Adelphian Society

The Adelphian Society was a college literary society established in 1840 at the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution ( now Colgate University) in Hamilton, New York. It merged into Beta Theta Pi fraternity in 1880.

History
The Aldelphian Society was organized on October 31, 1840 at the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution (later called Hamilton College, Madison University, and now Colgate University). The society was formed by 31 men led by its first president, Orrin Bishop Judd. The Adelphian Society was founded on the same day as the Aeonian Society. The two literary societies were built on the remains of the college's first literary societies, Gamma Phi Society and Pi Delta, established in 1833 and 1834, respectively. Competition for members between the two societies led to faculty intervention, with the result that both seem to have been dissolved in 1840 when the Adelphian and Aeonian Societies came into existence.

The purpose of the Aldelphian Society  was to “progress in literary attainments and cultivation among all the members of an undecaying friendship." Its main activity was the presentation of original works by students. This activity resulted in faculty approval as the group "stimulated the development of oral and written expression, which were phases of the curriculum badly in need of expansion.”

On December 10, 1880, the Adelphian Society became the Beta Theta chapter of the national Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

The Aldelphian Society's records are held at the Special Collections and University Archives of Colgate University Libraries.

Related organizations
In 1850, five members of the Adelphian Society transferred to the newly formed University of Rochester and founded the Delphic Society.