Charles L. Hepburn Letter to Charles Leven Powell
Scope and Contents
Letter written by William & Mary student, Charles L. Hepburn, to his grandfather, Charles Leven Powell, dated January 21, 1894.
Hepburn discusses the reorganization of the Virginia Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. He states the fraternity was reorganized in December 1893 by "several old members who had been taken in here before the war." Later in the letter, he mentions a couple of those members, including Benjamin Ewell and Colonel William Lamb. He says that all faculty were admitted as well a Charley Coleman "the poet." Hepburn discusses the character of the chapter, calling it a "post-graduate society" and notes that Harvard and other northern colleges only take in a small number of their brightest graduates. He believes Ewell and Lamb intended for William & Mary's chapter to be on the same footing.
Hepburn also discusses the Nu Chapter of Kappa Sigma. He states there are 13 members and mentions there are two other "frats" at William & Mary and of those, only Kappa Alpha is "any good." It has 10 members. The other fraternity is Phi Theta Psi, which he describes as very small and whose chapter "killed itself by taking in bad men on the start." There are only two members who are "very poor and who cannot get anyone else to join them."
Hepburn continues discussing fraternities, both at a local and national level. Notes that he's distinguished among others because of Powell's acceptance into PBK in 1823.
He then switches to more personal content, specific to his grandfather's new housing and acknowledges that William & Mary "just enjoyed a holiday on account of the Great Lee's birth." He mentions that a committee from the state legislature came to visit. He describes the visit, how the students acted, and how they all hope to get a big appropriation from the state finance committee. Hepburn ends the letter with love to his family.
Dates
- Creation: 1894 January 21
Creator
- Hepburn, Charles Levine (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.
Conditions Governing Use
Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.
Extent
0.01 Linear Feet
Language
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Frank Snowden Hopkins, Class of 1927
General
This item was previously part of the Faculty-Alumni File Collection.
Subject
- Powell, Charles Leven (1804-1896) (Person)
- Phi Beta Kappa. Virginia Alpha (College of William and Mary) (Organization)
- College of William and Mary--Alumni and alumnae (Organization)
- Coleman, Charles Washington, 1862-1932 (Person)
- Kappa Sigma. Nu Chapter (College of William and Mary) (Organization)
- Kappa Alpha. Alpha Zeta Chapter (College of William and Mary) (Organization)
- Phi Theta Psi (College of William and Mary) (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Charles L. Hepburn Letter to Charles Leven Powell
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Research Center Repository