Professional law fraternity
Gamma Eta Gamma (ΓΗΓ ) is a co-ed professional
law
fraternity that was a member of the
Professional Fraternity Association .
[1] Chapters are limited to law schools on the approved list of the
American Bar Association .
History
University of Minnesota Law School chapter house, 2014
Gamma Eta Gamma was founded on February 25, 1901, at the
University of Maine School of Law as a law fraternity for men.
[2] Its founders were Charles Vey Holman, Charles Hickson Reid Jr., and Harold Dudley Greeley.
[3]
From the beginning, the fraternity exhorted its members to a high degree of personal and professional conduct. At its founding, the three men who established the Fraternity wrote in their handwriting into the preamble of its constitution:
"We the undersigned students of the Law School of the University of Maine, with a view of establishing on this and other schools of law, as well as in the general practice of the profession, an elevated standard of personal deportment, a high code of professional ethics and a broad and catholic development of mental culture and moral character do associate ourselves in the lasting bonds of a fraternal union under the name of Gamma Eta Gamma."
[1]
Its officers were chancellor, proctor, judge, lictor, sheriff, quaestor, recorder, bailiff, and tipstave.
[4] The pledge manual included chapters on how to study law effectively, a chapter on etiquette, and general fraternity information.
The Gamma Eta Gamma annual convention called a Witan, was first held on May 29, 1901.
[3] Later, the convention shifted to a biennial basis, with province conferences held in off years. The j was installed at the Boston University School of Law on May 24, 1902.
[4]
Gamma Eta Gamma published a songbook in 1909 and 1915.
[3] In 1912, the fraternity started publishing an annual called The Rescript; it became a semi-annual and, later, quarterly in 1920.
[2]
[3] Also in 1912, the chapters at Albany and Cornell owned a chapter house, while the chapters at Boston, Creighton, and Indiana rented houses.
[2]
By 1976, it had 33 charters and over 7,000 initiates.
[5] By 2017, there was one remaining active chapter, the
University of Minnesota Law School in
Minneapolis , which is coed.
[6] It provides low-cost housing for law students in a
Richardsonian Romanesque style house that was built in 1892.
[6]
Traditions and insignia
Founders' Day is generally held on the founding anniversary, February 25. However, some chapters celebrated the Prandium Cancellari on June 7, the date of the fraternity's first banquet in 1901.
[3]
The fraternity's badge is a shield with a lamp, a star, and a Roman fasces or bundle, above the motto.
[2] A triangle encloses the letter Π with Γ on both sides and below a balance.
[2] The official badge contains 20 pearls surrounding the shield. The outgoing president or high chancellor is awarded a badge with a diamond border.
The pledge pin is a circular button, with the letters Γ Η Γ appearing in a circle on a red field, imposed on a triangle, with the rest of the button in black.
[3] There is a fasces key, in gold, for alumni who graduated with a law degree, with the letters of the Fraternity name on the face of the key. The colors of the fraternity are red and black.
[1]
[3]
Governance
While the fraternity had multiple chapters, a council of twelve members called the Curia managed the fraternity between conventions.
[1] The Curia consists of four elective executive officers and officials from the eight provinces of the fraternity. Eight of these twelve leaders were required to be alumni.
[1]
Governance is now held by the
University of Minnesota Law School chapter which operates as an informal, local fraternity.
[6]
[5]
Chapters
Following is a list of Gamma Eta Gamma chapters.
[1] Inactive groups indicated by italics, the active chapter in bold.
Chapter
Chartered/Range
Institution
Location
Status
Reference
Alpha
February 26, 1901 – 1910
University of Maine School of Law
Portland, Maine
Inactive
[2]
[3]
[a]
Beta
May 24, 1902 – 1917
Boston University School of Law
Boston, Massachusetts
Inactive
[4]
[3]
[b]
Gamma
February 20, 1904 – xxxx ?
Albany Law School
Albany, New York
Inactive
[7]
Delta
1908–1932
Syracuse University College of Law
Syracuse, New York
Inactive
Epsilon
1909–1918
Cornell Law School
Ithaca, New York
Inactive
[3]
[b]
Zeta
1911–1929
University of Michigan Law School
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Inactive
Eta
June 15, 1911 – xxxx ?
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Bloomington, Indiana
Inactive
[8]
Theta
April 10, 1912 – xxxx ?
Creighton University School of Law
Omaha, Nebraska
Inactive
[9]
[10]
[2]
[c]
Iota
February 27, 1914 – xxxx ?
Georgetown University Law Center
Washington, D.C.
Inactive
[11]
Kappa
1915–1917
University of Oregon School of Law
Eugene, Oregon
Inactive
[3]
[b]
Lambda
1919–xxxx ?
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
Chicago, Illinois
Inactive
Mu
1919–xxxx ?
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
Detroit, Michigan
Inactive
Nu
1920–xxxx ?
University of Chicago Law School
Chicago, Illinois
Inactive
Xi
1920–xxxx ?
Fordham University School of Law
Manhattan ,
New York City ,
New York
Inactive
[12]
Omicron
1920–xxxx ?
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
Baltimore, Maryland
Inactive
Pi
1921–1931
University of Illinois College of Law
Champaign, Illinois
Inactive
Rho
1922–xxxx ?
Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Columbus, Ohio
Inactive
Sigma
1922–xxxx ?
USC Gould School of Law
Los Angeles, California
Inactive
Tau
1922–1928
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee
Inactive
Upsilon
1923–xxxx ?
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Inactive
Phi
1923–xxxx ?
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
Inactive
Chi
1924
University of Minnesota Law School
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Active
Omega
1925–1929
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis County, Missouri
Inactive
Beta Gamma
1927–xxxx ?
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Inactive
Beta Delta
1929–xxxx ?
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina
Inactive
Beta Epsilon
1930–xxxx ?
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Inactive
Beta Zeta
1930–1932
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio
Inactive
[13]
Beta Eta
1931–xxxx ?
George Washington University
Washington, D.C.
Inactive
Beta Kappa
1931–xxxx ?
Catholic University
Washington, D.C.
Inactive
Beta Theta
1931–xxxx ?
Santa Clara University School of Law
Santa Clara, California
Inactive
Beta Mu
1934–xxxx ?
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois
Inactive
Beta Nu
1950–xxxx ?
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Inactive
Notes
^ Chapter's charter was withdrawn due to low membership at the University of Maine's law school, resulting in a loss of state funding.
^
a
b
c Chapter closed during World War I and was not reformed.
^ Chapter formed by absorbing the Bachelors Club.
Notable members
Name
Chapter
Notability
References
W. Russell Arrington
Pi
attorney,
Illinois House of Representatives , and
Illinois State Senate
[14]
John L. Bates
Alpha honorary
Governor of Massachusetts , lawyer
[15]
John B. Bennett
attorney and
United States House of Representatives
[14]
Homer Bone
attorney,
U.S. Senator ,
United States circuit judge
[14]
Thomas Leo Brown
Beta Kappa
politician and
United States circuit judge
[14]
Heriot Clarkson
justice of the
North Carolina Supreme Court
[14]
Warren A. Cole
Beta
Businessman and lawyer
[16]
[17]
Edward Matthew Curran
United States district judge
[14]
[18]
Joseph Dainow
Beta Epsilon
professor of law at
Louisiana State University
[19]
L. B. Day
Theta
justice of the
Nebraska Supreme Court
[14]
[20]
Lucilius A. Emery
Alpha honorary
justice of the
Maine Supreme Judicial Court
[21]
Michael Fansler
justice of the
Indiana Supreme Court
[22]
[23]
George S. Fitzgerald
Attorney and politician
[14]
John H. Gillis
judge
[14]
Martin H. Glenn
Gamma honorary
Governor of New York
[24]
William H. Hampton
Delta
lawyer, politician, and
U.S. Commissioner
[14]
Albert H. Henderson
Epsilon
lawyer,
New York State Assembly , and
Surrogate of Bronx County
[25]
Sveinbjorn Johnson
attorney general of North Dakota
[14]
[26]
Harold LeVander
Chi
Governor of Minnesota
[14]
Richard J. McCormick
lawyer and
Massachusetts State House of Representatives
[14]
Francis M. McKeown
lawyer and
Massachusetts State Senate
[14]
Frank Murphy
Mu
Lieutenant governor of Michigan
[14]
Daniel J. O'Mara
Delta
New York State Assembly and Justice of
New York Supreme Court
[14]
[27]
Samuel E. Pingree
Alpha honorary
Governor of Vermont
[28]
Harold M. Ryan
Mu
circuit judge,
United States House of Representatives , and
Michigan Senate
[14]
Al Smith
Gamma honorary
Governor of New York
[24]
James C. Soper
Pi
Illinois Senate
[14]
Albert Spear
Alpha honorary
Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and president of the
Maine Senate
[29]
Harold Stassen
Chi
president of the
University of Pennsylvania and
governor of Minnesota
[14]
Melvin D. Synhorst
Iowa Secretary of State
[14]
Amos Taylor
Beta
Attorneyf and politician
[14]
[30]
Andrew P. Wiswell
Alpha honorary
justice of the
Maine Supreme Judicial Court
[29]
References
^
a
b
c
d
e
f William Raimond Baird (1991).
Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities . Baird's Manual Foundation, Incorporated. pp. V–78–79.
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities (7th ed.). G. Banta Company. 1912. pp. 418–420.
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k Baird, Wm Raimond; Brown, James Taylor (1923).
Baird's manual of American college fraternities; a descriptive analysis of the fraternity system in the colleges of the United States, with a detailed account of each fraternity . New York: James T. Brown, editor and publisher. p. 507-508 – via Hathi Trust.
^
a
b
c
"Jillison is Chancellor" . Boston Post . 1902-05-24. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
^
a
b York, Kenneth H. (1952).
"Legal Fraternities" (PDF) . Michigan Law Review . 50 (7). The Michigan Law Review Association: 1047–56.
doi :
10.2307/1284939 .
JSTOR
1284939 . Retrieved 27 October 2021 .
^
a
b
c
"Gamma Eta Gamma, University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, MN" . LawCrossing.com . 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2023-04-01 .
^
"Gamma Chapter Legal Fraternity Instituted" . Boston Post . 1904-02-21. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
^
"Law Fraternity Installed" . The Indianapolis News . 1911-06-16. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-04-02 .
^
"To Install Legal Frat" . Evening World-Herald . Omaha, Nebraska. 1912-04-09. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
^
"1914 Gamma Eta Gamma Legal Fraternity, Theta Chapter Members" . Creighton University . Retrieved April 1, 2023 .
^
"Fraternity Chapter is Installed at G.U." The Washington Herald . Washington, D.C. 1914-02-28. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Arthur Studios, N.Y. (1924-01-01).
"Portraits & Miscellaneous Photographs, Fraternity - Gamma Eta Gamma" . Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship & History .
^ Baird, Wm Raimond; Brown, James Taylor (1923).
Baird's manual of American college fraternities; a descriptive analysis of the fraternity system in the colleges of the United States, with a detailed account of each fraternity . New York: James T. Brown, editor and publisher. p. 507-508 – via Hathi Trust.
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
"The Political Graveyard: Gamma Eta Gamma Politicians" . politicalgraveyard.com . Retrieved 2023-04-01 .
^
"Gov. Bates Honored" . The Lewiston Daily Sun . Lewiston, Maine. 1904-01-23. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-04-02 .
^ Bly, Betsy K., ed. (2000). The Paedagogus (48th ed.) . Indianapolis: Lambda Chi Alpha. pp. 62, 64.
^ Levere, William C. (1915).
Leading Greeks; an encyclopedia of the workers in the American college fraternities and sororities, 1915 . Evanston, Ill. p. 58 – via Hathi Trust. {{
cite book }}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link )
^ Schwarz, J. C. (1937).
Who's who in Law . J.C. Schwarz. p. 219 – via Google Books.
^
"Joseph Dainow Papers" . collections.americanjewisharchives.org . Retrieved 2023-04-01 .
^ Schwarz, J. C. (1937).
Who's who in Law . J.C. Schwarz. p. 234 – via Google Books.
^
"Justice Emery is a Member: Elected an Honorary Member of Gamma Eta Gamma" . The Bangor Daily News . Bangor, Maine. 1903-02-09. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Schwarz, J. C. (1937).
Who's who in Law . J.C. Schwarz. p. 297 – via Google Books.
^ Schwarz, J. C. (1937).
Who's who in Law . J.C. Schwarz. p. 297 – via Google Books.
^
a
b
"Will Initiate Smith; Gamma Eta Gamma, to Which Son Belongs, Will Honor Governor" (PDF) . The New York Times . May 1, 1924. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-04-01 .
^ "
A. H. Henderson Named Surrogate " (PDF).
The New York Times . Vol. LXXIX, no. 26390. New York, N.Y. 26 April 1930. p. 4.
^ Schwarz, J. C. (1937).
Who's who in Law . J.C. Schwarz. p. 489 – via Google Books.
^
"Obituary of Daniel J O'Mara" . Democrat and Chronicle . 1973-01-10. p. 19. Retrieved 2023-04-01 – via Newspapers.com.
^
"Ex-Gov Samuel E. Pingree" . Montpelier Evening Argus . Montpelier, Vermont. 1904-01-23. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
^
a
b
"Justice Spear a Member Now, Has Been Formally Admitted to Alpha Chapter, Gamma Eta Gamma" . The Bangor Daily News . Bangor, Maine. 1903-11-12. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Schwarz, J. C. (1937).
Who's who in Law . J.C. Schwarz. p. 925 – via Google Books.
Greek Letter Organizations in the field of Law
Founded as Professional Fraternities and Sororities Founded as Honor Societies