Louis Manigault, Alpha Sigma Phi’s principal Founder, and Stephen Ormsby Rhea, one of the co founders, first met at St. Paul’s College, a preparatory school for boys in Flushing Meadows, NY. There, they joined the Phi Theta Kappa Society.
Arriving at Yale in 1845, neither of the men chose to join a freshman society. Yet Manigault had visions as a freshman of starting a sophomore fraternity. He did not hide his disdain of Kappa Sigma Theta, the lone society in the sophomore class. He would later write of that society:
Standing alone in the Sophomore Class, guarded by her Patron Saint Minerva, the Kappa Sigma Theta seemed not only to scorn but to behold with contempt all outside members as hardly worthy of being their classmates.
Manigault and Rhea spent much time walking and riding through the woods around New Haven and it was during these private journeys that Manigault told Rhea his plans for starting a sophomore society. At first, Rhea was hesitant; believing it was too hard a task to undertake. In time, Manigault convinced his friend that they could accomplish the task. As they perfected their vision, Rhea introduced Manigault to Horace Spangler Weiser, who was brought into the plan, and thus the triumvirate was completed.
On Saturday evening, December 6, 1845, the three met in Manigault’s room at 59 Chapel Street. Manigault lived in a college boarding house that sat at the intersection of Temple and Chapel Street, overlooking the green and college buildings on the other side. The boarding house had given Manigault the privacy and freedom to concentrate on creating Alpha Sigma Phi. During the meeting Louis outlined to Rhea and Weiser his plans for the society. Though Manigault names Weiser and Rhea as co founders, it was he who designed the Badge, the Ritual, and insignia after the initial meeting.
In his writings, Louis Manigault refers to Wednesday, June 24, 1846, as the founding date of Alpha Sigma Phi. It was on this day that the Society announced its first class – 14 men – thus securing its hallowed place among Yale’s Fraternities. Yet, it was on December 6, 1845, that the plans were set in stone, thus it truly is the founding date of the Fraternity.
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