I have to first say that the fraternity listed in the first book is "Theta Beta Pi" but it is widely believed that this is a misprint and should be "Beta Theta Pi." If someone has a Baird's that might be helpful to see who was on campus in 1906.
From
Henry Arthur Callis: Life and Legacy (Page 25):
It is of interest to observe that fraternity information was secured by Callis [a founder] from his work at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity and by George Kelley [another founder] who also worked at the house of Theta Beta Pi Fraternity. Callis wrote of these contacts...- Much of the ceremony of initiation was gotten directly from the old historical fraternities at Cornell and was modified to suit our purposes. When the members of these organizations became acquainted with our purposes, they were quite free with information about their own secret proceedings.
In line with the above statement by Jewel Callis about white fraternities, the same idea was advanced by Jewel Nathaniel Murray,- Ideas were borrowed from the white fraternities and modified to suit our own initiatory ceremonies, but the [yeah this partwas borderline ritualistic, sorry
] was original with our seven founders.
Next, from
The Talented Tenth, page 69:
Noticing from his work as a waiter at the Theta Beta Pi house that the white fraternities had pins, he thought it would be a good idea for the Alpha Phi Alpha Society to have one also.
There must have been a mistake in the original notes that transposed the letters and it's stuck over the years.
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