before moving with her family in 1861 to Greencastle, Indiana (home to Asbury, now DePauw University). Her father was the son of Rachel (Jessup) and James Ritter. He was born and grew up on his parents' farm west of Indianapolis in Hendricks County, Indiana. After attending Northwestern Christian University (present-day Butler University) in Indianapolis from 1859 to 1861, he enlisted in the Union Army in April 1861, joining the 16th Indiana Infantry Regiment shortly after the outbreak of the American Civil War. Eli Ritter was later transferred to the 79th Indiana Infantry Regiment before being honorably discharged from the army in June 1863. Following his military service, he enrolled at Asbury University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1865. He married Narcissa Lockwood, a Greencastle resident, in June 1866. Due to weak eyesight, resulting from exposure during the war, Eli Ritter relied on his wife, Narcissa, to read to him during his legal studies. After he passed the Indiana bar in 1866, the Ritters moved to Indianapolis, where Eli established a law practice. In addition, he was active in the temperance movement and in 1883 became a colonel in the Indiana National Guard. Education and intellectual development Mary Ritter attended public schools in Indianapolis and graduated from Shortridge High School in 1893 as valedictorian of her class. Around the age of sixteen, she enrolled in 1893 at DePauw University, the alma mater of her father and her other siblings, and became a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She also served as president of her class. Ritter graduated from DePauw in 1897 with a Bachelor of Philosophy (PhB) degree. Ritter later claimed to be influenced by two sorority sisters at DePauw who refused to limit themselves to conventional coursework and activities for women. Another early influence on Ritter was her German professor, Henry B. Longden, who incorporated culture, literature, and philosophy into his teaching of the German language, asking his students to view their studies in a much broader context. While attending college, Ritter met and began a relationship with Charles Austin Beard, a fellow student and her future husband. Beard, a native of Henry County, Indiana, was the son of a wealthy farmer and real-estate investor. After attending Spiceland Academy (a Quaker school in Henry County), Beard enrolled at DePauw University in 1894, and became a Phi Beta Kappa graduate in 1898. Marriage and family life After graduating from