Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity was founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Six young women were indeed pioneers when they dared to march into the most public part of the Monmouth College campus, its chapel, on October 13, 1870, wearing their golden keys in their hair.
The six collegians who started the Kappa
journey were (from left to right):
Top Row: Hannah Jeannette Boyd, Mary Moore Stewart (Nelson, Field), Anna Eliizabeth Willits
Bottom Row: Mary Louise Bennett , Martha Louisa Stevenson, Susan Burley Walker.
Mary Moore (Minnie) Stewart, the first President of Alpha Chapter, studied in the scientific department and graduated in 1872. She was the daughter of Isabella and James Stewart. He was a prominent lawyer and judge, and an early supporter and acquaintance of Abraham Lincoln. Minnie became a teacher in the Monmouth public schools and later a principal in Eustis, Florida. She was married twice, first to William Nelson whom she divorced in 1878 on grounds of desertion, and then to Lucius Field, an artist. Minnie and Mr. Nelson had two children, Harvey and Isabella, who died five months apart. The Stewart family monument near Minnie's grave reads, "If I am bereft of my children, I am bereft!" Harvey had been the first baby born to a Kappa and was given an engraved silver baby cup by Alpha Chapter, which is now on display at The Stewart House. Minnie died in 1898 at the age of 46 and is buried in Monmouth. She initiated Beta Chapter and took an active part in the organization of several others. She continued to retain her interest in the Fraternity even after the withdrawal of the chapter at Monmouth College. At the time of her death, the Fraternity had grown to 27 chapters. Minnie's older sister Belle was the last honorary member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, initiated at age 80 by Gamma Xi Chapter, UCLA, October 25, 1930. It is said that she had helped Minnie with details in the organization of the Fraternity, having graduated from Monmouth College in 1869, a year before Kappa's founding. Their younger sister Lucretia ("Crissie") had been initiated as a sub-freshman in 1877 at the age of 15, after Monmouth College banned Greek organizations and while Alpha Chapter was operating sub-rosa. Minnie spent the final six months of her life trying to trace and locate all members of Alpha Chapter for Fraternity historical records.
Anna Elizabeth Willits was a sub-freshman (a student at Monmouth Academy secondary school) at the time of her initiation. She was the daughter of Judge Elias Willits and his wife Elizabeth Fish. Anna received both her B.A. and M.A. degrees from Monmouth College and married Henry H. Pattee, a wealthy businessman in Monmouth. She was a lifelong resident of Monmouth, participated in community service, P.E.O., and served on the Monmouth Board of Education. She was also the adviser to the local sorority, Kappa Alpha Sigma, when it was formed at Monmouth College in 1900. Anna died in Chicago in 1908 from complications following surgery, shortly before the Fraternity's 19th Biennial Convention. She is buried in Monmouth in the Pattee family plot. Of the 33 chapters in existence at the time of her death, all but six remain. Anna had a son Allan and at least one daughter, who later recalled her mother playing "The Kappa Waltz" on the piano. During the re-establishment of Alpha Chapter in 1934, Anna's granddaughter Frances Pattee was initiated with her badge, which is now the only remaining founder's badge whose whereabouts is known. (It is a Fraternity oddity that only Anna's badge has been found, from the original order for twelve badges placed in the spring of 1870. It seems to have been a practice among the first Alphas to pass their badges to new members. Jennie Boyd and Lou Stephenson were given new badges by alumna associations. )
Susan Burley (Sue) Walker, another founder buried in Monmouth, was considered by the others to be the beauty of the group. She was the daughter of a Monmouth physician and was the youngest founder at age 14, most likely as a sub-freshman. Sue was one of the first initiates (before October 13th) and it was at her home that the initiation was held. She left school without a degree in 1872 (the only founder who did not receive her college degree) and became the first alumna of the Fraternity. Soon after leaving Monmouth College, she married Rev. A. S. Vincent, however Fraternity history contains little information on her life. She died in 1897, at the early age of 41, the first of the founders to pass away.
Hannah Jeanette (Jennie) Boyd, Kappa's first Secretary and the oldest founder, graduated from Monmouth in 1875 and taught school for years in the East Ward School in Monmouth and in the public schools in Omaha, Kansas. She had been raised on a large farmstead in Monmouth. Jennie never married and considered her Kappa sister and sister-in-law, Louise Bennett Boyd, her "sister." Jennie was described as having executive ability, a keen and analytical mind, and was the first Grand Secretary of Kappa Kappa Gamma in 1871. Ill during her later years, Jennie died in 1927 while on a visit to her brother in Florida, tended by Lou, and is buried in Green Cove springs. Two nieces, Helen Boyd Whiteman and Katherine Boyd Graham, were initiated by Alpha Chapter in 1934.
Mary Louise (Lou) Bennett, the only founder who lived to see Kappa grow through 77 years, graduated from Monmouth in 1872 and married Jennie's brother, Rev. Joseph Boyd. Prior to her marriage she had been a debater and teacher. She became a busy pastor's wife, living from coast to coast, and had no children. She and her husband lived in Jacksonville, Florida, for several years, then retired to Penney Farms, Florida. Lou co-founded with Minnie Stewart Kappa's second chapter, Beta at St. Mary's School in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1871, which marked the beginning of Kappa's extension program. Blind almost the last ten years of her life, Lou was widowed in 1932, died in 1947 at age 94, and is buried next to Jennie in Green Cove Springs. At the time of her death, there were 76 chapters in existence, and 39,566 initiated members. Because of her frail health and failing eyesight, she attended only two Fraternity functions later in life, the re-establishment of Alpha Chapter in 1934 and the opening of the Boyd Hearthstone in 1932, which was dedicated to her. Lou is Kappa's first listed member, "Alpha 1," on the permanent roll of membership. The 1934 Fraternity History was dedicated to her, and as the longest surviving founder, she assisted with efforts to reconstruct Alpha Chapter's history.
Martha Louisa (Lou) Stevenson was born into a prominent family that came to Peoria, Illinois from Tarkio, Missouri, the daughter of Joseph Stevenson and Mary Jane Patton. Lou was another early initiate and the youngest Kappa. She graduated from Monmouth in 1874. Six months later, she married William Oliver Miller and had three sons and a daughter. Her husband was a member of Phi Delta Theta and a founder of Tarkio College. They lived on a farm near Monmouth for five years, then in Tarkio, Missouri, and finally in Kansas City for over 40 years. Lou was one of the two living founders who participated in the ceremonies which re-established Alpha Chapter at Monmouth College in 1934. Having a remarkable memory for details of the early years of Alpha Chapter, Lou was instrumental in providing information about the history of the Fraternity. After a long illness, she died in 1938 and is buried in Tarkio. Her niece, Annabel Stevenson McClanahan, and her cousin, Louise Patton, were initiated by Alpha Deuteron in 1934. Lou attended three Biennial Conventions (1930, 1932, 1936) and assisted in the reconstruction of the history of Alpha Chapter. Lou donated to the Fraternity furniture from her family's home which had been used for the first formal meeting, and she furnished one bedroom and much of the dining room at The Boyd Hearthstone. Her autograph book is in the archives of Alpha Deuteron Chapter, a book which lists the first member dismissed from the Fraternity.
