Delphic Fraternity

      
                 Gamma Sigma Tau


   More Than 150 Years of Brotherhood - Over 185 Years of History

The Delphic Society
The Predecessor Organization to the Delphic Fraternity

The Delphic Fraternity officially originates with the founding of the Delphic Society at the Geneseo State Normal School in upstate New York (known today as SUNY Geneseo.)  The Delphic Society at Geneseo was founded on October 13, 1871. With the 1889 chapter expansion to the Oneonta Normal School (today SUNY Oneonta,) the Delphic Society first became known as the Delphic Fraternity.


We knew the origins of the Delphic Society at Geneseo predated that of the Alpha Chapter of the fraternity. Because of the historic popular mention of the Delphic Oracle and the City of Delphi, there were other college literary societies in the United States called the Delphic Society. However, there was no clear link to connect the Delphic Society at Geneseo with any other another organization until recently. 


In late 2016, we were finally able to confirm the following: William J. Milne, the first principal of the Geneseo State Normal School, attended the University of Rochester as an undergraduate. Milne, who was instrumental in the founding of the Delphic Society at Geneseo, participated in the last public debate of the Delphic Society at the University of Rochester in 1866. 


It is now evident to us that William J. Milne wanted to provide students at the Geneseo Normal School with a literary societal experience similar to the one he was a part of while at Rochester. Therefore, the Delphic Society at Rochester, which was founded in 1850 with history dating back to 1833, was the predecessor organization to the Delphic Society at Geneseo founded in 1871. The Delphic Society that originated in Geneseo exists today as the Delphic Fraternity, also known as Delphic of Gamma Sigma Tau.


In summation, the Delphic Fraternity was originally founded as the Delphic Society in Geneseo in 1871. The seminal concept for the Delphic Society at Geneseo stems from the Delphic Society at Rochester, that was founded on November 2, 1850 (which can trace its history back to 1833 as the Gamma Phi Society at Colgate University.) 


For more information about the Delphic Society at Rochester, visit its Wikipedia Page.

Our Story

The story of our organization begins with the establishment of the Delphic Society.

An Idea is Born

Our fraternity is an offshoot of a college literary society. These types of literary societies were local in nature and very similar to each other. Some in the Northeast region of the U.S. banded together to form what today is the Delphic Fraternity.