Frederica Chase Dodd

Frederica Chase Dodd (November 3, 1893 – January 21, 1972) was an American educator, social worker, and clubwoman, one of the founders of Delta Sigma Theta.

The founders of Delta Sigma Theta, including Frederica Chase (front row, far right), in 1913
Frederica Chase Dodd
Frederica Chase Dodd, from a 1913 photo
BornNovember 3, 1893
Dallas, Texas
DiedJanuary 21, 1972 (aged 78)
Dallas, Texas
OccupationEducator, social worker, clubwoman

Early life and education

Chase was born in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of Frederic K. Chase and Fannie L. Hall Chase. Her father was an attorney and politician who died shortly before her birth.[1] Her mother was a teacher. She graduated from Dallas Colored School No. 2, in 1910, and attended Howard University.[2] She and 21 other Howard women founded Delta Sigma Theta in 1913. She marched with her sorority in a 1913 women's suffrage parade in Washington, D.C.[3][4] Later in life, she earned a master's in social work degree from Atlanta University.[1]

Career

Chase taught school in Dallas after college,[5] until she married in 1920. She was active in the National Association of Colored Women and the YWCA,[6] and president of the Priscilla Art Club.[1] She co-founded the Dallas alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta.[7][8] When her husband became too ill to work, she became a social worker with the Dallas Welfare Bureau, and soon director of the Negro Community Welfare Agency. From 1936 to 1961, she was a counselor at Family Service of Dallas.[1]

Personal life and legacy

Chase married a physician, John Horace Dodd, in 1920, as his second wife.[9] He died in 1946, after several years of illness.[1][10] She inherited the estate of her sorority sister and close friend, Jessie McGuire Dent, in 1948. Frederica Chase Dodd died in 1972, aged 79 years, in Dallas. The Dallas alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta offers a Frederica Chase Dodd Scholarship to local students, and opened the Frederica Chase Dodd Life Development Center in Dallas.[1][11] In 1985, the sorority published a short biography of Dodd, titled Beauty and the Best, Frederica Chase Dodd : the story of a life of love and dedication.[12][13]

References
  1. Bridges, Jennifer; Winegarten, Ruthe. "TSHA | Dodd, Frederica Chase". Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  2. Parks, Gregory S. (2008-06-13). Black Greek-Letter Organizations in the 21st Century: Our Fight Has Just Begun. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-3872-5.
  3. "The Beginning". The Chicago Defender. January 9, 2013. pp. S3 – via ProQuest.
  4. Parks, Gregory S.; Hughey, Matthew W. (2020-04-14). A Pledge with Purpose: Black Sororities and Fraternities and the Fight for Equality. NYU Press. ISBN 978-1-4798-5963-4.
  5. "School to Open Sept. 15th". The Dallas Express. 1919-09-06. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Winegarten, Ruthe; Kahn, Sharon (2010-07-22). Brave Black Women: From Slavery to the Space Shuttle. University of Texas Press. pp. 39–41. ISBN 978-0-292-78555-7.
  7. "About Us – Dallas Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc". Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  8. "Founders' Day Speaker". Waco Tribune-Herald. 1955-01-30. p. 23. Retrieved 2022-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Who's who in Colored America. Who's Who in Colored America Corporation. 1942. p. 161.
  10. Beckford, Geraldine Rhoades (2013). Biographical Dictionary of American Physicians of African Ancestry, 1800-1920. Africana Homestead Legacy Pb. ISBN 978-1-937622-18-3.
  11. Dodd Education & Support, Inc. "Serving Those in Need". Dodd Education & Support, Inc. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  12. Jordan, Julia K. Gibson; Smith, Charlie Mae Brown (1985). Beauty and the best, Frederica Chase Dodd: the story of a life of love and dedication. Dallas, Tex.: Distributed by Dallas Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. OCLC 15153722.
  13. Glasrud, Bruce A.; Pitre, Merline (2008-03-03). Black Women in Texas History. Texas A&M University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-60344-031-8.
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