# Ida Fuller

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{{Short description|American sorority founder (died 1930)}}
{{for|the first U.S. Social Security recipient|Ida May Fuller}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Ida Fuller
| image              = 
| alt                = 
| caption            = 
| birth_name         = Ida Mabel Fuller
| birth_date         = November 28, 1854
| birth_place        = [Albion, Maine](/source/Albion%2C_Maine), U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1930|9|26|1854|11|28}}
| death_place        = [Oakland, California](/source/Oakland%2C_California), U.S.
| resting_place      = Greenwood Cemetery, [Eureka, Kansas](/source/Eureka%2C_Kansas)
| other_names        = 
| alma_mater         = [Colby College](/source/Colby_College)
| occupation         = 
| years_active       = 
| employer           = 
| known_for          = Founder of [Sigma Kappa](/source/Sigma_Kappa)
| notable_works      = 
| spouse             = Jonathan B. Pierce
| children           = 
| signature          = 
}}

'''Ida Mable Fuller Pierce''' (November 28, 1854 – September 26, 1930) was one of the founders of [Sigma Kappa](/source/Sigma_Kappa) sorority.

==Early life==
Ida Fuller was born on November 28, 1854, in  [Albion, Maine](/source/Albion%2C_Maine).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Founders and Founding |url=https://sigmakappa.historyit.com/exhibit.php?page=5 |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=Sigma Kappa History |page=5}}</ref><ref name=":3">Maine State Archives; Cultural Building, 84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0084; ''Pre 1892 Delayed Returns''; Roll Number: ''40   via Ancestry.''</ref> Her parents were Louise J. and David B. Fuller.<ref name=":3" /> She grew up in Albion.<ref name=":0" /> Fuller completed the Ladies Preparatory Course at the [Waterville Classical Institute](/source/Waterville_Classical_Institute) in [Waterville, Maine](/source/Waterville%2C_Maine).<ref name=":0" />

She was twenty years old when she decided to attend [Colby College](/source/Colby_College), the first [New England](/source/New_England) college to go fully co-educational. Although Fuller men had always attended Colby, her brother Blin Fuller refused to go to Colby if she enrolled.<ref name=":0" /> When she passed the entrance exam and was accepted by Colby in 1873, Blin decided to go to [Bowdoin College](/source/Bowdoin_College) instead.<ref name=":0" />

While at Colby College, she helped establish [Sigma Kappa](/source/Sigma_Kappa) sorority in 1874.<ref name="triangle">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/sigmakappatrian00unkngoog/page/116/mode/2up |title=Sigma Kappa Triangle |year=1907 |volume=2 |pages=116, 120 |access-date=2024-02-06 |via=[Archive.org](/source/Archive.org)}}{{Open access}}</ref><ref name="obit">{{Cite news |date=1930-09-28 |title=IdaPierce, Founder of Sorority, Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-idapierce-fo/140371651/ |access-date=2024-02-06 |newspaper=[San Francisco Examiner](/source/San_Francisco_Examiner) |page=11 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{Open access}}</ref> However, she left the college during her junior year due to illness and never graduated.<ref name=":0" />

== Sigma Kappa ==
Only four other women attended Colby College with Fuller in 1873.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Founders and Founding |url=https://sigmakappa.historyit.com/exhibit.php?page=2 |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=Sigma Kappa History |page=2}}</ref> Fuller and [Mary Caffrey Low Carver](/source/Mary_Caffrey_Low_Carver), [Elizabeth Gorham Hoag](/source/Elizabeth_Gorham_Hoag), [Frances Elliott Mann Hall](/source/Frances_Elliott_Mann_Hall), and [Louise Helen Coburn](/source/Louise_Helen_Coburn) decided to form a literary and social society.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1954-11-16 |title=Sigma Kappas to Open 80th Year at Dinner Wednesday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-sigma-kappas-to-op/140372674/ |access-date=2024-02-06 |newspaper=[The Indianapolis Star](/source/The_Indianapolis_Star) |page=9 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{Open access}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> (Coburn and Hoag were classmates of Fuller at the Waterville Classical Institute.)<ref name=":0" /> They were instructed by the college administration that they would need to present a constitution and bylaws with a petition requesting permission to form Sigma Kappa Sorority.<ref name=":1" /> They began work during that year, and on November 9, 1874, received a letter from the faculty approving their petition.<ref name="triangle" /><ref name=":1" />

Fuller continued to be active in the sorority after graduation and marriage. She helped her niece, Abby Louise Fuller, established the ''Xi chapter'' of [Sigma Kappa](/source/Sigma_Kappa) at the [University of Kansas](/source/University_of_Kansas).<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=1913-07-24 |title=sigma Kappa Sorority: Mrs. Ida Fulller Pierce, Founder, Honored at Denver |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/democratic-messenger-sigma-kappa-sororit/142859699/ |access-date=2024-03-07 |work=Democratic Messenger |location=Eureka, Kansas |pages=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Blin's other daughter, Illde W. Fuller, also joined the ''Xi chapter''.<ref name=":0" /> Ida Fuller Pierce also served as the ''Xi chapter's'' housemother.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1912-11-16 |title=For House Mother |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/lawrence-daily-journal-world-for-house-m/142859968/ |access-date=2024-03-07 |work=Lawrence Daily Journal-World |location=Lawrence, Kansas |pages=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1913-02-01 |title=Sixth Sorority; Sigma Kappa Granted a Charter and the Local Delta Psi Merged Into It |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-gazette-sixth-sororith-sigma/142860045/ |access-date=2024-03-07 |work=The Daily Gazette |location=Lawrence, Kansas |pages=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

She was honored at the sorority's 39th annual convention in Denver, Colorado in July 1913.<ref name=":2" /> She also gave an address about coeducation.<ref name=":2" /> She also attended the 1924 Golden Jubilee Convention of Sigma Kappa.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1924-07-09 |title=Sigma Kappa Founders Given Luncheon |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/kennebec-journal-sigma-kappa-founders-gi/140372519/ |access-date=2024-02-06 |newspaper=Daily Kennebec Journal |page=5 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{Open access}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
After leaving Colby College, Fuller went to [Kansas](/source/Kansas) in 1880 to seek a drier climate for her health.<ref name=":0" /> In Kansas, she met and married Jonathan B. Pierce on July 7, 1878.<ref name="husband">{{Cite news |date=1899-06-29 |title=The Late Dr. J. B. Pierce |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/democratic-messenger-the-late-dr-j-b/140372934/ |access-date=2024-02-06 |newspaper=Democratic Messenger |page=8 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{Open access}}</ref> Pierce was a physician and pharmacist.<ref name="husband" /> The couple lived in Eureka, Kansas, where she was active in club and social life.<ref name="husband" /><ref name=":2" /> Her husband predeceased her in May 5, 1890.<ref name="husband" />

After her husband died in 1890, she was the vice-president of a Kansas bank and established the Girls' Hotel in Kansas City, an affordable accommodation for lower-income women.<ref name=":0" /> During [World War I](/source/World_War_I), she was in charge of organizing supply depots for the [American Red Cross](/source/American_Red_Cross) in Eureka and also lectured on food conservation across the United States.<ref name="obit" /><ref name=":0" /> She was a relief worker during the [1906 San Francisco earthquake](/source/1906_San_Francisco_earthquake).<ref name="obit" />

In her last two years, she lived at 1176 Sunnyhill Road in [Oakland, California](/source/Oakland%2C_California), with Mrs. F. G. Battram.<ref name="obit" /> She died on September 26, 1930, aged 76, in Oakland.<ref name="obit" /> She was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Eureka.<ref name="obit" /><ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://sigmakappa.org/ Sigma Kappa Sorority official site]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, Ida}}
Category:Year of birth uncertain
Category:1850s births
Category:1930 deaths
Category:People from Waterville, Maine
Category:People from Eureka, Kansas
Category:Colby College alumni
Category:Sigma Kappa founders
Category:People from Albion, Maine
Category:Coburn Classical Institute alumni

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ida Fuller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Fuller) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Fuller?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.