Club seeks First Lady portraits

The Auburn University Campus Club is searching for three of Auburn University's First Ladies who are presently missing.

Help is needed in finding pictures of these missing ladies or their descendents, who might have or know where pictures or copies can be located, said Mary Lou Mathews, the club's scholarship chair.

The club is seeking likenesses of Eppie Reynolds McCraw Tichenor, wife of President Isaac Taylor Tichenor; Mary A. Howell Smith, wife of President Ottis D. Smith; and Ellen Stanford Smith (Nellie) Thach, wife of President Charles Coleman Thach.

The search is part of a continuing effort by the Campus Club to honor the First Ladies of Auburn University, Mathews said. The effort began in 2001 when the first annual Campus Club plant sale was held and a $1,000 scholarship was awarded in honor of Polly Philpott.

By 2004, the club was able to award four such annual scholarships. In 2005, a breakthrough challenge grant of $80,000 became available to anchor a partnership between Campus Club and the department of Horticulture, resulting in a First Ladies Endowment Fund.

Through this partnership and the annual plant sale, the endowment has grown so that 15 scholarships have been awarded for the 2008-2009 session, Mathews said.

Campus Club was founded by First Lady Caroline Marshall Draughon (Miss Caroline), an exemplar of the demanding and meaningful role of First Lady, she said.

The club had earlier accepted a challenge grant from the Cousins Foundation of Atlanta, which led to the Caroline Marshall Draughon endowed scholarship that is awarded annually. Miss Caroline served as First Lady from 1947-1965.

Eppie Reynolds McCraw Tichenor was Auburn's third First Lady, serving from 1872-1882. Mary A. Howell Smith served during the acting term of Dr. Smith, for whom O. D. Smith Hall is named, in 1902. She was followed by Ellen Stanford Smith Thach from 1902-1919.

Despite an extensive search, no photographs have yet been located for these three, Mathews said. She said she is looking for these missing First Ladies to include in a revised prospectus for the First Ladies Endowment as the campaign nears the fulfillment of its initial goal of $500,000.

The new prospectus will lead toward a final goal of approximately $5 million to provide a scholarship to honor each of Auburn's past, present and future First Ladies.

In addition to photos of the missing three, pictures of First Ladies prior to Mrs. Duncan (1935-47) are welcome and will be donated to the Archives. Contact Matthews at (334) 821-2161 or at mandml@att.net with information or leads.

Sources such as University Archives, Photographic Services, Marketing and Publications, and the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities have been explored, and Mathews said she is is now turning to personal collections of individuals and to leads to tracking down descendents of the three "missing" ladies.

All photographs (or copies) located will be preserved in the Auburn University Archives, Mathews said.