History
Zeta Tau Alpha was founded by nine young women: Maud Jones Horner (Died August 20, 1920), Della Lewis Hundley (Died July 12, 1951), Alice Bland Coleman (Died June 11, 1956), Mary Jones Batte (Died December 3, 1957), Alice Grey Welsh (Died June 21, 1960), Ethel Coleman Van Name (Died January 24, 1964), Helen M. Crafford (Died September 17, 1964), Frances Yancey Smith (Died April 23, 1977), Ruby Leigh Orgain (Died October 22, 1984)
They shared similar beliefs and backgrounds and as their education went on, they were afraid that their strong friendships would fade since they did not have a formal bond to carry on this comradeship. This is when Maud Jones wrote: “For a whole year before our sorority was established, the need of such an organization was strongly felt. There were six or seven of us who used to frequently meet together and talk over and try to devise some way by which we could unite into a helpful and congenial band. We knew we sadly needed something, but we had no idea how that something was to be found. The beginning of session 1898–1899 our little crowd again at the Normal and just as eager as before, if not more, to find something to satisfy our desires.” This passion that the girls shared to find something more is how the desire to form a Greek-letter group aspired. They wanted to form this group in order to stay close and they hoped to continue this sisterhood after college. Even though they were determined to create this group, they waited on selecting an official name. With the help from Maud Jones and Frances Yancey Smith’s brothers—Plummer Jones, a member of Kappa Alpha Order and Phi Beta Kappa member at the College of William and Mary, and Giles Mebane Smith, a Phi Theta Psi and Phi Beta Kappa member also at the College of William and Mary—the girls worked to form their Greek-letter organization. It took one year of work and thought, but the group finally chose the formal name of Zeta Tau Alpha, Themis—the patron goddess, and the badge as official name and symbols for their group.
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