Mount Vernon Seminary and College Alumnae Association Records

The Mount Vernon Seminary began in 1875 as a private high school and junior college for women, founded by Elizabeth J. Somers. The George Washington University initially affiliated with Mount Vernon College, and ultimately acquired the college's property and legacy in 1999.

The Alumnae Association of Mount Vernon seminary was established in 1885. Miss Minnie E. Naylor from the school's first class and Miss Frances C. Scoville from the class of 1884 wanted to form an organization that would reunite alumnae with each other and bind them to their alma mater. A group of previous students met in 1885 to establish a constitution, which included an annual reunion to be held the Saturday before commencement every June. By 1889, the Association boasted a membership of 90 alumnae, who each paid an annual fee of $1.00. Membership fees included the receipt of the Annual Report of the Alumnae Association.

The Mount Vernon Seminary Society was formed in 1905 as a means of binding together all of the pupils of the school, both graduates and undergraduates. Many of their efforts to draw the M.V.S. community together was through philanthropic educational work for children. Dues were $1.00/year, which included the annual receipt of their publication, The Roll Call. The difference between the Alumnae Association and the Mount Vernon Seminary Society was the inclusion of non-graduates. The Alumnae Association only allowed graduates to join; however, the Mount Vernon Seminary Society allowed anyone who had taken classes and faculty to join as well.

At a meeting in 1932, the Mount Vernon Seminary Society expressed a desire for the Alumnae Association to open to non-graduates. They wished for the word 'alumna' to include both graduate and non-graduate members. Additonally, the group also expressed their interest in combining the Alumnae Annual and The Roll Call because they felt that the two groups should work together as one common body of alumnae. On November 4, 1933 the two organizations merged to form The Mount Vernon Seminary Alumnae Association. As a result, their annual publications, The Roll Call and Alumnae Annual, were combined into the Alumnae Roll Call.