Daniel Webster Crofts

Daniel Webster Crofts

(1828-1852)

James Elliott Jr.

James Elliott, Jr.

(1824-1883)

Naaman Fletcher

Naaman Fletcher

(1824-1864)

Of "Nancy," as the boys called the first Secretary and second President of the "Delta Association," less is known than of the other five Founders. It is of record, however, that the date of his birth was February 27, 1824, and that the place was Zanesville, Ohio. His father died when Naaman was three years old and he was adopted by a distant relative at whose expense he was educated. It seems clear that he studied law and was admitted to the bar before enrolling at Jefferson College but, realizing the insufficiency of his basic education, he entered the sophomore class at Jefferson when 23 years of age, graduating with the class of '49. From all indications, Fletcher was a very colorful, red-blooded youth. While at Canonsburg he apparently led a full life socially. Aside from much mention of the "Delta Association," his fluent letters speak mostly of brown-eyed maids and occasionally of other diversions, such as fishing, hunting, ice-skating, hiking, and an infrequent evening spent at the tavern "with the boys."

As the only one of "The Immortal Six" who did not graduate in '48, Fletcher headed the chapter in its second year and his leadership had real significance in the perpetuation of our order.

After graduation, Fletcher practiced law for about two years, supposedly at Piqua, Ohio, before becoming editor of The Massillon News, which paper he published in partnership with his former classmate and brother Phi Gamma Delta, James W. Logan (Jefferson 1849). At that period in his life, he married beautiful Elizabeth Crosby, the daughter of a prominent physician, and in 1853 moved with her to Wabash, Ind. There he bought first The Gazette and later The Intelligencer, uniting the two and then serving as editor and publisher of the combined newspapers, a rabid pro-Union organ.

While legend said Fletcher caught a cold returning from an anti-secession meeting at which he had been a key speaker and died of pneumonia, this is apparently not the case. Contemporary accounts indicate he was ill for over a month with typhoid fever before his death on December 20, 1864.

Naaman's Gravesite

Fletcher was editor of the Wabash Gazette and Intelligencer until stricken with typhoid fever in November 1864. "He lay ill for thirty-two days. [Tomos Alpha erroneously reports the illness as of only three days' duration.] He died on Tuesday, December 20, and was buried the next day."

In 1992, the original stone was cleaned, re-engraved, and inset into a black stone.

Directions

Wabash, Indiana is located northeast of Indianapolis and can be reached via U.S. Route 24. Follow Business 24 into Wabash where it becomes Stitt Street. Turn left onto Falls Avenue, which will take you to Falls Cemetery. Turn right into the main entrance (by the custodian's building) and follow the driveway turning right at the first opportunity. As you go up the small rise, there is a large oak tree followed by a large spruce on the right side. Fletcher's unique tombstone is next and is easy to spot, right beside the road and framed in black stone, in Section OP, Lot 186, space 1.

Ellis Bailey Gregg

Ellis Bailey Gregg

(1827-1854)

This fifth son of a family of nine was born at Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, on August 17, 1827. Ellis' father was a prosperous merchant, and the son was sent to Green Academy, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, for his college preparatory work. There he was influenced by a Jefferson alumnus and, filled with zeal to prepare for a legal career, matriculated at old Jefferson with the famous class of '48. He was a youth of average height, with light hair and blue eyes, very modest and gentlemanly in appearance. We know, too, that he had a warm and generous nature and was popular with all who knew him. He was gifted as a poet and always inclined to look on the cheerful side of life. In his letters, he often spoke with affection and enthusiasm of the little band of '48 and their resolve to carry to fruition the ideals and principles which had been inculcated into their society. Even after graduation, he was a frequent visitor to the Jefferson campus and to the chapter.

After two years of studying law, Gregg was admitted to the bar in Washington, Pennsylvania, but moved to Peoria, Illinois, to open his office. There he was instrumental in the organization of a Masonic lodge. He made two separate attempts to continue his practice in Peoria, but each time his health collapsed and he was forced to return to his parents' home. The last time, he underwent an operation and a resulting fistula caused his death on December 18, 1854, when he was but 27 years of age. His grief-stricken parents buried the boy in the mother's old-fashioned garden among her flowers; but after the parents, too, had died, Ellis' body was disinterred and placed at their side in the family plot in Laurel Point Cemetery at Carmichaels. There his grave, like those of his five comrades, is designated as the final resting place of one of the Founders of Phi Gamma Delta.

Gregg's Gravesite

Ellis Gregg died on December 18, 1854, after a long illness and an unsuccessful operation. He was twenty-seven. Initially buried in his mother's garden, after her death Gregg's body was moved to Laurel Point Cemetery in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, next to his parents.

Directions

Laurel Point Cemetery in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, about fifty miles south of Canonsburg. Directions: Drive north on U.S. 119 out of Morgantown; turn left on Pa. 88 at Point Marion; proceed about 12 miles to Carmichaels; turn right on George Street and proceed to the town circle where you will turn left on Market. Proceed north on N Market Street, passing the historic, two-story red brick Greene Academy on the right. A couple of houses later turn right on McCann Lane; you'll see the cemetery entrance sign. Bear to the left and park at the end of the road; a steel gate may block your way. If so, walk to the end. The gravesite of Gregg is directly in front of you a few sites as you walk in the old section of the cemetery.

John T. McCarty

John Templeton McCarty

(1828-1860)

"Mac" or "Johnty," as he was called by his brothers, was born in Brookville, Indiana, to Scotch-Irish parents on August 28, 1828. His father was wealthy, making his money from merchandising, large-scale farming, pork packing, selling real estate and operating stage-coach and canal-boat lines. In addition, he was a prominent Mason and member of the state legislature. John’s mother was a cousin of statesman John C. Calhoun.

McCarty was educated in the public schools, studied Greek and Latin under a local clergyman and at seventeen went to Oxford, Ohio to enter Miami University. There he remained for two years, pursuing only a "partial course," before matriculating to Jefferson College in 1846. At Jefferson, he soon determined to establish a new organization, whose emblem is now so proudly borne by so many.

McCarty the student is described as a young man of unusually fine physique, open-hearted, generous, genial, sociable, and very popular. He was a clear thinker, a vigorous writer, a forcible speaker with a ready wit; his frank Western manner and joyous laughter made him loved by all. At the same time, he was a born adventurer and fighter, as his later life disclosed.

Immediately after his graduation, he returned to Brookville to take up the study and practice of law. Being, however, of a high-spirited and adventurous nature, he soon organized a company with himself as captain and set out in the spring of 1849 across the plains with the "Forty-niners" to search for gold in California. The diary which "Mac" kept of this perilous journey is historically valuable and extremely interesting for its descriptions of the country through which the wagon caravan trekked and for its accounts of buffalo hunts, of Indian troubles, of cholera epidemics, of hunger, thirst, privation, and death. By virtue of both vested authority and natural ability, "Mac" was the leader of that expedition across the continent. It was he who blazed the most difficult trails, first swam the rivers, killed the first game and dug the first gold. It was he, too, who had all the dealings with the native Americans, in one instance overpowering a hostile Indian in hand-to-hand combat.

To us, the most amazing and inspiring incident of the entire journey was a chance meeting between McCarty and another member of Phi Gamma Delta, Bolivar G. Krepps (Washington ’49), each independently seeking his Eldorado in the gold rush, on the banks of the Sweetwater River on the evening of June 7th, 1849. Neither had ever seen the other before, yet they met in the midst of the trackless west at a time when the entire roll of the "Delta Association" numbered not more than twenty-five. McCarty’s diary tells of the splendid feast with which they celebrated and of the many hours of fellowship and conversation which followed. Before parting, they stood beside that limpid stream and, with uncovered heads, ‘neath the brilliant stars, drank a solemn toast to the prosperity of the "Delta Association" and to all brothers who should live after them.

Upon arrival at the gold fields, the adventurous group of "Forty-niners" fared none too well and the company shortly disbanded. McCarty we nt to San Jose, the seat of the first California government, where he became clerk of the first legislature. In February, 1850, he moved to Marysville, California, to practice law, and was twice elected county recorder and criminal court judge. In 1853, he met Mary E. Pierson, becoming so interested in her that when she went East to school the next year he followed her. While crossing the Isthmus of Panama on the way to New York, he contracted the "Panama Fever" which undermined his health and led to his death six years later. Nevertheless, he and Mary were married in 1854 and after an extensive Eastern honeymoon, returned via Brookville and New Orleans to McCarty's new house in Marysville. There one daughter was born, whose presence was the highlight of the Portland Ekklesia of 1938.

Up to 1860, John T. had been a man of considerable wealth, but through the misfortune of a man whose bond he had signed, he then found himself suddenly in difficulties. On the advice of friends he resolved to recoup his fortunes in the Nevada mines and sold all of his property preparatory to moving. Just before his scheduled departure, he was stricken ill. He died February 4, 1860. He was buried in the cemetery at Marysville, where his resting place was marked by the Fraternity with a handsome stone fittingly inscribed: ". . . erected to his memory by the College Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta of which he was a founder and the influence of which, magnified beyond his fondest hopes, lives to ennoble his memory." In 1938 his remains and the stone were removed by the Fraternity to the Sierra View Memorial Park in the same city.

McCarty's Gravesite

McCarty died on February 4, 1860, and was buried in the pioneer cemetery in Marysville. The grave was unmarked until William F. Chamberlin (Denison 1893) arranged for a stone to be placed here. 

In 1932 the Fraternity moved McCarty's remains to another nearby cemetery. Hence, the directions provided in The History of Phi Gamma Delta, Tomos Alpha are incorrect.

Directions

Drive north from Sacramento on State Route 70 for around forty miles until you are five miles south of Marysville. As the highway becomes four-lane, you will see a McGowan parkway off-ramp. Take that exit and turn east at the stop sign; proceed to Olive Avenue, turn left, and continue north, which will bring you to the gates of Sierra View Memorial Park. McCarty's gravesite is located at the extreme back part of the cemetery on the left side of the mausoleum towards the equipment garage, under a large tree. It is on Lot C, Section 40, Block 6.

Samuel Beatty Wilson

Samuel Beatty Wilson

(1824-1889)

The first President of Phi Gamma Delta and author of its original Constitution was born on a farm near New Castle, Pennsylvania, February 20, 1824. Although he was a slender boy, giving an appearance of delicacy, he lived longer than any of the other five founders. Sam B. was quiet, rather reticent and studious as a lad. He became the greatest classical scholar of "The Immortal Six." His early schooling was obtained in public schools and at an academy at his home. At Jefferson College, he made a name for himself as an exceptionally brilliant and thorough student and a veritable master of debate.

After graduation, he held the principalship of an academy for a year, but though he showed great ability as an instructor, he changed to the study and practice of law. In November, 1850, he was admitted to the bar and opened an office in Beaver, Pennsylvania, where he resided for the remainder of his life, becoming the most respected and influential man in the community. On April 12, 1854, he married the cultured and refined Elizabeth Robinson; they had four children. He was extremely active both in Masonry and in politics, though he consistently refused to seek office, either appointive or elective, for himself. His attainments as a scholar and man of letters are reflected by his building of an extensive library, said at the time of his death to be the best private collection in the country. At the sacrifice of his own time, he taught law to many young men, several of whom later attained great prominence, and thus earned for himself the title of "The Preceptor." In his profession, he ever strove fore justice and right.

Failing health caused his death on January 17, 1889, at the peak of his career, and his final resting place in the Beaver Cemetery is marked by an imposing monument. We honor him as the intellectual genius, supplementing McCarty’s dynamic spirit, who gave us our principles and laid the firm foundation upon which, in the years since 1848, American college youth has reared the imposing edifice of Phi Gamma Delta.

Wilson's Grave

Wilson died on January 17, 1889 at age 65. He and his wife Elizabeth are buried in Beaver Cemetery. His stone is among the most notable in the cemetery and easy to spot.

Also in Beaver is Wilson's old home and law office, in which his son and grandson also practiced. At the time of his grandson's death it was Pennsylvania's oldest law office in continuous use. It remains in private hands and is not open to the public.

Directions:

Beaver Cemetery, Beaver, Pennsylvania, about forty-two miles north of Canonsburg. Directions: As you exit Pa. 60, follow Pa. 68 into Beaver; you will soon pass Beaver Cemetery on the left; drive through the cemetery to the chapel in the center. Brother Wilson's imposing monument in on the left side of this building.

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