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

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of ctolarsi Hp ounded on December 5, 1 776, at ,JI William and Mary, Phi Beta Kappa became the first inter-colle- giate society in the United States with educational objectives. The Alpha Chapter numbered among its first members Chief Justice John Marshall, Continental Congress rep- resentative Samuel Hardy, U.S. Sen- ators John Brown and Steven Thomson Mason and John James Beckley, First Clerk of the House of Representatives. Their first meeting was held at the typical gathering place of many of their peers. The Apollo Room of the Raleigh Tavern became the site of their annual banquets as well as special occasion celebrations. With the Revolutionary War be- ginning, the society lost many of its members to the patriot army. On Jan. 6, 1781, it was decided that the society ' s papers should be given to the college steward during the confusion of the times. In 1849, these papers were given to the Vo. Historical Society where they stayed until returned to the Alpha Chapter in 1893. An early mem- ber was found in 1850 and it was de- cided to revive the chapter. The Civil War forced the closing of the College and Phi Beta Kappa again folded, this time for thirty-two years. The society has continued since that time, celebrating the initiation of new member each December 5th. Members often gathered ot the Appollo Room of Raleigh Tovern for drinks and conversation. PHI BETA KAPPA 7

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tj tc s cttt; This design depicts one of the earliest Phi Beto Kappa keys. The Raleigh Tovern, where early Phi Beta Kappa meetings were held, still stonds in Colonial Williamsburg. 6 PHI BETA KAPPA

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THE Prefcnt State O F VIRGINIA, AND THE college: Meljii eurs B Y rH A R T W E L I., c B L A I R, and IC H I L r O N. To which 15 a ' lJ ' ' ii The CHARTER for Ercaing the faid COLLEGE, granccJ by their Jatc MaieRies Kinj. , ' ,V i L L I A M i.a Queen MAR7 of tvti Glorious and Pious M ' jmory. I O N D N Printed for John W r a r, ar the Rof in St. PmiI ' s hurclyy.Dd, M.ucc vV ii. (rticc IS. 6d) The title page of o book by Rev. Jomes Barii depicts the college ' s charter. Courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. 3n toucf) toitf) a ( y Ithough not formally established C until 1693, William and Mary ' s roots date back as far as 1617. The primary objective for his newly con- ceived school was the education and conversion of the Indians. As a re- sult of this desire to save the In- dians, Sir Edwin Sandys together with other concerned Englishmen raised money for the establishment of an Indian college and the foundation of a seminary of learning for the English. Unfortunately, the same group the school sought to educate, destroyed its beginnings during the Great Massacre of 1622 where over 340 settlers were killed. It wasn ' t until 1660 that the Virginia Assembly voted that for the advance of learning, education of youth, supply of the ministry and promotion of piety, there be land taken upon purchase of a col ledge and free schoole. Ideas assumed a more concrete footing in 1691, when Rev. James Blair was sent to England to secure a charter for the college. The idea was well received by William and Mary but with Seymour, the Attorney-General, it was much more difficult. At that time, Eng- land was engaged in an expensive war and could not afford the necessary funds for a college in America. Rev. Blair explained that the college was to train men to become minis- ters of the Gospel, and that Virgin- ians as well as Englishmen had souls to save. Seymour seemed unmoved os he exclaimed, Souls! Damn your souls! Make tobacco! In spite of Seymour ' s obvious opposition, the King and Queen adhered to their promise and signed the charter on February 19th, 1693. The college ' s charter was based on the plan that the Church of Vir- ginia may be furnished with a semin- ary of ministers of the Gospel, and that the youth may be piously edu- cated in good letters and manners, and that the Christian religion may be propagated among the Western In- dians, to the glory of Almighty God. The charter further endowed the college with the whole and en- tire sum of one thousand nine hundred and eighty-five pounds, fourteen shillings and tenpence of good and lawful money of England, that has been raised out of the quit-rents of said colony, or a grand total {in current standards) of $4,010.19! The college was to gain further rev- enue by receiving a penny a pound on all tobacco exported from Virginia and Maryland. A grant of twenty thousand acres of land lying in the Pamunkey Neck, was given to the college, as well as the authority for the president and pro- fessors to select from among them- selves several representatives to the House of Burgesses. There was only one catch to the charter handed to the college. The college authorities were to pay to us and our successors two copies of Latin verse yearly on the fifth day of November at the house of the Gov- ernor or Lieutenant-Governor for the 8 HISTORY