Delta Kappa Epsilon - University of Alabama

Sighs of Psi 5 FROM THE HISTORIAN T hings have been busy of late in DKE historical circles. We have a good bit to report: a nearly-forgotten DKE founder buried in Faunsdale, Alabama; the acquisition of a DKE pin belonging to a Psi brother and longtime Alabama Congressman of yore; the grave of an early Psi DKE located in Austin, Texas; and ongoing research into the identity of the Southern DKE who is the hero of the famous poem "Brothers in DKE." DKE Founder William Walter Horton Buried in Faunsdale, Alabama One of the enjoyable aspects of serving as the Psi Alumni Historian is interacting with other DKE historians, who are frequent sources of valuable information on both the Psi Chapter and the fraternity as a whole. One such person is Brother Sam Thomson, Zeta Zeta LSU '67, who serves as the Zeta Zeta Alumni Historian. Sam has done valuable research on the Zeta Zeta DKE Chapter, and recently informed me of a great DKE from the State of Alabama who is buried about an hour's drive south of Tuscaloosa, but who seems to have been largely forgotten within the state. This DKE is Brother William Walter Horton, Phi Yale 1846. Brother Horton was not a Psi DKE, having graduated from Yale the year before Psi was founded in 1847. Rather, he was one of the original 15 Yale undergraduates from the Class of 1846 who founded DKE at a meeting in New Haven, Connecticut, on June 22, 1844. At that meeting, the DKE name was adopted, along with the Greek motto, "Kerothen Philoi Aei" or "Friends from the Heart, Forever," as well as the DKE pin and the secret grip. Two weeks later, a committee chaired by Brother Horton drew up the written articles that formally organized the Brotherhood. 1 A fascinating eyewitness account of this initial meeting and the earliest days of the fraternity, written by DKE co-founder Brother Edward Griffin Bartlett, can be found on the website of DKE International (http://www. dke.org/founding). Brother Horton, who was from Huntsville, Alabama, and co-founder Brother Thomas Isaac Franklin, were both Southerners, so, despite its Northern origins, DKE can truly be said to have also been rooted in the South, and in Alabama, from its inception, rather than from the founding of the Gamma Vanderbilt and Psi Alabama chapters in 1847, three years later. Southern interest in DKE grew from the very beginning. As told in A Century and a Half of DKE-The Illustrated History of Delta Kappa Epsilon: Many wealthy southerners sent their sons to Yale, where they were attracted to the high standards and fellowship of DKE… So many of these young men joined Delta Kappa Epsilon that it became known as the "Southerners' Fraternity." Two DKE founders, Horton and Franklin, were, in fact, from below the Mason-Dixon Line, and from the following two classes, thirteen of thirty-eight Brothers were from the South. Interestingly, Brother Horton does not seem to have been involved with the founding of Psi in 1847, though he had graduated from Yale in June 1846. The organization and initiation of the first Psi DKEs was undertaken by Cyprian George Webster, Phi Yale 1848, from Mobile, and Charles Henry Foote, Phi Yale 1849, from Arkansas. Horton is said to have studied law at some point, which could explain his lack of involvement with the organization of Psi; Brothers Webster and Foote were still undergraduates at Yale, and obviously active in DKE, when they helped organize Psi in 1847. Since Horton apparently lived in Marengo County, some fifty miles or so from Tuscaloosa, during the 1850s, it seems entirely possible that he interacted with the Psi Chapter prior to the University's ban on fraternities in 1856, but we have no record of such. In any event, Brother Horton's seeming absence from any involvement with Psi may help explain why he is virtually unknown to the Chapter today, despite his status as a DKE founder and lifelong Alabamian. Brother Horton was born August 27, 1825, near Huntsville, Alabama, one of twelve children of Rodah Horton and Lucy Ann Otey (see photo). 2 Both parents were originally from Virginia, and migrated to the Huntsville area along with numerous other families from Virginia after northern Alabama was opened to large-scale settlement several years earlier. Both parents were also descendants of Revolutionary War veterans. Rodah Horton was a very successful (and wealthy) planter, and served in the Alabama legislature from 1836-1838. 3 He obviously joined in the Southern tradition of sending his son to be educated at Yale. "Horton was admittedly the foremost of his class in oratory, especially in extempore [i.e., spoken without preparation] debate," said Yale classmate and DKE co-founder Brother Barlett, in his account of DKE's founding. A good student, Horton won the prize for Latin translation in 1843, and he delivered a commencement oration, entitled "Thoughts on Viewing the Grave of General Braddock," at Yale commencement on August 19, 1847. 4 Horton reportedly studied law 5 but practiced for only a short time, "retiring to take charge of a plantation he owned in Marengo County, Alabama." He married Vandalia Van Dyke of Marengo County in 1853. At the time of the 1860 U.S. Census, he lived in Uniontown, Marengo County, Alabama, 6 with his wife, two daughters, Lucy and Mary, ages three and one, and owned $45,600 in real property and $91,010 in personal property (probably mostly slaves), and listed his occupation as "farmer." 7 Brother Horton served in the Confederate army during the Civil War. However, space limitations in our newsletter mandate that the remainder of this column, consisting of the rest of our story on DKE Founder William Walter Horton, including his Confederate service, his tragic early death, the quest to find his grave in Faunsdale, Alabama, and his surprising connection to the contemporary Psi Chapter, as well as other historical news of interest, will be found on the Psi Chapter's website at uadke.org under the "From the Historian" tab. In the Bonds, T. Semmes Favrot '82 New Orleans, La. Alumni Historian sfavrot@cox.net 1 A Century and a Half of DKE-The Illustrated History of Delta Kappa Epsilon, pages 1-3; see also the DKE International website: http://www.dke.org/founding/ 2 A Brief History of the Otey Family of Alabama, pages 9-10. 3 Huntsville Historical Quarterly, Vol. 32, Numbers 3-4, Winter 2006, page 30. 4 General Edward Braddock (1695 – 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the 13 American colonies at the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1765). He was shot and mortally wounded in battle while commanding a disastrous expedition against the French in Pennsylvania. George Washington presided at his burial service. Wikipedia.com. It seems likely that Horton passed his grave while traveling between Alabama and Yale. 5 The fact that Horton spoke at commencement in 1847, rather than 1846, suggests that he may have studied law there for a year after his class graduated in 1846. 6 Uniontown is now located in Perry County, but Horton's 1860 Census record clearly states that it was then in Marengo County. 7 Ancestry.com; Yale's Confederates: A Biographical Dictionary, by Nathaniel C. Hughes, 2008, page 103-104. 1934 photograph of the antebellum home of Rodah Horton, father of DKE Founder W. Walter Horton, near Huntsville, Ala. Construction of this home was completed around the time that Walter Horton co-founded DKE at Yale in 1844, and Founder Horton likely lived there for some time before moving to Marengo County. The home was demolished in 1949. Photo for the Historic American Buildings Survey.

• Cover