Founding Date

Dec 17th, 1883

Western Reserve College opened in 1826 and was the first institution of higher education in what had been the Connecticut Western Reserve. In 1892, Amasa Stone donated a sizable fund of money to the institution. As a result of this gift, Western Reserve College became Adelbert College of Western Reserve University, named after Stone’s son. In 1967, Adelbert College and Case Institute of Technology merged, creating modern-day Case Western Reserve University. Women of the Psi-Lewis and Phi-Franklin chapters installed the second Theta chapter at Adelbert College on December 17, 1883. The six charter members were initiated in the home of Cornelia Wadhams Beardslee, Theta II-Adelbert. This number soon grew to seven, and all were considered to be very enthusiastic. From the beginning the women of Delta Gamma at Adelbert were the cream of the crop. As reported by Cornelia Beardslee, “The [women] were not popular at Adelbert, and there was a sharp rivalry and jealousy on the [men’s] part as the girls did take the honors in every class.” After considering the attitudes of the men on campus, the trustees of Adelbert attempted to bar the women from college in 1855. Although the movement was defeated, the sentiments remained. The women of Delta Gamma did not let this stop them, however. Theta II increased its numbers from six to twelve and continued operating as normal. By 1888, the trustees of the college were successful in barring women, but the bonds of sisterhood were no match for the trustees. The women of the Theta II chapter asked the Fraternity to be given a charter as an alumnae chapter. This charter was granted, but by 1891, the alumnae chapter struggled. There were few women who stayed in the Cleveland area, and these saw no other course than to return their charter to the Fraternity. They presented their charter to the 1891 Convention body in Ann Arbor, Michigan. See also Theta Beta-Case