Phi Mu Fraternity

                             established in 1852                     

Our Founders

    In the early 1800s, Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, became the first college in the world to grant degrees to women. It was at this school that Mary DuPont Lines, Mary Myrick Daniel, and Martha Hardaway Redding founded the Philomathean Society, now called Phi Mu Fraternity. The Founders set forth lofty principles for themselves. Their objective was the social, moral, and mental improvement of their members.

Mary Ann DuPont (Lines) was from Quincy, Florida. Her father, Judge Charles DuPont, was Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court. She was the first president of the Philomathean Society. After graduation in 1853, she married Joseph Lines. A deeply spiritual woman, her influence for good was far-reaching. Her life was devoted to service and she was an inspiration to all who knew her. She died on January 4, 1918, exactly 66 years after she had participated in the founding of the Philomathean Society.

Martha Bibb Hardaway (Redding) was born in Columbus, Georgia. Her father, Robert Stanfield Hardaway, was a wealthy planter and president of the Mobile and Girard Railroad. Two of her uncles were governors of Alabama, another was governor of Georgia, and a fourth uncle was chancellor of Kentucky. She graduated in 1853 with honors from Wesleyan and married James Redding in 1861. Her outstanding personality, gracious dignity, and noble idealism were traits well suited to help formulate Phi Mu's ideals and traditions. She died in 1893.

Mary Elizabeth Myrick (Daniel) was from Baldwin County, Georgia. Her father was General Stith Parham Myrick, brigadier-general of the Georgia militia and commander of the "Myrick Volunteers" during the Civil War. She married Henry Daniel on March 4, 1857. Her beautiful influence on those she knew and on the Philomathean Society continued even after her death in 1881.

History of Our Chapter

    The Epsilon Rho Chapter of Phi Mu was founded as a local sorority, Zeta Omega on February 3, 1988. After looking at several national organizations to affiliate with, Zeta Omega decided to join Phi Mu. Forming a colony in the fall of 1992, they announced it publicly at the Zeta Omega Boot Scootin' Boogie. Zeta Omega was initiated as the Epsilon Rho Chapter of Phi Mu on April 17, 1993, with 24 members and 11 Phis.