Theta Chi @ DU - History

THETA CHI SOCIETY, as it was then known, was founded at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, at nine o'clock on Thursday evening, April 10, 1856.

At that time Frederick Norton Freeman '57, and Arthur Chase '56, met in Freeman's room in the Old South Barracks of the University and, to quote from the minutes of the first meeting, "being called to order by Mr. Chase, Messrs. Chase and Freeman mutually took the oaths rescribed and declared each other true and accepted members of the Theta Chi Society." From this humble beginning Theta Chi Fraternity has grown to its present status.

To quote again from the minutes of the first meeting we learn that "The Theta Chi Society was the idea and plan of Frederick Norton Freeman, and with the assistance of Arthur Chase, his plans were perfected and the society was organized." Chase was elected president and Freeman was elected secretary. The next evening, April 11, the first initiation was conducted. One of the initiates was Edward Bancroft Williston of San Diego, California, and the other was Lorenzo Potter of Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

The historical facts of the founding of Theta Chi were taken from old minute books, old correspondence, and the personal recollections of Alpha members who related, many years later, what had been passed on to them.

In this early period of American college life, fraternities were being organized in institutions all over the country. Many were local societies which enjoyed brief existences, while others, planned along national lines, grew, flourished, and expanded and are the national fraternities which we know today.

Freeman and Chase, together with Egbert Phelps, ex-'56, had been planning the organization of the society for more than two years prior to the organizational meeting. Phelps left Norwich in 1854 and entered Union College where he joined Chi Psi Fraternity, but he kept in contact with Freeman and helped so much with his advice and suggestions that it is felt he should be credited, at least, with being the "assistant founder" of Theta Chi. It was Phelps who suggested the name of the Society and designed the first badge which was virtually the same as the official badge used today. Perhaps from his fraternity experience at Union College, he passed on to Freeman additional advice and suggestions which were helpful in writing our first ritual and constitution.

Theta Chi was the first Greek Letter society to make its appearance at Norwich. It was preceded in 1853 by a secret society known as the "Regulators." Whether there was any connection between the Regulators and Theta Chi is open to conjecture. It is known that Freeman was a Regulator and that when the Regulators passed out of existence in 1856 practically all of the paraphernalia of this organization passed into the possession of Theta Chi Society.

The lives of the Founders of Theta Chi Fraternity should be interesting to us now as we turn back the pages of history for over 130 years. How well they planned and with what ability, foresight, and wisdom they did their original organization work is attested by the fact that throughout the long years since our founding the fundamentals of the organization, as expressed in the original constitution, to this day remain unchanged. Our present ritual includes the original ritual used in 1856. The oaths taken by Freeman and Chase on that April evening long ago have since been shared by every man initiated into Theta Chi.

The founder of Theta Chi Fraternity, Frederick Norton Freeman, was born in Claremont, New Hampshire, on March 2, 1839. His ancestors on his father's side had been in America since the early sixteen hundreds. The grandmother of Freeman was a Chase, and through this circumstance Freeman and Arthur Chase were distant cousins. Freeman attended Claremont Academy and entered Norwich University at the age of fourteen. he received the degrees of B.S. in 1856 and B.A. in 1857 and A.M. in 1860. In the years of 1858 and 1859 Freeman read law in his father's office in Claremont, New Hampshire, and was admitted to the bar, but did not practice. In 1860 he became associated with Yonkers Collegiate and Military Institute in Yonkers, New York, and in 1861 he was made superintendent of this institution with the title of colonel. In 1862 he took a similar position at the Englewood Military and Collegiate Institute of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. It is interesting to note that while Freeman was at Perth Amboy, Alpha Chapter made an unsuccessful attempt to establish a chapter of the fraternity at the Perth Amboy institution. In 1864 Freeman became the first superintendent of the Pennsylvania Coal Company at Newburgh, New York.

While engaged in the construction of a new dock for his company at Newburgh, Freeman contracted a severe cold which progressed rapidly to pneumonia. He died suddenly on March 28, 1867, at the age of 28 years. Freeman was a young man of great promise and achievement, who held positions of responsibility and trust far beyond his years. It was unfortunate that his span of life was so short.

Arthur Chase was descended from a long line of New Englanders. He was born at Bellows Falls, Vermont, on October 21, 1835. His father was an Episcopal minister who later became the first Bishop of New Hampshire. When Arthur was nine years old the family moved to Claremont, New Hampshire, and this town remained his home for the balance of his life.

Chase entered Norwich University in the fall of 1852, shortly before he became seventeen years old. He was graduated in 1856 and immediately entered a law office in Claremont to begin the study of law. He followed this study by attending the Harvard Law School from which he graduated in 1857 with the degree of LL.B. He practiced law in Claremont for nine years and then entered newspaper work, purchasing The National Eagle, a weekly newspaper published in Claremont, in 1868. Chase was married in 1863 to Garafelia Davis. Seven children were born of the union, four of whom, two sons and two daughters, reached adult life and survived their father.

After three years of newspaper work, Chase's health failed, and on the advice of his physician he retired to a farm he purchased on the outskirts of Claremont.

Arthur Chase was always a power in his community. At one time he was superintendent of public schools and filled the position with considerable efficiency. He was a staunch Episcopalian and active in church and diocese affairs until the time of his death.

Although Arthur Chase never enjoyed robust health, death came unexpectedly and suddenly on November 20, 1888. Chase was 53 years of age at his death, living scarcely beyond middle life. It was said that he lived more in fifty years than most men do in three-score and ten.

At the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Convention held at Northfield, Vermont, in 1931, the Fraternity placed suitably-marked granite memorials at the grave of Freeman near Plainfield, New Hampshire, and the grave of Chase in Claremont, New Hampshire.

The third man concerned with the origin of Theta Chi Fraternity was Egbert Phelps. While full credit for the founding is conceded to Freeman and Chase, Phelps did a great deal to assist the Founders in their planning and would no doubt have taken a much more active part had he not transferred to Union College in 1854. He never became a member of Theta Chi Society, although he was made an honorary member of the Fraternity after his death.

Phelps was born at Middlebury, Vermont, December 8, 1835. He entered Norwich University in 1852 and was graduated from Union College in 1856 with a B.A. degree. At Union College he became a member of Chi Psi Fraternity. In 1861 he joined the 19th United States Infantry and served throughout the entire Civil War, finishing with the rank of captain.

He was a writer of some note, being a frequent contributor to the popular magazines of the day. In 1871 he was admitted to the bar at Burlington, Illinois. Phelps practiced law for many years in Joliet, Illinois, where he lived from 1875 until his death on July 26, 1916.

The early history of Theta Chi Fraternity is closely connected with the history of Norwich University. The University was founded at Norwich, Vermont, in 1819 being then known as The American Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy. It was a pioneer engineering college of the country and has always maintained its military training and traditions. In 1834 the name was changed to Norwich University.

In the Spring of 1866 the Norwich University buildings burned. Old South Barracks, where Theta Chi was founded, was completely destroyed. It is reasonable to believe that some of the early records and relics of the Fraternity were lost at this time. The University moved after the fire to Northfield, Vermont, its present location. At the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Convention the Fraternity erected a granite monument with a bronze plaque at Norwich, Vermont, to commemorate the founding of the Fraternity.

In the first decade of the Fraternity's existence a number of serious handicaps were experienced. The Civil War greatly depleted the student body of the University, for Norwich was a military school. After the fire in 1866 there was doubt for a while as to whether or not the University would continue. The war, the fire, and the uncertainty regarding the continuation of the University seriously lowered the attendance, and the school opened in the Fall of 1866 with only nineteen students. In spite of the low enrollment which continued for some years, we are told in "The History of Norwich University" by Dodge and Ellis that "The Theta Chi and Alpha Sigma Pi fraternities flourished in this period, 1866 to 1880." Just what the word "flourished" meant is not known, but it is supposed that even with a small university enrollment, Theta Chi was able to get its share of new members.

In 1881 the student body of Norwich was reduced to a dozen men, and Theta Chi found itself with one active member. This critical situation was relieved when local alumni worked with the undergraduate member, James M. Holland, '83, in pledging and initiating Phil S. Randall, '86, and Henry B. Hersey, '85, thus preserving the existence of the Fraternity.

After 1888 the affairs of the University took a decided turn for the better, and from then on there was never a question of Theta Chi leadership on the Norwich campus. From its very inception Theta Chi was planned as a national fraternity. Why it existed as a single chapter for nearly fifty years will probably never be definitely known. Expansion was no doubt delayed by two conditions, the unstable conditions of the University at first, and anti-expansion sentiment, which developed later within the chapter.

In 1888 Theta Chi Fraternity was incorporated under the laws of Vermont. From 1888 until the establishment of the Beta Chapter, fourteen years later, the history of the Fraternity is a history of steady growth of a chapter both in general strength and in members. Norwich University disbanded its fraternities in 1960, so Alpha Chapter no longer exists.

With the establishment of Beta Chapter at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Boston Massachusetts, on December 13, 1902, a new era opened for Theta Chi, an era of country-wide expansion and national organization and administration. Although hindered by a serious depression and two world wars, Theta Chi has grown, and prospered beyond the dreams of the Founders to the position it now holds in the national fraternity scene.