The Archives of Phi Kappa Psi PUBL 2011-2

The last letter to Brothers from

Charles Page Thomas Moore

Charles P. T. Moore
Feb. 8, 1831-July 7, 1904

The last known and certainly one of the most inspiring messages sent to the Fraternity
by the co-founder of Phi Kappa Psi Charles P. T. Moore was written as we celebrated our 50th
year and was addressed to the Washington, D.C., Alumni Association of Phi Kappa Psi.

It presumably was in response to a message
from the Alumni Association to Judge Moore, a
justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of
Appeals from 1870-1881, notifying him of plans
to plant an American elm at Mt. Vernon to
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commemorate the Fraternity’s 50 anniversary.
The following letter was read at a Phi Psi alumni
dinner at the New Willard Hotel in the nation’s
capital on March 19, held in honor of the semi-
centennial anniversary of Phi Kappa Psi. Judge
Moore, the only surviving co-founder, was
unable to attend due to his deteriorating health.

Elwell, W. Va.
Mar. 17, 1902

Fifty years ago a departed colleague and I planted a tree. It was small, but instinct with the
sap of life, and with roots so strong that slowly but surely it grew upward and onward, with
branches so far extending that lo! it stands today, a mighty monarch of the forest, giving joy
in the morning, shelter at noon, and comfort at the sunset of life, ever teaching us, “Look out,
not in; look up, not down,” for heaven smiles above us.

That tree is Phi Kappa Psi, and, my boys, the tree you have planted this day is a most fitting
monument to this stalwart oak.

When another fifty years have rolled away, and the centennial jubilee is at hand, though I will
have crossed the bar to “the land that is fairer than this,” I will unite with my comrade
brother, and be with you in spirit; and I pray that the little twig you have planted will shelter
not only the heads of ten thousand Phi Psis, but many times that number.

With best wishes for all my boys, I am your father in Phi Kappa Psi, for ever and ever.

C. P. T. Moore

(Brother Moore died at his home, a mansion of Elwell remains to be confirmed but
named Riverview overlooking the Ohio River presumably was nearby and was perhaps a post
near Gallipolis Ferry, W. Va., The site office.)

(continued)
 Two views of Riverview from The History of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity,
by Charles Van Cleve, published in 1902.

Judge Moore’s Hope

Has Judge Moore’s hope of a fraternity “many times” larger come true?
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As Phi Kappa Psi began its 160 year in February 2011, the Fraternity was preparing to initiate its
th
115,000 member, more than 11 times the 10,000 number he cited in his letter. Undergraduate
membership of 5,085 in the fall of 2010 was at an all-time high and surpassing 5,000 members for the
first time. It was the 12 time in 13 years undergraduate membership had increased over the year before.

In addition, the 61 Chapter charters issued between February 1852 and February 1902 totaled 156 in
early 2011, despite a conscious policy of slow growth by Phi Kappa Psi from time to time (no charters
were issued between June 1906 and October 1912, for example).

Of these 156, 2010 marked the first time in history that Phi Kappa Psi had 101 or more active chapters,
ending the year with 102. (Some past host schools no longer exist, others having waiting lists, being
added to Phi Psi’s expansion list can take five years or more, etc.) Still, the Fraternity had four active
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colonies as it marked its 159 birthday and five schools currently are on the expansion list for Spring
2011-Fall 2012. Four of them will mark a return to a host campus.

Phi Kappa Psi also had 50 active Alumni Associations in February 2011.

The Archives of Phi Kappa Psi, 5395 Emerson Way, Indianapolis, Indiana 46226