Formed in New York City in 1836, members must be Roman Catholic and of Irish descent. It seems to be a descendant of Catholic secret societies in Ireland. The society spread back to Ireland and Great Britain. By the 1880s it was governed by the Board of Erin which had officers from Ireland and Great Britain but not from the USA. In 1884 the American group split, the majority forming the Ancient Order of Hibernians of America and a small group remaining as the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Board of Erin. The two groups reunited in 1898 but did not reconcile with the AOH in Ireland until 1995.
In 1865 - 1875, the American Hibernians had an unfortunate association with the Molly Maguires.
There is a women’s society, the Daughters of Erin.
There was in Toronto in 1875 an organization named the Hibernian Society which may be a contraction for the Ancient Order.
The local unit is called a Division. They seem to be numbered within a county, thus St Mary is Division 1 and Stratford Division 2, both being in Perth County.
The AOH was incorporated in Ontario on 1897Jun 27 and registered amendments until 1947Jun 14 1. In the 1902 Directory of
the AOH in the USA2, several divisions were listed in Ontario. Today there seems to be none left in Ontario but there is one
group in Quebec.
Click for a list of AOH Divisions in Ontario
References:
https://aoh.com/ - American AOH
https://aoh.com/aoh-history/
https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/irish_hiberworld/2/ - Ontario documents
Stevens, page 211
(1) Archives of Ontario, RG 55-8, box 4, file 283
(2) https://aoh.com/aoh-directories/