Daniel Webster Crofts

Daniel Webster Crofts (December 3, 1828 - January, 1852) was one of founders (known as the 'Immortal Six') of the fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. ["The Phi Gamma Delta Story: The 'Immortal Six'", pages 85-87. The Purple Pilgrim: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Guide to Brotherhood. 2004] Daniel was one of ten children born on a frontier farm in Columbiana County, Ohio. Very intelligent but slight of build and of delicate constitution, Dan'l (as he was known) attended a private school and then an academy in West Point, Ohio before entering Jefferson College in 1844 at the age of fifteen. ["Abridged History of the Fraternity", page 112. The Purple Pilgrim: A Manual for the Education of the Pledges of Phi Gamma Delta. 1984.] A good student, he graduated in 1848 and then began teaching. He soon turned to the study of law and was admitted to the bar at Steubenville in 1850. ["The Phi Gamma Delta Story: The 'Immortal Six'", page 90. The Purple Pilgrim: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Guide to Brotherhood. 2004] He was raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason, ["Abridged History of the Fraternity", page 112. The Purple Pilgrim: A Manual for the Education of the Pledges of Phi Gamma Delta. 1984.] becoming the last of the 'Immortal Six' to do so, having been too young when in college. Crofts lived under the perpetual torment of tuberculosis. Daniel's health continued to decline and in an effort to recuperate he went to Clinton, Louisiana. There he died and was buried. ["The Phi Gamma Delta Story: The 'Immortal Six'", page 91. The Purple Pilgrim: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Guide to Brotherhood. 2004]

References

External links

* [http://www.phigam.org/history/ The Founders of Phi Gamma Delta]
*findagrave|15156677