The Adelphian Society was a
college literary society established in 1840 at the
Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution
Colgate University is a private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Ha ...
(now
Colgate University
Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...
) in
Hamilton, New York
Hamilton is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York, Madison County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 6,379 at the 2020 census. The town is named after American Founding Father ...
. It merged into
Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, , it consist ...
fraternity in 1880.
History
The Aldelphian Society was organized on October 31, 1840 at the
Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution
Colgate University is a private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Ha ...
(later called Hamilton College, Madison University, and now
Colgate University
Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...
).
The society was formed by 31 men led by its first president, Orrin Bishop Judd.
The Adelphian Society was founded on the same day as the Aeonian Society. The two literary societies were built on the remains of the college's first literary societies,
Gamma Phi Society and Pi Delta, established in 1833 and 1834, respectively.
Competition for members between the two societies led to faculty intervention, with the result that both seem to have been dissolved in 1840 when the Adelphian and Aeonian Societies came into existence.
The purpose of the Aldelphian Society was to “progress in literary attainments and cultivation among all the members of an undecaying friendship."
Its main activity was the presentation of original works by students.
This activity resulted in faculty approval as the group "stimulated the development of oral and written expression, which were phases of the curriculum badly in need of expansion.”
On December 10, 1880, the Adelphian Society became the ''Beta Theta chapter'' of the national
Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, , it consist ...
fraternity.
The Aldelphian Society's records are held at the Special Collections and University Archives of Colgate University Libraries.
Related organizations
In 1850, five members of the Adelphian Society transferred to the newly formed
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...
and founded the
Delphic Society.
See also
*
Literary society
A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newslet ...
*
College literary societies
College literary societies in American higher education are a particular kind of social organization, distinct from literary societies generally, and they were often the precursors of college fraternities and sororities.Harding, Thomas S. (1971) ...
*
List of societies at Colgate University
*
List of college literary societies
References
{{College Literary Societies, state=collapsed
*
College literary societies in the United States
1840 establishments in New York (state)
Student organizations established in the 1840s
Colgate University
Student organizations in the United States
Merged fraternities and sororities