500,000 members and 1500 lodges in the world.
Scottish-Irish Canadians or Scots-Irish Canadians are those who are Ulster Scots or those who have Ulster Scots ancestry and live in or were born in Canada. Ulster Scots are Lowland Scots people and Northern English people who immigrated to the Irish Province of Ulster from the early 17th century after the accession of James I to the English throne. This was known as the Plantation of Ulster.
The St. Patrick's Society of Montreal is the oldest fraternal organization in Canada. In existence since March 17, 1834, it predates the Société Saint-Jean Baptiste by three months. The St. Patrick's Society continues to be a leader in Montreal's Irish community, organizing such annual events as the St. Patrick's Ball, the St. Patrick's Luncheon, and the St. Patrick's Society's annual Christmas concert. The Society's current President is Ken Quinn.
Division No. 1, Subdivision G is an unorganized subdivision on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is in Division 1 and contains the unincorporated communities of Baccalieu Island, Besom Cove, Bradley's Cove, Burnt Point, Caplin Cove, Daniel's Cove, Grates Cove, Gull Island, Job's Cove, Kingston, Long Beach, Lower Island Cove, Low Point, Northern Bay, Ochre Pit Cove, Red Head Cove, Riverhead, Smooth Cove and Western Bay.
The General Protestant Cemetery is an historic cemetery located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the side of the shallow Waterford River valley and is bounded on the upper (north) side by Old Topsail Road and on the lower side by Waterford Bridge Road.
Bickfordville is a hamlet in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The community is located in the south of Bell Island in Newfoundland's eastern Conception Bay.
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