Jewel Big Brother Henry Arthur Callis
Henry Arthur Callis was born January 14, 1887. He attended Cornell University in the fall of 1905. After Graduating in 1909 he went on to Rush Medical School and became a practicing physician, Howard University Professor of Medicine and prolific contributor to medical journals. Often regarded as the philosopher of the founders, and a moving force in the Fraternity's development, he was the only one of the Cornell Seven to become General President. Upon his death on November 12, 1974, at age 87, the Fraternity entered a time without any living Jewels.
Jewel Big Brother Charles Henry Chapman
Charles Henry Chapman was born in 1876. Before attending Cornell he was a student at Howard University. After graduation, he entered higher education and eventually became Professor of Agriculture at what is now Florida A&M University. Chapman was a founder of FAMU's Beta Nu Chapter. During the organization stages of Alpha Chapter, he was the first chairman of the Committees on Initiation and Organization. A university funeral was held with considerable Fraternity participation when he became the first Jewel to enter Omega Chapter in 1934.
Jewel Big Brother Eugene Kinkle Jones
Eugene Kinckle Jones, born July 30, 1885, entered the Cornell Graduate School of Sociology in 1906; after obtaining a BA from Virginia Union University. A versatile leader, he organized the first three Fraternity chapters that branched out from Cornell: Beta at Howard, Gamma at Virginia Union and the original Delta at the University of Toronto in Canada. In addition to becoming Alpha Chapter's second President and joining with Callis in creating the Fraternity name, Jones was a member of the first Committees on Constitution and Organization and helped write the Fraternity ritual. His status as a founder was not finally established until 1952. He died in 1954.
Jewel Big Brother George Biddle Kelley
George Biddle Kelley, born in 1884, became the first African American engineer registered in the state of New York. He worked many years for the New York State Barge Canal, and later went on to being a very successful tax consultant. Not only was he the strongest proponent of the Fraternity idea among the organization's founders, the civil engineering student also became Alpha Chapter's first President. In addition, he served on committees that worked out the handshake and ritual. He resided in Troy, New York and was active with Beta Pi Lambda Chapter in Albany. He passed on May 5, 1962.
Jewel Big Brother Nathaniel Allison Murray
Nathaniel Allison Murray continued in graduate work after completing his undergraduate studies at Cornell. He later returned home to Washington, D.C., where he taught in public schools. Much of his career was spent at Armstrong Vocational High School in the District of Columbia. He was a member of Alpha Chapter's first committee on organization of the new fraternal group, as well as the Committee on the Grip. The charter member of Washington's Mu Lambda Chapter was a frequent attendee of General Conventions. He was inducted into Omega Chapter on December 6, 1959.
Jewel Big Brother Robert Harrold Ogle
Robert Harold Ogle entered the career secretarial field and had the unique privilege of serving as a professional staff member to the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations. He was an African American pioneer in his Capitol Hill position. He proposed the Fraternity's colors and was Alpha Chapter's first secretary. Ogle joined Kelley in working out the first ritual and later became a charter member of Washington, DC's Mu Lambda Chapter. He died on December 3, 1936.
Jewel Big Brother Vertner Woodson Tandy
Vertner Woodson Tandy was born on May 17, 1885. In 1904 he attended Tuskegee Institute, transferring the next year to Cornell. Upon graduation, he became the state of New York's first Black registered architect, with offices on Broadway in New York City. The designer of the Fraternity pin also holds the distinction of being the first African American to pass the military commissioning examination and was commissioned First Lieutenant in the 15th Infantry of the New York State National Guard during the First World War. He was Alpha Chapter's first treasurer and took the initiative to incorporate the Fraternity. Among the buildings designed by the highly talented architect is Saint Phillips Episcopal Church in New York City. He died on November 7, 1949.
The jewels are regarded as the founders of the Fraternity because they initiated the fraternal idea and remained steadfast to their design even in the days of struggle and conflict.
The End
