Meet Our Founders

Read short biographies of our founding members.

Elsie Davies

1876-1964

Elsie is recognized as the primary motivating force in creating our sorority. While she was a student at Western Reserve University, she was an accomplished student, having been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and also a bit of a prankster. She had carved her name into the side of Clark Hall, but this has since been sandblasted off of the building. In her memory, you can find sisters chalking "Elsie Was Here" around campus. After her graduation, Elsie taught at Glenville High School where she served as head of the English Department and Assistant Principal.

Cornelia Olmstead Ranney

(1875-1956)

Cornelia Olmstead was born September 12, 1875 in Cleveland, OH and received her Bachelor of Letters in 1897. Immediately following graduation, she married Rufus P. Ranney. Together, they raised four children. In 1913, she wrote a Pageant Tableaux for Western Reserve University's 25th anniversary entitled "The Spirit of Woman in Civilization."

Mary Grace Lottridge Richardson

(1873-1967)

Grace, along with her sister, Edith, came to Western Reserve University from Hamilton, Ontario. Here, she earned a Bachelor of Philosophy in 1897. Following graduation, Grace taught at Warren High School until she married Charles Richardson, with whom she had four children.

Edith Lottridge Kimball

(1875-1972)

Edith, also from Hamilton, Ontario, received her Bachelors of Philosophy in 1897, following which she joined Elsie to teach in the Cleveland Public School System in the Glenville Schools. In 1905, she married Eugene Kimball. Edith was our oldest surviving founder at 97 and an active alumna. She is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland, OH.

Elizabeth Coit Williams

(1874-1959)

Elizabeth Coit attended Western Reserve University from 1893-1897, where she received her Bachelors of Philosophy. In 1899 she married Harry Williams with whom she had two sons.

Mary Case

(1875-1922)

Mary, distantly related to Leonard Case, Jr., was born in Ashtabula, OH in 1875. After receiving a Bachelor of Philosophy from Western Reserve University, she attended Cleveland Normal School and taught at Conneaut High School. Mary and her mother Annette continued to live in Cleveland until Mary's death in 1922.

Clare Burt Metcalf Keating

(1874-1958)

Clare Burt was a Cleveland native and received her Bachelors of Letters in 1897. She was a gifted student and was inducted into the WRU chapter of Phi Beta Kappa alongside Elsie. In 1900, she married Guy Metcalf with whom she had two children. Her first, Alfred, unfortunately died in infancy. Following her husband's death in 1911, Clare was remarried to Francis Keating and together they lived in North Carolina.

Anna Rachel Camp Edwards

(1876-1955)

Anna Camp was born in 1876 in Sandusky, OH. She received a Bachelors of Philosophy in 1897. After graduation, she was a teacher in the Chicago home of Charles Crane for nearly a decade. In 1908, she married Richard Edwards and together they raised 3 children. Anna is also the author of two English textbooks.