OF 
 
 
 
PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE FRATERNITY TO 
 THE PRESENT TIME 
 
 CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED 
 
 By WILLIAM C. LEVERE 
 
 EVANSTON, ILL. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 I am happy to be able to give the fraternity 
 a book which will be useful in teaching the 
 members some of the important events in our 
 history. 
 
 I hope no one will expect to find all our 
 history here, or even a thorough treatment of 
 some of the subjects which are presented. 
 For such information a resort must be made 
 to the larger three volumed work. 
 
 This little book is simply a skeleton of Sigma 
 Alpha Epsilon history, all the flesh for which 
 can be found in other reading. The author 
 has been compelled to pass over the intimate 
 doings of National Conventions, and to merely 
 mention in some instances important events, 
 for if he had departed from this rule, as he 
 was often tempted to do, this book would not 
 have been what it was aimed it should be, A 
 Paragraph History of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. 
 
 It is my desire that this book shall be of 
 especial use to the fine young men just coming 
 into the fraternity. They will be eager to 
 learn about Sigma Alpha Epsilon. My regret 
 is that I have not been able to preserve the fire 
 and glow in this compact volume which so 
 possessed the men who have preceded this day. 
 
 I hope that those who read these pages to 
 gain their first .knowledge of Sigma Alpha Ep- 
 silon, will have a disposition born in them to 
 go on to the large work and there learn of the 
 deeds of 'our', earlier mm. 
 
 WILLIAM C. LEVERE, 
 
 Evanston, 111., March 1, 1916. 
 
SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 
 
 Birth of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. The Sigma 
 Alpha Epsilon fraternity was founded on the ninth 
 day of March, 1856, at the University of Alabama, 
 in the old city of Tuscaloosa. Eight students who 
 had become hard and fast friends were the found- 
 ers of this brotherly society, which was destined 
 to extend to the furthermost limits of the country. 
 Chief of the eight was Noble Leslie De Votie, an 
 Alabama boy by birth, who was a youth of splen- 
 did promise. He was the originator of the frater- 
 nity. He, as well as the others, had formed a 
 warm friendship for each of their group, and it 
 was his idea that a fraternity would best per- 
 petuate the tie.s which, as their college days drew 
 to a close, seemed nearer and dearer to them all. 
 Along the banks of Black Warrior River is the 
 edge of the Tuscaloosa campus, and in the fall 
 days of 1855, as these companions strolled by the 
 river side, De Votie first unfolded his conception 
 of a new fraternity. The thought of a bond 
 which would hold them together for all time was 
 full of interest to them. So it came about that in 
 the late hours of a stormy night, the friends met 
 in the old southern mansion and by the flicker of 
 dripping candles organized Sigma Alpha Epsilon. 
 
 The Founders. There were eight of the friends. 
 They were Noble Leslie De Votie, John B. Ru- 
 dulph, John W. Kerr, Nathan E. Cockrell, Wade 
 Foster, Abner Patton, Samuel Dennis and Thomas 
 C. Cook. The last of these named was not present 
 at the time of organization. Cook had planned 
 the fraternity with the others, but shortly before 
 it was organized Jia^ withdrawn from the Uni- 
 
4 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 yersity of Alabama and entered Princeton. At the 
 first meeting it was voted that no one should be 
 considered a member of the fraternity "except 
 those present." This was afterwards rescinded 
 to the extent of voting Cook a member, and send^ 
 Ing him a ritual that he might initiate himself. 
 He has always been considered one of the 
 founders. 
 
 The Preliminaries. In planning for Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon the strictest secrecy was observed. Only 
 eight men who had trod the campus at Tuscaloosa 
 knew that such a movement was aroot, and these 
 were the eight men directly concerned. John 
 Kerr'B home was in Tuscaloosa, and the prelimin- 
 ary meetings were frequently held there, but no 
 member of his family knew what it meant, though 
 the secret councils gave rise to much whispered 
 speculation. Sometimes, when the meetings to 
 talk the project over were held elsewhere, Kerr 
 would arm himself with an air of mystery and an 
 old Mexican horse pistol that Had been in the 
 family ever since the Mexican War, and would 
 quietly steal away to the rendezvous. No suspi- 
 cion of what was afoot roused the Greek chapters 
 from their lethargy; and if the men who were in 
 the venture were seen together more frequently 
 than usual, it was attributed to tne feeling that a 
 company of fast friends were aware that the day 
 that would rupture their union was close at hand. 
 So the days passed until March came. 
 
 The First Meeting. The ninth of March meeting 
 was held in a building still standing in Tuscaloosa, 
 which is now occupied as a private residence, but 
 which for many years was called the Mansion 
 House and previous to that was known as John- 
 son's Schoolhouse. Noble De Votie presided at 
 the first meeting. He declared that they had 
 met "for the purpose of organizing a fraternity to 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 5 
 
 be called Sigma Alpha Epsilon." John B. Rudulph 
 had designed the badge and it was unanimously 
 adopted without debate. The badge has come 
 down through the years with but little change. 
 Abner E. Patton was elected to serve as president 
 until the adoption of the constitution. An odd 
 provision adopted at this meeting was that the 
 chapter could not have a membership larger than 
 thirteen per cent of the student body. 
 
 The First Constitution. A constitution was the 
 ^important question to be considered, for it was 
 'the very foundation of the fraternity. This was 
 so because under the term "constitution" were 
 comprised not only the laws to govern the frater- 
 nity, but its ritual. This remained true for many 
 years. What are now known as the national laws 
 and the ritual were formerly comprised in the 
 word "constitution." In the minutes of the first 
 meeting we read that a committee of three was 
 appointed to write the constitution. We already 
 know that De Votie had the constitution practi- 
 cally completed the night they met for organiza- 
 tion. The action providing for a committee to 
 write it must have here referred to its form, for 
 we have Rudulph's word for it that it was com- 
 pleted at the time of the first meeting, though 
 not adopted. At the very next meeting, one week 
 later, it was read and adopted, though not without 
 being amended. Minerva, the Goddess of Wisdom, 
 was made the patron of the fraternity. 
 
 The Topoi. One of the provisions of the first 
 constitution required each member of the frat- 
 ernity to choose a subject on which he must write 
 essays throughout his college course, for the 
 literary meetings of the chapter were then a 
 prominent feature of the fraternity work. These 
 subjects were known as degrees, though the next 
 year they changed the name to "topoi" at the 
 
6 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 suggestion of Noble De Votie, who wrote the 
 chapter from Princeton, urging the change. This 
 system of literary work was one of the cardinal 
 points in the constitution, and its observance was 
 rigidly enforced not only at the Mother chapter, 
 but throughout the fraternity as it extended from 
 college to college. 
 
 The Grand Chapter. The first system of govern- 
 ment of Sigma Alpha Epsilon was by a Grand 
 Chapter. Each general convention choose a chap- 
 ter to administer the affairs of the fraternity until 
 the following convention. This plan, modified 
 from time to time, remained the method of ad- 
 ministration from 1856 to 1885. 
 
 Mother Mu. The first chapter of the fraternity 
 adopted for its chapter name Mu, the letter stand- 
 ing for the word "Mother." 
 
 A Southern Fraternity. It was the intention of 
 the founders to confine the fraternity to the 
 southern states. Yet the fraternity was not a 
 year old before the agitation for northern exten- 
 sion commenced, an agitation which was to con- 
 tinue twenty-seven years before it achieved its 
 object. 
 
 The First Pledge. There was a boy of rare 
 promise on the campus, a boy eagerly sought after 
 by their older rivals. His name was Newton 
 Nash Clements. Th\e new fraternity rwas as 
 anxious to have him as the older chapters, but 
 there were one or two who doubted the expediency 
 of inviting him. To them it seemed a doubtful 
 venture to tempt fate with their first "bid." They 
 all wanted him. They all realized what a victory 
 his capture would be to Sigma Alpha Epsilon, but 
 could they get him? There were brave spirits in 
 that first chapter, who were not afraid to cross 
 swords with any rival, and De Votie, Kerr, and 
 Rudulph led in the insistence that Clements should 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 1 
 
 be given the opportunity of refusing them. It was 
 at the second meeting he was voted through. At 
 their third meeting, one week later, he was in- 
 itiated. It was the first battle the newcomers 
 had fought with other Greeks, and they had won 
 gloriously. 
 
 The Second Meeting elected the permanent of- 
 ficers of the fraternity. John W. Kerr was elected 
 president, and John B. Rudulph, vice-president. 
 The secretaryship was given to Samuel M. Den- 
 nis, the treasury was placed in the charge of 
 Abner E. Patton. To Noble De Votie was given 
 the position of corresponding secretary, the most 
 important position the new organization had, for 
 the place then meant that the man who held it 
 was extension officer of the order. It was ordered 
 that Dr. Garland, the president of the university, 
 should be officially notified of the presence of 
 the new fraternity, and the meeting then ad- 
 journed to attend the first Sigma Alpha Epsilon 
 banquet. The spread consisted of a big roast 
 turkey, with plenty of hot coffee to wash it down. 
 
 Early S. A. E. Feasts. When the meeting of 
 May 31, 1856, was over, the secretary recorded 
 that the "Members returned to the university 
 where they feasted their physical appetites on the 
 fat thighs of a Shanghai gobbler." The meetings 
 of the first months of the fraternity were in- 
 variably followed by a "feed." 
 
 The Founders and the 'Possum. Quite often 
 they would have the old negro who provided them 
 secure a fine roasted 'possum. It was at a feast 
 after one of the meetings of the first months that 
 Kerr deigned to deliver an oration over the re- 
 mains of a 'possum; and the words "remains" is 
 used advisedly, for the boys had stripped it to the 
 bones and were feeling exceedingly comfortable 
 therefor. Kerr's professor in zoology had that 
 
8 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 very week been holding forth on the anatomy of 
 'possums and had explained how they, differing 
 from many kindred animals, had embricated Jaws. 
 "Fraters of Sigma Alpha Epsilon," began Kerr, 
 swelling with dignity, amid all sorts of greetings 
 and salutations from his fellows. "Fraters of 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon, we have before us the last 
 sad remains of a marsupial mammal. It differs 
 from many of the familiar animals on account of 
 its embricated jaws," and as he delivered his re- 
 cently gained knowledge with a flourish, Kerr 
 grandly reached for the skull of the animal and 
 displayed it in his most impressive manner. Sud- 
 denly his eyes snapped and he looked closer; his 
 compatriots followed his stare. This 'possum, at 
 least, had no embricated jaws. Further investiga- 
 tion followed, to be ended by summoning the 
 cook. At first he temporized, but to no avail, and 
 so at last, driven to a corner, he confessed. No 
 'possum had been obtainable that day, and be- 
 lieving the fraternity boys would never discover 
 the difference, he had procured a fat torn cat and 
 had served it to them. 
 
 Early initiations. The victory they had won 
 in capturing Newton Nash Clements, the besought 
 of all the fraternities, encouraged them greatly. 
 He was initiated at the meeting of March 22. At 
 the meeting of April 26 James Atwood Bullock 
 and James Forrest Tarrant were taken into the 
 brotherhood. These were followed on the 3d of 
 May by James D. McLaughlin, on the llth of May 
 by Thomas Lucien Moreland Owen, on the 17th 
 of May by Jewett Gindratt De Votie, on the 24th 
 of May by Robert Kershaw Wells and Gustavus 
 Adolphus Wynne, and on the 12th of July by 
 Enoch Parsons Riley. The most notable of these 
 initiations was that of Jewett G. De Votie. The 
 fact that he was a brother of Noble De Votie, 
 the founder, was not the only factor that con- 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 9 
 
 tributed to the importance of his becoming a mem- 
 ber of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He was to be the 
 founder of the important chapter, Washington City 
 Rho, which during the days of the Civil War was 
 alone to survive the shock of battles. 
 
 The First Badge. The color of the enamel of 
 the first badge was Nazarene blue. All of the 
 figures were in gold as now, and Minerva and the 
 lion were as prominent as they have been ever 
 since. The gold sides were beveled. In size the 
 first badge varied greatly from today. From top 
 to bottom the length of the badge was one and 
 one-half inches. Across from point to point it was 
 fifteen-sixteenths of an inch in width. From the 
 top point to the side point it measured twenty-nine 
 thirty-seconds of an inch in length, while from the 
 side point to the bottom point it was seven-eighths 
 of an inch in length. It was about one-eighth 
 of an inch in thickness. The arrival of the badges 
 at Tuscaltoosa made a great} sensation.* Col. 
 Rudulph in his toast at the fiftieth anniversary 
 banquet at Atlanta described it. He said "Con- 
 sternation reigned in the other Greek societies. 
 None of them had anything like this, and all the 
 girls in Tuscaloosa went wild over it. They were 
 all saying, 'what a cute badge,' and for a few days 
 it seemed as if everybody was talking about the 
 lady making the lion behave. The fact is we 
 captured the girls with our badges at once." 
 
 A General Fraternity Planned. The purpose of 
 the founders that Sigma Alpha Epsilon should be- 
 come a general fraternity was one of the fore- 
 most thoughts of the workers during these early 
 months, and in this connection an important step 
 was taken at the third meeting held. It was the 
 adoption of a motion "that those members of the 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity who may have 
 trustworthy friends in other colleges, South, have 
 
10 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 written communication with them, if they choose, 
 for the purpose of organizing chapters of the 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity in their respective 
 institutions." 
 
 De Votle and Extension. De Votie was one of 
 the strongest advocates of extension, and so fully 
 did he believe that the destiny of the fraternity 
 was to expand that at the first meeting in May 
 he proposed an amendment to the constitution to 
 govern the interrelations of chapters, although 
 at that time no other chapters existed. This 
 amendment, which was adopted, was as follows: 
 "That the corresponding secretary of each chapter, 
 immediately on entering on the duties of his of- 
 fice, shall write to the corresponding secretary of 
 the Grand Chapter, giving the names of the newly 
 elected officers of his respective chapter, and 
 other news of interest. The chapters shall com- 
 municate with each other at least twice during 
 each collegiate year." Thus did De Votie, the 
 first of our fraternity statesmen, combine the two 
 not antagonistic principles of extension and in- 
 ternal development at the very outset of the 
 fraternity's existence. 
 
 A DC Votle Prank. Among the nappy episodes 
 of De Votie's college life is a joke he played on 
 his room-mate, Jonas Duckett or "Father Rhodes" 
 by nickname. The room-mate was a fine student, 
 innocent as a girl and about as timid as one. 
 De Votie persuaded him to call on a pretty maiden 
 who received and treated him nicely. Next day 
 De Votie and his fellow conspirators bought a 
 peck of sweet potatoes, and hid them nicely under 
 "Father" Rhodes' bed. That night, after Rhodes 
 had settled down to his books, and was wholly 
 absorbed in them, in rushed De Votie with his 
 crowd in fearful consternation, telling Rhodes it 
 was reported that the potato-house of the father 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 11 
 
 of the young lady he had visited the night before 
 had been robbed, and that that worthy gentle- 
 man, violently suspecting students of the theft, 
 was coming, armed with search warrants and 
 with officers, to search; and followed it with the 
 apparently frightened question, "Duckett, have we 
 any potatoes in our rooms?" Then, without wait- 
 ing for an answer from Rhodes, who had become 
 nervous, he rushed to where he had hidden the 
 potatoes, dragged them out, lifted his hands in 
 horror, and exclaimed, "Who would have thought 
 it?" What can we do?" Just then the remainder 
 of the plotters who had climbed the stairs to the 
 third story with heavy resolute steps, to imitate 
 official tread, rushed in and joined in the chorus, 
 "Who would have believed this of Father Rhodes?" 
 Instantly Rhodes saw the prank, and still half- 
 terrified, half angry, and yet laughing despite him- 
 self, he seized a poker, chased them out, down 
 stairs, and into the darkness that covered the 
 campus. 
 
 De Votie the Scholar. All through his university 
 course De Votie brilliantly maintained his intel- 
 lectual supremacy. His grade for his entire course 
 at Alabama was 96^. He was graduated as 
 valedictorian at the head of his class on Julj 
 18, 1856. 
 
 University of Alabama Abolished Fraternities, 
 by a vote of the board of trustees at the 1856 
 commencement. It was eighteen months later 
 before the Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter was dis- 
 banded. 
 
 President Garland Attacked Fraternities, charg- 
 ing them with disorder, clannishness and demoral- 
 izing to literary work. At this very time he was 
 graduating, first in scholarship and superb in char- 
 acter, a young man who was the leader of one 
 of these four societies, while the rolls of all the 
 
12 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 organizations contained the names of young men 
 who were among the brightest and cleanest of 
 all the students. It simply goes to show how 
 human nature can be stampeded by the cry of 
 the mob. In this very report he eulogized in the 
 strongest terms Enoch P. Riley as the highest type 
 of student, and yet Riley, two days before, had 
 been initiated into Sigma Alpha Epsilon. 
 
 Lawlessness Follows Going of Fraternities at 
 Alabama. In the immediate years which followed 
 the abolition of fraternities at the University of 
 Alabama, the institution almost collapsed under 
 the lawlessness which existed. The public prints 
 of the state were full of the lamentable conditions. 
 One student was stabbed to death in a college 
 fight. Hundreds quit the institution or refused to 
 come and the attendance went down to eighty- 
 three. To stop the disintegration, the board of 
 trustees of 1859 adopted the astonishing standard 
 of twenty-five per cent passing grade in scholar- 
 ship. 
 
 Abner Patton was elected president of the frat- 
 ernity in the fall of 1856. He was the only one 
 of the founders in college. At that time Alabama 
 Mu continued to be the only chapter. 
 
 S. A. E. Faces Extinction. When the Univer- 
 sity of Alabama began its college year, October 2, 
 1856, Sigma Alpha Epsilon found itself face to 
 face with complete destruction. To the other 
 Greeks at Tuscaloosa, the decree of the trustees 
 meant the loss of a chapter. To Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon it meant the death of the whole frater- 
 nity. No wonder that Patton and Jewett De Votie 
 at Tuscaloosa and Noble De Votie, Thomas Cook 
 and Samuel Dennis, who were at Princeton, were 
 ardent in their desires to see the fraternity spread 
 to other colleges. 
 
 Alabama Mu Through 1856-1857. Though under 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 13 
 
 a ban the eleven men at Tuscaloosa held weekly 
 chapter meetings through the college year 1856- 
 57. All the eleven had been in the chapter in the 
 previous college year, although Riley was not 
 initiated until its last days. The chapter passed 
 through this year without a single initiation until 
 its very close. It was far from the ambitions and 
 hopes of the chapter that this should be so. It 
 was that offensive ban of the trustees and the 
 dubious future that restrained them. Of the eleven, 
 ten were in college; the eleventh was John W. 
 Kerr, and his stay with them was only for part of 
 the year. While with them he served as corre- 
 sponding secretary of the chapter. The ten col- 
 lege mates were Abner Patton, Jewett De Votie, 
 Newton N. Clements, James A. Bullock, James D. 
 McLaughlin, T. L. M. Owen, James P. Tarrant, 
 Robert K. Wells, Gustavus A. Wynne, Enoch P. 
 Riley. As the ten were comrades on the Alabama 
 campus they were destined to be comrades in the 
 Confederate army a few years later, and of the ten 
 young soldier boys, seven were to lose their lives 
 in that service. 
 
 Jewett De Votie at Alabama. Jewett De Votie 
 was as immeasurably active in the chapter, as 
 he was immeasurably proud that his brother was 
 the founder of the fraternity. In the old chapter 
 records the name of De Votie is quite as frequent 
 during the second year as it was the first. Mother 
 Mu was a good training school for Jewett, and 
 the spirit generated there together with the ex- 
 periences gained was to stand him in good stead 
 when he founded Washington City Rho later in 
 his fraternity life. As it was the name of Noble 
 De Votie which appeared first in the old minutes 
 of Mother Mu, so it was to be the name of Jewett 
 De Votie which should appear last when the 
 chapter "adjourned to meet no more." 
 
14 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 Literary Work at Alabama Mu. Each man in 
 the chapter was held sternly to his literary work 
 in the ante-bellum Alabama Mu. The secretary's 
 comments were sometimes amusing. It appears 
 that at the meeting of November 22, 1856, Brothers 
 Owen and Riley read essays which according to 
 Secretary Clements "were very good and satisfac- 
 torily written," but that Brother Tarrant failed 
 to produce his. His excuse was that he had not 
 been notified of his appointment. There was a 
 lengthy debate as to whether he should be fined 
 or not. Several held that, as it was announced 
 at the previous meeting that Tarrant was to be 
 on the program, and that, although he was not 
 present, it was his duty to have inquired. Presi- 
 dent Patton decided that he had no power to im- 
 pose a fine, and Tarrant was excused. The mem- 
 bers immediately proposed an amendment to the 
 constitution, giving the president the authority to 
 fine delinquent essayists. At the meeting two weeks 
 later Wells, Bullock and Wynne, all failed to 
 have essays, and all were fined. 
 
 Early Chapter Discipline. It is not the least 
 interesting study of the early days of the fraternity 
 to note the amusing frequency with which the 
 punitive right was used at the slightest infringe- 
 ment of order. At the very first meeting, after 
 the college year in 1856 opened, Wynne and Riley 
 were "fined for putting their feet on the rounds 
 of their chairs." Riley had been initiated at the 
 last .meeting of the year before, and on the plea 
 that he had not been able to learn of the rules of 
 conduct at the chapter meeting, he was excused, 
 but Wynne had to pay. This became almost a 
 habit with him before the year was passed, for, 
 excepting Jewett De Votie, he was the most fined 
 man in the chapter. Jewett, who always had his 
 feet on the table, or was late for meeting because 
 he had no watch, or some other similar reasons, 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 15 
 
 was fined ten times during the college year. 
 Thomas Lucien Moreland Owen was the only 
 man who was not fined, and we cannot help re- 
 flecting what a paragon of behavior he must have 
 been. It is not surprising that at one of the 
 meetings during the year the treasurer "made a 
 good report," announcing among other things that 
 "he had more money than he could account for." 
 
 End of Second College Year. The chapter held 
 its last regular meeting for the college year on 
 the 4th of July. The year had been a successful 
 one despite the drawbacks of opposition on the 
 part of the college authorities. Beginning the 
 year with Patton as president of the chapter, he 
 had been succeeded at the winter term by James 
 D. McLaughlin. In March McLaughlin was called 
 away from college for a while, and James A. Bul- 
 lock was elected to succeed him. Robert K. Wells 
 was elected president for the spring term. At the 
 final meeting of the year T. L. M. Owen was 
 elected for the next year. A special meeting of 
 the chapter was called July 11, 1857, and J. Hodges 
 Golson, who had been pledged tne month before, 
 was duly initiated into Sigma Alpha Epsilon. This 
 happy event closed for the fraternity its second 
 college year. 
 
 The Second Chapter. It was in January, 1857, 
 that the second chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon 
 was established with the University of Nashville 
 as its domicile. Joseph Harris Field was the 
 prime factor in gathering his companions in the 
 military department of the university to form Ten- 
 nessee Nu. There were only four of them beside 
 Field, the others being John S. Lanier from his 
 home town of Columbia, Miss., and three young 
 Texans. They were John D. Alexander, Van H. 
 Manning and David Butts. Field survived to be 
 the oldest living member of the fraternity, passing 
 away in 1915. 
 
16 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 The Activity of Thomas Cook. De Votle, Cook 
 and Dennis continued active for the fraternity at 
 Princeton, and through the efforts of Cook nego- 
 tiations were commenced in the fall of 1856 with 
 John M. Fleming of the University of North Caro- 
 lina to establish a chapter there. 
 
 De Votie and Chapel Hill. Noble De Votie 
 wrote John M. Fleming concerning the proposed 
 chapter at the University of North Carolina, say- 
 ing: 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. February 2nd, 1857. 
 MB. J. M. FLEMING. 
 
 DEAR SIR: Mr. Cook requests me to inform you 
 that your kind favor has been duly received. The 
 petition has been forwarded to the Grand Chapter, 
 from which you will immediately receive a copy 
 of the constitution. You will be authorized when 
 it reaches you to open, read, sign it, and then at 
 any appointed time to proceed with the initiation 
 of your friends. Permit us to tender to you our 
 warmest regards for the assistance you have af- 
 forded us in advancing the cause at Chapel Hill, 
 and also to welcome you as a member of our hon- 
 ored fraternity. After you organize please forward 
 us a catalogue, with the names of members under- 
 scored. You will have to determine the time of 
 your meetings, for that is not a matter prescribed 
 by the constitution. The meetings are expected 
 to be weekly. Everything about correspondence 
 and other duties, you will find laid down in the 
 constitution. Excuse this hasty note, and believe 
 me, your obedient servant. 
 
 (Signed) N. L. DE VOTIE. 
 
 North Carolina Xi Established. It was Feb- 
 ruary 14, 1857, that the mother chapter voted to 
 send the constitution to the petitioners at the 
 University of North Carolina. Fleming, to whom 
 De Votie wrote together with Thomas Jarrett, 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 17 
 
 Wiley W. Whitehead and Thaddeus Belcher, were 
 the charter members. This was the third chapter 
 of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. 
 
 Early Communication Between Chapters was 
 hindered in the first days of the fraternity be- 
 cause neither Sigma Alpha Epsilon nor any other 
 fraternity had established a magazine. It was the 
 rule that the chapters should write to each other 
 regularly and this was a duty the early corre- 
 spondents attended to religiously. 
 
 National Aspirations. The fraternity scarcely 
 found itself with three chapters, when the young 
 eagle tried to spread its wings for loftier flights. 
 John M. Fleming of the North Carolina chapter 
 raised the question of Northern Extension. Cook 
 wrote him from Princeton that the constant agita- 
 tion of the slavery question was a barrier to north- 
 ern chapters, as it would preclude the possibility 
 of harmony. The mother chapter, which at this 
 time was the governing body of the fraternity and 
 was known as the Grand Chapter, voted to have 
 a general convention as soon as there were eight 
 chapters. The fraternity adhered to this plan. 
 
 Early Chapter Nomenclature. When the frat- 
 ernity was founded nothing was thought of or 
 heard but the general name of Sigma Alpha Ep- 
 silon. The second chapter had no sooner been 
 established than it became evident that some 
 individual chapter name must be adopted. In the 
 absence of any official action it became the custom 
 to denominate the chapters by the names of the 
 towns in which they were located. This was un- 
 satisfactory, and it was one of the tasks to devise 
 some system of nomenclature which should carry 
 out the Greek idea, embodied in the national name 
 of the fraternity. It was obviously appropriate 
 that each chapter should be given for its individual 
 name one of the letters of the Greek alphabet. 
 
18 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 It was the first convention that christened the 
 chapter at the University of Alabama "Mu," and 
 this letter was chosen because "Mu is the equi- 
 valent of the initial of 'Mother/ " and the names 
 which were given the other chapters are chrono- 
 logically almost those which alternately precede 
 and follow Mu, but they were not exactly so. 
 
 The Murfreesboro Chapter. This interesting 
 chapter, long since defunct, is generally called by 
 the name above which it first bore after it was 
 established as the fourth chapter of the fraternity 
 at old Union University at Murfreesboro, Tenn. 
 It later took a Greek letter, but as Tennessee now 
 has another chapter bearing that name, it comes 
 down to us in history under its original cognomen. 
 
 The Founder of Murfreesboro Chapter was Henry 
 P. Halbert, who had been a student at the Univer- 
 sity of Nashville. At Nashville he refused to 
 apologize for signing a paper criticising the fac- 
 ulty for, as he believed, unjustly disciplining a 
 fellow student. He was dismissed and entered 
 Union University. Through his knowledge of 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon at Nashville, he persuaded 
 four Union students to petition for a charter. It 
 was granted July 4, 1857, but the chapter was not 
 installed until September, for in the meantime an 
 insane theological student killed one of the peti- 
 tioners and severely wounded a second. 
 
 Virginia Kappa Founded. Thaddeus Forniss en- 
 tered William and Mary College at Williamsburg, 
 Va., in the fall of 1857, coming there from the 
 University of Alabama. Together with several 
 friends, he petitioned the Grand Chapter at Tusca- 
 loosa for a chapter. It was granted December 12, 
 1857. 
 
 A Virginia Kappa Hero. Robert C. Atkinson 
 was one of the early members of Virginia Kappa. 
 He became the hero of the chapter for a while 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 19 
 
 as the result of a personal encounter he had with 
 Garrett, a fellow student and member of a rival 
 society, known as the E. A. Letters intended for 
 S. A. E. had fallen into the hands of the members 
 of the E. A., and had been opened by them, un- 
 doubtedly through mistake. Atkinson wrote Gar- 
 rett acknowledging the receipt of one of these 
 opened letters, and requested him to be more 
 careful in the future regarding the letters, mean- 
 ing by this to refer to the similarity of the letters, 
 "S. A. E." and "E. A." Garrett believed that Atkin- 
 son meant to say that the members of his society 
 were making common property of the correspond- 
 ence, and the next time he met Atkinson he at- 
 tacked him. Atkinson was quick to meet him on his 
 own ground and in a few minutes Garrett found 
 himself on his back with the valiant S. A. E. 
 astride him. His face was adorned with a black 
 eye, whose purple tinge was so vivid that it be- 
 came a nine days' wonder and was referred to 
 everywhere on the campus as "Garrett's S. A. E. 
 badge." 
 
 End of Virginia Kappa. The Williamsburg 
 chapter was one of the ante-bellum chapters des- 
 tined to be killed by the civil war. Upon its cam- 
 pus, battles were fought and its first member, 
 Forniss, was killed at Malvern Hill. It was a 
 greatly beloved chapter during its lifetime and 
 was the last Grand Chapter before the civil war. 
 
 Georgia Pi is Founded. There is an uncertainty 
 whether Georgia Pi was organized February 23, 
 1857, or a year later, but the probability is 1857. It 
 was situated at the Georgia Military Institute. It is 
 famous in S. A. E. history as "the chapter that 
 went to war." Its men left its college halls for- 
 ever when in the dark hours of a May night, the 
 long roll of the drum was sounded through the 
 dormitories. The cadets went from their beds 
 
20 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 to the scene of action. The chapter continued Its 
 life in the camps of the army, and at Resaca won 
 great glory. Their major said of them, "Those 
 boys go into battle as if they were going into a 
 ball room." 
 
 War Record of Georgia Pi. The sons of Georgia 
 Pi, like the members of our other chapters at the 
 outbreak of the civil war, were Southern boys, and 
 naturally enlisted in the Confederate Army. 
 Georgia Pi furnished to the army from the forty- 
 one men it had initiated, one brigadier-general- 
 two colonels, four majors, sixteen captains, nine 
 lieutenants, or a total of thirty-two commissioned 
 officers. 
 
 S. A. E. Enters the University of Virginia. Sig- 
 ma Alpha Epsilon almost from the day of its in- 
 ception turned longing eyes to the University of 
 Virginia. It was the great institution of the 
 South, and the members of the fraternity felt that 
 the chapter roll would be incomplete until the 
 name of the Charlottesville school was on its 
 roster. Thomas C. Cook, in a letter to John M. 
 Fleming early in 1857, had voiced this aspiration 
 of the fraternity. The members of the new chap- 
 ter at Williamsburg were anxious for a sister 
 chapter in Virginia, and immediately after their 
 own chapter was established they urged an imme- 
 diate entrance into the state university. The 
 wisdom of this was recognized so generally that, 
 without opposition, the new chapter was launched 
 Feb. 16, 1858, and Omicron chapter became a 
 living reality. The chapter was composed of 
 young Virginians, and they possessed all the high 
 spirits and pride for which the scions of the old 
 Dominion are noted. 
 
 First Men at Virginia. Among the leaders of 
 Virginia Omicron was brilliant Junius French. 
 His friends told of an incident when he was a 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 21 
 
 small boy. Junius held in his fingers a small tin 
 cup, an older brother used as a target at which to 
 fire a revolver. Another chapter leader was El- 
 liott Healy of distinguished family and great 
 manly beauty. A few years later at the second 
 battle of Bull Run he led his company in the final 
 charge, crying, "Come on, boys. Victory once more 
 on the plains of Manassas." A moment later he 
 was killed. Young and dignified Benjamin Gar- 
 lington was among the charter members. Four 
 years later, after the battle of Savage Station, his 
 commander found him still in death, lying per- 
 fectly straight, his arms crossed and his sword 
 standing with the point in the ground by his side. 
 
 Affiliates of Virginia Omicron. From the first 
 Virginia Omicron has been a chapter which has 
 had many affiliates from other chapters. Forniss of 
 Virginia Kappa was one of these. William L. Wil- 
 son, years afterward a cabinet minister of Presi- 
 dent Cleveland, came later. James H. Judkins 
 came from the mother chapter, and affiliated in 
 the fall of 1858. He did not know there was a 
 chapter at Virginia until Henry Martyn Neblett 
 stopped him on the streets of Charlottesville and 
 pointing to the S. A. E. badge Judkins proudly 
 wore, demanded, "Where did you get that?" When 
 Neblett was satisfied that Judkins was an S. A. E. 
 he told him of the chapter, and that night took 
 him to the chapter meeting. 
 
 Mother Chapter Disbands. It was January 9, 
 1858, that the ante-bellum mother chapter met at 
 Tuscaloosa for the last time. The edict of the 
 university trustees had proved all-powerful and 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon was to disappear from the 
 Alabama campus for many years. It was ar- 
 ranged that as the title of Grand Chapter was still 
 held at Tuscaloosa that the business of the fra- 
 ternity should be transacted through the corre- 
 
22 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 spending secretary, who was none other than 
 Newton Clements, the first initiate of the eight 
 founders. Jewett De Votie moved to burn all 
 essays and papers in the hall. Then Robert K. 
 Wells wrote the mournful words, "We adjourned 
 to meet no more." 
 
 Texas Theta Chartered. Texas Theta was in- 
 stalled at Baylor University soon after the open- 
 ing of the college year in the fall of 1858. Timo- 
 thy Dunklin, the founder, lost his life at the sec- 
 ond battle of Bull Run. The chapter was killed 
 by the war. It has never been revived. 
 
 Planning the Eighth Chapter. John M. Pendle- 
 ton, of the Murfreesboro chapter, had a cousin 
 who, in 1858, was a senior in Bethel College, in 
 Russellville, Kentucky. Virgil A. Garnett was the 
 name of the cousin. The two boys had spent the 
 spring vacation together at Pembroke, the home 
 of Garnett, and his Tennessee cousin had some 
 wonderful stories to tell him about Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon, which he had joined at Union University. 
 The enthusiasm of young Pendleton was conta- 
 gious, and when Garnett returned to Bethel College 
 it was with the determination to get a number of 
 his friends together and start a chapter of this 
 "society," as it was the custom in those days to 
 denominate the fraternity. 
 
 Birth of Kentucky lota. Virgil Garnett pledged 
 ten men at Bethel College at Russellville, and in 
 April, 1858, received a charter from the members 
 at Tuscaloosa who were carrying on the work of 
 the general fraternity. With the installation of 
 this chapter, the promise that a general conven- 
 tion would be held when the fraternity had eight 
 chapters was ready to be fulfilled. 
 
 First National Convention. The first general 
 convention of Sigma Alpha Epsilon was held at 
 Murfreesboro, Tenn., August 6, 1858, at the Lytle 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 23 
 
 Hotel under the auspices of the Murfreesboro 
 chapter at Union University. The University of 
 Alabama, University of North Carolina, Union 
 University and Georgia Military Institute were 
 represented by delegates. The other four chap- 
 ters sent no representatives. 
 
 Delegates to First Convention. When the roll 
 was called at the first convention it was found 
 that Newton Nash Clements had come from Tusca- 
 loosa to represent the Grand Chapter. The Chapel 
 Hill chapter had sent Vernon H. Vaughan, who, 
 like Clements, was an initiate of the mother chap- 
 ter, but had affiliated at the University of North 
 Carolina, where he had become one of the most 
 prominent members of that chapter. John S. 
 Lanier, whom we have already met at the Uni- 
 versity of Nashville and Georgia Military Institute, 
 came to represent the latter chapter, while the 
 chapter at Murfreesboro had selected Josephus 
 G. Westbrooke, of the Jovelike face, as its del- 
 egate. 
 
 Designs on the Tressel Board. The first con- 
 vention had many things to consider. The nam- 
 ing of chapters after the town where they were 
 located was unsatisfactory. The necessity for a 
 fraternity catalogue was understood, and prepara- 
 tions for the publication of one must be made. 
 There were revisions and amendments to the con- 
 stitution to be made, and those young minds that 
 are always anxious to tinker with the fundamen- 
 tals of the fraternity had been agitating changes 
 in the badge. A decision about future conven- 
 tions must be arrived at their frequency and the 
 place of the next one. The selection of a Grand 
 Chapter was one of the most important features 
 to be considered. 
 
 Extension at the First Convention. The im- 
 portant question before the first convention was 
 
24 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 the spread of the order, for it was realized that 
 the northern fraternities were coming into the 
 South rapidly, and it was necessary for the first 
 fraternity established in the South to be able to 
 meet them on its own ground. Within a half- 
 dozen years nearly forty chapters of northern 
 Greeks had been established in southern institu- 
 tions, and the outlook was that the flood had but 
 just begun. Delta Kappa Epsilon, Phi Gamma 
 Delta, Beta Theta Pi, Phi Kappa Psi and Phi 
 Kappa Sigma had been especially active in estab- 
 lishing southern chapters, and the delegates to 
 the Murfreesboro convention were fully alive to 
 the fact that they must be up and doing, if the 
 fraternity was to do its share of the tilling of the 
 virgin soil of the southern colleges. There was 
 another phrase of this extension question with 
 which they must deal, for already the cry had 
 gone up for northern extension. There were those 
 who were eager to test the steel of the new claim- 
 ant for Greek honors with the strongly intrenched 
 Greeks to the north. Even the mother chapter, 
 with its prejudices of section so strongly ingrained 
 from its birth, had been forced to yield to the 
 importunities of the Nashville chapter in this 
 direction, and grudgingly to instruct its secretary 
 to give the "reasons for retaining our society in 
 the southern states" and to instruct the secretary 
 to say to the Nashville chapter "that a conven- 
 tion will be held next summer, and if at that con- 
 vention the majority of the delegates shall deter- 
 mine to extend the society to the northern states, 
 we will abide by that decision. 
 
 Work at the First Convention. The presiding 
 officer at the first convention was Newton Clem- 
 ents, who as corresponding secretary of the Tus- 
 caloosa group, was the real administrative officer 
 of the fraternity. The publication of the first 
 catalogue was placed in charge of North Carolina 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 25 
 
 Xi. The general conventions were to be held an- 
 nually. The city of Columbia, S. C., was selected 
 for the second general convention. Several 
 amendments to the constitution were adopted. 
 The question of northern extension was post- 
 poned a year. The question of more chapters wag 
 vigorously debated and unanimously approved. 
 Provision for a chapter diploma or shingle was 
 made, though not subsequently carried out. The 
 chapters were given Greek letters for names. 
 
 Chapter Names. Immediately after the Mur- 
 freesboro convention the chapters commenced to 
 use the Greek letters for their names and found 
 it a great convenience. It was the purpose that 
 the chapters should take the Greek letters follow- 
 ing and preceding Mu in order, although they did 
 not exactly do this. Under the new order of things 
 Alabama chapter became "Mu"; the Nashville chap- 
 ter became "Nu"; the Chapel Hill chapter became 
 "Xi"; the Murfreesboro chapter became "Lamb- 
 da"; the Williamsburg chapter became "Kappa"; 
 the Charlottesville chapter became "Omicron"; 
 the Russellville chapter became "Iota"; the Mari- 
 etta chapter became "Pi"; the Waco chapter be- 
 came "Theta." If the order had been followed 
 as designed, the Chapel Hill chapter would have 
 been "Lambda" and several others would have 
 been given a different sequence. 
 
 The Grand Chapter. The Murfreesboro conven- 
 tion elected North Carolina Xi Grand Chapter of 
 the fraternity. From first to last the fraternity 
 had 7 Grand Chapters. Their names and periods of 
 service were: Alabama Mu, 1856-58; North Caro 
 lina Xi, 1858-60; Virginia Kappa, 1860-61; Virginia 
 Omicron, 1867-69; Georgia Beta, 1869-76; Kentucky 
 Chi, 1877-83; Tennessee Omega, 1883-85. During 
 the civil war years there were no general meet- 
 ings and no Grand Chapter was elected. As the 
 
26 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 war went on the chapters gradually disappeared 
 until Washington City Rho was the only one to 
 emerge from the clouds of that conflict. The 
 Grand Chapter system disappeared from the fra- 
 ternity in 1885. 
 
 Washington City Rho. Jewett De Yotie entered 
 the old Columbian College, now George Washing- 
 ton University, in Washington^ in September, 
 1858. In November he established Washington 
 City Rho, "the chapter which lived through the 
 war." Several of its charter members attained 
 prominence, one of them being United States Sen- 
 ator W. A. Harris. 
 
 European Extension. There is a tradition In 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon that had its rise in the year 
 of 1859, a tradition veiled in the hazy mist of years 
 long past. In truth, among the younger members 
 of the fraternity there is almost no knowledge of 
 the legend, for it is doubtful that one in a hundred 
 of them ever heard of it. But meet some old 
 fellow who was in college before the war and 
 who has been out of touch with the fraternity for 
 years, and almost the first question he will ask 
 you will be about "the chapter in Europe. Was 
 it ever established? What became of it?" It ap- 
 pears that one of the brothers of that early day 
 went to Europe to study. The university most 
 frequently mentioned is Heidelberg. The enthu- 
 siasts of that time set up the cry that he must estab- 
 lish a chapter across the water, and from the in- 
 terest among the old fellows that has come per- 
 colating through the years down to the present, 
 it is evident there must have been a deep feeling 
 about European extension. For some reason it 
 never came about, but the memory of it has never 
 died among the fraters of half a century ago. 
 
 Georgia Eta Founded. Georgia Eta of Ogle- 
 thorpe University was established January 23, 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 27 
 
 1859, and is another of the ante-bellum chapters 
 which disappeared 'mid the strife of civil war. 
 Like in Georgia Pi, every member of the chapter 
 went to war. Grigsby Thomas, who founded the 
 chapter, came from Columbus, Ga., which at that 
 time was the home of the De Voties. Through 
 them, partly, but through James A. Cody, a North 
 Carolina Xi, especially, Thomas was induced to 
 form the chapter. 
 
 A General Convention in 1860. The convention 
 called for 1859 at Columbia, S. C., was not held, 
 as only the general secretary appeared there. The 
 Columbus, Ga., gathering of 1860 was for the 
 purpose of considering constitutional amendments. 
 The general convention held that year was at 
 Nashville and was the last convention before the 
 war. The social side of the convention was em- 
 phasized. Thirty delegates were in attendance. 
 James H. Shorter, who represented Georgia Pi, has 
 said, "I remember what a bright, alert and genial 
 set of young fellows composed it." 
 
 The First Catalogue was issued by North Caro- 
 lina Xi in 1859. It had nineteen pages bound in a 
 purple paper cover. It gave the names of the ten 
 chapters and the hundred and sixty-five members. 
 
 Four New Chapters in 1860. Tennessee Lambda, 
 Virginia Upsilon, Kentucky Chi and Louisiana Tau 
 were established in 1860. Tennessee Lambda, 
 whose domicile is Cumberland University, has 
 come down through the years giving to the fra- 
 ternity in its progress many illustrious sons. Vir- 
 ginia Upsilon at Hampden-Sidney College, and 
 Louisiana Tau at Centenary College were two 
 more chapters to be killed by the war. Ten- 
 nessee Lambda was the result of ten S. A. E.'s 
 from various chapters entering Cumberland in 
 the fall of 1860, and as nearly every man had 
 been a leader in his chapter, it did not take them 
 
28 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 long to organize a new chapter. Kentucky Chi, 
 which was founded in the last days of 1860 at 
 Kentucky Military Institute, was a chapter which 
 was to fill a great place in the fraternity. 
 
 Early Days of Kentucky Chi. Charles Shorter, 
 an S. A. E. from North Carolina Xi, entered the 
 Kentucky Military Institute in 1860. He wrote to 
 the Chapel Hill chapter and receiving the proper 
 documents organized Kentucky Chi. Within a few 
 months the war came and every member of the 
 chapter enlisted. 
 
 A Woman S. A. E. When the Kentucky Chi 
 men left for the war, they left the secret work and 
 effects of the fraternity in charge of Miss Lucy 
 Patty, who was a popular "college widow." She 
 took great care of her trust and when the war 
 was over and the chapter re-instituted, Miss Patty 
 was made a member by the chapter to show their 
 appreciation of her good work. 
 
 The Civil War and S. A. E. Sigma Alpha Bp- 
 silon was born, grew and thrived, and five years 
 passed. Then the civil war came, days of iron 
 and blood, and into that war the fraternity went, 
 and there was not a battlefield in all the republic 
 where some bright-faced, courageous youth who 
 wore its badge did not perform deeds worthy of 
 men of steel. It might well be said that into the 
 conflict the entire fraternity went, for the per- 
 centage of men who did not go was so small that 
 there was scarce a boy who had donned the purple 
 but now wore the gray or blue. We write gray 
 first because most of Sigma Alpha Epsilon en- 
 listed in the Confederate army. This was natural, 
 for every chapter of the fraternity was in the 
 South, with the possible exception of Washington 
 City Rho, and even Washington was accounted a 
 southern city in those days, certainly in atmos- 
 phere if not geographically. And so it came about 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 29 
 
 that of all the college fraternities, Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon was the one that sent the largest per- 
 centage of its members into the civil war. 
 
 Alabama Mu in the War. The record of the 
 Mother Chapter in the war was remarkable. Of the 
 eight founders, one was dead when the war came 
 on. Six of the seven living founders enlisted in 
 the Confederate Army. Three of the six died in 
 the service, De Votie while on duty, Patton on 
 the battlefield, and Dennis while in a Federal 
 prison. Nobie Leslie De Votie, the chief founder, 
 will be marked for all time as the first man to 
 lose his life in the civil war. The mother chapter 
 initiated fourteen men, in addition to the founders. 
 Every one of them served in the war. Rudulph, 
 Clements, Hall and Golson became colonels. Ten 
 of these nineteen men were killed in the war. 
 
 S. A. E. in the Union Army. Although when the 
 civil war came Sigma Alpha Epsilon was a south 
 era fraternity, there were seven of its members 
 who joined the Union Army. Washington City 
 Rho and Kentucky Iota contributed men to both 
 armies. Daniel D. Johnson and Edwin A. Cran- 
 dall of Washington City Rho became colonel and 
 major respectively in the Union Army. 
 
 S. A. E.'s War Record. The record that the 
 fraternity made in the war is altogether honora- 
 ble; the places of high position won are nothing 
 less than astonishing when the number of such 
 honors is contrasted with the number of men in 
 the fraternity. George Paul Harrison and George 
 W. Gordon were brigadier-generals in the Con- 
 federate army. General Kirby-Smith, to be so 
 beloved by the boys of Tennessee Omega, was full 
 major-general in the C. S. A. There were seven 
 adjutant-generals: James N. Gilmer, William A. 
 Harris, John S. Lanier, Henry Jackson, George M. 
 Blount, Wayland F. Dunaway and Adolphus C. 
 
30 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 Powell. Joseph Harris Field was an inspector- 
 general. Newton Nash Clements, the first initiate 
 of the founders, was colonel of the 50th Alabama, 
 C. S. A. He was only one of eighteen colonels 
 who came from S. A. E. chapters. There were four 
 lieutenant-colonels. There were thirteen who be- 
 came majors. Of captains there were fifty; of 
 lieutenants thirty. There were twelve adjutants, 
 and non-commissioned officers by the score. The 
 founder of every chapter the fraternity had before 
 the civil war was a soldier. Over sixty S. A. E.'s 
 made the supreme sacrifice, and gave their lives 
 for the cause for which they fought. 
 
 Regenesis of the Fraternity. The war over, 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon began to take account of 
 herself. All through the southland were the 
 wrecks of the colleges where her chapters had 
 so proudly held up their heads. The military 
 chapter of Pi had been the last to die, disbanding 
 with the army in May of 1865. Yonder in Wash- 
 ington city, old Rho still lived, the only one of the 
 bright band of the ante-bellum days. But if all 
 the chapters of Sigma Alpha Epsilon save one 
 were dead, neither her sons nor the spirit of the 
 fraternity had passed away. Crippled as they 
 were, their buildings burned, their resources gone, 
 the southern colleges, with a courage equal to that 
 which their faculties and students had shown on 
 the battlefield, opened their doors, and the fac- 
 ulties resumed their duties, the students their 
 books. Among the students were many S. A. E.'s 
 who four years ago as beardless boys had taken 
 up arms, now as mature men, scarred and hard- 
 ened by endless adventures, put aside their 
 weapons and took up their books. It was to the 
 collegians returning from the battlefields that the 
 task of revivifying the fraternity fell. 
 
 Virginia Omicron Revived. In the fall of 1865, 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 31 
 
 John Bagby, Washington City Rho, and Robert 
 Atkinson, Virginia Kappa, entered the University 
 of Virginia. They had both been fighting for 
 four years in the Confederate army. Bagby knew 
 that his old chapter at Washington had lived 
 through the war, and he told Atkinson this. At- 
 kinson urged Bagby to send to Rho at once for 
 the constitution of the fraternity, and declared 
 they would reorganize Omicron. Bagby agreed 
 to this and a few days later placed in Atkinson's 
 hands the proper papers, which Rho had promptly 
 forwarded. They were the first to reorganize a 
 chapter at Virginia, and he had no trouble in get- 
 ting together a splendid company. They initiated 
 fifteen fine fellows, and the chapter at once be 
 came influential. 
 
 Georgia Pi Men Enter Athens. Three gallant 
 Georgia Pi men entered the University of Georgia 
 in the fall of 1865. They were Samuel Spencer 
 George Goetchius and James McCleskey. Their 
 coming together was momentous for the history 
 of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, for they were to be the 
 founders of Georgia Beta, a chapter which was to 
 win a place of great honor in the fraternity. 
 These three men believed that every active chap- 
 ter was dead. They had all been soldiers in the 
 Confederate army and no word had come to them 
 through the lines that Rho survived, nor did they 
 know the good work which Bagby and Atkinson 
 were doing at Virginia. 
 
 The Founding of Georgia Beta. It was on the 
 last day of 1865 that Spencer, Goetchins and Mc- 
 Cleskey met and organized the chapter at the Uni- 
 versity of Georgia. A chapter historian has writ- 
 ten: "The genuine affection for their beloved 
 order still lived and burned in the breasts of the 
 truly loyal sons of the Pi charge, and they deter- 
 mined to re-establish their chapter and thus re- 
 
32 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 vive under the classic shadows of the state uni- 
 versity the old associations so endearing to their 
 hopes and consoling to their hearts." 
 
 First Days of Georgia Beta. From the start, 
 Georgia Beta became a strong chapter. It took a 
 prominent part in the councils of the fraternity. 
 The minutes of the Georgia Beta meeting of Feb. 
 16, 1867, show there had been no general conven- 
 tion since the war. Samuel Spencer, then the sec- 
 retary of the chapter, wrote: "The secretary then 
 read before the house the amendments to the con- 
 stitution made by the last general convention in 
 I860." 
 
 Virginia Omicron at the Helm. In the minutes 
 of Georgia Beta of April 16, 1867, we learn Omi- 
 cron is "the acting Grand Chapter at the Univer- 
 sity of Virginia." This was through the agree- 
 ment of Rho and Omicron. The Washington City 
 chapter, at the close of the war, was dean of the 
 fraternity by virtue of its solidarity and Benja- 
 min's mess naturally belonged to it. It was not 
 disposed to claim its rights, and its interest was 
 great in the revived chapter at Virginia, in the 
 renaissance of which one of its own sons had had 
 so great a part. So it was that the reins of power 
 were handed over to Omicron and it became, un- 
 til the holding of a convention, "acting Grand 
 Chapter." 
 
 Mississippi Gamma Is Planned. Even while 
 Beta was organizing Thomas B. Manlove, who had 
 come from the war and was living at Vicksburg, 
 Mississippi, was planning for the rejuvenation of 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He, like the men at the 
 University of Georgia, believed that all the Sigma 
 Alpha Epsilon chapters had disappeared from th* 
 face of the earth and was casting about for a good 
 opportunity to bring the fraternity back to life. 
 Manlove had a young friend, William Champe 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 33 
 
 Marshall, who was a student in the University of 
 Mississippi. He explained the situation to Marsh- 
 all, who readily agreed to be initiated, and Man- 
 love made him an S. A. E. To do this the S. A. E. 
 had to depend upon his memory for he had not 
 seen a copy of the ritual since the war began. 
 This he was able to do, for he had known the 
 ceremony by heart at both the Nashville and the 
 Cumberland chapters, to both of which he had 
 belonged. 
 
 The Founding of Mississippi Gamma. When 
 William C. Marshall returned to the University 
 of Mississippi in the fall of 1865, he gathered a 
 fine group of young fellows about him and made 
 them S. A. E.'s. The first man Marshall invited 
 and initiated was Frank Bell Webb, a cousin of 
 John W. Kerr, the founder. There followed 
 Charles B. Howry, L. Q. C. Lamar, Hiram Cas- 
 sedy and Walter Acker among others. All of 
 these became famous in later life as Federal or 
 state judges. 
 
 Venus Aids Minerva at Louisiana. Charles 
 Read, Tenn. Nu, had a sweetheart who lived at 
 Alexandria, La., when the state educational in- 
 stitution was there, and when he went there to 
 visit her and saw the cadets on parade he was 
 so pleased with them he obtained a charter from 
 the Grand Chapter and Louisiana Epsilon was 
 born. There were seven charter members, and 
 though these boys had scarcely passed their major- 
 ity, yet most of them were war veterans. For 
 three years the chapter thrived and twenty-four 
 fine young men were initiated. It was while Ep- 
 silon was in her most flourishing estate that tin 
 order for its dissolution came. The members of 
 the chapter were summoned before Superintend-, 
 ent Boyd and told that initiations must cease, 
 He held that a military college was no place for a 
 
34 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 secret society and that Epsilon must go. Tho 
 chapter slowly dwindled as its members were 
 graduated and Sigma Alpha Epsilon went into 
 that long sleep at Louisiana State University from 
 which it did not awake until 1897. 
 
 Two Tennessee Chapters. Tennessee Lambda, 
 which had disappeared in war days, was revived 
 in 1867 by Thomas Taliaferro, who was at Cum- 
 berland University studying law. Taliaferro was a 
 cousin of Charles B. Howry, Mississippi Gamma. 
 Tennessee Eta was founded by three Cumberland 
 S. A. E.'s in the fall of 1867 at West Tennessee 
 College, now Union University. 
 
 General Convention of 1867. The convention 
 held at Nashville in the summer of 1867 was the 
 first the fraternity had had since the war, and 
 there was a general accounting of conditions and 
 a hopeful outlook for the future. Charles B. Howry 
 of Mississippi Gamma was chairman of the conven- 
 tion. Omicron, which had been acting Grand 
 Chapter of the fraternity, was legally endorsed by 
 the convention and given authority to continue 
 as Grand Chapter. The need of a new catalogue 
 was strongly felt, and Omicron was directed to 
 compile and publish one. It has been well said 
 that from this convention dates the formal reor- 
 ganization of the fraternity. Not that any single 
 action of the convention was of paramount import- 
 ance, but the act of holding a general gathering 
 in itself made all the fraternity settle down once 
 more to the fact that each chapter was but a part 
 of a large whole. There were fifteen present. Dur- 
 ing the discussion on the extension of the order, 
 one of its first phases to be broached was the 
 question as to whether the fraternity should go 
 north. It is almost strange that so near the close 
 of a fierce fratricidal strife between the North and 
 South, the subject could be mentioned in a group 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 35 
 
 of southern boys, and although but little time was 
 given to it, Howry did express his opinion that it 
 might be a wise move for the fraternity to make. 
 
 Virginia Sigma Installed. Frank Bell Webb of 
 Missisippi Gamma entered Washington and Lee 
 University in September, 1867, and the absence of 
 any fraternity brothers made him lonely. He 
 wrote to the Grand Chapter, then at the University 
 of Virginia, asking for a charter. This was 
 granted, and Webb initiated William H. Washing- 
 ton, Sidney D. McCormick, Edward A. Cheek, 
 Edward P. Clarke, James S. Clarke, and Samuel 
 H. Yonge as charter members. Edward P. Clarke 
 wrote to the writer some time since the following 
 interesting accounts of the very first days of the 
 chapter: "The initiation was peculiar, in that it 
 was done in a classroom by Frank Webb of Ala- 
 bama, with no one but the two of us present, he 
 having been deputized by the supreme lodge to 
 organize the chapter. He had succeeded in cap- 
 turing his roommate first, S. D. McCormick of Ken- 
 tucky, and I was the second member of a chapter 
 that for years occupied an enviable position 
 among the college fraternities." 
 
 Kentucky Chi Revived. Kentucky Chi com- 
 menced the second and greatest period of its ex- 
 istence when John Holt and Edward Blount, stu- 
 dents at the Kentucky Military Institute, took the 
 vows of the fraternity ner the end of the college 
 year of 1868. This was the real beginning of the 
 life of Kentucky Chi, a chapter which will be for- 
 ever famous in the annals of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. 
 For twenty years this chapter was to hold a posi- 
 tion and wield an influence -in the fraternity 
 equaled by very few if any other of the chapters. 
 
 Chapters Called Kephs. A chapter was fre- 
 quently designated by the Greek word "keph" dur- 
 ing the early years of the fraternity. 
 
36 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 South Carolina Phi. In the fall of 1868 South 
 Carolina Phi was founded at Furnam University, 
 Greensville, S. C., by Joseph P. Deans of Wash- 
 ington City Rho. 
 
 Two General Conventions. Sigma Alpha Epsi- 
 lon continued to hold annual general conventions 
 following the 1887 gathering for many years. The 
 convention of 1868 was held at Oxford, Miss., with 
 Mississippi Gamma. The feature of this conven- 
 tion was the public oration delivered by J. E. 
 Matthews, of Tennessee Lambda. The literary 
 features of the early conventions were very pro- 
 nounced. The Athens convention of 1869 of Sigma 
 Alpha Epsilon was opened July 6th at the Masonic 
 Hall with Georgia Beta as host of the gathering. 
 There were now ten chapters but only four were 
 represented, including Beta. The other three were 
 Virginia Omicron, Mississippi Gamma and Louisi- 
 ana Epsilon of the Louisiana state. In those days 
 a chapter could be represented by as many dele- 
 gates as it chose to send, and Georgia Beta, hav- 
 ing the convention at her home, had elected ten. 
 A practically new constitution was adopted. 
 
 Fraternal Insurance Proposed. William D. 
 Trammel, of Georgia Beta, proposed to the con- 
 vention of 1869 that S. A. E. should adopt the fra- 
 ternal insurance idea. The plan was rejected. 
 
 Georgia Beta Selected as Grand Chapter. The 
 convention of 1869 made Georgia Beta the Grand 
 Chapter. 
 
 The Constitution of 1869. One of the most im- 
 portant documents in the history of Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon is the constitution of 1869. This consti- 
 tution was the first to provide for northern exten- 
 sion. The wording of the act governing extension 
 was as follows: "Chapters may be established 
 beyond Mason's and Dixon's line, but the Grand 
 Chapter must be confined south of it." Virginia 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 37 
 
 Sigma made a protest against it, and succeeded 
 In having it repealed at the convention of 1870. 
 The constitution provided for yearly conventions, 
 at which each chapter was allowed ten delegates. 
 If it failed to be represented it was fined one hun- 
 dred dollars. Each chapter was allowed thirteen 
 members to every hundred students in the col- 
 lege. 
 
 Mississippi Zeta Appears. With the closing 
 days of 1869, Mississippi Zeta was instituted at 
 Mississippi College. The charter was withdrawn 
 three years later. 
 
 Second Catalogue Issued. The second catalogue 
 was issued in May, 1870. 
 
 The Fraternity in 1870 had nine active chapters. 
 They were Georgia Beta, Kentucky Chi, Virginia 
 Sigma, Mississippi Gamma, Tennessee Eta, Lou- 
 isiana Epsilon, Tennessee Lambda, Mississippi 
 Zeta, South Carolina Phi. 
 
 General Convention, 1870. The general conven- 
 tion of 1870 met July 6 at Memphis, Tenn. Georgia 
 Beta, Kentucky Chi, Virginia Sigma, Mississippi 
 Gamma and Tennessee Eta were represented by 
 delegates. 
 
 First National Officer. The convention of 1870 
 provided for the first national officer. Heretofore, 
 the officers of the Grand Chapter had been to all 
 intents the national officers, though not designat- 
 ed as such, and the fraternity thought of the 
 Grand Chapter as the head of the fraternity, 
 rather than of any set of officials. The act passed 
 by the convention of 1870 providing for a Grand 
 Treasurer did focalize the attention of the fra- 
 ternity that it had a national official. Isaac T. 
 Heard, Georgia Beta, was elected the first Grand 
 Treasurer. 
 
38 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 Northern Extension Rescinded. The convention 
 of 1870 repealed the act of 1869 providing for ex- 
 tension and enacted a law which provided, "No 
 extension north of the Mason and Dixon line, 
 north of California and Kansas. 
 
 The Judicial System. The convention of 1870 
 adopted a judicial system. It provided for a su- 
 preme court, a superior court, and inferior courts. 
 The general convention of the fraternity was de- 
 nominated the supreme court and the officers of 
 the general convention were to be judges of the 
 supreme court. The superior court was the Grand 
 Chapter. All decisions were to be made by a 
 majority vote. The inferior courts were courts 
 which the several chapters were required to or- 
 ganize. 
 
 Chapters Founded and Revived. Tennessee Nu, 
 and the Murfreesboro chapter, both of ante-bellum 
 days, were revived in the autumn days of 1870, 
 while Georgia Psi at Mercer University and Ala- 
 bama Beta-Beta at Howard College were estab- 
 lished. Alabama Beta-Beta owes its existence to 
 George D. Bancroft, of Georgia Beta, who went to 
 Howard College to teach. Georgia Psi started 
 with John Pope Jones, Thomas F. Stubbs and 
 William M. Jordan as its charter members. 
 
 Lean Years for S. A. E. With the year of 1870 
 the extension of the fraternity ceased for five 
 years. The end of the period found the fraternity 
 at a very low ebb. 
 
 Five General Conventions. The convention of 
 1871 met at Nashville; of 1872 at Atlanta; of 
 1873 at Louisville; of 1874 at Augusta, Ga., and 
 of 1875 at Nashville. The last of these had but 
 thirteen delegates. 
 
 The Phinizy Amendment. Leonard Phinizy, 
 Georgia Beta, introduced an act at the 1871 con- 
 
0^ SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 39 
 
 vention authorizing alumni chapters. The Atlanta 
 alumni were the first to organize. 
 
 Third Catalogue Issued. Georgia Beta, the 
 Grand Chapter, issued the Catalogue of 1872. 
 
 Virginia Theta and North Carolina Rho-Rho 
 were established near the end of 1870. Virginia 
 Theta at the Virginia Military Institute and 
 North Carolina Rho-Rho at the Carolina Military 
 Institute. 
 
 Virginia Sigma Made Grand Chapter. Virginia 
 Sigma at Washington and Lee University was 
 made Grand Chapter of the fraternity by the 
 Nashville convention of 1875. 
 
 Difficulties of the Fraternity. Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon awoke in 1877 to find that the general 
 convention appointed for the summer before had 
 not been held. It was only the extraordinary vi- 
 tality of Sigma Alpha Epsilon that kept it alive 
 in that decade. 
 
 Kentucky Chi in Leadership. Kentucky Chi was 
 the chapter which took the lead in the rejuvena- 
 tion of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. On February 18, 
 1877, it issued an address to the Grand Chapter. 
 In view of the conditions of that day and the re- 
 sults achieved, it may be said that this address 
 was one of the most important papers ever issued 
 by a Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter. It declared 
 the fraternity in danger of extinction and ar- 
 raigned the chapters for their negligence so se- 
 verely that a convention was called to be held in 
 Richmond, Va., July 9, 1877. 
 
 Richmond Convention of 1877. The ninth of 
 July, 1877, came. Richard H. Wildberger, of Ken- 
 tucky Chi, found himself in Richmond as the 
 representative of the chapter which had brought 
 about the convention. He found there a repre- 
 sentative from every chapter except one, the Unl- 
 
40 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 versity of Virginia. The fraternity was of age. 
 A few months before it had passed its twenty-first 
 birthday. Twenty-four chapters had graced its 
 rolls and of these but six remained. Wildberger 
 and Murphy, Georgia Beta, believed that the fin- 
 ances of the fraternity were a prime factor in its 
 success. The convention fixed the annual duea 
 of each active member for national purposes at 
 four dollars. From this time on the Grand Chap- 
 ter was to have the means with which to do 
 things. Kentucky Chi was chosen Grand Chap- 
 ter and Ben T. Farmer, Kentucky Chi, was elect- 
 ed Grand Treasurer. 
 
 The Catalogue of 1877. Kentucky Chi promised 
 the speedy appearance of the long expected cata- 
 logue. The little pamphlet appeared in Novem- 
 ber, 1877. It contained the names of eight hun- 
 dred and six members. A supplement was issued 
 in March, 1880, with two hundred and fourteen 
 new names. Another activity of the Grand Chap- 
 ter was the installation of Kentucky Alpha at 
 Forest Academy. At the end of the year the char- 
 ter was withdrawn. 
 
 Alabama Alpha-Mu Founded. Alabama Alpha- 
 Mu, at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, is the 
 child of a "prep" school friendship. William 
 Wallace Lambdin, John J. Huguley and John B. 
 D. Shipp were at the Gordon Institute. Lambdin 
 and Huguley entered the University of Georgia, 
 where they were received into Georgia Beta, 
 while Shipp went to Auburn. The two new S. A. 
 E.'s at Georgia wanted their old chum to be a 
 fraternity brother, and they urged him to estab- 
 lish a chapter. He organized a chapter of four- 
 teen men. It was installed June 15, 1878. 
 1 Augusta Convention of 1878. The Augusta con- 
 vention of 1878 was held August 28, 29 and 30. 
 The Augusta convention was largely attended, but 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 41 
 
 most of those present were Georgia alumni. Only 
 four active chapters had delegates. These were: 
 Georgia Beta, Georgia Psi, Tennessee Lambda, 
 which had been reorganized by Charles Z. Mc- 
 Cord, and Tennessee Nu, which had been reor- 
 ganized by W. Leroy Broun, Jr. Kentucky Chi 
 was re-elected Grand Chapter; Ben T. Farmer 
 was re-elected Grand Treasurer. 
 
 Alabama lota Launched. John E. D. Shipp, Ala- 
 bama Alpha-Mu, sat in his college boarding house 
 reading a newspaper, and his attention was at- 
 tracted by the account of a literary contest in 
 which several students at Southern Universi- 
 ty at Greensboro had done well. Shipp copied 
 the names and then and there wrote the contest- 
 ants asking them to organize and petition S. A. K. 
 for a charter. They responded, saying that the 
 idea was an agreeable one, and the chapter was 
 soon organized and petitioning. The Grand Chap- 
 ter issued the charter and, with Shipp as in- 
 stalling officer, Alabama Iota, on Nov. 23, 1878, 
 became an integral part of S. A. E. 
 
 Georgia Delta Begins Career. Roland Lyon, of 
 Georgia Psi, went to Dahlonega October 8, 1879, 
 and initiated his brother, who was a student at 
 the Georgia A. M. College, into S. A. E. This 
 proved the starting of Georgia Delta. 
 
 Proposed Amalgamation with Beta Theta Pi. 
 Kentucky Chi announced to the fraternity on No- 
 vember 21, 1879, it had received a proposition to 
 unite S. A. E. with Beta Theta Pi and that the 
 Grand Chapter favorably considered the plan. 
 The entire order became aflame with anger at 
 the suggestion, and there was not a single chap- 
 ter addressed but took indignant action repelling 
 the attempt at subversion. 
 
 Attitude of the Chapters Toward Amalgamation 
 
42 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 was humorously expressed in a letter to Kentucky 
 Chi by Samuel Lane, of Georgia Beta. He asked: 
 Are you fellows really in earnest, or was it your 
 object to stir things up and make the dry bones 
 rattle a little by proposing such steps? I have 
 never seen the S. A. E. camp in such commotion 
 in Georgia. Every man in Beta has gone to writ- 
 ing letters. Psi, at Macon, Georgia, is red hot. I 
 have about four letters from them about the sub^ 
 ject within the past week; our Dahlonega, 
 Georgia, chapter is also puffing. All the fellows 
 reject the proposition most emphatically and I 
 am afraid if Brother Wildberger were to take a 
 tour through Georgia just now he would be in some 
 danger of having an S. A. E. head put on him. I 
 know he would, did not our boys know what a 
 faithful sentinel in the watchtower he has been 
 and is, and that nearest his heart come the best 
 interests of our order. 
 
 Tennessee Kappa Founded. Tennessee Kappa 
 was a June bride in the early summer of 1879. 
 The alliance was with Sigma Alpha Epsilon. The 
 union was brought about by John E. D. Shipp, of 
 Alabama Alpha-Mu, and Joseph W. Horton, of 
 Tennessee Lambda. The charter was granted on 
 June 18. 
 
 Nashville Convention of 1879. Yellow Jack was 
 very impolite to Minerva in the summer of 1879, 
 for he shut the doors of Nashville to her. Four 
 general conventions of the fraternity had been 
 held there and the convention of 1879 would be 
 the first of five to follow. It was held the three 
 days before Christmas. The conventions early 
 passed the following resolutions: That it is con- 
 trary to the spirit of our fraternity to absorb or 
 in any manner whatever unite* with any other 
 college fraternity, north or south. The big four 
 definite things it did was to provide for a fra- 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 43 
 
 ternity magazine, of which Robert Wildberger was 
 elected editor. Kentucky Chi was chosen again 
 as Grand Chapter and Ben T. Farmer was re- 
 elected treasurer. A medal was provided for 
 chapter founders. 
 
 The S. A. E. Record Appears. The first nun> 
 ber of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Record appeared 
 in March, 1880, with Robert H. Wildberger as 
 editor. 
 
 The Wooing of Minerva. Although the chap* 
 ters had stood steadfast in their loyalty, the news 
 of S. A. E. having been invited to amalgamate by 
 ano'ther fraternity was taken by some as a desire 
 on her part to do so. They had not heard of the 
 resolutions of the 1879 convention. In August, 
 1880, a letter was received from W. L. McClung, 
 secretary of the extension committee of Delta 
 Tau Delta. He wrote to the Grand Chapter: How 
 would you look on a project to unite our two fra* 
 ternities? If you favor such a plan, of course, 
 you can exert very great influence with your fra- 
 ternity, as I can also with mine. If we should 
 unite, S. A. E. would at one bound gain twenty- 
 three chapter members, while D. T. D. would 
 gain, I don't know just your numbers, but most 
 of them are in good colleges and occupy high po- 
 sitions. 
 
 S. A. E. Has Another Suitor. Sigma Alpha Ep- 
 silon must have had very attractive characteris- 
 tics about 1880, for Alpha Tau Omega wrote to 
 Wildberger in February, 1881, "We heard that 
 your fraternity at large contemplates disband- 
 ment or merger into some other fraternity. If 
 such be the case, the High Council of the Alpha 
 Tau Omega fraternity would like to treat with 
 the authorities of S. A. E. We have eight large 
 and energetic chapters and five alumni chapters. 
 
44 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 Our magazine has taken a prominent place among 
 college fraternity publications." 
 
 Baird Suggests a Plan of Union. William Rai- 
 mond Baird reopened in the spring of 1881 his 
 negotiations looking toward a union of Beta Theta 
 Pi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He wrote to the 
 Grand Chapter: "The addition of your chapter 
 would strengthen us where we do not exist," and 
 in another letter suggested the following plan of 
 action: Can't you get a committee appointed "on 
 the general condition of the fraternity" with ple- 
 nary powers? Then let the committee suggest to 
 our authorities a union; we would appoint a com- 
 mittee to arrange terms, and this being done our 
 convention could ratify them and yours could be 
 submitted to the chapters individually, and if 
 some of your influential alumni approve of the 
 plan I have no doubt as to the result, for the 
 alumni virtually control opinion in such matters. 
 A committee of three from S. A. E. and three 
 from Beta Theta Pi, meeting in Louisville, Nash- 
 ville, Berkeley or White Sulphur Springs, could 
 settle the whole thing in a day. 
 
 A Warning to Suitors. The issue of the REC- 
 ORD, after these proposals of union from the 
 three influential fraternities, contained a warn- 
 ing notice, "There are several fraternities wait- 
 ing around to pick the bones of S. A. E.,, but we 
 will go to some of their funerals yet! S. A. E. is 
 not dead and not going to die; please don't forget 
 that. We are not even sick. It is very compli- 
 mentary to always be receiving offers of union 
 with other similar bodies." 
 
 The Inactive Chapters. S. A. E., like other fra- 
 ternities, has its list of inactive chapters, several 
 of whose stories have been told. Anti-fraternity 
 laws, the Civil war, the passing of the institu- 
 tion, the lowering of educational standards and 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 45 
 
 consequent withdrawal of charters have been con- 
 tributing causes to their demise. Having a place 
 historically but not in the active life of the fra- 
 ternity of today, we enter the remaining ones 
 here with name of college and years of activity: 
 S. C. Upsilon, Charleston College, 1881-2; Texas 
 Rho, Marvin College, 1881-84; S. C. Lambda, The 
 Citadel, 1883-94; Va. Pi, Emory and Henry, 1884- 
 95; Va. Tau, Richmond College, 1884-87; S. C. 
 Mu, Erskine College, 1884-94; Ky. Epsilon, South 
 Kentucky College, 1885-87; S. C. Gamma, Wofford, 
 1885-1912; La. Zeta, Thatcher Institute, 1886-88; 
 Texas Theta, Buffalo Gap, 1888; Miss. Theta, 
 Mississippi A. and M., 1887-92; Texas Psi, South- 
 western, 1887-88; Iowa Sigma, Simpson, 1889-98; 
 Conn. Alpha, Trinity, 1892-99. 
 
 Halcyon Days Begin. The eighties were pro- 
 pitious years for Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Like a 
 strong runner, the fraternity had at last found its 
 second wind. Moments of difficulty would come, 
 the period of dying chapters was by no means 
 over; but withal, the time of steady advance had 
 set in. 
 
 Atlanta Convention of 1881. The general con- 
 vention of 1881 met at the State Capitol in Atlanta 
 the last day of June. A charter was granted for 
 a chapter at the University of the South. Robert 
 H. Wildberger was re-elected editor of the Rec- 
 ord. It forgot to elect a treasurer and Ben T. 
 Farmer was subsequently named by the Grand 
 Chapter. 
 
 Northern Extension at 1881 Convention. Oliver 
 Mitchell, Georgia Beta, presented the following 
 resolution to the 1881 convention: "That every 
 chapter in the different states lying on the line 
 of the southern states, and all other chapters em- 
 braced in this fraternity, be urgently requested to 
 abolish the custom of confining this fraternity to 
 
46 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 exclusively southern states, and that they be urged 
 to press on their work knowing no South, no 
 North, no East, no West." William B. Walker, 
 Georgia Beta, has written of the reception of the 
 resolution: "Mine was not the popular speech 
 and when I advocated the extension of the fra- 
 ternity north of the Ohio River, my speech fell 
 flat. If there is any honor coming to me I would 
 rather have the distinction of this plea made, 
 rather than be known as the founder of Tennes- 
 see Omega. Of that act, which is undeniably 
 mine, I am proud, but of the other I am more 
 than proud, for though I stood alone, the subse- 
 quent history has been my vindication." 
 
 Tennessee Omega Founded. Tennessee Omega, 
 at the University of the South, was the result of 
 the work of William B. Walker, Georgia Beta. He 
 obtained a charter from the 1881 convention and 
 the first initiation was held August 20, 1881. The 
 first ten men for the chapter were selected for 
 Walker by the faculty of the institution. 
 
 Northern Fraternities Extend South. With the 
 coming of the eighties many northern fraternities 
 commenced to look southward. The question of 
 the invasion of the South by the northern fra/ 
 ternities was always a subject frequently agitat- 
 ed; their wealth and numbers were dwelt upon 
 with so much gravity that it is evident it was 
 used as a bug-a-boo by the officials of the south- 
 ern fraternities to accelerate the activities of 
 their chapters. When the northern fraternities 
 did enter the South they succeeded in making the 
 same comfortable place for themselves that the 
 southern fraternities won when they spread 
 through the North and became national organiza* 
 tions. 
 
 First Panhellenic Agreement. Kentucky Chi 
 was probably the first chapter in the Greek world 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 47 
 
 to formulate a Panhellenic agreement when in 
 1881 it brought about an agreement with its 
 rivals not to pledge or initiate any student until 
 six weeks after the opening of the college year. 
 
 First S. A. E. Chapter House. Tennessee Omega 
 was the first S. A. E. chapter to own its own 
 house. One of the prettiest stories of all S. A. E. 
 history is the starting of their chapter house 
 fund. The chapter obtained the government con- 
 tract for delivering the mail at the university. 
 The members took charge in alphabetical order 
 and served either in pairs or singly, each for one 
 or two weeks. The mail for the university was 
 brought by "hand and foot" power from the sta- 
 tion a mile away. It was then sorted "on the 
 hill" and delivered to the residents by the car- 
 riers, who had previously carried it from the sta- 
 tion. The chapter was ready to essay the task 
 and pledged itself to do the work. The contract 
 paid $110.00 a year, and Guerry, Glass, Harris, Mc- 
 Glohon, and the rest of the chapter served. One 
 day McGlohon, with a two bushel sack of mail 
 on his back, met Bishop Elliott, of Texas. The 
 Bishop said : "I want to shake your hand and tell 
 you I am glad to hear that your boys are carry- 
 ing this mail for your chapter. That action has 
 raised you to the highest moral plane. You de- 
 serve success and I want to thank you men for 
 setting such a manly example here at Sewanee. 
 Your chapter has not only taken a high place by 
 this action, but you have done something for the 
 whole student body which will last. On all sides 
 your men are commended and with all my heart 
 I honor you and wish your chapter success." 
 
 When Chapters "Reorganized." In the seven- 
 ties and eighties the chapters were accustomed to 
 go through a process they called "reorganizing." 
 The use of the term "reorganize" in that period of 
 
48 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 the fraternity's history was a peculiar one. Chap- 
 ters did not seem to regard themselves as having 
 incessant existence, but every college year they 
 would pass through this reorganization proceed- 
 ing when the college term began. If a chapter 
 returned none of its workers there was danger 
 that the inactivity of those who did come back 
 would allow the chapter to drag, and even to die, 
 while the lazy ones would excuse themselves with 
 the specious "We have not reorganized this year." 
 
 The Birth of Georgia Epsilon took place at the 
 opening of Emory College at Oxford in the fall of 
 1881. Robert S. Patillo and James E. Hunnicutt 
 were initiated by alumni during the summer. 
 Their first initiate was Alexander J. Smith, who 
 became a most industrious S. A. E. 
 
 South Carolina Delta. The fraternity owes to 
 the work of James G. Glass, Tennessee Omega, 
 the South Carolina Delta chapter at the Universi- 
 ty of South Carolina. He went to Columbia in 
 February and interviewed President Miles, of 
 South Carolina College, concerning the conditions 
 under which a chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon 
 might be established there. President Miles gave 
 him a warm welcome. He believed in the college 
 fraternities and in their beneficial influence in the 
 college where they were situated, and that they 
 also tended to draw into closer relation to each 
 other the colleges of the country. The first two 
 members of the chapter were William St. C. Syiri- 
 mers and Philo H. Burney. These were initiated 
 on the night of February 28, 1882. 
 
 Kentucky Kappa Organized. Charles W. Welch, 
 Kentucky Chi, installed Kentucky Kappa at Cen- 
 tral University, March 4, 1882. The institution was 
 then at Richmond, Ky., but the college has since 
 been removed to Danville, Ky. 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 49 
 
 Augusta Convention of 1882. The Augusta con- 
 vention of 1882 of Sigma Alpha Epsilon was called 
 to order by Major J. H. Young, of Kentucky Chi. 
 The Grand Chapter election of the year had made 
 him president of the Grand Chapter. The Record 
 was continued and strengthened and J. H. Young 
 was elected editor-in-chief. The Grand Chapter 
 was sent back to Kentucky Chi. 
 
 The Ritual in Cipher. During the fall of 1882 
 the first recorded effort was made to devise a 
 cipher for the secret work of the fraternity. 
 Caskie Harrison, Tennessee Omega, undertook this 
 work. The cipher he submitted was a unique one. 
 It depended upon the use of one hundred letters, 
 which gave more than three representations of 
 each letter of the alphabet. Various ciphers have 
 been devised by several members of the fraternity 
 since then, but they have never come into gen- 
 eral use. 
 
 Tennessee Zeta Founded. Samuel B. McGlohon, 
 one of the sons of Tennessee Omega, was deter- 
 mined to build up the fraternity in the Volunteer 
 state, and it was his zeal which brought Tennessee 
 Zeta into existence. McGlohon founded Tennessee 
 Zeta at the Southwestern Presbyterian University, 
 on November 10, 1882. 
 
 Georgia Beta in 1883. Davis Freeman, Georgia 
 Beta, wrote to John A. Harris, Tenn. Omega, in 
 the spring of 1883, "Our chapter is probably the 
 largest on the list (twenty-seven men). I have 
 been a member of Georgia Beta since March 7, 
 1880, and during all that time I have not known 
 more universal good fellowship. We meet every 
 Saturday night. Georgia Beta believes that our 
 order is now on the high road to success and is 
 making rapid strides toward the goal of perfect 
 and extended foothold in all the first-class col- 
 leges in the South. To further this rapid consum- 
 
50 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 mation she believes that every chapter should be 
 on the alert, and whenever an opening presents 
 to seize the opportunity and fill it by establishing 
 a branch of the S. A. E. fraternity. 
 
 North Carolina Theta. North Carolina Theta 
 was founded by Edwin G. Seibels, South Carolina 
 Delta, May 20, 1883. 
 
 Northern Extension Accomplished. The Grand 
 Chapter sprung a surprise on the fraternity in 
 June, 1883. For a quarter of a century the ques- 
 tion of northern extension had been a perpetual 
 theme of agitation. It appeared coeval with the 
 birth of the fraternity, and since had been dis- 
 cussed among the members in the chapters and the 
 conventions. Even ardent friends were not 
 prepared for the announcement made by the Grand 
 Chapter, in June, 1883, that Sigma Alpha Epsilon 
 had a northern chapter. Even the Grand Chapter 
 must have been surprised at itself when it found 
 It had established the chapter at Pennsylvania 
 College. Attendance at a Panhellenic gathering in 
 Philadelphia had profoundly impressed the Grand 
 President with the strength of the northern fra- 
 ternities and he was in accord with the northern 
 extension idea. It was soon after this that the 
 application for a charter came from Pennsylvania 
 College, sometimes called Gettysburg College, on 
 account of its location in that Pennsylvania city, 
 The men whose names were signed were especially 
 persistent, and it was finally decided that Russell 
 H. Snively, the vice-president of the Grand Chapter, 
 should be sent to Gettysburg to investigate, and 
 he was given full authority to act. At Gettysburg 
 he found H. B. Kline, R. R. D. Kline, Frank E. 
 Warren, and J. F. Foust. The Kline brothers were 
 southern boys and so knew much of Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon. Snively was so impressed with the prom- 
 ise of the little group that they would build up 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 51 
 
 a strong chapter, that he gave heed to their plea 
 and initiated them. 
 
 Louisville Convention of 1883. The Louisville 
 Convention of 1883 met August 14. This conven- 
 tion made Tennessee Omega Grand Chapter and 
 elected William A. Guerry head of the fraternity. 
 James G. Glass was elected Grand Treasurer. J. 
 H. Young was continued as editor of the Record. 
 The titles of the national officers were changed 
 from English to quasi Greek titles. Royal Purple 
 had added to it as a companion color old gold. 
 
 New Titles for National Officers. The changes 
 of the titles of the officers of the Grand Chapter 
 at the 1883 convention were as follows: Grand 
 President to Eminent Grand Archon, Grand Vice- 
 President to Eminent Deputy Grand Archon, 
 Grand Secretary to Eminent Grand Recorder, 
 Grand Treasurer to Eminent Grand Treasurer, 
 Grand Corresponding Secretary to Eminent Grand 
 Correspondent, Grand Historian to Eminent Grand 
 Chronicler, Grand Door-Keeper to Eminent Grand 
 Warden, and in addition the office of Eminent 
 Grand Herald. The Eminent Grand Archon and 
 the Eminent Grand Treasurer came nearer to the 
 corresponding officers of the present time than 
 any of the others. In a large sense the Grand 
 Treasurer for years had been the only real bona- 
 fide national officer. The Grand President had be- 
 gun by being head of the Grand Chapter, rather 
 than the national fraternity. 
 
 New Titles for Chapter Officers. Until the 1883 
 convention the chapter officers as well as the na- 
 tional had been designated by English names. The 
 changes for the chapter officers were: president 
 to eminent archon, vice-president to eminent dep- 
 uty archon, secretary to eminent recorder, corre- 
 sponding secretary to eminent correspondent, 
 treasurer to eminent treasurer, historian to emi- 
 
52 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 nent chronicler, door-keeper to eminent warden. 
 The office of eminent herald, which had not ex- 
 isted, was created. 
 
 The Constitution of 1883. The national law of 
 the present era in many respects is similar to the 
 revised constitution of 1883. In a comparison of 
 the regulations then and now, it will only be nec- 
 essary to place emphasis upon the variations. The 
 literary requirements of the chapter were as rigid 
 as of old, and members continued to be held re- 
 sponsible for a series of essays. Under the con- 
 stitution of 1883 the national fraternity continued 
 to take an active interest and provide laws for 
 the minutiae of chapter government. The old fine 
 of one dollar imposed on an active member of a 
 chapter who refused to accept any office to which 
 he was elected was retained. The power to organ- 
 ize new chapters was vested in both the Grand 
 Chapter and the general convention. 
 
 Chapter Correspondence Continued. One of the 
 duties of the Eminent Correspondent in 1883 was 
 to write at least once a month to the Grand 
 Chapter, and to every other chapter at least once 
 every two weeks. This constitution for the first 
 time required the filing of a membership blank 
 with the Grand Chapter. 
 
 When a Prater Died in 1883. The general laws 
 of the fraternity in 1883 required that when a 
 chapter member died, that the surviving members 
 should immediately convene, pass suitable resolu- 
 tions and appoint a committee to take charge of 
 the body. All members were required to wear 
 their badges covered with black crepe. It was 
 provided that the members acting as pall bearers 
 should be dressed in full black and wear a white 
 scarf extending from the left shoulder across the 
 breast and back to the right hip-bone, and from 
 there fall to the knee-joint. 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 53 
 
 Ritual Part of Constitution. The laws of the 
 fraternity and its ritual continued in 1883 to be 
 published under the same cover; they were still 
 more or less interwoven, although certain portions 
 of the ritual which formerly had been included 
 were now omitted, and had been since the con- 
 vention of 1879, which had directed that the most 
 intimate secrets of the fraternity should not be 
 put in print. The unprinted portions, which were 
 circulated among the chapters in writing, came 
 to be generally known as "secret portion of the 
 ritual," or sometimes as the "secret portion of 
 the constitution." 
 
 Northern Extension Opposed. Although, in 1883, 
 Pennsylvania Delta had been founded and the 
 fraternity had crossed the Mason and Dixon line, 
 there remained a minority who constantly agitated 
 against northern extension. They claimed the fra- 
 ternity was large enough. There were now sixteen 
 active chapters. Some of them knew nothing 
 of the other chapters. There were grave doubts as 
 to whether the fraternity should establish chapters 
 anywhere until it was on a stronger and surer 
 basis. The duty of the fraternity was to improve 
 the chapters it had by making them correspond 
 more regularly with each other. Admitting, how- 
 ever, that extension might be advisable, the South 
 and not the North was the place to extend. To 
 go into a northern college would mean to lower the 
 standard of the fraternity by taking unworthy 
 men. Finally, the memories of the war were stiii 
 rife and the two sections could not get along in 
 the same organization. Such were the arguments 
 used by the opponents of northern extension. 
 
 New Editor of The Record. J. H. Young, Ken- 
 tucky Chi, resigned the editorship of the Record 
 immediately after the 1883 convention, and William 
 A. Guerry acted as editor for the next two num- 
 
54 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 bers. Piromis Bell, Georgia Beta, was chosen as 
 editor early in 1884. 
 
 Florida Upsilon Founded. Florida Upsilon was 
 organized by Milton Bryan, Georgia Epsilon, who 
 had entered the University of Florida. The first 
 men were initiated Feb. 11, 1884. The chapter 
 did not continue but was revived Feb. 13, 1915, and 
 started its new career with fine prospects. 
 
 Missouri Alpha Established. James C. Preston, 
 Tennessee Omega, was sent to Columbia by Guerry, 
 the E. G. A., to establish Missouri Alpha at the 
 University of Missouri. The installation was on 
 May 27, 1884. 
 
 Texas Rho Organized. Texa Rho was founded 
 by Thomas C. Barrett, June 10, 1884, at the Uni- 
 versity of Texas. 
 
 The Ritual Revised. William A. Guerry, E. G. 
 A., revised the ritual of the fraternity in 1884. He 
 had taken De Votie's work and had added to it. 
 
 Athens Convention of 1884. S. A. E. met in 
 convention at Athens, Ga., July 27, 1884. For the 
 first time in the history of the fraternity a delegate 
 from a northern chapter was present. Tennessee 
 Omega was continued as Grand Chapter. Georgia 
 Beta was intrusted with the publication of a cata- 
 logue. The Oxford gown was adopted as an initia- 
 tion robe. William A. Guerry was continued as 
 E. G. A., James G. Glass as E. G. T. and Piromis 
 Bell as editor of The Record. 
 
 Chapter Names Improved. One of the practical 
 acts of the 1884 convention was to prefix the state 
 name to the chapter letter. For the purpose of 
 clearness in writing this history, we have fol- 
 lowed this custom but in so doing have commit- 
 ted an anachronism. Before this rule was adopted, 
 it had forced its way in several instances into 
 practice. 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 65 
 
 Glass Becomes E. G. A. A month after the 1884 
 convention William A. Guerry, who had faithfully 
 served as Eminent Grand Archon, was graduated 
 from the University of the South, and removed 
 from the seat of the Grand Chapter. James G. 
 Glass was elevated to this place by the Grand 
 Chapter, and Samuel B. McGlohon was elected 
 Eminent Grand Treasurer. 
 
 First State Convention. The South Carolina 
 State Association of Sigma Alpha Epsilon was 
 organized at Columbia, S. C., Nov. 7, 1884. This 
 was the first state association of Sigma Alpha Ep- 
 silon. 
 
 Northern Extension Triumphant. Ohio Sigma 
 was born April 4, 1885, and with its advent into the 
 fraternity the question of northern extension was 
 a settled fact. Ohio Sigma was to wear the laurels 
 of a pioneer in the north and become the progeni- 
 tor of a line of chapters. 
 
 Fraternity Conditions in 1885. The Grand Chap- 
 ter had studied conditions in the North and knew 
 there was a big harvest for the fraternity which 
 would enter and possess the land. Although the 
 West in 1885 had many fraternities, their chapter 
 rolls were not at all large and many of the im- 
 portant schools had but two or three chapters. 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon was enabled by this condi- 
 tion to enter many colleges either ahead or at the 
 identical time that they were entered by fra- 
 ternities indigenous to the soil. In other instances 
 it was there so immediately after that the differ- 
 ence gave no advantage to the others. Institu- 
 tions like the University of Cincinnati, the Uni- 
 versity of Colorado, Denver University, University 
 of Missouri, Iowa State College had only one rivai 
 fraternity when Sigma Alpha Epsilon entered. 
 Washington University, Boston University, the 
 University of Nebraska, Purdue, Bucknell had only 
 
56 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 two or three chapters. Many were like Illinois, 
 which had seven, the University of California, 
 which had nine, Allegheny, which had four. Oth- 
 ers were plainly lacking in enough chapters to ac- 
 commodate the fraternity material and the witness 
 to this is the large influx of fraternities into these 
 schools since the entrance of Sigma Alpha Ep- 
 silon. 
 
 Effect of Increased College Attendance. There 
 has been a greater factor than the lack of rival 
 chapters which has aided Sigma Alpha Epsilon 
 in its winning of the West. During the years that 
 have followed 1885, the attendance at all the 
 northern colleges has wonderfully increased. Col- 
 leges which then had two hundred and three hun- 
 dred students have become universities with two 
 thousand and three thousand students. 
 
 Northern Extension Proceeds. Pennsylvania 
 Delta came in 1887, Ohio Sigma in 1885. Two years 
 later the start was made in earnest. Michigan 
 Alpha at Adrian College was the first fruits. Two 
 months later Pennsylvania Omega at Allegheny 
 College, flung aloft the purple and gold banner. 
 Then Ohio Delta at Ohio Wesleyan University ap- 
 peared. 
 
 S. A. E. in 1885. William E. Wooten wrote 
 from Georgia Beta, where he was E. A. to the E. 
 G. A., in September, 1885, a letter which has some 
 interesting data about S. A. E. at that time. 
 
 "On examining the old catalogue and other pa- 
 pers and Records in my possession I find that to 
 send one to each of the alumni we should have at 
 least 1,400 circulars. This is a rough guess, but it is 
 the lowest number at which I would like to place 
 it. I really believe that our living alumni num- 
 ber 1,500 or in that neighborhood." 
 
 Two Chapters Revived. North Carolina Xi at 
 the University of North Carolina, which had slept 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 57 
 
 since the civil war, was revived the Commencement 
 Week of 1885 at Chapel Hill, and the following 
 October, South Carolina Gamma, which had had a 
 brief career ten years before at Wofford College, 
 came to life again. 
 
 Nashville Convention of 1885. The Nashville 
 Convention of 1885 convened Oct. 20. James G. 
 Glass, as E. G. A., called the convention to order. 
 Tenn. Omega was to relinquish the reins of govern- 
 ment and go down in the history of the fraternity 
 .as the last of the Grand Chapters. Glass in his re- 
 port, speaking of the change of government, said, 
 "The varied duties and the constant and unwearied 
 attention which the management and supervision 
 of thirty-five active chapters, spread over a section 
 of country extending from Missouri to Texas, 
 from Florida to Ohio, entails upon the officers of 
 the Grand Chapter more work than they can per- 
 form as college students. Whatever may be the 
 zeal and willingness of any chapter in the cause 
 of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, it is not right to saddle 
 a number of young men, who have been sent 
 away from home to receive an education, with the 
 management of a large and growing fraternity." 
 The system of government by a Supreme Council 
 was adopted. 
 
 The Supreme Council Plan. The new system of 
 government adopted by the 1885 convention pro- 
 vided that the convention should elect a Supreme 
 Council, consisting of six members. The chairman 
 of this council was to be the official head of the 
 fraternity, and also its national secretary and 
 treasurer. His title was to be Eminent Supreme 
 Archon. The members of the council were re- 
 quired to be residents of the same city. The Emi- 
 nent Supreme Archon of 1885 was, in effect, the 
 sole administrative officer, the other members of 
 the Supreme Council having little or nothing to 
 do with the control of affairs. 
 
58 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 The First E. S. A. Thomas S. Mell, Georgia 
 Beta, was elected by the 1885 convention as the 
 first Eminent Supreme Archon of Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon. 
 
 Province System Instituted. The Supreme Coun- 
 cil was directed by the 1885 convention to divide 
 the fraternity into provinces of from four to eight 
 chapters each, and to appoint one of the chap- 
 ters in each division the Grand Chapter of the 
 province. The plan as adopted contained a provi- 
 sion that each chapter of the fraternity must cor- 
 respond monthly with every other chapter of the 
 fraternity. 
 
 The First Provinces. The Eminent Supreme 
 Archon announced the arrangement of the six prov- 
 inces with the Grand Chapter for each, Nov. 15, 
 1916. They were named with the letters of the 
 English alphabet. The arrangement of the prov- 
 inces was as follows: Province A, Georgia Beta, 
 Grand Chapter, Georgia Epsilon, Georgia Psi; 
 Province B, South Carolina Delta, Grand Chapter, 
 South Carolina Gamma, South Carolina Mu; Prov- 
 ince C, North Carolina Theta, Grand Chapter, 
 North Carolina Xi, Virginia Omicron, Virginia 
 Sigma, Virginia Tau, Virginia Pi; Province D, 
 Kentucky Chi, Grand Chapter, Kentucky Epsilon, 
 Kentucky Kappa, Ohio Sigma, Missouri Alpha; 
 Province E, Tennessee Zeta, Grand Chapter, Ten- 
 nessee Eta, Tennessee Lambda, Tennessee Nu, Ten- 
 nessee Omega; Province F, Mississippi Gamma, 
 Grand Chapter, Texas Rho, Alabama Iota. In 
 1893, the Chattanooga convention substituted 
 Greek letters. 
 
 The Province Archons. Archons appointed to 
 supervise the new provinces were: Prov- 
 ince A, Peyton H. Snook, Georgia Beta; Province 
 B, William H. Thomas, South Carolina Delta; 
 Province C, Oscar L. Clark, North Carolina Theta; 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 59 
 
 Province D, Richard J. Owen, Kentucky Chi; Prov- 
 ince E, William B. White. Mississippi was Grand 
 Chapter of Province F. The Eminent Archons of 
 the province Grand Chapters were the Eminent 
 Grand Archons of the provinces. 
 
 Atlanta Convention of 1886. The Atlanta con- 
 vention of 1886 was in session three days, opening 
 August 24th. A special constitutional convention 
 was provided for. Thomas S. Mell was re-elected 
 E. S. A. 
 
 Tennessee Omega Keystone Laid. It was a 
 happy day for Tennessee Omega and an auspici- 
 ous one for the fraternity, Oct. 23, 1886, when the 
 Sewanee chapter had a ceremonial laying of the 
 keystone to its chapter house. It was the first 
 house to be owned by a chapter of Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon. 
 
 Harry Bunting Initiated. Harry Bunting went 
 to Clarksville to college and Tennessee Zeta in- 
 itiated him in the fall of 1886. He was only a 
 little preparatory school boy, but he had two 
 older brothers, Robert and William, in the chap- 
 ter and Greek society methods were easier in 
 those days. George Bunting, the fourth brother, 
 was initiated five years later. 
 
 The Catalogue of 1886. The catalogue' of 1886 
 was a handsome publication, comprehensive in its 
 matter, and as a piece of book-making was some- 
 thing of which to be proud. This volume has al- 
 ways been called the catalogue of 1886, because 
 this was the year that Georgia Beta completed 
 the manuscript. It came from the press the 
 spring of 1887. 
 
 The Third Northern Chapter. A new-risen star 
 in the North marked the early days of 1887. 
 Michigan Alpha, at Adrian College, commenced 
 to glitter in the S. A. E. constellation January 22. 
 
 Pennsylvania Omega Founded. Four chums at 
 
60 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 Allegheny College in 1885 formed the C. O. V., 
 and it prospered and occupied so prominent a 
 place in the college world at Meadville that its 
 need of a charter from the national fraternity was 
 impressed upon it. The application for a charter 
 to S. A. E. was made in December, 1886. The 
 charter was issued and on March 5th the chapter 
 was installed. 
 
 Constitutional Convention of 1887. The conven- 
 vention of 1886 had authorized a constitutional 
 convention. It was held Dec. 27, 1887, at Colum- 
 bia, S. C., and its work consisted in a codification 
 of the existing laws. 
 
 Two National Conventions. The national con- 
 vention held at Columbia, S. C., in 1887 met Dec. 
 28, the day after the holding of the constitutional 
 convention. Thomas S. Mell was re-elected E. S. 
 A. and John G. Capers, South Carolina Lambda, 
 was elected editor of The Board. The national con- 
 vention of 1888 was held at Nashville. A charter 
 was granted for a chapter at the University of 
 Michigan. Thomas S. Mell was re-elected E. S. A. 
 and John G. Capers was re-elected editor of The 
 Record. 
 
 Ohio Delta Founded. Ohio Delta was the only 
 chapter to come into the fraternity in 1888. The 
 chapter was organized through Ira Leighley, who* 
 the year before had been a student at Mt. Union. 
 The chapter was installed the evening of Novem- 
 ber 16th. Later the chapter initiated Albert M. 
 Austin, whose services to the fraternity were to 
 be invaluable. 
 
 Michigan lota-Beta Founded. The northern Ar. 
 gonauts of Sigma Alpha Epsilon set sail from the 
 ports of every chapter as the last decade of the 
 nineteenth century grew near. They were not 
 mere scatterlings, nor even adventurers, but schol- 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 61 
 
 ars, who, as they went from the seat of their 
 mother chapter to other institutions, carried with 
 them the flame of love and loyalty to Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon. Such was Frederick G. Cadwell, a mem- 
 ber of Michigan Alpha, who in the fall of 1888 
 entered the University of Michigan. Michigan has 
 ever been a fruitful field for fraternities, and it 
 was not long before Cadwell had surrounded him- 
 self with a little group which petitioned Sigma 
 Alpha Epsilon for a charter. The petition was 
 signed by Edward C. Nichols, Albert Z. Horning, 
 Frederick R. Angell, Charles J. Barr, Frederick 
 E. Wood. The granting of the charter waited upon 
 the action of the Nashville convention of 1888, 
 where affirmative action was taken. The date 
 of the installation of the chapter was January 12, 
 1889. From this chapter came two national offi- 
 cers: Judge A. J. Tuttle, Honorary Eminent Su- 
 preme Archon, and Elmer B. Sanford, editor of 
 The Record. 
 
 Greek Meets Greek. The fraternity world was 
 enlivened in the autumn of 1889 by a dispute 
 which arose between the S. A. E. and the Chi 
 Phi chapter at the University of Georgia. Each 
 claimed the other was initiating men before they 
 were matriculated. Chi Phi challenged S. A. E. to 
 battle, but declared that S. A. E. must not choose 
 revolvers. B. C. Collier, of Georgia Beta, and 
 one of the Chi Phi members had a personal en- 
 counter in which the purple and gold banner 
 maintained its supremacy. 
 
 Ohio Epsilon Established. Henry Dannenbaum, 
 of Virginia Pi, was visiting friends in Cincinnati 
 in 1889 and met a number of students of the 
 University of Cincinnati. He obtained a charter 
 from the Eminent Supreme Archon for a chapter. 
 So it was that Ohio Epsilon came into being No- 
 vember 22, 1889. The popular S. A. E. song, 
 "Sing, Brothers, Sing," was written by George H. 
 
62 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 Kress and others of this chapter. Albrecht F. 
 Leue, E. S. D. A., is a son of Ohio Epsilon. 
 
 S. A. E. in 1889. Sigma Alpha Epsilon was grow- 
 ing and prospering in 1889. It had thirty-two ac- 
 tive chapters and thirteen alumni associations. 
 
 Charlotte Convention of 1889. When the Char- 
 lotte, S. C., convention came, it was bothered 
 very little by either politics or business. It was 
 the gayest kind of a gay social event. The North 
 Carolina alumni had exerted themselves beyond 
 measure to entertain the delegates and they met 
 with brilliant success. The sessions of the con- 
 vention were called to order December 26th. Mell 
 was re-elected Eminent Supreme Archon, and 
 Capers, editor of The Record by unanimous votes. 
 A charter was granted the Georgia School of 
 Technology. 
 
 Supreme Council in 1890. The members of the 
 Supreme Council in 1890 were B. C. Collier, Guy 
 C. Hamilton, D. S. Sanford, James G. Basinger, 
 Edward W. Charbonnier, with Thomas S. Mell as 
 E. S. A. W have already indicated that the Su- 
 preme Council methods of that day were very 
 different from the present, when each member 
 of the council is the head of a department, while 
 in 1890, its operations were as described by Col- 
 lier, "We simply met from time to time and en- 
 dorsed whatever the Eminent Supreme Archon 
 had done." 
 
 The Extension Movement. At the beginning of 
 the last decade of the nineteenth century, the 
 various chapters showed that while they were 
 not neglecting building up their own vitality, they 
 were keenly interested in the extension move- 
 ment then going on in the fraternity. H. H. Cow- 
 an expressed very vividly the temper of the fra- 
 ternity concerning extension in these words: "No 
 one will believe that a few good chapters are 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 63 
 
 preferable to many good ones. If we look at our 
 rivals we will see that the strongest are the most 
 aggressive, and although some of them have a 
 chapter roll twice the length of ours, yet they 
 do not consider that they have chapters enough, 
 but on the contrary lose no favorable opportunity 
 of adding another. No fraternity ever grew strong 
 by ceasing to grow. The successful carrying out 
 of a wise extension policy cannot fail to add ma- 
 terially in the successful solution of other prob- 
 lems. 
 
 Georgia Phi Begins Career. George Freeman, a 
 brother of Henry and Davis Freeman, of Georgia 
 Beta, entered the Georgia School of Technology 
 in 1889. Encouraged by his brothers, and by the 
 Georgia Beta men, Freeman industriously worked 
 on building a local. It was upon his work that 
 the Charlotte convention based its grant of a 
 charter. Collier went to Atlanta and on March 8, 
 1890, initiated Freeman and his men. This chap- 
 ter has given the fraternity two Eminent Supreme 
 Archons, G. Hendree Harrison and Floyd Furlow, 
 as well as Charles Frederick Stone, an Eminent 
 Supreme Treasurer. 
 
 Pennsylvania Sigma-Phi. A boyhood friend of 
 H. H. Cowan's, Chester N. Ames, entered Dickin- 
 son College. Between then and the time of the 
 birth of the chapter, Ames had fifty letters from 
 Cowan, filled with advice, direction and sugges- 
 tion about founding a chapter. Ames, believing 
 that the time for action had come, when the col- 
 lege opened in September, 1890, pledged George 
 P. Singer and Thurston M. Simmons. Nine others 
 were brought into the band, and than they met 
 and signed a petition for a charter from Sigma 
 Alpha Epsilon. The charter was forthcoming, 
 and October llth was named as the day to install 
 the chapter. This duty was assigned to Cowan. 
 Stanley Rinehart came to assist in the ceremo- 
 
64 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 nies. The other fraternities were soon aware of 
 the presence of a new band of Greeks, and that 
 night, soon after the S. A. E.'s had returned to 
 their rooms in the dormintory, their Greek friends 
 sent ringing through the hall: "Rah, rah, rah, 
 Dickinson! Sigma Alpha Epsilon." 
 
 Cincinnati Convention of 1890. The Cincinnati 
 convention of 1890 will always be distinguished 
 as the first national convention held in the North. 
 The convention opened December 29. The con- 
 stitution was amended so that instead of the mem- 
 bers of the Supreme Council being all residents of 
 the same city, at least one was to be elected from 
 each province. The Supreme Council was em- 
 powered to choose a chapter to publish a cata- 
 logue. Thomas S. Mell announced his retirement 
 as E. S. A. John G. Capers, South Carolina Lamb- 
 da, was chosen to succeeed him. H. H. Cowan 
 was elected editor of The Record. The new mem- 
 bers of the Supreme Council, one being chosen 
 from each province, were: Province A, Stanley 
 Hugh Dent; Province B, Benjamin H. Harvin; 
 Province C, R. P. Mahon; Province D, Frederick 
 L. Taft and Charles E. Burnham. At the banquet 
 William L. Lowrie responded to the toast: "Let 
 the Limits of Our Growth be Only the Nation's 
 Boundaries," a sentiment which was frequently 
 quoted throughout the fraternity for several years 
 after. 
 
 Constitution of 1891. The 1891 constitution 
 provided for the annual conventions, and retained 
 the old provision which allowed a chapter to send 
 from one to ten delegates to a convention. The 
 voting on the various questions was by chapters, 
 with each chapter entitled to one vote. The con- 
 stitution of 1891 provided for a Supreme Council 
 of six members; each province was entitled to 
 one of these. The Supreme Council had the 
 power, which now is vested in only the national 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 65 
 
 convention, of granting charters, although where 
 they were issued by the Supreme Council that 
 body was required to have the consent of the 
 chapters. 
 
 Colorado Chi was founded at the University of 
 Colorado, April 11, 1891. 
 
 Rise of New York Alpha. William A. Clarke 
 was a Cornell student, who desired a chapter 
 of Sigma Alpha Epsilon there. In the Spring of 
 1891, discovering that there was a chapter of 
 Sima Alpha Epsilon at Allegheny College, he 
 wrote to Pennsylvania Omega inquiring the 
 necessary steps to present a petition to the 
 fraternity, and soliciting the support of that 
 chapter. A prompt reply came from Meadville 
 with the necessary instructions and assurances of 
 support. In the middle of April Clarke received 
 word that Pennsylvania Omega had secured the 
 charter, and that Elmer Higley, of the chapter, 
 was coming to install the chapter. Higley arrived 
 on the evening of April 22, and after dinner he 
 initiated the three men in the parlors of the Ithaca 
 Hotel. This chapter has given the fraternity many 
 fine workers. Among these have been Don R. 
 Almy, E. S. A., and author of the S. A. E. Stand- 
 ard Accounts and Charles P. Wood, editor of The 
 Record for two terms. 
 
 Colorado Zeta Appears. Colorado Zeta is the 
 child of Colorado Chi. It was installed December 
 18, 1891, at Denver University, and named by the 
 Colorado Chi men "Zeta," in honor of Harry Bunk 
 ing's chapter, Tennessee Zeta. One of the char r 
 ter members of the chapter was George D. Kim- 
 ball, who served the fraternity as E. S. A. and 
 E. S. T. 
 
 Work Started on 1893 Catalogue. Pennsylvania 
 Sigma-Phi was selected in 1891 by the Supreme 
 Council to edit and publish the catalogue. 
 
 Atlanta Convention of 1891. The Atlanta Con- 
 
66 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 vention of 1891 did many things. It separated uie 
 ritual and the constitution, it authorized the puo- 
 lication of the Phi Alpha, it adopted the violet as 
 the S. A. E. flower, it divided the office of E. S. A. 
 and E. S. T., and it forbade the initiation of hon- 
 orary members It met December 28. Harry Bunt- 
 ing was unanimously tendered the position of E. S. 
 A., but declined. J. Washington Moore, Tennessee 
 Nu, was elected E. S. A.; John G. Capers was elected 
 E. S. T. and H. H. Cowan was re-elected editor. 
 The law was again changed as to membership on 
 the Supreme Council, it being provided that the 
 executive power of the fraternity shall be vested 
 in a Supreme Council consisting of six members, 
 and the officers of this Supreme Council shall be 
 an Eminent Supreme Archon, an Eminent Su- 
 preme Treasurer, and four Province Presidents, 
 to be elected one from each province. 
 
 The Mother Chapter. One of the cherished hopes 
 of Harry Bunting was to see the mother chapter 
 of the fraternity revived. The attempt of 1886, 
 which had had so much promise, had been short- 
 lived. Bunting spent the summer of 1891 at Flor- 
 ence, Ala., and while there he met William M. 
 Adams, an Alabama student. He agreed to en- 
 deavor to re-establish Alabama Mu and Bunting 
 assisted by a company of S. A. E.'s' initiated him, 
 August 25. Adams returned to Tuscaloosa with 
 the opening of the college year. He soon gathered 
 a group of others about him and Alabama Mu 
 lived again. 
 
 Recovery of the Original Minutes. Very little 
 was known of the early history of the fraternity in 
 the nineties. Harry Bunting realized the value of 
 such knowledge and went to Tuscaloosa in search 
 of anything which would cast light on the first 
 days of S. A. E. In an old garret, forgotten by 
 their keeper, he found the original minutes of the 
 mother chapter containing the records of every 
 meeting from March 9, 1856, until that eventful 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 67 
 
 farewell meeting, January 9, 1858. They had been 
 lost for thirty-four years. 
 
 The 8. A. E. Yell. Its official form as adopted 
 in 1892 is: 
 
 "Phi Alpha Alicazee! Phi Alpha Alicazon! 
 Sigma Alpha ! Sigma Alpha ! Sigma Alpha Epsilon ! 
 Rah rah! Bon ton! Sigma Alpha Epsilon! 
 Rah rah! Bon ton! Sigma Alpha Epsilon! 
 Ruh rah! Ruh rah! Ruh rah ree! 
 Run rah! Ruh rah! S. A. E." 
 
 The Bunting Specials. Certain printings became 
 known in the fraternity as "the Bunting Specials." 
 Harry Bunting was learning the printers' trade in 
 the composing room of the Atlanta Constitution as 
 a means of getting a grip on the publishing busi- 
 ness. He finished work at four o'clock in the 
 morning and then would write an S. A. E. bulletin 
 of five hundred or a thousand words, and then reel- 
 ing off as many copies as he wished to use, would 
 mail them at dawn. 
 
 The Extension Year. The year 1892 is destined 
 to be remembered in the annals of Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon. It was a year of magnificent chapter 
 building such as the fraternity had never seen be- 
 fore. Eight chapters were founded and their or- 
 ganization gave Sigma Alpha Epsilon a chain 
 which reached from the shores of the Atlantic to 
 the shores of the Pacific. 
 
 Indiana Alpha Born. First of the many chapters 
 established in 1892 was Indiana Alpha, which was 
 installed at Franklin College February 10. 
 
 California Alpha Founded. When Stanford Uni- 
 versity opened its doors in 1891 there were two 
 loyal sons of Minerva on the coast who were deeply 
 interested in seeing a chapter of the fraternity 
 instituted at Palo Alto. William Mack and Edwin 
 Du Bose Smith were the men of the hour for 
 
68 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 Sigma Alpha Bpsilon at Stanford. They pledged 
 the men who became the charter members of Cali- 
 fornia Alpha on March 5, 1892. 
 
 Missouri Beta Nascent. The Knights of the 
 Green Umbrella was a local society at Washing- 
 ton University in 1892 which, joining with another 
 local, became the R. S. R. and then a chapter of 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon. The chapter was installed 
 April 30, 1892. 
 
 S. A. E. in New England. H. C. Burger of Ohio 
 Sigma and George K. Denton of Ohio Delta had 
 entered Boston University. They scanned the 
 field watching for an advantage. A spark was 
 needed to kindle the flame, and that spark came 
 in the person of Harry Bunting, who was in New 
 York City. He came and stayed a week with 
 Burger and Denton. Massachusetts Beta-Upsilon 
 at Boston University was commenced carefully 
 and systematically. The first man was pledged. 
 With the work started, Bunting returned to New 
 York City. The Ohio men continued the work and 
 succeeded in adding five others. The chapter be- 
 came Beta-Upsilon, the two letters representing 
 the name of the school. April 29 ought to be a 
 memorable day in the calendar of New England 
 S. A. E.'s. Then the first chapter was established. 
 
 Pennsylvania Alpha-Zeta Initiated. The found- 
 ing of Pennsylvania Alpha-Zeta came about in this 
 way. George H. Bunting was visiting his ma- 
 ternal grandfather in Steubenville, Ohio, when he 
 came in touch with H. H. Cowan. When Cowan 
 told Bunting of negotiations he had with George 
 L. W. Price of Pittsburgh, a student at Pennsyl- 
 vania State College, looking to the founding of a 
 chapter, Bunting at once joined forces with 
 Cowan. Stanley M. Rinehart, another Michigan 
 Alpha Man, who lived in Pittsburgh, lent his good 
 offices to the work and in the meantime Price was 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 69 
 
 not idle at the State College. He pledged eight 
 good fellows whom Cowan and Rinehart met at 
 Bellefont and initiated. The chapter was 
 named Alpha-Zeta in honor of the chapters of 
 Cowan and Bunting. 
 
 Genesis of Ohio Theta. William L. Cleland, who 
 had been a student at Mt. Union College and knew 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon there was the organizer of 
 Ohio Theta. He pledged a fine company of fel- 
 lows. The most absolute secrecy was maintained 
 about the formation of the chapter and it was the 
 intention to allow no word of its coming to escape 
 until the third of June, the date of its installation. 
 The chapter had fourteen charter members. 
 
 Connecticut Alpha was installed at Trinity Col- 
 lege, Hartford, November 11, 1892. L. J. Doolittle 
 of New York Alpha was the founder of the chap- 
 ter. The chapter disbanded in 1899. 
 
 inauguration of Massachusetts lota-Tau. Massa- 
 chusetts lota-Tau came into the fraternity at 
 Thanksgiving time. Its birthday was November 
 25, 1892. Beginning in late November with four 
 charter men, the chapter had nineteen in June. It 
 took the initial letters of its college for its name. 
 Leslie W. Millar, one of its early members, has 
 served as Eminent Supreme Recorder. 
 
 The Auburndales. The second initiation of 
 Massachusetts lota-Tau was held at the Woodlawn 
 Hotel, Auburndale, Mass., December 30, 1892. It 
 grew to be the custom for the New England chap- 
 ters to gather here and hold their joint initiations. 
 The events took on the name "Auburndales." 
 
 The Hustler. The private publication of the 
 fraternity now known as the Phi Alpha was first 
 called The Hustler. Harry Bunting and George 
 Bunting, his brother, were the founders of this 
 magazine. It appeared September 1, 1892. 
 
70 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 Ohio State Association of S. A. E. The Ohio 
 State Association of S. A. E. was organized at Co- 
 lumbus, June 3, 1892, and H. Lindale Smith was 
 elected president. As the S. A. E.'s were gathered 
 at the banquet table that evening their distin- 
 guished brother, William McKinley, appeared to 
 express his regrets that he could not enjoy the 
 banquet with them as he was leaving for Minne- 
 apolis to preside over the Republican National Con- 
 vention. | 
 
 Province Delta in 1892. Province Delta in 1892 
 had twenty chapters. The most eastern was 
 Massachusetts Beta-Upsilon and the most western 
 California Alpha. 
 
 Chattanooga Convention of 1892. The Chatta- 
 nooga Convention of 1892 was December 28. The 
 convention provided that the Supreme Council 
 should be composed of the Eminent Supreme 
 Archon, Eminent Supreme Treasurer, the Editor 
 of The Record and two alumni. A new honorary 
 archonship was established to be designated Past 
 Eminent Supreme Archon. The province was re- 
 districted. A fraternity flag was adopted. J. Wash- 
 ington Moore was re-elected E. S. A., H. H. Cowan 
 was re-elected Editor and Albert M. Austin was 
 elected E. S. T. 
 
 The Fraternity Flag. The S. A. E. flag adopted 
 by the Chattanooga convention was from a design 
 offered by H. H. Cowan. The background of the 
 flag is royal purple with a corner of old gold, the 
 size and shape of the corner being the same as 
 the blue field in the American flag. Upon the 
 gold corner appears the letters 4> A in royal purple. 
 In the center of the purple field are the letters 
 2 A E in gold. Immediately beneath the gold cor- 
 ner are the golden stars, one for each founder. 
 
 The Honorary Eminent Supreme Archon. The 
 act creating the office of Past Eminent Supreme 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 71 
 
 Archon provided that it should be filled by a dis- 
 tinguished alumnus. This office still remains in 
 the National laws but the 1909 convention changed 
 the title from Past Eminent Supreme Archon to 
 Honorary Eminent Supreme Archon. It has been 
 filled by Postmaster-General William L. Wilson, 
 Washington City Rho, 1892-1898; Justice C. B. 
 Howry, Mississippi Gamma, of the U. S. Court of 
 Claims, 1898-1904; Secretary of War Jacob M. 
 Dickinson, Tennessee Nu, 1904-1906; John B. Ru- 
 dulph, Alabama Mu, last surviving founder, 1906- 
 1909; William C. Levere, Illinois Psi-Omega, Fra- 
 ternity Historian, 1909; Governor Albert Gilchrist, 
 North Carolina Rho-Rho, 1910; William C. Levere, 
 Illinois Psi-Omega, Fraternity Historian, 1910-1912; 
 Bishop William A. Guerry, Tennessee Omega, 1912- 
 1914; Federal Judge Arthur J. Tuttle, Michigan 
 Iota-Beta, 1914-1916. 
 
 New Province Boundaries. The convention of 
 1892 made a thorough re-districting of the prov- 
 inces increasing the number from four to seven. 
 
 Entrance of Massachusetts Gamma. Massachu- 
 setts Gamma, at Harvard University, was in- 
 stalled March 17, 1893. The initiation was held at 
 Auburndale, Massachusetts. Gamma has been rep- 
 resented on the Supreme Council by two Eminent 
 Supreme Recorders, Howard P. Nash and Edward 
 H. Virgin, and by two editors of The Record, Her- 
 bert Lakin and Edward Mellus. 
 
 Indiana Beta Arises. Harold U. Wallace must 
 always be regarded as the first man in the his- 
 tory of Indiana Beta of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at 
 Purdue University. In 1893 the Lafayette school 
 had only five fraternities, though the material for 
 chapters was plentiful. Wallace was one of a 
 number who decided to bring a new charter to 
 the university. He had heard of Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon and of the chapter at Franklin College. 
 
72 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 Wallace wrote to Carl D. Hazelton, of the Frank- 
 lin chapter, and received a letter generously prom- 
 ising all the support that Indiana Alpha was capa- 
 ble of giving. A charter was secured, and on May 
 18th the chapter was initiated by an installing 
 committee which came from Franklin. 
 
 Dawn of Nebraska Lambda-Pi. Arthur J. Tuttle, 
 Michigan Iota-Beta, received a letter from Miss 
 Lola Paddock in the college year of 1892-3 urging 
 a chapter of S. A. E. at the University of Ne- 
 braska where she was a student. The year be- 
 fore she had been at Michigan and the two were 
 friends. Tuttle opened a correspondence with 
 Willard P. Bross, whose name Miss Paddock had 
 sent him. Bross, obedient to directions from Tut- 
 tle, gathered his friends in close bonds. A char- 
 ter was granted. The name for the new chapter 
 was easily decided. The initial letters of Miss 
 Paddock's name were chosen, and the chapter 
 became Nebraska Lambda-Pi, May 26, 1893. 
 
 The Inception of Pennsylvania Zeta came 
 through efforts of J. M. Vastine and John I. Robi- 
 son, both of Pennsylvania Alpha-Zeta. The in- 
 stallation was June 14, 1893. 
 
 The Catalogue of 1893. Pennsylvania Sigma-Phi 
 issued the 1893 Catalogue. The catalogue showed 
 the membership of the chapters in 1893 was: 
 Georgia Beta, 252; Tennessee Nu, 169; Tennessee 
 Lambda, 168; Kentucky Chi, 159; Georgia Phi, 
 141; Virginia Omicron, 133; Ohio Sigma, 121; Ala- 
 bama Iota, 113; Tennessee Omega, 101; South 
 Carolina Phi, 95; Tennessee Eta, 93; Tennessee 
 Zeta, 93; Virginia Sigma, 90; North Carolina Xi, 
 87; Mississippi Gamma, 82; Georgia Delta, 74; 
 North Carolina Theta, 72; South Carolina Delta, 
 71; Alabama Alpha-Mu, 70; Texas Rho, 70; Penn- 
 sylvania Omega, 62; Alabama Mu, 59; Kentucky 
 Kappa, 59; Georgia Epsilon, 55; Mississippi 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 73 
 
 Theta, 54; Michigan Alpha, 53; Michigan Iota-Beta, 
 48; Virginia Pi, 48; Missouri Alpha, 47; Kentucky 
 Iota, 46; South Carolina Mu, 44; Washington City 
 Rho, 42; Georgia Pi, 40; South Carolina Gamma, 
 38; Tennessee Kappa, 35; Tennessee Lambda- 
 Omega, 32; Ohio Delta, 30; Iowa Sigma, 30; South 
 Carolina Lambda, 28; Georgia Phi, 27; Alabama 
 Beta-Beta, 26; Louisiana Epsilon, 24; Texas Theta, 
 23; Ohio Epsilon, 22; New York Alpha, 22; Penn- 
 sylvania Sigma-Phi, 21; Louisiana Zeta, 19; In- 
 diana Alpha, 19; Pennsylvania Delta, 18; Ohio 
 Theta, 16; Virginia Kappa, 16; Pennsylvania Al- 
 pha-Zeta, 16; Mississippi Zeta, 15; Missouri Beta, 
 15; Colorado Alpha, 15; Colorado Chi, 14; Con- 
 necticut Alpha, 14; Georgia Eta, 13; Massachu- 
 setts Gamma, 13; North Carolina Rho-Rho, 12; 
 Colorado Zeta, 12; Massachusetts Beta-Upsilon, 
 12; Virginia Upsilon, 11; Virginia Tau, 10; Florida 
 Upsilon, 10; Kentucky Alpha, 9; Kentucky Epsilon, 
 9; Texas Psi, 9; Massachusetts lota-Tau, 9; South 
 Carolina Upsilon, 8; Nebraska Lambda-Pi* 8'; 
 Pennsylvania Zeta, 7; Indiana Beta, 6. 
 
 Pittsburgh Convention of 1893. The Pittsburgh- 
 convention of 1893 was the second national con- 
 vention of the fraternity held in a northern city. 
 Little was accomplished beyond the routine of 
 official and committee report submitted and acted 
 upon. All the old officers were returned, except 
 Cowan, who could not continue for business rea- 
 sons. J. Washington Moore as E. S. A., Albert 
 M. Austin as E. S. T. H. C. Burger was elected 
 Editor of The Record. The two alumni members 
 of the council chosen were Harry Bunting and 
 H. H. Cowan. 
 
 The S. A. E. Friars At Work. The map of the 
 United States hung on the wall of the apartments 
 where Harry and George Bunting lived in At- 
 lanta, took on a different aspect as the nineteenth 
 
74 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 century advanced Into the nineties. It hung there 
 with golden-headed pins stuck wherever there 
 was an S. A. E. chapter, white pins wherever the 
 Buntings believed there should be one, and black 
 pins where there was a dead chapter. In the last 
 few years many of the white and some of the 
 black had been replaced by ones with the golden 
 heads. Early in 1894, matters took on a new as- 
 pect. Harry Bunting had moved to Chicago, and 
 was looking about for new worlds to conquer, 
 while George Bunting was resolved that the chapr 
 ters in the lower Mississippi valley should be 
 strengthened by new additions. 
 
 The Six Brothers. Mississippi Gamma has al- 
 ways done her duty in binding family ties with 
 fraternity ties, for among the young initiates of 
 the Oxford chapter in 1894, was Edgar B. Provine, 
 the youngest of six brothers, all of whom had 
 donned the pin at the University of Mississippi. 
 These six hold the record: John W. Provine, 
 Mississippi Gamma, '88; Charles C. Provine, Mis- 
 sissippi Gamma, '90; Robert F. Provine, Mississippi 
 Gamma, '90; George H. Provine, Mississippi Gam- 
 ma, '92; James N. Provine, Mississippi Gamma, 
 '94; Edgar B. Provine, '96. 
 
 A Leader in Fraternal Ethics. Sigma 
 Alpha Epsilon was to take a forward step 
 in fraternity ethics in 1894 which should 
 speak well for the principles and high ground on 
 which it stood. Few have followed her even to 
 this day. The action of Sigma Alpha Epsilon 
 in adopting a constitutional amendment forbidding 
 the initiation into the fraternity of any man who 
 had ever been a member of any other college frar 
 ternity was in accord with her traditions and 
 principles. 
 
 Rise of Massachusetts Delta. Massachusetts 
 Delta, the new chapter at Worcester Polytechnic, 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 75 
 
 received its introduction to Sigma Alpha Epsilon 
 at "Auburndale." It was also the occasion of the 
 New England celebration of Pounders' Day, 1894. 
 The initiation was the largest up to that time 
 ever held by the fraternity. The new chapter 
 presented twenty-two neophites, and in addition 
 to these Massachusetts Beta-Upsilon had five, 
 Massachusetts lota-Tau six, and Massachusetts 
 Gamma five; or thirty-nine in all. The installa- 
 tion was conducted by Massachusetts Gamma. 
 The date was March 10. 
 
 Arkansas Alpha-Upsilon Founded. George Bunt- 
 ing organized a chapter at the University of Arkan- 
 sas through correspondence with James D. Head, 
 a student there. Bunting installed the chapter 
 with seventeen charter members, July 8, 1893. 
 
 Illinois Psi-Omega Founded. Illinois Psi-Omega 
 was founded by Harry Bunting, who installed the 
 chapter formally October 17, 1894. 
 
 California Beta Inaugurated. California Beta 
 was developed by Vance C. Osmont, Massachu- 
 setts lota-Tau, who was in attendance at the Uni- 
 versity of California in 1894. Twelve California 
 Alpha men conducted the initiation, Nov. 24, 1894. 
 
 The Purple and Gold Appears. The PURPLE 
 AND GOLD appeared in December, 1894. It was 
 the bulletin which the Ohio State Association had 
 ordered published. It was the first periodical 
 issued by any of the smaller bodies of the fra- 
 ternity. 
 
 Washington Convention of 1894. The Washing- 
 ington convention of 1894 was the last of the an- 
 nual national conventions. Its chief importance 
 was the thorough revision of the laws of the fra- 
 ternity. The granting of charters to Columbia and 
 St. Stephens, the adoption of a biennial national 
 convention, and the inauguration of giving the 
 custody of the fraternity banners to the two 
 
76 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 chapters making the hest showing for promptness 
 in their relations with the national fraternity, 
 were some of the measures which had their rise 
 at this convention. This was the last national con- 
 vention to choose province presidents. The officers 
 elected were: Eminent Supreme Archon, Albert 
 M. Austin; Eminent Supreme Deputy Archon, 
 Claudius Dockery; Eminent Supreme Recorder, 
 Howard P. Nash; Eminent Supreme Treasurer, 
 Champe S. Andrews; Editor of The Record, H. C. 
 Burger. 
 
 The Flags of the Fraternity. The disposition by 
 the 1894 Convention of the two flags owned by 
 the fraternity during the interval between the con- 
 ventions, was a happy one. It was decided that 
 S. A. E. flag should go to the chapter which had 
 met its obligations to the fraternity most promptly, 
 and that the American flag should be in the cus- 
 tody of the chapter which stood second. At this 
 convention the fraternity flag was given into the 
 custody of North Carolina Xi, and the American 
 flag to Kentucky Kappa. The awards at the suc- 
 ceeding conventions have been: 1896, Georgia Ep- 
 silon, North Carolina Theta; 1898, Georgia Epsilon, 
 Arkansas Alpha-Upsilon; 1900, Massachusetts 
 lotapTau, Arkansas Alpha-Upsilon; 1902, Colorado 
 Zeta, Alabama Iota; 1904, Massachusetts Iota,Tau, 
 Alabama Iota; 1906, Pennsylvania Alpha-Zeta, 
 Alabama Iota; 1909, Pennsylvania Alpha-Zeta, Co- 
 lorado Zeta; 1910, Pennsylvania Alpha-Zeta, Iowa 
 Gamma; 1912,, Illinois Psi-Omega, New Yoirk 
 Sigma-Phi; 1914, Illinois Psi-Omega, Pennsylvania 
 Alpha-Zeta. 
 
 Constitutional Changes of 1894. The national 
 laws adopted by the 1894 convention made the 
 Supreme Council a living reality. Two new offices 
 were added to this body, that of Eminent Supreme 
 Deputy Archon and Eminent Supreme Recorder. 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 77 
 
 The duties of the Eminent Supreme Recorder 
 were those of a national secretary. The corre- 
 sponding secretary of the mother chapter in ante- 
 bellum days is suggestive of such an office, but 
 did not resemble it in a statistical sense. The 
 development of the province system was one of 
 the marked features of the revised laws. The 
 province presidents, heretofore chosen by the na- 
 tional conventions, were hereafter to be elected 
 by province conventions. These conventions were 
 to meet biennially, in alternating years with the 
 national conventions. The province grand chap- 
 ter was abolished. The old judicial system which, 
 with its machinery, had proved inefficient and 
 cumbersome, was done away with, and in its place 
 was introduced a simple system of appeals from 
 acts of the chapter to the province convention, 
 thence to the Supreme Council, and finally to the 
 national convention, which as ever was "the su- 
 preme power of the fraternity." 
 
 A Joint Installation. New York Mu at Columbia 
 University and New York Sigma r Phi at St. Steph- 
 en's College had received charters at the 1894 
 convention and they were initiated together in 
 New York City, Feb. 21, 1895. Henry Sydnor Har- 
 rison, a member of New York Mu, served as a mem- 
 ber of the Supreme Council for four years as Edi- 
 tor of The Record. New York Sigma-Phi had been 
 a local for twenty-five years before it became a 
 national fraternity chapter. The chapter ,has 
 never countenanced what is known as "a rough 
 house initiation" but in examplifi cation of the 
 ritual has few equals in the fraternity. 
 
 The Province Conventions. The fraternity had 
 been organized into provinces for ten years be- 
 fore a province convention was held. The aban- 
 donment of annual national conventions in 1894 
 made it advisable for the provinces to meet. The 
 
78 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 first convention was held by Province Delta with 
 Ohio Epsilon as host. The other provinces fol- 
 lowed through the year. The first elected prov- 
 ince presidents were Province Alpha, H. C. Lakin, 
 Massachusetts Gamma; Beta, Henry G. Mac- 
 Adam, New York Mu; Gamma, G. Hendree Har- 
 rison, Georgia Phi; Delta, Arthur J. Tuttle, Michi- 
 gan Iota-Beta; Epsilon, Clarence Bryant, Tennes- 
 see Nu; Zeta, Harvey B. Fleming, Missouri Beta; 
 Eta, George D. Kimball. 
 
 The Fraternity Grows Rich. As the last decade 
 of the nineteenth century went on, the fraternity 
 treasury commenced to feel the effect of the 
 numerous new chapters which had come into being 
 in the past few years. With the expenses but 
 slightly increased and the chapter roll swelling, 
 the fraternity suddenly found itself with a surplus 
 in its treasury. This was so unheard of that 
 Austin, the E. S. T., was alarmed. Both he and 
 his successor, Champe S. Andrews, Alabama Al- 
 pha-Mu, watched the funds grow with increasing 
 responsibility. Andrews gradually developed the 
 idea which was ultimately adopted for the safe- 
 guarding of the funds, which is known as the 
 Board of Trustees' plan. 
 
 A Badge for Every Initiate. The Eminent Su- 
 preme Archon in 1895, proposed that the St. Louis 
 convention, when it met, should arrange to pur- 
 chase a plain gold badge in large quantities and 
 one should be presented to every initiate. When 
 the St. Louis convention met, this valuable con- 
 ception was put into effect. 
 
 S. A. E. Enters National Politics. For the first 
 time a magazine of the fraternity appeared in 1896 
 with a political ticket at the head of its editorial 
 column. The Phi Alpha advocated the election of 
 two men running for national office, heading its 
 choice: "The S. A. E. ticket. For President, Wil- 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 79 
 
 liam McKinley, of Ohio Sigma; for Vice-President, 
 Thomas Watson, of Georgia Psi." The repub- 
 licans had nominated McKinley for President of 
 the United States, while the populists, who had 
 nominated William J. Bryan as their candidate 
 for the same office, had given him as a running 
 mate, Thomas Watson. 
 
 St. Louis Convention of 1896. The St. Louis 
 convention of 1896 was opened December 29th. 
 It was the first biennial convention. It was dis- 
 tinguished by the presence of John W. Kerr, one 
 of the eight original founders of the fraternity. 
 The convention granted charters for Louisiana 
 Tan-Upsilon at Tulane University and Louisiana 
 Epsilon at the University of Louisiana. The 
 election of officers resulted in the re-election 
 of Albert M. Austin as Eminent Supreme Archon, 
 Howard P. Nash, as Eminent Supreme Recorder, 
 and Champe S. Andrews, as Eminent Supreme 
 Treasurer. Two new men were promoted to the 
 Supreme Council in the election of Herbert C. 
 Lakin, Massachusetts Gamma, as editor of The 
 Record, and Harry J. Cox, of California. Alpha, 
 as Eminent Supreme Deputy Archon. 
 
 John W. Kerr at St. Louis. John W. Kerr was 
 the first founder to attend a national convention 
 of the fraternity when he met with the 1896 St. 
 Louis gathering. He said to the convention: 
 "Brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. To roll back 
 forty years of a busy life is not an easy thing to 
 do, but you have carried me back that far, to the 
 long past years when we were boys together in 
 Alabama and gathered together the friendship 
 and fashioned the bonds of brotherhood, founding 
 this fraternity. Forty years ago was the last time 
 I attended an initiation or took any active part in 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Yet when I met you today 
 I was borne backward to those good times, when I, 
 
80 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 too, was a youth full of hope and ambition, and 
 never dreamed that I should become as a sere and 
 yellow leaf. Away back in that time of youth 
 earnest young men met in a little brick school- 
 house and formed the first beginning of Sigma 
 Alpha Epsilon. As the weeks slipped by we in- 
 itiated more friends, and when the time came in 
 the spring for us to graduate, we had quite a 
 company. We remain scattered to all points of 
 the wind. But we carried in our hearts a better 
 and nobler spirit for the bond with which we had 
 bound ourselves. And may Sigma Alpha Epsilon 
 always thus make her members better and nobler 
 men." 
 
 The Louisiana Chapters. Sagacious George 
 Bunting was responsible for the Louisiana chap- 
 ters which applied for admission to the fraternity. 
 They were the children of a campaign he con- 
 ducted which resembled the raid of a cavalry gen- 
 eral in time of war. This is particularly true of 
 his accomplishment at the Louisiana State Uni- 
 versity, where one can scarcely refrain from 
 laughing at his audacious success, though a re- 
 view of what he did there will not fail to add due 
 respect to the merriment. Bunting arrived at 
 Baton Rouge early in the morning and advanced 
 on the University. He had remembered the name 
 of a student of whom a Louisiana alumnus of an- 
 other fraternity spoke, not without lamentation, 
 that this student had refused an invitation from 
 his fraternity. He found the student, introduced 
 himself and soon had him pledged. He told Bunt- 
 ing of three other men, who like himself had 
 been bid by the fraternities at Louisiana and had 
 refused. By three o'clock in the afternoon, Bunt- 
 ing had met all of these fellows, spiked and 
 pledged them. At four o'clock he held the first 
 meeting of the local chapter he had formed. His 
 new compatriots named four other students they 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 81 
 
 would like to have with them. Bunting again set 
 the wheels in motion, and at six o'clock these 
 men were enrolled. The local took the name of 
 Phi Alpha and the first clause in its constitution 
 pledged it to apply to Sigma Alpha Epsilon for a 
 charter. At ten o'clock that night, George Bunt- 
 ing was on his way to New Orleans looking for 
 new worlds to conquer. The St. Louis convention 
 granted the charter and Champe S. Andrews in- 
 stalled the local as Louisiana Epsilon, Jan. 21, 
 1897. At the time George Bunting met with his 
 success at Baton Rouge, there were a number of 
 S. A. E.'s enrolled at Tulane, and were desirous 
 for a chapter there. These were John Webb Mc- 
 Gehee and John G. Lilly, of Alabama Iota, and 
 John W. D. Dicks, of Tennessee Zeta. At this 
 time George Bunting arrived in New Orleans. 
 The other S. A. E.'s in the university and in the 
 city were enlisted and from the non-fraternity 
 students several available men were selected, and 
 Bunting left the city in a few days, assured that 
 Louisiana Tau-Upsilon, as it came to be called 
 after Jan. 22, 1897, was on the road to success. 
 
 President McKinley's S. A. E. Spirit. William 
 McKinley, Ohio Sigma, took the oath of office as 
 president of the United States, March 4, 1897. 
 During the ceremony there sparkled on the lapel 
 of his coat, a beautiful studded badge of Sigma 
 Alpha Epsilon. 
 
 Coat of Arms Adopted. The Coat of Arms of 
 the fraternity was designed by W. L. French, Con- 
 necticut Alpha. The Supreme Council, to whom 
 the 1896 convention had referred it, adopted it in 
 1897. 
 
 S. A. E. in the Spanish War. Sigma Alpha Ep- 
 silon has had an honorable part in the foreign 
 wars in which the American people have en- 
 gaged in recent years. In the Spanish-American 
 
82 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 war, in the Philippine insurrection, in the Boxer 
 rebellion, in the Moro uprising, the fraternity has 
 had her sons, who acquitted themselves like men. 
 There were 187 S. A. E.'s who fought in the for- 
 eign wars at the close of the nineteenth century. 
 
 Nashville Convention of 1898. The National 
 convention which was at Nashville in 1898 was 
 the eighth general convention of the fraternity to 
 be held in that city. This convention reduced the 
 Phi Alpha to a mere official bulletin, accepted a 
 ritual entirely new, which the next convention re- 
 pealed, granted a charter to the petitioning local 
 at the University of Illinois and placed the grant- 
 ing of a charter to Kentucky State College in the 
 hands of the Supreme Council. At the election 
 of officers, Floyd Furlow, Georgia Phi, was elected 
 E. S. A.; George D. Kimball, Colorado Zeta, E. S. 
 D. A.; Howard P. Nash, E. S. R.; G. Hendree Har- 
 rison, E. S. T., and Herbert C. Lakin, Editor of 
 The Record. 
 
 Beginnings of Illinois Beta. Illinois Beta was 
 installed at the University of Illinois, Jan. 28, 1899. 
 The chapter has furnished an E. S. D. A. to the 
 fraternity in the person of Carl E. Sheldon. 
 
 A Supreme Council Change. Herbert C. Lakin, 
 Massachusetts Gamma, resigned the editorship of 
 the Record in October, 1899. The Supreme Coun- 
 cil elected Edward Mellus, Massachusetts Gam- 
 ma, to the position. 
 
 The Entrance of Kentucky Epsilon of Kentucky 
 State College into the fraternity was on Feb. 10, 
 1900. 
 
 Resignation of the Eminent Supreme Recorder. 
 Howard P. Nash resigned as Eminent Supreme 
 Recorder, September 30, 1900. Edward H. Virgin, 
 Massachusetts Gamma, was appointed to the va- 
 cancy. 
 
 Province Presidents In 1900. Five province 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 83 
 
 conventions met 1 1900 and selected as province 
 presidents, Province Alpha, James A. Stetson, 
 Massachusetts lota-Tau; Beta, Watson B. Selvage, 
 New York Sigma-Phi; Delta, Clyde K. Cairns, Ohio 
 Epsilon; Eta, Harry A. Deuel, California Alpha; 
 Theta, James W. McClendon. Province Zeta held 
 no convention and there being a vacancy in the 
 province presidency, the Supreme Council ap- 
 pointed George H. Bunting to the position. 
 
 The Chariot of Minerva. A device used in the 
 old days which attracted attention outside of the 
 fraternity, was, "The Chariot of Minerva," in- 
 vented by members of Kentucky Epsilon. The 
 wheels of the vehicle were about two and a half 
 feet in diameter with the holes for the axle about 
 three inches out of center. The candidates for in- 
 itiation would be placed in the cart and then the 
 chapter would rush it about the monument of 
 John C. Breckenridge until the statue would al- 
 most open its eyes in amazement. Outside ini- 
 tiation is now prohibited. 
 
 Boston Convention of 1900. The Boston Con- 
 vention of 1900 created the Board of Trustees, to 
 care for the surplus funds of the fraternity. It 
 restored the Phi Alpha to its original form and 
 granted three charters to important institutions. 
 These were the University of Maine, the Univer- 
 sity of Pennsylvania and the University of Min- 
 nesota. The charter to the latter was to remain 
 in the hands of the Supreme Council a year before 
 it was issued. The convention marked an era in 
 the fraternity. In point of attendance it surpassed 
 all previous ones and in every way was a national 
 gathering. It completed its business by electing 
 as members of the Supreme Council: G. Hendree 
 Harrison, E. S. A.; William C. Levere, E. S. D. A.; 
 Edward H. Virgin, E. S. R.; George D. Kimball, 
 E. S. T., and Edward Mellus, Editor of the Record. 
 
84 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 The Board of Trustees. The 1900 convention 
 adopted the plan of Champe S. Andrews for a 
 board of trustees to care for the surplus funds of 
 the fraternity. This board was to be composed of 
 five alumni of the fraternity, all of whom were re- 
 quired to be residents of New York City. The 
 purpose for which the funds were to be conserved 
 was to aid chapters in building chapter-houses. 
 The convention elected as members of the board, 
 Champe S. Andrews, Albert M. Austin, and Her- 
 bert C. Lakin, for the term of four years, and 
 Henry G. MacAdam and Bryan C. Collier for the 
 term of two years. These were all from differ- 
 ent chapters, such being one of the requirements. 
 
 Rise of Pennsylvania Theta. Pennsylvania 
 Theta was installed at the University of Pennsyl- 
 vania, Feb. 9, 1901. 
 
 Birth of Maine Alpha. Maine Alpha was in- 
 stalled at the University of Maine on Washing- 
 ton's Birthday, 1901. Clarence W. Stowell, a char- 
 ter member of the chapter, has served on the Su- 
 preme Council as Eminent Supreme Recorder. 
 
 Organization of the Board of Trustees. The 
 new board of trustees created by the Boston con- 
 vention met in New York city March 25, 1901, 
 and formally organized. Champe S. Andrews, the 
 father of the law which provided for the board, 
 was elected its first president. Henry G. Mac- 
 Adam was elected vice-president and Bryan C. Col- 
 lier, secretary. 
 
 To Protect Official Badge. John D. N. McCart- 
 ney, a member of Georgia Beta, commenced an 
 agitation in 1901 against the wearing of the 
 official badge by members of the fair sex, which 
 had its culmination at the next national conven- 
 tion in the passage of a law forbidding such use. 
 
 Anti-Fraternity Warfare. The anti-fraternity 
 men at the University of Arkansas in the fall of 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 85 
 
 1901 won a victory by carrying through the legis- 
 lature a bill prohibiting fraternities at the state 
 university. Some clever Greek, when he saw the 
 day was lost, had an amendment tacked onto the 
 bill which was carried through with it to the ef- 
 fect that members of the Greek letter societies at 
 the university should not be allowed to hold any 
 of the honors of the university, and that in the 
 military department no fraternity man should have 
 rank above second lieutenant. This amendment was 
 ultimately to save the fraternities, for two years 
 later, when the excitement had died away and the 
 Greeks came out of hiding, the faculty chose to 
 interpret the law as allowing the fraternities to 
 continue in existence but refusing the members 
 the right to participate in the honors of the in- 
 stitution, except to hold minor military positions. 
 The fraternities reorganized as clubs and main- 
 tained as vigorous organizations as ever. Arkan- 
 sas Alpha-Upsilon was known as the Arkansas 
 Club. 
 
 Locals Seek S. A. E. There was throughout 
 1901-02 a remarkable movement going on among 
 local societies over the country to win charters 
 from S. A. E. The pages of the fraternity's pub- 
 lications were filled with accounts of college so- 
 cieties seeking charters from the fraternity. That 
 many of these societies were located at institu- 
 tions like Wisconsin, Chicago and Kansas, was 
 very gratifying to the officers of the fraternity, 
 who recognized how desirable it was that Sigma 
 Alpha Epsilon should have chapters at these 
 points. 
 
 Resignation of Editor of the Record. Edward 
 Mellus resigned as Editor of The Record at the 
 close of 1901 and Champe S. Andrews, Alabama 
 Alpha-Mu, was appointed to the position by the 
 Supreme Council. 
 
86 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 Minnesota Alpha Founded. Minnesota Alpha at 
 the University of Minnesota was installed Jan. 
 27, 1902. 
 
 Province Presidents In 1902. Province Alpha, 
 Robert C. Allen, Massachusetts Delta; Beta, Wat- 
 son B. Selvage, New York Sigma-Phi; Gamma, F. 
 H. Ficklen, Georgia Epsilon; Delta, Carl E. Shel 
 don, Illinois Beta; Epsilon, Marvin E. Holderness, 
 Tennessee Nu; Zeta, George H. Bunting, Tennes- 
 see Zeta; Eta, Walter E. White, Colorado Chi; 
 Theta, James W. McClendon, Texas Rho. 
 
 The Record In 1902. Champe S. Andrews had 
 taken up the editorship of the Record with char- 
 acteristic vigor, and had appointed as his assist- 
 ant Henry Sydnor Harrison, New York Mu. It 
 was a cardinal principle with Andrews that the 
 Record should appear promptly on date of issue, 
 and the fraternity enjoyed this feature of the 
 magazine quite as much as it relished what the 
 pages carried. 
 
 Phi Alpha Convention Bulletin. Two weeks he- 
 fore the Washington convention of 1902, the Phi 
 Alpha Convention Bulletin appeared. Its name 
 indicated its mission. It was to advertise the con- 
 vention. A list of petitioning locals showed that 
 sixteen colleges were anxious for 8. A. E. char- 
 ters. 
 
 The Christmas Convention of 1902. The Christ- 
 mas convention is the name which belongs to the 
 Washington convention of 1902, not only because 
 it was in session on that anniversary but because 
 it was a convention typical of the generous spirit 
 of that day. It was the cheeriest kind of a con- 
 vention, and the glow of Christmas hope and mirth 
 permeated it through and through. On the great 
 natal day the S. A. E.'s gathered around the board, 
 and together, like a great family of brothers, ate 
 their Christmas dinner. It was this Christmas con- 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 87 
 
 A 
 
 vention that gave the splendid gift of Illinois 
 Theta, Wisconsin Alpha, Kansas Alpha, Colorado 
 Lambda, and Virginia Theta to the fraternity. It 
 was one of the hardest-working conventions the 
 fraternity ever had, though the spirit of good- 
 will and good-cheer was the very essence of it. 
 Even as the delegates passed each other in the 
 halls of the beautiful New Willard, they could not 
 refrain from expressions of good-fellowship and 
 happiness. The convention opened in the Willard 
 Hotel, Dec. 23. The work of the committee on 
 manual, chapters and convention fund was ardu- 
 ous. The constitutional revision committee was in 
 session day and night, for while most of the mate- 
 rial was old, there were some new features intro- 
 duced. Five charters were granted. The success- 
 ful petitions were University of Chicago, Univer- 
 sity of Wisconsin, University of Kansas, Colorado 
 School of Mines and a revival of the ancient chap- 
 ter at the Virginia Military Institute. The elec- 
 tion of officers Christmas eve was unanimous, the 
 following being chosen: E. S. A., William C. Le- 
 vere, Illinois Psi-Omega; E. S. D. A., Marvin E. 
 Holderness, Tennessee Nu; E. S. R., Edward H. 
 Virgin, Massachusetts Gamma; E. S. T., George D. 
 Kimball, Colorado Zeta; Editor of the Record, 
 Henry Sydnor Harrison, New York Mu. 
 
 The Lost President. There was a note of sad- 
 ness in the convention, which all its joys did not 
 eliminate. Washington had been chosen as the 
 place of the 1902 Convention because Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon wanted to come to the capitol while Wil- 
 liam McKinley was President. But in the two 
 years strange and serious events occurred. The 
 cruel hand of the murderer had intervened, the 
 country had been plunged in grief, the lovable 
 William McKinley had passed from the theater of 
 life's fretful scenes, and when Sigma Alpha Ep- 
 silon came to Washington, it found him not tnere. 
 
88 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 National Laws Amended. The 1902 convention 
 made numerous amendments to the laws of the 
 fraternity. It was provided that the official badge 
 given to the members at the time of initiation 
 should continue to be the property of the national 
 fraternity, subject to recall at any time. This of- 
 ficial badge, it was provided, should not be worn 
 by anyone but a member. A law was adopted that 
 vacancies in province offices between conventions 
 should be filled by appointment by the Supreme 
 Council. The law regulating delegates to prov- 
 ince conventions was changed so that in the 
 future each chapter should be entitled to repre- 
 sentation by two elected delegates and the Emi- 
 nent Archon of the chapter. 
 
 The Province Boundaries. The 1902 Convention 
 arranged the provinces as follows: Province Al- 
 pha Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachu- 
 setts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Nova Scotia and 
 New Brunswick. Province Beta New York, Penn- 
 vania, New Jersey, Ontario and Quebec. Province 
 Gamma Maryland, Delaware, District of Colum- 
 bia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and 
 South Carolina. Province Delta Michigan, Min- 
 nesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. 
 Province Zeta Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Ne- 
 braska and Iowa. Province Eta North Dakota, 
 South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, 
 Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Mon- 
 tana. Province Theta Louisiana, Mississippi, 
 Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico and In- 
 dian Territory. Province Iota Tennessee and 
 Kentucky. The changes made since have been to 
 remove South Dakota to Province Zeta; California 
 to Province Kappa; Washington, Oregon, Idaho 
 and Montana to Province Lambda. 
 
 Happy Days in the Fraternity. The influence 
 of the Washington convention on the fraternity 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 89 
 
 was unparalleled in the fervor and spirit which 
 went out from it and reached even to the farthest 
 chapter. In the weeks which followed the evi- 
 dences of this were seen everywhere, and although 
 the Record did not appear until the convention had 
 been over for two months, its pages were filled 
 with the glow of the Christmas convention. Even 
 the chapter-letters to an unusual degree reflected 
 the charm which the convention had worked in 
 the hearts of the men of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. 
 
 Colorado Lambda Inaugurated. Colorado Lamb- 
 da was installed at the State School of Mines, Jan. 
 30, 1903. 
 
 Wisconsin Alpha Founded. Wisconsin Alpha 
 was installed at the University of Wisconsin, Feb. 
 7, 1903. 
 
 Kansas Alpha Born. Kansas Alpha was installed 
 at the University of Kansas, Feb. 14, 1903. 
 
 Illinois Theta Instituted. Illinois Theta was in- 
 stalled at the University of Chicago, March 9, 1903. 
 
 Virginia Theta Arises. Virginia Theta was re- 
 vived at the Virginia Military Institute, April 11, 
 1903. 
 
 Province Presidents in 1902 were: Province Al- 
 pha, Leslie Millar, Massachusetts lota-Tau; Beta, 
 Ralph S. Kent, New York Alpha; Gamma, Alfred 
 R. Berkeley, North Carolina Xi; Delta, Carl E. 
 Sheldon, Illinois Beta; Epsilon, Lauren W. Fore- 
 man, Georgia Epsilon; Zeta, Elmer B. Sanford, 
 Michigan Iota-Beta; Eta, Walter E. White, Colo- 
 rado Chi; Theta, Powell Crichton; Iota, J. Rock- 
 well Smith, Kentucky Kappa. 
 
 Discovery of Rudulph. Up to 1903, it had gen- 
 erally been accepted as a fact that all the original 
 founders of the fraternity were dead. William C. 
 Levere, E. S. A., journeyed Southward and. found 
 John B. Rudulph, on an old plantation in southern 
 Alabama. 
 
90 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 Supreme Council Mid-Convention Meeting, 1903, 
 was held at Evanston, 111., Dec. 21-24. The mem- 
 bers of the council conducted a province initia- 
 tion. The chief work of this meeting was to elect 
 the E. S. A. as temporary E. S. R. while he edited 
 the 1904 catalogue, which had been given him to 
 do, after the resignation of Edward H. Virgin, 
 Massachusetts Gamma. George H. Kress was 
 chosen to publish a fraternity manual. 
 
 The Catalogue of 1904 appeared in June. It 
 showed a membership of 8,500. 
 
 Systematic Records Adopted. In 1904, the mem- 
 bership book for recording data and providing a 
 blank to report initiates was devised by the E. S. 
 A. and delivered to the chapters. 
 
 A New Eminent Supreme Recorder. With the 
 appearance of the 1904 Catalogue, William C. 
 Levere, E. S. A., who had been acting as E. S. R. 
 during the production of the book, resigned as 
 E. S. R. and Leslie W. Millar, Massachusetts lota- 
 Tau, was appointed to the position. 
 
 S. A. E. Day at the World's Fair in St. Louis 
 was observed July 14, 1904. 
 
 Active Membership of S. A. E., Nov. 1, 1904, was 
 1,167. 
 
 The S. A. E. Manual appeared Dec. 1, 1904. It 
 was a compendium of fraternity information. 
 George H. Kress, Ohio Epsilon, was the editor. 
 
 The Original Minutes appeared Dec. 20, 1904. 
 The volume contained the minutes of Alabama 
 Mu during its ante-bellum days. William C. 
 Levere was the editor. 
 
 The Memphis Convention of 1904 met Dec. 27. 
 The S. A. E. Daily made its initial appearance. 
 Important events were the endorsement of the 
 De Votie Memorial Building, offer of cash prizes 
 to chapters building houses, creation of a chapter 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 91 
 
 house officer, to which place Carl E. Sheldon was 
 elected, the granting of five charters to the Uni- 
 versity of Iowa, George Washington University, 
 Iowa State College, Case School of Science and 
 the University of Washington. The officers chosen 
 were: E. S. A., William C. Levere; E. S. D. A., 
 Marvin E. Holderness; E. S. R., Clarence W. 
 Stowell; E. S. T., George D. Kimball; Editor of 
 the Record, Henry Sydnor Harrison; Board of 
 Trustees, Herbert Lakin, Harry P. Layton, Robert 
 Gibson, Jr. 
 
 Iowa Beta Established. Iowa Beta was in- 
 stalled at the University of Iowa, Feb. 11, 1905. 
 
 Ohio Rho Installed. Ohio Rho at Case School of 
 Science was installed, Feb. 18, 1905. 
 
 Washington City Rho Revived. Washington 
 City Rho, the chapter which had lived through the 
 civil war, and then as the other chapters came 
 back to life fell asleep, was revived by the fra- 
 ternity, March 2, 1905, at George Washington Uni- 
 versity. 
 
 Iowa Gamma Initiated. Iowa Gamma was in- 
 stalled at Iowa State College, June 3, 1905. 
 
 Province Presidents in 1905. Province Alpha, 
 Sylvester Beach; Beta, Ralph S. Kent; Gamma, 
 Alfred R. Berkeley; Delta, Carl E. Sheldon; Zeta, 
 Elmer B. Sanford; Epsilon, J. Clay Murphy; Eta, 
 Walter E. White; Theta, Oswald McNeese; Iota, 
 J. Rockwell Smith. 
 
 Mid-Convention Meeting of Supreme Council, 
 1905, was held at the Washington City Rho House. 
 
 The Lion's Paw issued its first number Feb. 22, 
 1906. 
 
 March 9, 1906, the fiftieth anniversary of Sigma 
 Alpha Epsilon was widely celebrated by alumni 
 associations and chapters. 
 
 Incorporation Day. Sigma Alpha Epsilon was 
 
92 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 incorporated under the laws of the state of Illi- 
 nois, March 9, 1906. The incorporators were 
 Harry Bunting, William C. Levere, Granville H. 
 Twining, Clyde D. Foster, Walter B. Long, Ken- 
 neth Brown, John W. Robinson. 
 
 Washington Alpha Founded. In 1906, the Su- 
 preme Council issued the charter intrusted to it 
 by the 1904 Convention for the chapter at the 
 University of Washington. The chapter was in- 
 stalled May 30. 
 
 Annual Chapter Letters. These publications, 
 later called the Year Book, appeared first in 1906 
 with William C. Levere as editor. In 1907, the 
 editor was C. W. Stowell; 1908, C. P. Wood; 1909, 
 Ritze Mulder; 1910, Ritze Mulder; 1912, William 
 C. Levere. 
 
 The Life of De Votie began publication in The 
 Record in Sept., 1906, and continued in each num- 
 ber for four years. It was written by William C. 
 Levere. 
 
 The Fiftieth Anniversary Convention was held 
 in Atlanta, Ga., opening Dec. 26, 1906. The 
 presence of John B. Rudulph, the last of the 
 founders, was the great event of the convention. 
 It was a convention historic for great work for 
 the fraternity and exquisite social occasions. The 
 officers chosen were: E. S. A., George D. Kimball; 
 B. S. D. A., Carl E. Sheldon; E. S. R., Clarence W. 
 Stowell; E. S. T., Charles F. Stone; Editor of the 
 Record, Charles P. Wood. 
 
 Indiana Gamma Installed. Indiana Gamma at 
 the University of Indiana was installed Jan. 18, 
 1907. 
 
 New York Delta Founded. New York Delta at 
 Syracuse University was installed Washington's 
 birthday, 1906. 
 
 The S. A. E. Song Book appeared in 1907 with 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 93 
 
 William C. Levere editor and Walter Squire musi- 
 cal editor. 
 
 Province Presidents in 1907. Province Alpha, 
 Charles F. Davis; Beta, Ralph C. Stewart; Gamma, 
 Alfred R. Berkeley; Delta, Clyde I. Webster; Ep- 
 silon, Hugh W. Kirkpatrick; Zeta, Henry F. 
 Droste; Eta, Charles J. Ling; Theta, Henry P. 
 Dart, Jr.; Iota, Frank K. Houston. 
 
 Mid-Convention Meeting of Supreme Council, 
 1907. Massachusetts Gamma was host to the Su- 
 preme Council in 1907. The council at this meet- 
 ing arranged for the publication of the S. A. E. 
 History. 
 
 New Hampshire Alpha was installed at Dart- 
 mouth College, May 2, 1908. The initiation was at 
 Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 A Pan-Hellenic Conference was held in Chicago, 
 February, 1909, at which George D. Kimball, E. S. 
 A., presented resolutions which resulted in the 
 formation of the New York Inter-Fraternity Con- 
 ference. 
 
 The Atlantic City Convention of 1909 was the 
 first summer convention held by S. A. E. in many 
 years. John B. Rudulph, the founder, was again 
 present. The experiment of meeting in summer 
 was not a success. The officers elected were: 
 
 E. S. A., George D. Kimball; E. S. D. A., Carl E. 
 Sheldon; E. S. R., C. W. Stowell; E. S. T., Charles 
 
 F. Stone; editor of the Record, Charles P. Wood. 
 
 Installation of Oklahoma Kappa at the Univer- 
 sity of Oklahoma was held October 23, 1909. 
 
 Province Presidents in 1909. Province Alpha* 
 William E. Waterhouse; Beta, Ralph C. Stewart; 
 Gamma, Albert L. Cox; Delta, David W. Wen- 
 strand; Epsilon, William W. Brandon; Zeta, Roy 
 H. Monier; Eta, William N. Vaile; Theta, Paul A. 
 Walker; Iota, L. L. Fonville. The newly created 
 
94 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 province of Kappa, comprising California and 
 Washington, elected Louis S. Beedy president. 
 
 Death of John B. Rudulph. With the death of 
 John B. Rudulph, April 13, 1910, the last of the 
 founders of S. A. E. had passed on. 
 
 Resignation of Two Council Members. In March, 
 1910, Charles F. Stone resigned as E. S. T. Wil- 
 liam C. Levere was appointed by the Supreme 
 Council to the position. In April, Charles P. 
 Wood resigned as Editor of the Record. Elmer B. 
 Sanford was appointed to the position. 
 
 Mid-Convention Meeting of Supreme Council, 
 1910. Illinois Beta was host to the Mid-Convention 
 Supreme Council meeting, 1910. 
 
 The Revised Ritual was referred by the 1909 
 convention to the Supreme Council for action. It 
 was accepted at their meeting at Champaign. The 
 committee which had this work in charge was com- 
 posed of Ralph C. Stewart, Albrecht F. Leue, Carl 
 F. White, Dean Taylor. 
 
 Ohio Sigma celebrated its twenty-fifth anniver- 
 sary in 1910 with a quarter-centennial historical 
 address, an initiation and a banquet. 
 
 Province Presidents in 1910. Province Alpha, 
 William E. Waterhouse; Beta, L. J. Doolittle; 
 Gamma, Albert L. Cox; Delta, H. S. Warwick; Ep- 
 silon, W. W. Brandon; Zeta, Roy H. Monier; Eta, 
 William N. Vaile; Theta, Paul A. Walker; Iota, L. 
 L. Fonville; Kappa, Louis Beedy. 
 
 Kansas City Convention of 1910. The Kansas 
 City convention held its first business session De- 
 cember 28. It was a convention radiant with 
 S. A. E. feeling. Charters were granted to the 
 University of South Dakota, the University of 
 South Carolina and Millikin University. The offi- 
 cers elected were E. S. A., William W. Brandon, 
 Alabama Mu; E. S. D. A., Clarence W. Stowell; 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 95 
 
 E. S. R., Marvin E. Holdeness; E. S. T., George D. 
 Kimball; Editor of the Record, Elmer B. Sanford. 
 
 The De Votie Memorial. It was at the 1910 con- 
 vention that General William W. Brandon was able 
 to announce the completion of the De Votie Memo- 
 ial building at Tuscaloosa. The movement to erect 
 this memorial was commenced in 1904. The 1912 
 convention gave the Alabama Mu chapter a deed 
 to the building. The edifice was erected through 
 contributions made by the general fraternity and 
 the efforts of Alabama Mu. 
 
 Illinois Delta Arises. Illinois Delta was installed 
 at Millikin University, January 14, 1911. 
 
 South Dakota Sigma Born. South Dakota Sigma 
 was installed at the University of South Dakota, 
 January 27, 1911. 
 
 The S. A. E. History. The History of Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon appeared in May, 1911. It was published 
 in three volumes and extensively illustrated. The 
 edition of 2,000 sets was oversubscribed on the 
 day of publication. The historian was William C. 
 Levere. 
 
 Mid-Convention Meeting of Supreme Council, 
 1911, was held in New Orleans. The council at 
 this meeting adopted the S. A. E. Standard Ac- 
 counts System. 
 
 Province Presidents in 1912. Province Alpha, C. 
 G. Sherman; Beta, L. G. Doolittle; Gamma, T. 
 Gibson Hobbs; Delta, William E. Webbe; Epsilon, 
 John D. McCaraney; Eta, Omar Garwood; Zeta, 
 Arthur T. Wallace; Theta, George D. Booth; Iota, 
 E. L. Carney; Kappa, R. L. Phelps. 
 
 Who's Who in S. A. E. Who's Who in S. A. E., 
 
 a biographical dictionary of notable living mem- 
 bers of the fraternity by William C. Levere, ap- 
 peared in July, 1912. 
 The Mississippi Case. The Mississippi legisla- 
 
96 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 iature passed a law in 1912 abolishing fraternities 
 from the University of Mississippi. Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon together with Sigma Chi, Phi Delta Theta, 
 Delta Tau Delta and Kappa Alpha (so.) took the 
 case to the Supreme Court of the United States. 
 The decision of the Supreme Court was handed 
 down June 1, 1915, and the constitutionality of the 
 law was upheld. 
 
 S. A. E. Standard Accounts. No more significant 
 indication of the forward progress of the fraternity 
 happened in 1912, than the installation throughout 
 the fraternity of the S. A. E. Standard Accounts. 
 The improvement in the business methods of the 
 chapters was apparent at once. The system had 
 been devised by a committee of which Don R. 
 Almy was chairman and Ralph C. Stewart, Wil- 
 liam A. Vawter II, Ralph S. Kent and C. W. 
 Stowell were members. 
 
 The Pocket Directory appeared in December, 
 1912, with William C. Levere as editor. 
 
 Nashville Convention of 1912. For the ninth 
 time a national convention of S. A. E. was con- 
 vened in Nashville, when the 1912 gathering was 
 called to order on December 26. Few conventions 
 have worked harder or wrought better. The Life 
 Subscription Plan to the S. A. E. Record was 
 adopted and the E. S. R. was made the traveling 
 secretary of the fraternity. Charters were granted 
 to Kansas State College and the University of 
 Pittsburgh. Marvin E. Holderness, Tennessee Nu, 
 was elected E. S. A. The others elected were E. 
 S. D. A., Albrecht F. Leue; E. S. R., William C. 
 Levere; E. S. T., George D. Kimball; Editor of The 
 Record, Elmer B. Sanford. 
 
 The Installation of Kansas Beta at Kansas State 
 College took place January 24, 1913. 
 
 The Installation of Pennsylvania Chi-Omlcron at 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 97 
 
 the University of Pittsburgh took place March 10, 
 1913. 
 
 Anti-Fraternity Agitation was violent through- 
 out the country in 1913. In Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas 
 and elsewhere the fraternities were vigorously at- 
 tacked. In several states anti-fraternity legisla- 
 tion was narrowly averted. 
 
 The Traveling Secretary. Complying with the 
 duties of the position, William C. Levere, E. S. R., 
 visited every chapter of the fraternity in 1913-14. 
 At each chapter the illustrated lecture, "A Pil- 
 grimage into S. A. E. Land" was given. 
 
 Province Presidents in 1914. Province Alpha, H. 
 H. Bennett; Beta, L. G. Doolittle; Gamma, T. Gib- 
 son Hobbs; Delta, Louis W. Mack; Epsilon, 
 Charles C. Thomas; Eta, Harold Garwood; Zeta, 
 A. R. Thomas; Theta, E. Lloyd Posey; Iota, J. D. 
 Turner; Kappa, R. L. Phelps. 
 
 S. A. E. in 1914. Under the administration of 
 Marvin E. Holderness, E. S. A., the fraternity ap- 
 proached the end of 1914 with its chapters in re- 
 markably fine condition and an era of general pros- 
 perity abounding. 
 
 An Alumni Ritual. Throughout 1914, a very gen- 
 eral agitation arose to strengthen alumni associa- 
 tions. Led by Don R. Almy and R. S. Uzzell, there 
 arose an advocacy of a degree for alumni. The 
 national fraternity endorsed the plan and it is 
 being developed. 
 
 Chicago Convention of 1914. The Chicago con- 
 vention of 1914 opened December 21. In point of 
 attendance it was the largest convention ever held. 
 The arrangements were perfect and the enthusi- 
 asm and interest at high key. The work of the 
 convention was largely devoted to perfecting and 
 improving the organization. Charters were 
 granted to Washington State College, Oregon State 
 
98 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 
 
 College, Beloit College and the University of Flor- 
 ida. Don R. Almy, New York Alpha, was elected 
 Eminent Supreme Archon. The other members of 
 the Council were E. S. D. A., Albrecht F. Leue; 
 E. S. R., William C. Levere; E. S. T., George D. 
 Kimball; Editor of The Record, Elmer B. Sanford. 
 Pittsburgh was selected for the 1916 convention. 
 
 Four New Chapters were installed early in 1915 
 in accordance with the vote of the 1914 conven- 
 tion. Florida Upsilon at the University of Florida 
 was the revival of a former chapter. It was in- 
 stalled February 13, and the same day Wisconsin 
 Phi was installed at Beloit College. Washington 
 Beta at Washington State College was installed 
 March 9 and Oregon Alpha at Oregon State Col- 
 lege was installed March 19. 
 
 Province Lambda Created. The 1914 convention 
 made the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho 
 and Montana into a new province called Lambda. 
 Arthur A. Cook is the first president. 
 
 Two Fraternity Publications. William C. Le- 
 vere was the editor of Leading Greeks, an Encyclo- 
 pedia of the Workers in the American College Fra- 
 ternities and Sororities, which appeared in June, 
 1915, and of Songs of Purple and Gold, which ap- 
 peared in November, 1915. 
 
 Province Presidents in March, 1916. Province 
 Alpha, Edward M. Peters; Beta, L. G. Doolittle; 
 Gamma, T. Gibson Hobbs; Delta, Louis W. Mack; 
 Epsilon, William W. Brandon; Eta, Frank J. Rein- 
 hard; Zeta, Ralph Bryan; Theta, E. Lloyd Posey; 
 Iota, J. D. Turner; Kappa, R. L. Phelps; Lambda. 
 Arthur A. Cook. 
 
 In the Year of 1916. The fraternity under the 
 administration of Don R. Almy, E. S. A., is steadily 
 moving on, strengthening and building itself. 
 Among the important committees at work are 
 those on the financial code, scholarship, extension 
 
OF SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON 99 
 
 investigation, medical examination, alumni, degree 
 and anti-fraternity legislation. It is safe to say 
 that 1916 is the best year to date. It is better on 
 before. 
 
 A Paragraph History of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 
 by William C. Levere, was published in March, 
 1916. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abolished Fraternities at 
 Mississippi, 96. 
 
 Adams, William M., 66. 
 
 Alabama Alpha -Mu Pound- 
 ed, 40. 
 
 Alabama Beta-Beta, 38. 
 
 Alabama Iota Launched, 
 41, 76. 
 
 Alabama Mu Pounded, 3; 
 Through 1856-1857, 12; 
 Disbands, 21; in the War, 
 29; Memorial, 95. 
 
 Alabama, University of, 
 place of founding, 3; ab- 
 olished Fraternities, 11; 
 lawlessness follows going 
 of Fraternities at, 12. 
 
 Almy, Don R., 65; advo- 
 cates alumni ritual, 97; 
 Eminent Supreme Arch- 
 on, 98; Administration, 
 98. 
 
 Alpha Tau Omega wooes 
 Minerva, 43. 
 
 Alumni Ritual, An 97. 
 
 Amalgamation, proposed by 
 Beta Theta Pi, 41; At- 
 titude of the Chapters 
 toward, 41; proposed by 
 Delta Tau Delta, 43; 
 proposed by Alpha Tau 
 Omega, 43; by W. R. 
 Baird, 44. 
 
 Ames, Chester, 63. 
 
 Andrews, Champe S., 76; 
 Watches Surplus, 78. 
 
 Angell, Frederick, 61. 
 
 Annual Chapter Letters, 
 92. 
 
 Anti-Fraternity Agitation, 
 97. 
 
 Arkansas Alpha-Upsilon, 
 76; founded, 75. 
 
 Athens Convention of 1869, 
 36; of 1884, 54. 
 
 Atkinson, Robert C., 18. 
 
 Atlanta Convention of 1872, 
 38; of 1881, 45; of 1886, 
 59; of 1891, 65; of 1906, 
 92. 
 
 Auburndales, The, 69. 
 
 Austin, Albert M., 60, 76, 
 73; watches surplus, 78. 
 
 Augusta Convention of 1874, 
 38; of 1878, 40; 1882, 49. 
 
 Badge, designed by Ru- 
 dulph, 5; color of, 9; girls 
 went wild over it, 9; the 
 first, 9; for every ini- 
 tiate A, 78. 
 
 Baird Suggests a Plan of 
 Union, 44. 
 
 Banquet, First Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon, 7. 
 
 Barr, Charles J., 62. 
 
 Barrett, Thomas C., organ- 
 izes Texas Rho, 54. 
 
 Beach, Sylvester, 91. 
 
 Beedy, Louis, president of 
 Kappa Province, 94. 
 
 Berkeley, Alfred R., 91; 
 province president, 93. 
 
 Bennett, H. H., province 
 president, 97. 
 
 Beta Theta Pi, Proposed 
 Amalgamation with, 41; 
 suggests union again, 44. 
 
 Birth of Sigma Alpha Epsi- 
 lon, 3. 
 
 Board of Trustees, 78, 83, 
 84. 
 
 Booth, George D., 95. 
 
 Boston Convention of 1900, 
 83. 
 
 Brandon, William W., 93, 
 94; Eminent Supreme 
 Archon, 94, 95; a prov- 
 ince president, 98. 
 
 Bross, Willard P., 72. 
 
 Brown, Kenneth, incorpo- 
 rator of fraternity, 92. 
 
 Bryan, Milton, 54. 
 
 100 
 
Bryan, Ralph, a provLic3 i 
 
 president, 98. 
 Bryant, Clarence, 78. 
 Bullock, James Atwood, 8. 
 Bunting, George H., 68; a 
 
 founder of Phi Alpha, 69, 
 
 73, 75. 
 Bunting, Harry, initiated, 
 
 59; refuses Eminent Su- 
 
 preme Archonship, 66; 
 
 searches for lost records, 
 
 66; and his specials, 67; 
 
 in New England, 68; a 
 
 founder of Phi Alpha, 69, 
 
 73, 74; incorporator of 
 
 fraternity, 92. 
 Bunting, Robert, a member 
 
 of Tenn. Zeta, 59. 
 Bunting Specials, The, 67. 
 Bunting, William, a mem- 
 
 ber of Tenn. Zeta, 59. 
 Burger, H. C., 68, 73, 76. 
 
 Cadwell, Frederick G., 61. 
 California Alpha Founded, 
 
 67. 
 California Beta Inaugu- 
 
 rated, 75. 
 Capers, John G., 60, 62, 64, 
 
 66. 
 Catalogue, The First, 27; 
 
 second, 37; third Issued, 
 
 39; of 1877, The, 40; of 
 
 1886, The, 59; of 1893, 
 
 72; of 1904, 90. 
 Chapter Alumni Letters, 92. 
 Chapter Correspondence 
 
 Continued, 52. 
 Chapters, Early Communi- 
 
 cations Between, 17. 
 Chapter House, First Sig- 
 
 ma Alpha Epsilon, 47. 
 Chapter, Names, 25, 54. 
 Chapters' Officers, New Ti- 
 
 tles for, 51. 
 
 Chapter, The Second, 15. 
 Charlotte Convention of 
 
 1889, 62. 
 Chattanooga Convention of 
 
 1892, 70. 
 Chi Phi challenges Sigma 
 
 Alpha Epsilon, 61. 
 
 Chicago Convention of 1914, 
 
 97. . ' 
 C-rrmrati Coi'jv^ntion of 
 
 1890, 64. 
 
 Cipher, The Ritual in, 49. 
 Civil War and Sigma Alpha 
 
 Epsilon, The, 28. 
 Clark, Oscar L., 58. 
 Clarke, William A., 65. 
 Cleland, William L., 69. 
 Clements, Newton Nash, 6, 
 
 23. 
 
 Cockrell, Nathan E., 3. 
 Cody, James A., 27. 
 Collier, B. C., 61, 62, 63, 84. 
 Colorado Chi, 65. 
 Colorado Lambda, 89. 
 Colorado Zeta, appears, 65, 
 
 76. 
 Columbia, South Carolina 
 
 Convention of 1887, 60. 
 Connecticut Alpha, 69. 
 Constitution of 1869, The, 
 
 36. 
 Constitution of 1883, The, 
 
 52. 
 Constitutional Convention or 
 
 1887, 60. 
 
 Constitution of 1891, 64. 
 Constitutional Changes of 
 
 1894, 76. 
 Convention, Delegates to 
 
 First Convention, 23; ex- 
 tension at the first, 23; 
 
 work at the first, 24. 
 Cook, Arthur A. the first 
 
 president of Lambda 
 
 Province, 98. 
 
 Cook, Thomas C., 3; activ- 
 ity of, 16. 
 Cowan, H. H., 63, 64, 66, 68; 
 
 author of flag, 70, 73. 
 Cox, Albert L., province 
 
 president, 93, 94. 
 
 Dart, Jr., Henry P., prov- 
 ince president, 93. 
 
 Davis, Charles F., province 
 president, 93. 
 
 Death of a Brother, 52. 
 
 Delta Tau Delta Wooes 
 Minerva, 43. 
 
 101 
 
Dennis, Samuel, 3 
 
 Dent, Stanley, Hujrfc, 64. 
 
 De ^orie, -7ewett, et Ala- 
 bama, 8, 9, 13; most fined 
 man, 14; founder of 
 Washington City Rho, 26. 
 
 De Votie, Life of, 92; the 
 memorial, 95; memorial 
 completed, 95. 
 
 De Votie, Noble Leslie, the 
 founder, 3; presided at 
 first meeting, 4; and ex- 
 tension, 10; the scholar, 
 11; and Chapel Hill, 16; 
 first man to lose his life 
 in the civil war, 29. 
 
 Dickinson, Jacob M., Hon- 
 orary Eminent Supreme 
 Archon, 71. 
 
 Dockery, Claudius, 76. 
 
 Doolittle, L. J., 69; province 
 president, 94, 95, 97, 98. 
 
 Droste, Henry P., province 
 president, 93. 
 
 B 
 
 Early Chapter Discipline, 
 
 14. 
 
 Early Literary Work, 14. 
 Eighth Chapter, Planning 
 
 the, 22. 
 Eminent Supreme Archon, 
 
 The first, 58. 
 Extension in Europe, 26. 
 Extension Movement, The, 
 
 62. 
 Extension Year, The, 67. 
 
 First Meeting, The, 4. 
 
 Flag, Sigma Alpha Epsilon 
 Adopted, 70. 
 
 Flags of the Fraternity, The 
 76. 
 
 Fleming, Harvey B., 78. 
 
 Fleming, John M., 16, 17, 
 20. 
 
 Florida Upsilon Founded, 
 54; revived, 98. 
 
 Fiftieth Anniversary, widely 
 celebrated, 91 ; conven- 
 tion, 92. 
 
 Fonville, L. L., province 
 president, 93, 94. 
 
 Poi-niss, Thaddeus, 18. 
 
 Foster, Clyde D., incorpora- 
 tor of fraternity, 92. 
 
 Foster, Wade, 3. 
 
 Founders, The, 3; purpose 
 of, 9. 
 
 Fraternity Planned, A Gen- 
 eral, 9. 
 
 Fraternity, Regenesis of 
 the, 30. 
 
 Furlow, Floyd, 63. 
 
 Garland, President, Attack- 
 ed Fraternities, 11. 
 
 Garwood, Harold, province 
 president, 97. 
 
 Garwood, Omar, 95. 
 
 General Convention 1870, 
 37. 
 
 Georgia Beta Complete* 
 Catalogue, 59. 
 
 Georgia Beta, First Days or. 
 the Founding of, 31, 32; 
 selected as Grand Chap- 
 ter, 36; in 1883, 49. 
 
 Georgia Delta Begins Ca- 
 reer, 41. 
 
 Georgia Epsilon, the Birth 
 of, 48, 76. 
 
 Georgia Eta Founded, 26. 
 
 Georgia Phi Begins Career, 
 63. 
 
 Georgia Psi, 38. 
 
 Georgia Pi, 20; is founded, 
 19; men enter Athens, 31. 
 
 Grand Chapter, The, 6. 
 
 Gibson, Robert, Jr., 91. 
 
 Gilchrist, Albert, Honorary 
 Eminent Supreme Arch- 
 on, 71. 
 
 Glass, James G., Becomes 
 Eminent Grand Archon, 
 48, 51, 55. 
 
 Goetchius, George, 31. 
 
 Golson, J. Hodges, 15. 
 
 Government, The First SyB- 
 tem of, 6. 
 
 Grand Chapters of Sigma 
 Alpha Epsilon, 25. 
 
 102 
 
Grand Chapter Plan In- 
 adequate, 57. 
 
 Guerry, William A., 51; re- 
 vised the ritual, 54; Hon- 
 orary Kminent Supreme 
 Archon, 71. 
 
 Greek letters for names of 
 Chapters, 25. 
 
 H 
 
 Halbert, Henry P., Is. 
 
 Harrison, Caskie, Cipher, 
 49. 
 
 Harrison, G. Hendree, 63, 
 78. 
 
 Harrison, Henry Sydnor, 86, 
 87, 91. 
 
 Heard, Isaac T., 37. 
 
 Higley, Elmer, 65. 
 
 History of Sigma Alpha 
 Epsilon, 95. 
 
 Hobbs, Gibson T., 95; a 
 province president, 97, 98. 
 
 Holderness, Marvin E., 
 Eminent Supreme Deputy 
 Archon, 91; Eminent Su- 
 preme Recorder, 95; Emi- 
 nent Supreme Archon, 
 96; Administration, 97; 
 
 Honorary Eminent Su- 
 preme Archon, 70. 
 
 Horning, Albert, Z., 61. 
 
 Houston, Frank K., prov- 
 ince president, 93. 
 
 Howry, Charles B., 33; 
 Eminent Supreme Arch- 
 on, 71. 
 
 Hunnicutt, James E., 48. 
 
 Hustler, The, 69. 
 
 Illinois Beta, Beginnings of, 
 82; host to Supreme 
 Council, 94. 
 
 Illinois Delta Arises, 95. 
 
 Illinois Psi-Omega Found- 
 ed, 75, 76. 
 
 Illinois Theta, Established, 
 89. 
 
 Insurance Proposed, Fra- 
 ternal, 36. 
 
 Inactive Chapters, The. 44. 
 
 Incorporation of the Fra- 
 ternity, 91. 
 
 Indiana Alpha, Born, 67. 
 
 Indiana Beta Arises, 71. 
 
 Indiana Gamma Installed, 
 92. 
 
 Initiations, Early, 8. 
 
 Installation of Oklahoma 
 Kappa, 93. 
 
 Iowa Beta Established, 91. 
 
 Iowa Gamma, wins frater- 
 nity flag, 76; initiated, 91. 
 
 Iowa Sigma, 45. 
 
 Johnson's Schoolhouse, 4. 
 Joint Installation, A, 77. 
 Judicial System, The, 38; 
 
 done away with, 77. 
 Judkins, James H., 21. 
 
 K 
 
 Kansas Alpha established, 
 89. 
 
 Kansas Beta, The Installa- 
 tion of, 96. 
 
 Kansas City Convention of 
 1910, 94. 
 
 Kentucky Alpha, 40. 
 
 Kentucky Chi, 27; early days 
 of, 28; revived, 35; in the 
 leadership, 39; chosen 
 Grand Chapter, 40; Chap- 
 ter, 43. 
 
 Kentucky Epsilon is found- 
 ed, 82; its chariot of 
 Minerva, 83. 
 
 Kentucky Iota, Birth of, 22. 
 
 Kentucky Kappa Organizes, 
 48; 76. 
 
 Kent, Ralph S., 91. 
 
 Kephs, Chapters Called, 35. 
 
 Kerr, John W., 3; elected 
 president, 7. 
 
 Kimball, George D., 65. 78: 
 Eminent Supreme Treas- 
 urer, 91; Eminent Su- 
 preme Archon, 92, 93: 
 brings about New York 
 inter-fraternity confer- 
 ence, 93; Eminent Su- 
 preme Treasurer, 95, 96. 
 98. 
 
Kentucky Epsilon, South 
 Kentucky College, 45. 
 
 Kirkpatrick, Hugh W., 
 province president, 98. 
 
 Lakin, Herbert, 71, 78, 91. 
 Lambda Province created, 
 
 98. 
 
 Lane, Samuel, on Amalga- 
 mation, 41. 
 Lanier, John S., 23. 
 Layton, Harry P., 91. 
 Leading Greeks, An Ency- 
 
 clopadia of the Fraternity 
 
 Workers, 98. 
 Leue, Albrecht F., Eminent 
 
 Supreme Deputy Archon, 
 
 62; revisor of the ritual, 
 
 94 ; Eminent Supreme 
 
 Deputy Archon, 96. 
 Levere, William C., 71, 91, 
 
 96, 98, 99. 
 
 Life of De Votie, 92. 
 Life Subscription Plan to 
 
 Record, 96. 
 Ling, Charles J., Province 
 
 president, 93. 
 
 Lion's Paw Issued, The, 91. 
 Literary Work at Alabama 
 
 Mu, 5, 14. 
 Long, Walter E., Incorpora- 
 
 tor of Fraternity, 92. 
 Louisville Convention of 
 
 1873, 38; of 1883, 50. 
 Louisiana Epsilon Founded, 
 
 33. 
 
 Louisiana Tau, 27. 
 Louisiana Tau-Upsilon, 79, 
 
 80, 81. 
 
 Louisiana Zeta, 45. 
 Lowrie, William L., 64. 
 
 M 
 
 MacAdam, Henry G., 78, 84. 
 Mack, Louis W., province 
 
 president, 97, 98. 
 Mack, William, 67. 
 Maine, Alpha, 83, 84. 
 Massachusetts Beta-Upsil- 
 
 lon, 68. 
 Massachusetts Delta, Rise 
 
 of, 74. 
 
 Massachusetts Gamma, En- 
 trance of, 71. 
 
 Massachusetts lota-Tau, In- 
 auguration of, 69, 76. 
 McCartney, John D., 95. 
 McCleskey, James, 31. 
 McGlohon, Samuel B., 47, 
 
 49, 55. 
 
 McKinley, William, 70, 87. 
 McLaughlin, James D., 8. 
 McNeese, Oswald, 91. 
 Meeting, The Second, 7. 
 Mell, Thomas S., first Emi- 
 nent Supreme Archon, 58, 
 59, 60, 62, 64. 
 Mellus, Edward, 71. 
 Membership, Early Limit 
 
 to, 5. 
 Memphis Convention of 
 
 1870, 27; of 1904, 90. 
 Mexican Horse Pistol, 4. 
 Michigan Alpha Establish- 
 ed, 60. 
 
 Michigan Iota-Beta Found- 
 ed, 60. 
 
 Mid- Convention Meeting of 
 Supreme Council, 1905, 
 91; 1907, 93; of 1910, 94; 
 of 1911, 95. 
 Millar, Leslie W., 69. 
 Minnesota Alpha, 83, 86. 
 Mississippi Case, The, 95. 
 Mississippi Zeta Appears. 
 
 37. 
 
 Mississippi Gamma is Plan- 
 ned, 32; the founding of, 
 33. 
 
 Mississippi Theta, 45. 
 Missouri Alpha Established, 
 
 54. 
 
 Missouri Beta Nascent, 68. 
 Mitchell, Oliver, 45. 
 Monier, Roy H., province 
 
 president, 93, 94. 
 Moore, J. Washington, 73. 
 Mother Chapter Revived, 66. 
 Mother Mu, 6. 
 Mulder, Ritze C., 92. 
 Murfreesboro Chapter, The, 
 
 18. 
 
 Murfreesboro first Conven- 
 tion, 22. 
 Murphy, J. Clay, 91. 
 
N 
 
 Names of Chapters, 25. 
 
 Nash, Howard P., 71, 76. 
 
 Nashville Convention of 
 1860, 27; of 1867, 34; of 
 1871, 38; of 1875, 38; of 
 1879, 42; of 1885, 57; of 
 1888, 60; of 1898, 82; of 
 1912, 96. 
 
 National Convention, First, 
 22. 
 
 National Officer, First, 37. 
 
 National Politics, in Sigma 
 Alpha Epsilon, 78. 
 
 Neblett, Henry M., 21. 
 
 Nebraska Lambda-Pi, Dawn 
 of, 72. 
 
 New Hampshire Alpha, 93. 
 
 New Titles for National Of- 
 ficers, 50. 
 
 New York Alpha, Rise of, 
 65. 
 
 New York Delta Founded, 
 92. 
 
 New York Mu, 77. 
 
 New York Sigma-Phi, 77. 
 
 Nichols, Edward C., 61. 
 
 Nomenclature, Early Chap- 
 ter, 17. 
 
 North Carolina Theta, 50, 
 76. 
 
 North Carolina Xi, Estab- 
 lished, 16; Grand Chaptei* 
 of the Fraternity, 25, 76. 
 
 North Carolina Rho-Rho, 
 39. 
 
 Northern Extension, Agita- 
 tion for, 6; provided for, 
 36; rescinded, 1870, 38; 
 at 1881 Convention, 45; 
 accomplished, 50; op- 
 posed, 53; triumphant, 55; 
 proceeds, 56. 
 
 Northern Fraternities, Ex- 
 tend South, 46. 
 
 Ohio Delta Founded, 60. 
 Ohio Epsilon Established, 
 
 61 ; host of first province 
 
 convention, 78. 
 Ohio Rho Installed, 91. 
 
 ; Ohio Sigma Quarter-centen- 
 nial, 94. 
 
 Ohio Theta, Genesis of, 69. 
 
 Oklahoma Kappa, 93. 
 
 Oregon Alpha installed, 98. 
 
 Original Minutes Recovered, 
 66; Published, 90. 
 
 Owen, Richard J., 59. 
 
 Owen, Thomas Lucien 
 Moreland, 8. 
 
 Oxford Convention of 1868, 
 36. 
 
 Paddock, Lola, 72. 
 
 Panhellenic Agreement, 
 
 First, 46. 
 
 Panhellenic Conference, 93. 
 
 Paragraph History of Sig- 
 ma Alpha Epsilon, 98. 
 
 Patillo, Robert S., 48. 
 
 Patton, Abner, 3; President 
 of the Fraternity, 12. 
 
 Pennsylvania Alpha- Zeta 
 Initiated, 68, 76. 
 
 Pennsylvania Chi-Omicron, 
 The Installation of, 96. 
 
 Pennsylvania Delta, 50, 53, 
 56. 
 
 Pennsylvania Omega Found- 
 ed, 59; aids New York 
 Alpha, 65. 
 
 Pennsylvania Sigma-Phi, 
 63; issued the 1893 Cata- 
 logue, 72. 
 
 Pennsylvania Theta, 83, 84. 
 
 Pennsylvania Zeta, The In- 
 ception of, 72. 
 
 Peters, Edward M., a Prov- 
 ince president, 98. 
 
 Phelps, R. L., 95; Province 
 president, 97, 98. 
 
 Phi Alpha was first called 
 the Hustler, 69. 
 
 Pilgrimage into Sigma Al- 
 pha Epsilonland, A., 97. 
 
 Pittsburgh Convention of 
 
 1893, 73; of 1916, 98. 
 Pledge, The First, 6. 
 
 Pocket Directory, The, 96. 
 Posey, E. Lloyd, Province 
 
 president, 97, 98. 
 Preston, James C., organ- 
 izes Mo. Alpha, 54. 
 
 105 
 
Price, George L. W., 68. 
 Province Archons, The, 58. 
 Province Delta in 1892, 70. 
 Province Boundaries, New, 
 
 71. 
 Province Conventions, The 
 
 First, 77. 
 Province Presidents in 1905, 
 
 91. 
 Province Lambda created, 
 
 98. 
 
 Provinces, The First, 58. 
 Provines, The Six, 74. 
 Purple and Gold Appears, 
 
 The, 75. 
 
 R 
 
 Record Life Subscription 
 Plan, 96. 
 
 Recovery of the Original 
 Minutes, 66. 
 
 Reinhard, Frank, Province 
 president, 98. 
 
 "Reorganized," When Chap- 
 ters, 47. 
 
 Richmond Convention of 
 1877, 39. 
 
 Riley, Enoch Parsons, 8. 
 
 Rinehart, Stanley, 63, 68. 
 
 Ritual Formerly Comprised 
 in Constitution, 5; in 
 Cipher, 49; part of Con- 
 stitution, 53; ritual re- 
 vised, 54, 94; for Alumni, 
 97. 
 
 Robison, John I., 72. 
 
 Robinson, John W., Incor- 
 porator of fraternity, 92. 
 
 Rudulph, John B., 3; De- 
 signed the badge, 5; 
 Honorary Eminent Su- 
 preme Archon, 71; dis- 
 covery of, 89; at Conven- 
 tion, 92; death, 94. 
 
 Sanford, Elmer B., 61, 91; 
 appointed editor, 94; edi- 
 tor of The Record, 95, 96, 
 98. 
 
 Second College Year, End 
 of, 15. 
 
 Seibels, Edwin G., 50. 
 
 Sheldon, Carl E., 91; E. S 
 D. A., 92, 93. 
 
 Sherman, C. G., 95. 
 
 Shipp, John E. D., 40, 41, 42. 
 
 Shorter, Charles, 28. 
 
 Shorter, James H., 27. 
 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon, the 
 Founding of, 3; its found- 
 ers, 3; meetings at Kerr's 
 home, 4; first stated 
 meeting, 4; faces extinc- 
 tion, 12; conquers the 
 north. 56; in New Eng- 
 land, 68; leader in fra- 
 ternity ethics, 74. 
 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon Stand- 
 ard Accounts, 96. 
 
 Sigma Alpha Epsilon Yell, 
 67. 
 
 "Sing Brothers, Sing," 61. 
 
 Smith, Alexander J., 48. 
 
 Smith, Edwin DuBose, 67. 
 
 Smith, J. Rockwell, 91. 
 
 Snook, Peyton, 58. 
 
 Song Book, The S. A. E., 
 92. 
 
 Songs of Purple and Gold, 
 98. 
 
 South Carolina Delta, 48. 
 
 South Carolina Gamma, 48. 
 
 South Carolina Lambda, 45. 
 
 South Carolina Mu, 45. 
 
 South Carolina Phi, 36. 
 
 South Carolina Upsilon, 45. 
 
 South Dakota Sigma Born, 
 95. 
 
 Spencer, Samuel, 31. 
 
 Squire, Walter, Musical 
 Editor, 93. 
 
 St. Louis Convention of 
 1896, 79. 
 
 State Association of Ohio, 
 70. 
 
 State Convention, The First, 
 55. 
 
 Stewart, Ralph C., Province- 
 president, 93; revisor of 
 ritual, 94. 
 
 Stone, Charles Frederick. 
 92, 93. 
 
 Stowell, Clarence W., E. 
 S. R., 91; 92, 93; E. S. 
 D. A., 94. 
 
 106 
 
Supreme Council Plan, 57. 
 
 Supreme Council in 1890, 
 62. 
 
 Supreme Court of United 
 States Decides Mississ- 
 ippi Case, 96. 
 
 Tarrant, James P., 8. 
 
 Taylor, Dean, Revisor of the 
 Ritual, 94. 
 
 Tennessee Eta Founded, 34. 
 
 Tennessee Kappa Founded, 
 42. 
 
 Tennessee Lambda, 27, 34. 
 
 Tennessee Nu Established, 
 15, 38. 
 
 Tennessee Omega Founded, 
 46; first chapter to own 
 house, 47 ; carries the 
 mail, 47 ; keystone laid, 
 59. 
 
 Tennessee Zeta Founded. 
 49. 
 
 Texas Psi, 45. 
 
 Texas Rho the First, 45. 
 
 Texas Rho Organized, 54. 
 
 Texas Theta Chartered, 22. 
 
 Thomas, Alexander R., 
 Province president, 97. 
 
 Thomas, Charles C., prov- 
 ince president, 97. 
 
 Thomas, Grigsby, 27. 
 
 Thomas, William H., 58. 
 
 Titles, New for National 
 Officers, 51. 
 
 Topoi, The, What It Was, 5. 
 
 Traveling Secretary Cre- 
 ated, 96, 97. 
 
 Treasurer, The First Na- 
 tional, 37. 
 
 Turner, J. D. Province 
 president, 97, 98. 
 
 Tuttle, Arthur J., 61, 71, 
 72, 78. 
 
 Twining Granville, incorpo- 
 rator of fraternity, 92. 
 
 U 
 
 Union Army, S. A. E.'s in 
 
 the, 29. 
 Uzzell, R. S., Advocates 
 
 Alumni Ritual, 97. 
 
 Vaile, William N., Province 
 
 president, 93, 94. 
 Vastine, J. M., 72. 
 Vaughn, Vernon H., 23. 
 Vawter, William A., II., 96. 
 Violet, The S. A. E. Flower, 
 
 66. 
 
 Virgin, Edward H., 71. 
 Virginia Kappa Founded, 
 
 18; end of, 19. 
 Virginia Omicron, Affiliates 
 
 of, 21; revived, 30; at the 
 
 helm, 32. 
 Virginia Pi, 45. 
 Virginia Sigma Installed, 
 
 35; opposes extension 
 
 northward, 37; grand 
 
 chapter, 39. 
 Virginia Tau, 45. 
 Virginia Theta, 39, 89. 
 
 W 
 
 Wallace, Arthur T., 95. 
 
 Walker, Paul A., Province 
 president, 93, 94. 
 
 Walker, William B., and 
 northern extension, 46. 
 
 War Record of Georgia Pi, 
 20. 
 
 War Record of S. A. E., 29. 
 
 War, S. A. E. After the 
 Civil, 30. 
 
 Warwick, H. S., 94. 
 
 Washington Alpha Found- 
 ed, 92. 
 
 Washington Beta Installed, 
 98. 
 
 Washington City Rho, 26; 
 revived, 91. 
 
 Washington Convention of 
 1894, 75; of 1902, 86. 
 
 Waterhouse, W. E., Prov- 
 ince president, 93, 94. 
 
 Webb, Frank Bell, 33, 35. 
 
 Webbe, William E., 95. 
 
 Webster, Clyde I., Province 
 president, 93. 
 
 Welch, Charles W., founder 
 Kentucky Kappa, 48. 
 
 Wells, Robert K., 8. 
 
 Wenstrand, David W., Prov- 
 ince president, 93. 
 
 107 
 
Westbrooke, Josephus Gv, 
 
 23. 
 White, Carl F., reviser of 
 
 ritual, 94. 
 
 White, Walter E., 91. 
 White, William B., 59. 
 Who's Who in S. A. E., 95. 
 Wilson, William L,., 21; 
 
 honorary E. S. A., 71. 
 Wisconsin Alpha Pounded, 
 
 89. 
 Wisconsin Phi Established, 
 
 Woman, A. S. A. B., 28. 
 Wood, Charles P., 65, 92, 93. 
 Wooten, William E., 56. 
 Wynne, Gustavus A., 8. 
 
 Year Book, The S. A. E., 
 
 92. 
 
 Yell, The S. A. E., 67. 
 Young, J. H., President of 
 
 the Grand Chapter, 49; 
 
 editor of The Record, 49, 
 
 51, 53. 
 
 108 
 

 
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