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The earliest photograph of a fraternity at William & Mary in the University Archives is an image of members of Kappa Sigma from 1891.
Research about Fraternities
Consult the Guide for doing research related to the College of William & Mary.
The Flat Hat is of course a great source. It is available online from the SCRC as well as on microfilm in Swem Library and in the SCRC in Swem Library. When you are in the SCRC you may want to spend a bit of time reviewing the card catalog index to the Flat Hat to find citations to specific articles of potential interest. The Colonial Echo, the College of William & Mary's yearbook, is another great source of information. It is also available online as well as in the SCRC and in the Swem Library stacks.
A major resource is the SCRC database. It includes descriptions ranging from brief records through complete finding aids available for most collections in the SCRC and will point you to the collections you will use here in the SCRC for your research. In addition to searching for the names of specific fraternities and sororities in the database, you could also browse the collections that have been classified as "Student Organizations" and "Students and Alumni/ae". There are a number of collections from specific fraternities and sororities, but you will also find collections from individual students and faculty that will include information. There are a number of scrapbooks especially that will have information of interest. One specific collection you may want to review is the Student Organizations Collection, which includes information gathered about a variety of student organizations from the 19th century to the present. See especially boxes 20-26.
As far as College administrative records, in addition to the records of the Office of the President, you may also want to review student handbooks, records of the Women Students' Cooperative Government Association, and the various deans (men, women, students, etc. - search "dean" in the SCRC database to see the description of these collections).
You should review the University Archives Card Catalog. It has been digitized and is searchable, but you may also want use the card catalog here in the SCRC. Note that some of what is in the card catalog will duplicate what you will find in the SCRC database. The description of the card catalog from http://www.swem.wm.edu/scrc/Tools.cfm:
"The SCRC Collections Database is the first place to go for access to University Archives and has the most up-to-date information about collections. The University Archives Online Card Catalog--digitized from the original in the SCRC--sometimes provides more detailed access to particular people or subjects and should also be checked. The card catalog notes where information can be found within the various University Archives collections and groups of records."
Fraternities at William & Mary
- Theta Delta Chi, 1853- (various)
- Kappa Sigma, dates
- Kappa Alpha, Alpha Zeta Chapter, dates, photographs from 1892, 1896, etc. are available in the University Archives
Material in the Special Collections Research Center
- Guide for doing research related to the College of William & Mary
- SCRC Collections Database: search by names, organization, subject, event, etc.
- Search the W&M Digital Archive for additional material.
- Review the Student Organizations Collection, University Archives Subject File Collection, and many other collections found in the SCRC Collections Database.
- The Colonial Echo yearbook as well as The Flat Hat and other student newspapers and publications are also important sources.
Placeholder for information related to College of William & Mary student groups. Find dates for all organizations.