Founding Fathers

Rolin Roscoe James

Born in Lincolnville, Indiana, October 16, 1879, to Robert O. and Mary P. James. Graduated from Vincennes in 1900; A.B., Earlham College, '02; studied at Harvard Law School. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and by profession a consulting attorney. Died February 4, 1953.

William Raper Kennedy

Born in Vincennes, Indiana, November 22, 1877. Graduated from Vincennes University in 1897. Served in the Spanish-American War and re-enlisted in the infantry a month after being discharged. Except for brief intervals, he was almost continuously in military service, rising from the rank of private to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of Infantry. He was a member of the faculty at Culver Military Academy from 1905 until his retirement in June 1944. Married Helen Hens in 1908; had four children, one daughter and three sons. Died December 5, 1944.

James Thompson Kingsbury

Born in Lawrence County, Illinois, January 8, 1877, son of Robert W. and Josephine (Thompson) Kingsbury. Descended from the Kingsbury's who settled in Massachusetts in 1615. Graduated from Vincennes in 1897; A.B., Illinois '99, LLB '02. Practiced law in Bisbee, Arizona. He was a member of the Christian Church and of Masonic Lodges in Tombstone and Phoenix. Married Grace Hicks, 1912; three children: James Thompson Kingsbury, Jr., Mary Josephine, and Marjorie Jane. Died October 1, 1950.

George Martin Patterson

Born in Palmyra Township, Knox County, Indiana, November 7, 1877, to Robert B. and Nancy (Wise) Patterson. His ancestors settled in the vicinity of Vincennes before Indiana became a state and played a prominent part in the development of that section of the country. For six years following his graduation from Vincennes in 1897 he served as Deputy Recorder of Knox County and then returned to the vocation of his father, farming. His residence, Rose Hill, had been in the family nearly two centuries and handed down through five generations, until deeded to Sigma Pi in 1989. Married Mattie M Purcell, a sister of the late Brother Lee Purcell, (Alpha, Vincennes) in 1906. Children: two daughters, Marion L. and Martha P. Died April 7, 1960.