Elizabeth Gorham Hoag
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Gorham Hoag was one of the five founding members of Sigma Kappa
sorority.
Along with Mary Caffrey Low
, Ida Fuller
, Frances Mann and Louise Helen Coburn
, Hoag helped to form Sigma Kappa
at Colby College
in Waterville, Maine
on November 9, 1874. The five women were the only female students at Colby at that time. Colby was the first New England college to allow the admittance of women.
Being the only women in the college, the five of them found themselves together frequently. In 1873-74, the five young women decided to form a literary and social society. They were instructed by the college administration that they would need to present a constitution and bylaws with a petition requesting permission to form Sigma Kappa Sorority. They began work during that year and on November 9, 1874, the five young women received a letter from the faculty approving their petition. They sought for and received permission to form a sorority with the intent for the organization to become national.
Hoag was described as an only child, happy and joyous, who was very artistic and wrote musical plays. She lived with her widowed mother and her Quaker grandmother, who frequently found it necessary to say, "Thee talks too much, Elizabeth." Since Hoag's mother was the organist for the village church, Mary Caffrey Low knew her prior to Colby.
Born in 1857, she was 17 when she entered Colby College. She was a conscientious student who loved languages and literature but found math to be drudgery. She literally had to memorize her textbooks on that subject. Hoag designed the first Sigma Kappa emblem.
Hoag had tuberculosis
and during the winter of her sophomore year, she grew sicker. The four other founders knew she would not live long and worked hard to prepare for their first initiation on February 17, 1875 so that Hoag could see her cousin, Emily Peace Meader, initiated. (Meader wrote much of Sigma Kappa
's initiation music.) Late in March, Louise Coburn received this little note: "Adored Goody, I've gin' out. I shan't brighten our pleasant retirement with my presence this week anyway." It was signed, "An Imp still." Hoag lingered through the spring and died June 8, 1875, at the age of 18. Elizabeth was mourned not only by her sorority sisters, but also by her whole class. They voted to wear mourning bands until the end of the school term in July.
Sigma Kappa now celebrates Founders' Day every November 9, in honor of the five women who created the organization.
Sigma Kappa
Sigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...
sorority.
Along with Mary Caffrey Low
Mary Caffrey Low
Mary Caffrey Low Carver was one of the five founding members of the Sigma Kappa sorority and a pioneering advocate for women's education, along with being an accomplished library scientist and writer.-Founding of Sigma Kappa Sorority:...
, Ida Fuller
Ida Fuller
Ida May Fuller Pierce was one of the five founding members of Sigma Kappa sorority.Fuller served as one of the co-founders of the Sigma Kappa sorority, along with Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...
, Frances Mann and Louise Helen Coburn
Louise Helen Coburn
Louise Helen Coburn was one of the five founders of Sigma Kappa sorority, a pioneer for women's education at Colby College, where she served as the first female trustee, and an accomplished scientist and writer known for writing the two volumes of "Skowhegan on the Kennebec."She was the niece of...
, Hoag helped to form Sigma Kappa
Sigma Kappa
Sigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...
at Colby College
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...
in Waterville, Maine
Waterville, Maine
Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The population was 15,722 at the 2010 census. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, Waterville is the regional commercial, medical and cultural center....
on November 9, 1874. The five women were the only female students at Colby at that time. Colby was the first New England college to allow the admittance of women.
Being the only women in the college, the five of them found themselves together frequently. In 1873-74, the five young women decided to form a literary and social society. They were instructed by the college administration that they would need to present a constitution and bylaws with a petition requesting permission to form Sigma Kappa Sorority. They began work during that year and on November 9, 1874, the five young women received a letter from the faculty approving their petition. They sought for and received permission to form a sorority with the intent for the organization to become national.
Hoag was described as an only child, happy and joyous, who was very artistic and wrote musical plays. She lived with her widowed mother and her Quaker grandmother, who frequently found it necessary to say, "Thee talks too much, Elizabeth." Since Hoag's mother was the organist for the village church, Mary Caffrey Low knew her prior to Colby.
Born in 1857, she was 17 when she entered Colby College. She was a conscientious student who loved languages and literature but found math to be drudgery. She literally had to memorize her textbooks on that subject. Hoag designed the first Sigma Kappa emblem.
Hoag had tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and during the winter of her sophomore year, she grew sicker. The four other founders knew she would not live long and worked hard to prepare for their first initiation on February 17, 1875 so that Hoag could see her cousin, Emily Peace Meader, initiated. (Meader wrote much of Sigma Kappa
Sigma Kappa
Sigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...
's initiation music.) Late in March, Louise Coburn received this little note: "Adored Goody, I've gin' out. I shan't brighten our pleasant retirement with my presence this week anyway." It was signed, "An Imp still." Hoag lingered through the spring and died June 8, 1875, at the age of 18. Elizabeth was mourned not only by her sorority sisters, but also by her whole class. They voted to wear mourning bands until the end of the school term in July.
Sigma Kappa now celebrates Founders' Day every November 9, in honor of the five women who created the organization.