Susan Burley Walker
KAPPA’S FIRST ALUMNA, Sue (Susan Burley) Walker (Vincent)
Family: Born June 27, 1855, in Virginia. Her family moved to Monmouth in 1863; home was on the corner of Broadway and North C Street. Parents were William Walker, M.D., and Elizabeth Burley.
Education: Attended Monmouth College 1870-71, most likely as a sub-freshman; only Founder to follow the scientific course of study instead of the classical course.
Kappa Record: Youngest Founder (age 14); the first member added to the group of the original four organizers March 1870; listed as Alpha 5. Unable to sign the charter because her mother was giving a formal dinner party and she was needed at home to help. First Alpha initiation held in her home (April 1, 1870).
Personal Data: Considered “the beauty” of the first Alphas. Married in 1876 Rev. Alvan Stuart Vincent. Had two daughters and one son; remembered for playing “The Kappa Waltz,” written and published by S. H. Price, a member of the Monmouth College Music Department, 1873. First Founder to die: May 2, 1897, age 41; buried in the Monmouth Cemetery.
Note: Fraternity history contains the least information on Sue. Josie Thompson (Brown), who was Anna Willits’s cousin, initiated at Sue Walker’s home (January 1871), also seems to have left college in 1871 and could possibly share the distinction with Sue of being the first Kappa alumna. Monmouth College records show no trace of Josie as a student, but do show that Sue left in 1871. Josie’s obituary states that she married soon after she left college; she married Rev. Isaac Brown in 1872; if 1872 is also the date she left Monmouth, then Sue is indeed the first alumna member. Sue was the only Founder who did not receive her college degree. All Fraternity histories agree that she is the first alumna.
Of the six Founders, only Lou Stevenson was formally initiated into membership. Before that, Anna Willits and then Sue Walker were only asked to join.
