Our Organization Founding

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Otis Allan Glazebrook, the eldest child of Larkin White Glazebrook and America Henley Bullington, was born in Richmond, Virginia, on October 13, 1845, at his parents’ home at the corner of Second and East Clay Streets. He received private instruction during his early years until, at the age of thirteen, he entered the Preparatory Department of Randolph-Macon College. He remained there until Virginia’s secession from the Union, after which he received one of the first appointments to the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Virginia.

During the Civil War, Glazebrook and his fellow cadets were sent to a training campus to prepare recruits for the Confederate Army. He later accompanied the Corps of Cadets to New Market, taking part in the battle there. Months before General Robert E. Lee’s surrender, the Cadet Corps was ordered back to Richmond, passing through Appomattox en route to Lynchburg at the time of the surrender.

Following the war, with both the Institute and the South in disarray, Glazebrook returned to Richmond, where he remained through the fall of 1865. It was during this period that he conceived the idea of founding a fraternal organization originating from VMI, one that would unite young men across the United States, entirely free from sectional or partisan bias. The inspiration came in part from a conversation with General Smith, then superintendent of VMI and later Glazebrook’s father-in-law. Smith had received a letter from a Northern Greek-letter fraternity seeking to re-establish chapters in the South. While Glazebrook did not feel able to sponsor the re-establishment of a Northern organization, the idea of forming a new fraternity that could bridge regional divisions took hold.

Determined to bring this vision to life, Glazebrook drafted a constitution and initiation ritual that emphasized moral principles and the character-building ideals upon which the fraternity could be founded. Though he was not a member of any secret or Masonic organization at the time, Glazebrook’s strong religious convictions as a confirmed member of the Episcopal Church guided his design of the fraternity’s values.

He enlisted the collaboration of two close friends, Alfred Marshall, a fellow cadet and son of the British Consul in Richmond, and Erskine Mayo Ross, a recent graduate of VMI visiting Richmond from Culpeper County, Virginia. Both approved the draft constitution and ritual and signed it alongside Glazebrook. In the fall of 1865, Glazebrook and Marshall returned to VMI, selected a group of outstanding cadets, and administered the oath to each, thereby establishing the Alpha Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega. Ross eventually moved to California, where he would make his home.

The success of the Alpha Chapter led to the establishment of the Beta Chapter at Washington College, later renamed Washington and Lee University under the presidency of General Lee. The chapters maintained close relations, occasionally meeting together and selecting members from among the most promising young men of the South. Glazebrook also designed the fraternity’s badge, which was accepted without modification and became the enduring symbol of Alpha Tau Omega.

After graduating from VMI, Glazebrook declined a position as assistant professor to marry Virginia C. K. Smith, pursue theological studies at the Seminary of Virginia near Alexandria, and ultimately enter the Episcopal ministry. He was ordained and served in Brunswick County, Virginia, before moving to Baltimore, where he organized and built Holy Trinity Church and re-engaged actively with the fraternity.

Throughout his life, Glazebrook remained dedicated to expanding and refining Alpha Tau Omega. He revised the ritual to preserve the original symbols and landmarks, emphasizing the moral character and purpose upon which the fraternity was founded. His vision and leadership ensured that Alpha Tau Omega grew into a lasting national organization, guided by the principles he first set forth in Richmond more than a century ago.