Ida Shaw Martin
Ida Shaw Martin, 1907
Born
Sarah Ida Shaw

September 7, 1867
St. Louis, Missouri, US
DiedMay 11, 1940(1940-05-11) (aged 72)
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Alma materBoston University
Known forFounder of Delta Delta Delta, president of Alpha Sigma Alpha

Sarah Ida Shaw Martin (September 7, 1867 – May 11, 1940) was an American author, publisher, educator, and sorority founder. She founded the Delta Delta Delta sorority and was the author of The Sorority Handbook. She served as national president of two sororities -- Delta Delta Delta and Alpha Sigma Alpha. She also helped found and was chairman of the Association of Education Sororities.

Early life

Shaw was born in St. Louis, Missouri on September 7, 1867.[1][2][3] Her parents were Eliza and Edwin H. Shaw.[2] When she was six years old, her family moved to Boston, Massachusetts.[1] She attended public schools, completing her primary school education at Lowell Grammar School and Girls High School.[4][5] She attended the Girls' Latin School in Boston, graduating as valedictorian in 1889.[1][6] She then graduated from Boston Normal School.[4][5]

She attended Boston University. While there, she established Delta Delta Delta women's fraternity and was her class treasurer.[7] She graduated with a A.B. in 1889, Phi Beta Kappa.[1][7]

Sorority involvement

Delta Delta Delta

Shaw established Delta Delta Delta women's fraternity in November 1888 with other Boston University students, Eleanor Dorcas Pond, Isabel Morgan, and Florence Isabelle Stewart. Shaw and Pond wrote the sorority's constitution, developed its rituals and symbols, and designed its emblem.[8] She had extensive knowledge of Greek, Hindu, and Egyptian mythology, as well as astronomy, which aided her in the formation of the sorority's rituals.[9][10]

After graduating from college, Shaw was the Grand President of Delta Delta Delta from 1889 to 1893.[1][6] She helped establish the Nu chapter at Ohio State University in 1896.[11] From 1897 to 1900, she served on the fraternity's grand council as its first grand historian and was the grand officer in charge of the Grand Committee on Education.[12] She composed "Hazing Song" that was included in the Songs of Delta Delta Delta, published in 1903.[13]

In 1914, she established Psi Psi Psi, a sorority for the mothers of Delta Delta Delta members.[7][14] In 1938, she gave a radio address from her home in Boston for the Delta Delta Delta 50th Anniversary Convention attendees.[6]

Alpha Sigma Alpha

Martin first connected with Alpha Sigma Alpha in 1904 while working on the first edition of The Sorority Handbook.[15] She worked with the sorority to draft its first official constitution, create its ritual, and reorganize into a professional education sorority.[16][15][17][6] She was also editor-in-chief of its publication, The Phoenix.[7] Alpha Sigma Alpha awarded her honorary membership in May 1913. She was elected Alpha Sigma Alpha national president in 1914.[18]

In 1920, she petitioned the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) to accept Alpha Sigma Alpha as a member.[19] However, her request was denied because women could not belong to two NPC organizations; Shaw Martin's dual membership in Delta Detla Delta and Alpha Sigma Alpha made the sorority ineligble for NPC membership.[19]

At the sorority's 1930 national convention, Martin was removed from the office of president in a hostile takeover; she had served as the Alpha Sigma Alpha president for sixteen consecutive years.[20]

Other organizations

In 1916, Martin helped found and was chairman of the Association of Pedagogical Sororities, later known as the Association of Education Sororities.[1]

Martin served as the national treasurer of Pi Delta Theta sorority.[21] In April 1932, her successor and other sorority representatives filed a case in Suffolk Superior Court, requesting that Martin turn over bank books and $12,717 ($283,992 in today's money) that was believed to be in the Pi Delta Theta bank accounts under Martin's control.[21]

Career

After college, Shaw taught classical languages and German at the Medway High School in Massachusetts from 1889 to 1890 and the Meridan High School in Connecticut from 1890 to 1892.[1][7] Next, she taught at the Clinton Liberal Institution in Fort Plains, New York from 1892 to 1893.[7] This was followed by a position at the Lynn Classical High School in Massachusetts from 1894 to 1896.[7] She left teaching when she married. However, in 1902, she was an unsuccessful candidate for the position of supervisor of the Boston School Board.[22][5][23]

She also wrote and published The Sorority Handbook, a directory for women's fraternities and sororities, and issued new editions every couple of years.[7][6] She was also the sorority editor for Banta's Greek Exchange, a quarterly journal first published in December 2012.[7][24] She also created a Sorority Service Bureau, offering consultant services to sororities.[6]

Personal life

Shaw married William Holmes Martin on December 24, 1896, at her family home on 5 Cobden Street in Boston.[2][6] He was the principal/headmaster of Comins Grammar School in Boston.[22][5] After getting married, she changed her name to Ida Shaw Martin.[6] The couple lived in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.[4]

She was a member of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae (now the American Association of University Women), The College Club of Boston, and the Southern Association of College Women.[7] She was a member and director of the Massachusetts Society for the University Education of Women.[7][5]

She updated her house at 5 Cobden Street to feature three triangles or the Greek letter Delta on top of its turret.[6] She died in her home in Boston on May 11, 1940.[1][6][3]

Publications

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Becque, Fran (7 September 2013). "Happy Birthday Ida Shaw Martin!". Fraternity History and More!. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Massachusetts, U.S., Marriage Records, 1840-1915. Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. via Ancestry.
  3. ^ a b Leonard, John William (1915). Woman's who's who of America, 1914-15. New York: The American Commonwealth Company. p. 544. ISBN 0-8103-4018-6 – via Wikisource. [scan Wikisource link]
  4. ^ a b c "Martin of Dorchester is a Candidate for School Suervisor". Boston Evening Transcript. 1902-01-30. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Mrs. Martin's Friends Hopeful of Her Selection as School Supervisor". Boston Post. 1902-01-31. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-03-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Becque, Fran (2014-09-08). "Sarah Ida Shaw Martin and the Triangle Windows at 5 Cobden Street". Fraternity History & More. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Maxwell, W. J. (editor). General Alumni Catalogue of Boston University. Boston: Boston University, 1918. p. 20-30. via Ancestry
  8. ^ "History and Archives". Delta Delta Delta. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  9. ^ "Our Founders". Delta Delta Delta. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  10. ^ Priddy, Bessie Leach (1907). A Detailed Record of Delta Delta Delta, 1888-1907. Amy Olgen Parmlell and R. Louise Fitch, editors. Galesburg, Illinois: The Mail Printing Company, 1907. p. 20. – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Priddy, Bessie Leach (1907). A Detailed Record of Delta Delta Delta, 1888-1907. Amy Olgen Parmlell and R. Louise Fitch, editors. Galesburg, Illinois: The Mail Printing Company, 1907. p. 157. – via Google Books.
  12. ^ Priddy, Bessie Leach (1907). A Detailed Record of Delta Delta Delta, 1888-1907. Amy Olgen Parmlell and R. Louise Fitch, editors. Galesburg, Illinois: The Mail Printing Company, 1907. pp. 8, 80-82, and 115. – via Google Books.
  13. ^ Priddy, Bessie Leach (1907). A Detailed Record of Delta Delta Delta, 1888-1907. Amy Olgen Parmlell and R. Louise Fitch, editors. Galesburg, Illinois: The Mail Printing Company, 1907. pp. 73-74. – via Google Books.
  14. ^ "Tri Psi: Supporting Our Sisterhood". Tri Delta. 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  15. ^ a b "Interactive History | Alpha Sigma Alpha meets Ida Shaw Martin". Alpha Sigma Alpha. 1904-09-08. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  16. ^ "The First 100 Years". Alpha Epsilon Phi. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  17. ^ "Alpha Sigma Alpha. Alpha Chapter | Greenwood Library Archives". Longwood University. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  18. ^ Beck, Kelly McGinnis (2021). "From the President: Founders Day Message". Phoenix of Alpha Sigma Alpha. 107 (Fall): 3 – via issuu.
  19. ^ a b "First Request to Join NPC - Interactive Timeline". Alpha Sigma Alpha. Archived from the original on 2018-06-17. Retrieved 2024-03-07 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^ "Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority Goes on Rocks". The Daily Item. Lynn, Massachusetts. 1930-07-02. p. 8. Retrieved 2024-03-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ a b "Sorority Wants $12,717 from Mrs. Ida Martin". The Boston Globe. 1932-04-29. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-03-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ a b "Mrs. Ida Shaw Martin on the List of Candidates for the Supervisorship of Schools". The Boston Globe. 1902-01-30. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-03-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Miss E. E. Carlisle". The Buffalo Enquirer. Buffalo, New York. 1902-04-11. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-03-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Banta's Greek Exchange. Vol. 1. G. Banta. September 1913 – via Google Books.
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