Alpha Xi Delta was founded in 1893 by ten young
women at Lombard College , Galesburg , Illinois , who shared a
vision and a dream of a national organization dedicated to the
personal growth of women. One of the oldest women's
fraternities, Alpha Xi Delta is proud of its rich history. As one of
the ten founding fraternities of the National Panhellenic
Conference, it was Alpha Xi Delta's first NPC Chairman who wrote the
Panhellenic Creed, which is still recited on college campuses today.
Since that time more than a 100 years ago, the spirit of Alpha
Xi Delta has enriched the lives of thousands of women throughout the
world with its emphasis on lifelong learning and lasting friendship.
Now a national fraternity with more than 120,000 initiated members,
Alpha Xi Delta has grown into a progressive and forward-thinking
organization with college chapters and alumnae associations
throughout the United States .
The ideals envisioned by our
Founders are timeless and have remained constant throughout the
years, inspiring pride in each member to pursue individual
excellence.
Our Founders left us a great legacy--they taught us
the value of education because it would free us to achieve our goals
and give us the power to be whatever we choose to be. They taught us
to support one another through shared experiences and understanding.
They taught us to serve others--to reach out to those less fortunate
to make their lives better.
It is these ideals of personal
development, scholarship, friendship, and civic responsibility that
we embrace and bring to every Alpha Xi Delta member.
.......Our
Founders
Cora Bollinger Block (Mrs. Lewis) 1869-1944
Cora Block served as Alpha Xi Delta's first President and first Grand
President. With Mr. Block, a charter member of Sigma Nu at the
University of Iowa and a prominent attorney of Davenport, she was a
recognized community leader. Cora and her husband had three sons.
Alice Bartlett Bruner (Mrs. M.T.) 1878-1966
An accomplished musician, Alice Bruner taught for a while at the
Lombard Conservatory, although Dr. Bruner and her two Alpha Xi Delta
daughters soon monopolized her time. She was instrumental in
establishing Beta Epsilon Chapter at Monmouth College in Illinois.
Almira Lowry Cheney 1875-1946
After some years of teaching, Almira Cheney became a minister of the
Universalist Church, and as director of Universalist Sunday Schools in
Ohio, was a pioneer in religious education.
Frances Elizabeth Cheney 1869-1901
Frances Cheney, the eldest of nine children in a pioneer Illinois
family, was a staunch advocate of woman's suffrage and freedom and a
talented writer responsible for many of the Fraternity's early songs.
Transferring from Lombard, she graduated from Ryder Divinity School in
1895 and served as a rural pastor until her untimely death.
Bertha Cook Evans (Mrs. O.C.) 1874-1957
Mrs. Evans's home and her three daughters, two of whom became Alpha Xi
Deltas, were the chief interests of her mature life. However, following
her husband's death, she turned to new pursuits and served as a
fraternity house director, and as administrator of a home for the aged.
Eliza Drake Curtis Everton (Mrs. J.L.) 1867-1934
Entering Lombard already widowed, Eliza Curtis graduated in divinity
and became a Universalist pastor, serving until her marriage to the
Rev. Mr. J.L. Everton, a Lombard Sigma Nu. Mrs. Everton did outstanding
work in the missionary field and served as executive director of the
Sampson County, NC, Chapter of the American Red Cross during World War
I.
Julia Maude Foster 1875-1948
Miss Foster early decided that teaching in the primary grades was her
field, and after special training devoted her entire career to teaching
in the St. Paul, MN, schools. A staunch patriot and descendant of
patriots, she was recognized for her outstanding working inculcating
American ideals in children of foreign birth. She served Alpha Xi Delta
as a member of the committee that drafted the first constitution.
Lucy W. Gilmer 1872-1939
Alpha Xi Delta's first vice president was both a teacher and a nurse.
She never realized her ambition to become a physician, but she did
spend many years traveling from city to city, practicing nursing and
learning about her country first-hand.
Harriet Luella McCollum (Mrs. C.W.E. Gossow) 1874-1948
It was in the apartment Harriet McCollum shared with Cora Bollinger
that the first plans were made for Alpha Xi Delta. Although married and
the mother of two children, as feminist Miss McCollum used her maiden
name and became a nationally known lecturer and author. She pioneered
in adult education and applied psychology, with particular interest in
the psychological causes of crime
Lewie Strong Taylor (Mrs. E.A.) 1867-1950
After several years of teaching while very young, Lewie Strong obtained
a leave of absence for additional study at Lombard. It was during this
year that Alpha Xi Delta was founded and its emblem, the Quill, was
design by Lewie Strong. During additional study at the University of
Utah, she met and married Mr. E.A. Taylor, a member of the faculty. Of
their four children, the two daughters are Alpha Xi Deltas. Mrs.
Taylor's original stickpin badge is on display at Fraternity
Headquarters. It was donated to the Fraternity by her daughter Aileen
(Mrs. Hugh Bernecker). who was initiated with her mother's badge at the
1926 National Convention. It is the only Founder's badge in the
possession of the Fraternity.
One of the oldest women's
fraternities, Alpha Xi Delta is proud of its rich history. As one of
the ten founding fraternities of the National Panhellenic
Conference, it was Alpha Xi Delta's first NPC Chairman who wrote the
Panhellenic Creed, which is still recited on college campuses today. 
