First Women at DePauw

In September 1869, five women began taking classes at Indiana Asbury, now known as DePauw University. For Theta, two were our founders, Bettie Locke and Alice Allen.

Browse through images and content that document these women and those early years in which they broke new ground.

First Four Women to Graduate from Indiana Asbury

Laura Beswick, Alice Allen, Mary Simmons, and Bettie Locke entered Indiana Asbury in September 1867. In the Annual Register of the Indiana Asbury University for 1873-1874, "Ladies are admitted to the College Classes on the same condition as gentlemen."
Laura Beswick McKaig

Laura Beswick was born in 1852 in Crawfordsville, Ind., the daughter of an Indiana Asbury trustee. During her college years, she was a charter member of the Pi Beta Phi chapter. On the same day she graduated in 1871, she married Rev. Robert N. McKaig, class of 1870. They served in churches in Indiana, Minnesota, and Iowa. In 1929, she donated an early 17th century book to DePauw. She died in 1935. Image from Archives and Special Collections, DePauw University.
Mary Simmons Crawford

Mary Simmons was born in 1853 in Clermont, Ohio. She was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity. Little is known about her life after graduation. She married Hugh C. Crawford, and they settled in Colorado Springs, Colo., by 1888. She died in 1935 in San Diego.
Bettie Locke Hamilton

Born in 1850, Bettie McReynolds Locke was the daughter of Indiana Asbury professor Dr. John W. Locke. In 1870, she founded Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity. After graduating in 1871, she taught for four years at the Illinois School for the Deaf. Bettie married E. A. Hamilton in 1876. Both of her children, Edna and Eulalia; her granddaughter, Genevieve Hartley; and great granddaughter, Carole Cones attended DePauw. Bettie lived in Greencastle at the corner of Walnut and Locust streets from the 1890s until her death in 1939. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living alumna of DePauw.
Alice Allen Brant

Alice Allen was born in 1851 in Putnam County, Ind., and was known for riding her horse to classes each day. She co-founded Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity alongside Bettie Locke. After graduation, Alice was a teacher and principal in Attica, Ind.; Evanston, Ill.; Iowa; and Nebraska. Her daughter, Edith, also attended DePauw. Alice died in 1894.
7:45 a.m. Mandatory Chapel
First Term Schedule, 1873

Schedule of classes for the first term, 1873. From the Annual register of Indiana Asbury University for 1873-74.
Greencastle Population

3,227: The population of Greencastle, Ind. in 1870.
Degree Options and Cost

Two degree tracks were offered in 1873, at a cost of $10.
Freshman Year Classes, 1873

From the Annual register of Indiana Asbury University for 1873-74.
Senior Year Classes, 1873

From the Annual register of Indiana Asbury University for 1873-74.
19 Women in 1870

Nineteen women attended Indiana Asbury in 1870.
Commencement Exercises, 1871

Commencement Exercises, 1871, front cover.
List of Graduates, 1871

This list includes the first four women to graduate from Indiana Asbury in 1871.
37 States

In 1867, there were only 37 states in the United States of America.
Philomatheon Literary Society

Students formed literary societies such as the Philomathean Literary Society on June 19, 1871. When women began attending Indiana Asbury, they too formed a group.
Autograph Album of Bettie Locke, Circa 1871

Bettie, like many of her contemporaries, kept an autograph album. This is the cover, and the following pages includes some of her professors and fellow students.
Page from Bettie Locke's Autograph Album, Circa 1871

This page includes her fellow students Alice Allen, John W. Webb, Theo. A. Sloane, and J.C. Stephens.
Page from Bettie Locke's Autograph Album, Circa 1871

This page includes signatures of faculty members Philander Wiley, professor of Greek, and John Clark Ridpath.
Literary Recitations of the Junior Class, December 1869

Upperclassmen were required to present their recitations publicly at the end of each term.
Listing of Junior Recitations, December 1869

It took two evenings to go through all the recitations.
Note from Bettie Locke to George Burton, Circa 1870

Mr. Burton, Would it suit you, and the rest of the young men, just as well to go croquet-ting this evening instead of tomorrow? I am asked to go to a picnic tomorrow afternoon and I don’t care to go if I have to give up the croquet and I thought perhaps it could be arranged as I have stated. Yours respectfully, Bettie Locke

It would suit me fully as well to go this evening and we will have it so can rest of them. Very respectfully, George Burton.
Envelope, Circa 1870

This envelope belongs with the accompanying little note written by Bettie Locke to George Burton while they were students. During this period, people often received mail twice a day so it allowed very speedy communication between individuals.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Speak, November 1870

The Indiana Asbury Young Ladies Literary Society invited Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was considered one of the founders of the women's suffrage movement in the U.S. Stanton did come to speak. The unknown author of this article speaks about the challenges of women at education and finishes the article with "Female mind backed with female pluck, has conquered this time." Greencastle Banner, November 3, 1870.
Bettie Locke's Report Card, 1870