A History of The Eclectic Society of Phi Nu Theta, 1837–1970. William B.B. Moody
chapters of Chi Psi and Delta Upsilon did cease to exist for a time, not being revived until 1875 and 1919, respectively.
That Eclectic did not suffer the fate of Chi Psi was in no small degree due to the energy and enthusiasm of four undergraduates: William Pallister Hubbard (1863), Henry Cruise Murphy Ingraham (1864), William North Rice (1865), and Stephen Henry Olin (1866). Especially remarkable was the influence which Billy Rice exerted almost from his initiation in 1861. The story of this decade is dominated by the reorganization of the Fraternity under his leadership.
The 1860s opened with Phi Nu Theta in good shape. The strong senior delegation included the university valedictorian, William Lawton Spalding, and salutatorian, Edson Wyllys Burr, both of the class of 1860. A smaller junior delegation included Wilbur Fisk Osborne (1861), who was to be valedictorian, and Roswell S. Douglass, who was to be salutatorian of the same class. Brother Douglass in making his report as corresponding secretary in the summer of 1860 asserted that the past year had ranked “amongst the most prosperous years of our existence.”
There is a certain smugness in his discussion of the reasons why Eclectic again refused to cooperate in the publication of the Olla Podrida:
The year previous to this, a College paper was published containing notices of the different societies, and at that time we declined being noticed therein. This year an attempt was made to publish a paper of like description, and our assistance was requested for that purpose. Thinking, however, that such a paper would benefit other societies more than our own and that we should gain but little by it, the Society withheld their sanction, and the paper was not published—a clear instance of cause and effect showing power in the cause!
At the Annual Meeting of 1860, where this report was read, Chester D. Hubbard (1840) was chosen as president. It was voted to have a Quadrennial celebration in 1861. The Quadrennial was a kind of public literary exercise conducted by each of the four oldest fraternities in rotation and held as part of graduation ceremonies. A principal and reserve orator as well as a principal and reserve poet were elected. The Quadrennial was held on June 18, 1861, but by some mischance, none of the principals or reserves was able to appear. The edition of Zion’s Herald (Boston’s Methodist newspaper) for June 26, 1861, commented:
On Tuesday, another large audience assembled to hear an orator and poet address one of the secret societies, but both speakers failed, a failure which was the less regretted since an impromptu, but capital address was wrung out of the heart and lips of the Rev. C. D. Foss of Brooklyn, a young Methodist minister of the New York East Conference, who so appropriately mingles the fire of old Methodism with the culture of the new that it may do no harm to refer to it.
There was earlier mention of the initiation of William P. Hubbard (1863) in the fall of 1859. The first son of an Eclectic to become a member, he carried on the tradition of his father, Chester D. Hubbard (1840), for he was the salutatorian of his class, a leader in the Fraternity during his undergraduate days, and president during his senior year. The following quotations from the Society’s minutes hint that facility in (or perhaps enthusiasm for) verse was apparently not one of Brother Hubbard’s strong points during his undergraduate days, although political acumen certainly was:
September 19, 1862. Notice was given that one week from tonight a motion will be made to appoint two members weekly to favor the Society with original poems of at least 300 words.
October 3, 1862: Poetry motion taken up and carried. M. L. Scudder (1863) and W. P. Hubbard (1863) appointed to read poems next week.
October 17,1862: W. P. Hubbard’s poem deferred one week. M. L. Scudder read a poem entitled “Legend of History.”
October 24, 1862: W. P. Hubbard’s poem deferred one week.
October 31, 1862: W. P. Hubbard’s poem deferred one week.
November 7, 1862: In accordance with a notice given at the previous meeting, a motion was made and carried that we erase the new by-law relative to poems.
William P. Hubbard’s career in politics rivaled that of his father. After short service in the Third West Virginia Cavalry, he became Clerk of the West Virginia House of Delegates. Later he became a member of the same House of Delegates, and from 1907 to 1911 he represented West Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A frequent visitor to the Fraternity, W. P. Hubbard became one of the best-known and most loved Eclectics. His flashes of wit enlightened many an annual meeting and fraternity banquet. Frederick M. Davenport (1889) liked to tell of an annual meeting when Professor Morris B. Crawford (1874) presented what he called “rough minutes.” Hardly had he finished when Brother Hubbard remarked, “I move the ‘rough minutes’ be filed.” His financial contributions to the Society and the College were significant throughout his life. He was the principal donor for the 1863 chimes, installed in the belfry of South College in 1919.
Henry Cruise Murphy Ingraham (1864) was initiated in August 1860. His contribution to saving the Society, especially through cultivation of new members in the fall of 1863, will be recounted later, but it should be noted here that he was the third member of the Ingraham family to become an Eclectic. He was preceded by his brothers Richard Ingraham (1842) and William Murphy Ingraham (1846). Perhaps no family has contributed more to Phi Nu Theta than the Ingrahams. Richard Ingraham (1842) had a son, George, in the class of 1871. William Murphy Ingraham had two sons who were Eclectics, George Seney Ingraham (1885) and Robert Seney Ingraham (1888). Three of the sons of H. C. M. Ingraham (1864) were loyal members of Phi Nu Theta: Henry Andrews Ingraham (1900), Edward Andrews Ingraham (1902), and Olin Ingraham (1904). Two of Henry Andrew Ingraham’s sons also joined the Fraternity: Henry G. Ingraham (1933) and David Ingraham (1940). David Ingraham (1940) had a son, John Winthrop Ingraham (1970), who continued the family Eclectic tradition into the fourth generation.
Most of the Ingrahams have become members of the bar. H. C. M. Ingraham was for many years a distinguished lawyer in Brooklyn. From 1897 to 1911 he served Wesleyan University as a trustee, and during the period 1903–11 he was president of the Board of Trustees.
On August 29,1861, only three freshmen were initiated; one of them was to leave college after a few months and another during his junior year. The third, however, more than any other undergraduate, helped Phi Nu Theta to weather the crisis of the 1860s. That man was William North “Billy” Rice (1865). Much of the rest of this chapter will address his influence and leadership in reorganizing and strengthening the Fraternity.
The Class of 1865 was an unusually brilliant one, but Billy Rice led in scholarship in every term of every year. In those days grades were given with an exactness which would shock students of today, or indeed of fifty years ago. A perfect score for one term was 1,000, for one year 3,000, for an entire four years 12,000. During the twenty-four years (1860–84) when grades were given in this fashion, there were twenty-eight students who scored 10,800 or higher. Only five scored more than 11,000, and of these the first three were all members of the class of 1865. The second and third were two eminent members of Psi Upsilon—Professor George L. Westgate (later professor of political and social science at Wesleyan) and the Rev. James Mudge. With a score of 11,289, William North Rice was not only high man, but his lead over the second man, Professor Westgate, was more than 100 points—a larger gap than between any other of the twenty-eight leaders.
Despite the infusion of leadership that exerted itself later in the decade, it is evident that, in the very early 1860s, the spirit of the Fraternity was not at its best. The records show that attendance at weekly meetings was far from satisfactory, and there was much lack of punctuality and fidelity in meeting appointments for literary exercises. A particularly bad showing was made in the spring of 1861. At five meetings held during March, April, and May that year, all articles that were due to be presented were excused or postponed, and at one of these meetings so few members were present that the meeting simply adjourned without further action of any kind. The trend persisted. For example, at a meeting in June 1862, where only nine members were present, the minutes report that “seven members had reports at this meeting. One performed his duty.” Evidently in an effort to improve the situation, it was voted at the next meeting that “the names of the members present at each meeting be placed on the records of that meeting.” This rule was observed