College of William and Mary - Colonial Echo Yearbook (Williamsburg, VA)

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started out uiKk-r tin.- presidency of Kc -. Silas ' I ' dttfr, D.D., 1,1..!)., Professor of M(jral Philoso])li -. In May, 1861, war again closed the College of William and Mary, and the Phi Beta Kappa Society suspended for thirty-two years. In ' Sejiteniber, 1893, the Society was again revived, tiie following officers being elected : C(jlonel Henjaniin S. liwell. President; Colonel William Land), Vice-President; (General William B. Taliaferro, Secretary. It was determined to call a meeting of all the memliers of the chapter, and to this end a card was j)ublished in the daily papers of Richmond, Norfold, Peters- burg, and L iicid)urg. On December 5th thereafter, a meeting was held, several new mendjers initiated, and the Society started out upon a new career of useful- ness and iionor. At this time, the mother chapter. Alpha of ' irginia, William and .Mary, has on her rolls some of the most distinguished literary men of Virgina, anil a few outside of the State. She has an annual celebration and collation, be- lieving still in jollity and mirth regulated by intellect and soul. The officers at present are: B. B. Munford, President; L. B. Whartun, ' ice- President; J. L. Hall, Secretary; ' . 1- . (iarrett, Treasurer. 24

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5 1)1 33cta i appa ocutp ( Alpha of I ' irgiiiia. ) This Society admits to ineniljership only graduates of the College and persons other than grailuates distinguished in letters, science and education. It was first organized at William and Mar v College, on Deceml)er 5th, 1776, and nundiered among its first mend)ers John Marshall, Chief Justice of the ITnited States ; Spencer Roane, Judge of the ' irginia Supreme Court; William Short, Minister of the United States at the courts of Holland and Spain ; Samuel Hard ' , a leading mem- ber of the Continental Congress; John Brown and Stevens Tiiomsou Mason, Sena- tors of the Ihiited States, and John James Beckley, First Clerk of tlie House of Representatives and First Librarian of Congi ' ess. The Society has chapters at the leading institutions of learning. As it was the first intercollegiate society in the Ignited States with educational objects, so the key by which it is distinguished was the first educational prize for scholastic attainment, in the shape of an engraved medal. The original record of Proceed- ings from 1776 to 1781 is still in the possession of the College, and the original charter granted by the mother chapter of William and Mary to Harvard chapter, dated December 41)1, 1779, is still in the possession of that chapter. They will always be regarded as -euerable relics of our Re -olutionary fathers. In the selection of candidates for membership, the greatest care is taken ; meml) ' rship is equivalent to an honorary degi ' ee at any of the colleges, and con- fers upon the recipient special distinction. In its early days, the Society had an annual banquet at the old Raleigh Tav- ern so famous in ' irginia history. Special occasions, such as the departure ol ' a brother to continue his studies in F urope, were observed in a like manner; and the walls of the historic Apollo Hall at the Raleigh frequentlv resounded with jollity and mirth, voicing the good spirits of those distinguished youths. So man} ' of the members left college to enter the patriot army that, on Janu- 6th, 1780, it was resolved to place the papers and archives of the .Society in the hands of the College steward, to secure them during the confusion of the times. These papers were lost to sight until 1849, when they came into the possession of the Virginia Historical Society. By this .society, they were returned to the Virginia Alpha, of the Phi Beta Kappa Society after its revival in 1893. Before the closing of the College in 1781, FUisha Parmelee, a fi)rmer student of Yale and a graduate of Harvard, and at this time attending William and Mary, probably in Hon. (icorge Wythe ' s law class, petitioned for charters for Yale and Harvard. His petition was granted and these two New ICngland chapters began their famous career. F ' rom that time on, the Phi Beta Kapjia Society has had a famous history, membership therein being regarded as a high honor. In iSsd, it was found that one of the early members, William Short, was still ali e ; and it was determined to revive the mother chapter at William and Mary. With Mr. Short ' s co-operation, this was soon done: and the Society 23

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Cijc 5oun5 jHrn ' s Cljnstiau association O f f I f f r s . H. Jacksox Da is, IC. M. Tkrrv, . W. T. Hodges, W. Arthur Maddox, V. !•:. Vkst, PicsidcnI. ] ' ft- ' rs dfi . 7 ' rasiirtr. Kicoidiiiii Secretary. Correspoiidiiii; Serretaiy. vClitiirnifii of Coniimttcf6. V. J. W ' lI.KIN.-AOX, L. D. Vai:(;ha. . E. M. Terry, W. T. HouGKS; F. M. SiZKR, . C. S. Bruce, A. C. C.II.KKSON, able S iuiv. Missionary. Devotional . Finance. Room . Sick. Menibersiiify. 25