History of DG

Delta Gamma Symbols & Three Founders Information The original badge of our Founders was the letter "H". This symbolized Hope, which was our Founders' watchword. Only initiated members wear the official badge of the Fraternity. In 1877 the "H" badge changed to an anchor, which is the traditional symbol for hope. Women who are pledged to join, but who are not yet initiated wear the new member pin. The white shield has the Greek letters Pi Alpha inscribed on it. This shield is the suggested Fraternity badge and will be exchanged for the badge upon initiation. The Fraternity flower is the cream-colored rose. The Fraternity colors are bronze, pink and blue. The Fraternity seal is used on by Fraternity officers for the official papers of the Fraternity. The crest of Delta Gamma has special meaning to its members. The colors of the crest are cream for the rose at the apex of the crest; gold for the three, five five-pointed stars on the shield, the rope around the shield and outline of the scroll ribbon; burnt maize for the flanking ornaments of the rose and the Greek letters, Tau Delta Eta; blue for the lower two-thirds of the shield; green for the upper third and center section of the shield and the leaves of the rose; and rose for the Greek letters Delta Gamma which appear on the center section. Our three founders - The trio grew up together in Kosciusko, Mississippi, attended the Lewis School in Oxford and founded Delta Gamma during a lonely Christmas holiday. Anna and Eva were first cousins and Anna and Mary shared the same birthday. Each of the three Founders was a woman of strong character and special talents. Their biographical sketches, taken from the ANCHORA, winter 1955, give a glimpse into history that remains alive today through the legacy of Delta Gamma. Anna Boyd was born near Kosciusko, Mississippi, January 22, 1856. She attended school in Kosciusko, afterwards going with her friends, Mary Comfort and Eva Webb, to The Lewis School in Oxford. After leaving school she taught in the public schools of her state until her marriage to Mr. D.A. Ellington in 1882. A few years after they were married, Mr. Ellington died, leaving her four small girls to rear, which she did nobly. She saw that each daughter was well fitted for life and graduated from college. For a few years after the death of her husband, she lived in California but was called back to Mississippi to care for her father, who was in failing health. After her father passed away, she went back to Kosciusko to live in her old home on the same street as her good friends, Mary Comfort Leonard and Eva Webb Dodd, and to continue that unusual lifelong friendship. Anna Boyd was always a useful woman and a useful citizen wherever she lived. She was a handsome brunette, but her greatest charm was that of mind and heart. She possessed a fine and strong personality, and an unusually bright mind with a marked sense of humor. She died August 12, 1907, at the age of 51. Eva Webb was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R.B. Webb, pioneer residents of Attala County, Mississippi. She was born July 5, 1855, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, where she made her home throughout her life. At the age of eighteen, Eva Webb was a student at The Lewis School in Oxford, Mississippi, and while there with her two dear friends, organized Delta Gamma Fraternity. On October 12, 1875, Eva Webb married the Honorable S.L. Dodd, a prominent attorney of Kosciusko until his death in 1928. Mrs. Dodd was the mother of eight children. She was a charter member of the Twentieth Century Club and, for a long period of time, led the civic work of this club. She also took an active part in the organization of the Mississippi Federation of Women's Clubs in 1896. She was a devout and consecrated member of the Presbyterian Church and she lived the religion she professed. Mrs. Dodd died on January 28, 1934, at the age of 79. Mary Comfort was born January 22, 1856, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, one of 13 children. After completing the first of her education in Kosciusko, she was sent to The Lewis School, Oxford, where she was a student for three years. While in Oxford, she met Charles H. Leonard, a student at the University of Mississippi. Mr. Leonard became an educator and, for two years, they worked together in this profession. Later, they moved to Florida, where after nine years of most happy married life, he died. Mrs. Leonard was left with three small boys to rear and educate. She returned to Kosciusko, where she taught for 16 years. Mrs. Leonard was a guest at the Convention of 1909 (and several subsequent conventions), and enriched the spirit and understanding for all who came to know her. She lived to see compensating results of her teaching in public school, as well as her lifetime devotion to teaching a Bible class. For years, she worked in The Twentieth Century Club and other civic activities. The ANCHORA over a period of twenty years contained many personal messages from Mrs. Leonard and Mrs. Dodd, confirming their devotion to the principles on which Delta Gamma was founded. With becoming modesty, they took great pride in the growth and development of Delta Gamma. Mary Comfort Leonard passed away August 4, 1940. Her memory will always be treasured by the hundreds of Delta Gammas who knew her personally. The legacy of our Founders As women of Vision, the three Founders hold much in common with modern women. Although Eva married at twenty, Mary married at twenty-four and Anna at twenty-six, Mary and Anna were preludes to the force of working women today: they both taught school prior to their marriages. Mary returned to teaching following the death of her husband. Anna, widowed after eight years of marriage, and Mary, after nine years, were not unlike many single mothers of today, striving to provide a nurturing home for their young children. Eva and Mary were vigorous and active women throughout their lifetimes, proving age is but a state of mind. Eva lived to be 79 and Mary to be 84. All three were actively involved in making their community a better place in which to live.