1905-06 Volume 30 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

THE SCROLL. 371branch was planted at Emory College in 1841. It wasthe first secret college fraternity ever established in the south.The chapters were called temples. The original chapter atWesleyan was called the temple of the Wand, the Emorychapter the temple of the Sword. In 1844 the temple ofthe Skull was established at the University of Georgia. AsI am informed, this was several years before the south wasentered by any of the Greek-letter fraternities, the first ofwhich to establish a southern chapter was AKE, whichestablished a chapter at the University of Nashville in 1847. *There were three members of Mystic Seven in the class of1842 at Emory, the second in the history of the college, viz.:Dr. G. W. W. Stone, who devoted his life to education atWesleyan Female College, Macon, Ga., and later at Emory,from 1853 till he died; Dr. O. L. Smith, who also taught atMacon, and was for several years president of Emory;and Miles W. Lewis, a member of Georgia senate and of thestate constitutional convention in 1877. In later classesmay be mentioned Dr. G. J. Orr, '44, for many years a professorin Emory, and afterwards the first commissioner ofpublic education in Georgia; Wm. H. Chambers, '45, speakerof the Alabama house of representatives, member ofthe senate, and professor in Alabama Polytechnic Institute;Col. Robert G. Harper, '45, one of the most brilliantlawyers and political writers in the south; Gen. Edward L.Thomas, '46, prominent in politics and a distinguished andgallant officer in the Confederate army; Hon. Henry R.Harris, '47, a member of congress and prominent leader inpolitics; Dr. I. R. Branham, '47, an eminent Baptist preacherand editor of the Christian Index; Dr. L. M. Smith '48,professor and for many years president of Emory; my noblekinsman, James E. Palmer, '48, a professor in Emory; Dr. J. F.* The later temples of the Mystic fraternity were: the Scroll and Pen, Syracuse University,established. 1853; the Wreath. Centenary College. Louisiana. 1855; the Star.University of MississipDi. 1858; the Serpent, Cumberland University, Tennessee. r867:Hands and Torch. University of Virginia, 1867: Star of the South, University of NorthCarolina. 1884; Sword and Shield. Davidson College. North Carolina. i88s. In 1890B 0 n absorbed the temples that had not already suspended and the alumni rolls of thesuspended a.s well as the living temples.Mr. Palmer states that at Emory the society was always called Mystic Seven, notMystical Seven. This statement being communicated to Mr. W. R. Baird, B 0 n. hewrote: "The Mystic Seven was called Mystical Seven by some chapters. I have all therecords of the Emon' and Georgia chapters. I was appointed historian of the society byits last executive, in order to be given possession of these documents. The chapter at theUniversity of Georgia was founded January. 1844. On the fly leaf of the records of theGeorgia chapter is the following; 'History of the Temple of the Skull of the MysticalSeven.' As these records were written in 1846 by one of the founders of the chapter, Ithink you may take it that the designation 'Mystical' is correcL The Wesleyan boys, however,always called the society 'Mystic' " The editors of THE SCROLL are also indebted toMr. Baird for verifying from the records of the Emory temple the date of the establishmentof that chapter, which date appears in Professor Brown's article.