ADPi History help!!

[AGDAlum]

Could someone please verify this?

"The first known secret society for women: the Adelphean Society...It was a small group, active only a few years, being suspended during the Civil War when enrollment dropped to an extremely low level. The Adelphean Society lay dormant for almost half a century before it was revived as Alpha Delta Phi in 1905, to become Alpha Delta Pi in 1913."

My questions are about "suspended" and "dormant." I thought that Adelphean continued as a local for those 50-some years. Does ADPi claim "continuous existence" since 1851, or just having been founded then?

I'm not slamming you. I'm trying to refute someone else's statement and want to get my facts straight.

Thanks!!

AGDAlum

(and wondering if "suspended" and "dormant" apply to the Philomatheans as well)

[honeychile]

Actually, I have never heard of EITHER the Adelpheans or the Philomatheans suspending operations! According to my Pledge Book (and I'm paraphrasing this, because I don't have it in front of me at work!), most of the girls/women who were at Georgia Wesleyan College when the War broke out stayed at the College throughout the War, instead of going home. If anything, I would think that the Societies were stronger at that time.

I also know that, when war was declared, the College had an Illumination Night that the Adelpheans (and I imagine the Philomatheans) participated in.

Anyone have their New Member Book handy, to prove me right or wrong?

Oh, and just out of curiosity, where did it say that operations were suspended? I have a guess, but I'm curious!

[nauadpi]

If there was any time we were dormant, we were back in operation before 1905.. Because in 1872 we made a substantial constitution change... Thanks to the wonders of the adpi website, it was that year that we took domestic out of the constitution statement about the objectives of the society... This was due to the changing role of women in the country...

[ADPiAkron]

According to this website it says the college stayed open during the war. Just classes were suspended a few times.

http://www.gcah.org/Heritage_Landmarks/Wesleyan.htm

So unless the women were unable to continue it during that time- I would guess it was not dormant during the war since Wesleyan was still open. Maybe someone could email EO and see!

[WLFEO]

AKKKK!!! I can't find my Sisters book- how disturbing!

I am pretty sure we were never dormant and Honeychile, you are right about the women staying at college during the war.

The search continues for Sisters......... It's got to be somewhere in here!

[ASUADPi]

Quoting directly from my Alpha book:

"The Adelphean Society flourished through the years and in 1904 the members voted to become national and in 1905 changed their name to Alpha Delta Phi. In 1913 it was changed to Alpha Delta Pi because of continued confusion with a men's fraternity of the same name."

Maybe someone is getting confused with the fact that our Alpha chapter was closed in 1914. But by then we already had the following chapters open:

Beta* (Salem College, 1905)
Gamma* (Mary Baldwin Seminary, 1905)
Delta (University of Texas: Austin, 1905)
Epsilon* (Sophie Newcomb College, 1906)
Zeta (Southwestern University, 1907)
Eta (University of Alabama: Tuscaloosa, 1907)
Theta* (Lawrence College, 1908)
Iota (Florida State University, 1909)
Kappa (Samford University, 1910)
Lambda (Brenau University, 1910)
Mu* (Women's College of Alabama, 1910)
Nu* (Randolph-Macon Women's College, 1910)
Xi (Ohio University, 1914)
Omicron (Duke University, 1911)
Pi (Iowa State University, 1911)
Rho (Boston University, 1911)
Sigma (University of Illinois: Urbana, 1912)
Tau (University of Kansas, 1912)
Upsilon (Washington State University, 1912)
Phi (Hanover College, 1913)
Chi (Whittenberg University, 1913)
Psi (University of California: Berkeley, 1913)
Omega* (Lousiana State University, 1914)
Alpha Alpha* (University of Colorado, 1914)

*Denotes a closed chapter

[AGDAlum]

I e-mailed ADPi HQ and asked my question (whether ADPi had ever been dormant). Here's the answer from the ADPi historian.

Most likely none of you had ever worried about this, and you still don't! I really appreciate her response.

AGDAlum

**************************
From the ADPi historian:
Thank you for your inquiry. The Adelphean Society existed as a local secret society with continuous membership enrollment/initiations from 1851 until the group was incorporated as a national organization in 1904. The name was changed to Alpha Delta Phi in 1905, in order to be in keeping with other Greek letter groups. The name was changed to Alpha Delta Pi in 1913. The sorority has been in continuous existence since 1851. The group never disbanded during the Civil War. We have approximately 80% of the chapter meeting minutes from the Adelphean Society. We have the membership rolls from every year. We have programs from Adelphean Society events and composite photos. The Adelphean Society did not lay dormant.

[Lindz928]

AGDAlum, thanks so much for posting that!!!

Not only were you able to answer your own questions, but you gave us more information too.

I never knew that our EO has membership rolls and meeting minutes from so long ago. I have always been so impressed with the heritage of our sorority.

I'm sure someone here will know.... Is it still possible to get the "Sisters" book? I couldn't afford to get one when I was in college, and I would love to get one now.

[honeychile]

Thank you so very much, AGDAlum! I'm also amazed that EO still has all of the membership rolls (says the genealogically minded sister!).

Lindz, yes, Sisters is still available; at least, it was two months ago!

[OleMissGlitter]

This is a very interesting thread....I love to learn about the history of other sororities and fraternities.

[AGDAlum]

I'd like to hear Phi Mu's take on Civil War / dormancy / old records, but the Phi Mu historian is not e-mailable (or even named) on the public side of their website. (Ahem, Phi Mus!)

What I'm still dying to know is how ADPi changed its secret work when it went from "Alpha Delta Phi" to "Alpha Delta Pi." Greek words beginning with phi (philia/philios, etc., "brotherly/sisterly love," or phos, "light" for example) are of course different words entirely from those beginning with pi (e.g. pistis, "faith").

I know you'll never tell me what the Phi was, but do you learn it when you learn what the Pi stands for?

AGDAlum
who wishes that those rituals were in the Cong Record (they aren't, if you hadn't heard!) but of course if they were there would be blank spaces where those words would be

[adpiucf]

AGD Alum-- what I can tell you is this: our ritual has changed very little over the years!

For example, the azure blue catsuits NEVER go out of style!