ΣΧ: Cousins-in-Law

Sigma Chi, IU’s third fraternity, was established at IU in 1858.  Samuel Brown Wylie IV, Theophilus Wylie’s grandson, graduated from IU in 1905 and was a member of Sigma Chi.  His cousin Marie Boisen’s future husband, Morton C. Bradley, who completed his undergraduate degree at IU in 1899 and his master’s degree there in 1900, was also a member of the fraternity.

Sororities and fraternities of the late 19th and early 20th centuries held frequent dances and parties, judging by the letters, dance cards, and party favors in the Wylie House archive.  

At a formal dance, guests would receive dance cards listing the order of dances.  On the blank lines next to the dance titles, they would write the names of the people who had promised to dance with them.  That way, no one would forget who had been promised which dance.  The cards were fairly small, and the cord or ribbon that attached a pencil to the card could be easily slipped over a wrist or tucked into a belt.  The Wylie grandchildren, including Samuel and Marie, Morton’s future wife, kept over a dozen of these dance cards, which give us a glimpse of an era when the customs and entertainment of young people were quite different from today.