Corrects and supplants any previously writings on this subject by the author
and specifically serves as a correction and supplement to
“Persevering Sturdily: The History of the Kappa Deuteron Chapter of
Phi Gamma Delta, 1871-1998,” Joseph T. Fleming and C. Clay Stoddard, Jr.,
Atlanta, Georgia, 1998, Library of Congress catalog card number: 98-207830

THE FIFTH FRATERNITY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, Athens, Georgia, preceded only by Sigma Alpha Epsilon in 1866, Chi Phi in 1867, Kappa Alpha in 1869 and Phi Delta Theta on January 6, 1871, the Kappa Deuteron chapter of The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta was chartered on April 3, 1871.

In September 1870, and perhaps earlier, the five founders of the Kappa Deuteron Chapter – five students at The University of Georgia with the blessings of then University Chancellor Andrew A. Lipscomb – had written the Fraternity to indicate their interest in affiliating with Her.

“To the Grand Chapter of PGD Fraternity: 

We whose names are hereunto affixed do earnestly desire that you grant a charter for the organization of a chapter at the University of Georgia.  We hereby pledge ourselves to a sacred observance of all requirements.

 

Wm. Wynne

E. Cody

E. L. Antony

R. L. Berner

C. E. Harman

 
The handwritten September 1870 petition for Charter
signed by the five founders of the Kappa Deuteron chapter of Phi Gamma Delta

Their request was approved by the Grand Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta on January 19, 1871. 

The handwritten request to affiliate with Phi Gamma Delta appears to be in the penmanship of William Wynne, who was the chapter’s second president after the graduation just months after the charter was received of the first president, Bob Berner. Presuming that William Wynne was therefore the driving force behind the effort to colonize the “Delta Association” at the University of Georgia, what led him to seek out Phi Gamma Delta. Was he exposed to a member of the fraternity in his hometown of Washington, Georgia? Did he choose Phi Gamma Delta simply on reputation or word of mouth? Was there a member of the faculty at the school who, learning of his interested in starting a fraternity at Georgia, suggested Phi Gamma Delta, or was himself a member – jtf?

The five founders (two sophomores, two juniors, and one senior) were:

• Edwin Le Roy Antony, sophomore, originally of Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia who moved to Milam County, Texas as a child, and returned to The University of Georgia for his college education;
   
• Robert Lee Berner, a senior, originally of Jasper County, Georgia, but who later moved to Monroe County, Georgia and later to Macon, Bibb County, Georgia;
   
• Emmett Cody, sophomore, of Cusseta, Chattahoochee County, Georgia;
   
• Charles Edward Harman, a junior, of Forsyth, Monroe County, Georgia, who later settled in Atlanta and DeKalb County, Georgia; and
   
• William Wynne, a junior, of Washington, Wilkes County, Georgia.

KAPPA DEUTERON at the University of Georgia was evidently “closed” in 1874 along with the rest of the fraternity system by Chancellor Henry H. Tucker, a Baptist minister who had formerly been president of Mercer for six years.

Chancellor Tucker banned fraternities from the campus because he was of the opinion that they exercised harmful influences on the students, aroused class enmity, and stood in the way of close attention to scholastic duties.  Each student on registering had to agree not to join a secret fraternity while a student at the college.

 
Reported to be a picture of the
Kappa Deuteron brothers ca. 1871
in front of New College
 

History of the University of Georgia, by Thomas Walter Reed; Chapter VII: The Administration of Chancellor Andrew A. Lipscomb from 1866 to 1874, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, ca. 1949, p. 962 of the original typed manuscript:

“No doubt there had been considerable criticism of Greek letter fraternities at The University of Georgia.  They were said to militating against the interests of the literary societies and there were charges that they were a menace to studious habits among there members.  At any rate, the trustees took the matter in hand and passed a resolution that barred them from the University. T he resolution was as follows:

'That the Chancellor shall require each student on application for matriculation to sign a pledge to join no secret society other than Demosthenian and Phi Kappa societies.'

... The ban against fraternities lasted five years. The boys had different ways of getting around the new law, for numbers of them did join the Greek letter societies.  Some would join before they registered.  They could then live up to the pledge they had to sign, for they were already members when they signed.  Others were join in the summer when the University was not in session and its authorities had no control over the actions of the students.

The rule was not a popular one, it was difficult to enforce, and it was repealed a year after the beginning of the administration of Chancellor Mell, who was a great friend of the fraternities.

[Indeed, in fact, Chancellor Mell had at least three sons who were members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at The University of Georgia.  One son, Edward Baker Mell, “like his father, was very fond of the Greek letter fraternities, and he came into college at a time when Chancellor Boggs and the secret fraternities were not on good terms. Young Mell was a Sigma Alpha Epsilon and devoted to his fraternity. So he left the University of Georgia and went over to Auburn, Ala. to finish his education.” This from Reed’s "History of the University of Georgia," p. 1620.. ”]

Continued from p. 981 of the original manuscript:

“Upon quite a large number of students in the University Chancellor Tucker made anything but a favorable impression by his opposition to secret fraternities.  There were five Greek letter fraternities on campus. In order of there establishment they were Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 1866, Chi Phi, 1867, Kappa Alpha, 1869, Phi Delta Theta, 1871, Phi Gamma Delta, 1871.

Chancellor Tucker was honestly of the opinion that they exercised a harmful influence, that they aroused class enmity, that they stood in the way of close attention to scholastic duties, etc. It was not long before they were banned by the Trustees.  This was, of course, resented by the members of the five fraternities, but they were powerless to override the established rule of the college.  Each student, on registering, had to agree not to join a secret fraternity while a member of the college.

The students signed up alright, but at the same time they joined fraternities.  They hadn’t agreed not to join during vacation periods, when they would not be members of the college.  So they joined during those period and considered that they had not violated their pledge.

And it is highly probably that they met whenever they got ready to do so, for who could prevent a number of students gathering in a room for a social evening? It was not necessary to for it to be called a fraternity meeting.  They just met.  A number of those boys, in after life, became leaders in both state and national affairs.  It was inevitable that Chancellor Tucker’s position would be reversed, and so it came to pass when Chancellor Mell went into office.  He told the trustees before he accepted the position that the ban against fraternities would have to be lifted.  And that was one of the first things done after he became Chancellor.”

* * *

Nonetheless, operating sub rosa, without University recognition, the record indicates that at least 24 men were initiated into the mysteries of Phi Gamma Delta between 1874 and 1878, when the ban on fraternities was lifted by Chancellor Patrick Hues Mell who succeeded Tucker.

 The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, August 16, 1878, p. 4:

 SECRET SOCIETIES.

We learn that the faculty of the State university have unanimously agreed to restore the secret societies which were abolished some three years ago.  The trustees at the recent commencement left this matter entirely in the hands of the faculty.  Their resolution is wise, for there are fewer incentives to studious habits and general good conduct than those furnished by the best secret societies.  Their restoration will work well.

But the Chapter was now dead; no new initiates were reported between 1878 and 1884.

 
Seal of the
Kappa Deuteron Chapter
of Phi Gamma Delta
Translation: “Persevering Sturdily”

A letter of May 5, 1883, in the Fraternity archives from the fraternity’s Committee on the Condition of the Order, notes:

 The “prohibition against secret Fraternities in the Institution, which resulted in the Kappa Deuteron Chapter becoming extinct, is said to have been repealed.”

Whether as a result of the University’s ban on fraternities or precipitated by a steep decline in the enrollment at the University ... in 1873, two years after Phi Gamma Delta has colonized in Athens, The University had 312 students.  By 1878, fewer than 116 students were enrolled, the “extinct” Kappa Deuteron Chapter was granted a second charter in 1884.  Chancellor Mell, on March 13, 1884, personally wrote the Grand Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta in New York urging that the Fraternity permit seven of his students to “form a chapter” at the University of Georgia.

 “It gives me pleasure to testify that Messrs. Robert L. Moye, P.  H. Adams, R.  M. Harbin, T.  W. Harbin, J.  P. Perry, J. W. Anderson, and W.  H. Whipple are students in this University, that they maintain high standing in their classes as scholars, and that their moral character is unimpeachable.  They have my entire confidence, and I cordially commend them to your confidence.  They have my cordial consent to form a chapter of your Fraternity in this University.”

Shortly thereafter, the following notice appeared in The Phi Gamma Delta magazine, May/June 1884 issue:

 “Born at the University of Georgia, Kappa Deuteron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta.  We welcome her to our order and extend to her our love.  May she prosper forever!”

Thus the “second founders” who resurrected the dormant chapter in Athens are:

• · Percy Hoyle Adams,
  · James William Anderson,
  · Robert Maxwell Harbin,
  · Thomas Witherspoon Harbin,
  · Robert Leiden Moye,
  · John Philip Perry^†, and

• · William Holliman Whipple.

• ^†[There is no record in the archives of the International Headquarters of Phi Gamma Delta that John Philip Perry was ever initiated; did he graduate, perhaps, before the 1884 charter was received?  Or was he in fact initiated and his name lost from the rolls of the chapter by oversight.  His name appears in none of the major catalogues of members published in 1940, 1925, or 1900 – jtf],

As postulated before, what led this group of seven men to seek to restore Kappa Deuteron’s place at the University?  Were they persuaded by one of the Brothers from the first period of the chapter’s existence from 1871-1878?  Was one acquainted with the fraternity or a fraternity Brother from his hometown?  Was there a specific Phi Gam living in Athens or teaching at the University who steered them in the direction of Phi Gamma Delta?  Can it be assumed that Robert Moye was the leading force because his name appears first in Chancellor Mell’s letter to the Grand Chapter?

Phi Gamma Delta Kappa Deuteron chapter ... 1884

Standing, back row, left to right: Thomas Witherspoon Harbin, Allen Pettit Moye,
Peyton Lisby Wade, Eugene Washburn Wade, Asa Wesley Griggs,
Percy Hoyle Adams and Howell Cobb Strickland.

Front row, sitting, left to right: William Henry Cobb,
Robert Maxwell Harbin and William Holliman Whipple.

◊◊◊

In 1886, all seems to be going well for the Kappa Deuteron chapter.  In their correspondence to the Grand Chapter published in The Phi Gamma Delta Quarterly, January 1886, the Athens Phi Gams wrote:

 “The Happy Twelve, as we now term ourselves, are in a most prosperous condition, and our future outlook is most flattering.  We begin the year with nine men, and since then three new initiates into our ranks have been made ... Our chapter has just refitted one of the finest halls in the city.  We now have a room of which Phi Gamma Deltas are proud.”

In September of 1889, note was made of the various positions occupied by the Georgia Phi Gams on campus.  Included in this list were the secretary of the junior class, the president and vice-president of Phi Kappa Literary Society, and the president of the Demosthenian Society just to name a few.

 The Pandora, 1888
The University of Georgia annual/yearbook
"Fishing for Freshmen"

 But less than a year later, the Chapter would be gone again.

The last few months of existence of Kappa Deuteron at the University of Georgia are reflected in a letter sent by the Chapter to The Phi Gamma Delta magazine.  Although the relative numerical strength put the Chapter far from the top of the list of other fraternities present at the time, the historian wrote:

 “What we lack in quantity, we make up in quality.  We undoubtedly have the cream of the college and are justly proud of our Chapter.”

The final known correspondence of the Chapter foreshadows Her demise.  A letter from Hiram Oscar Crittenden to The Phi Gamma Delta Quarterly, June 1890 sadly reports:

 “We are sorry to have to say that Kappa Deuteron is now not enjoying that enthusiastic prosperity which characterized her in the first years of her re-establishment ... This has been a year of many serious inter-fraternity quarrels here ... Now all is quiet again, but a secret hate still lingers and is liable to crop out at any moment ... Wishing heartily for the success of all sister chapters, and hoping we can soon make a more favorable report for ourselves, the scribe bids you adieu.”

No concrete reason has been found for the disappearance of Kappa Deuteron from the University of Georgia, but it can be speculated that a combination of pressure from the administration and lack of membership forced the Chapter to cease by 1890, leaving a total of 73 men wearing the Black Diamond.

Legend has it, however, that internal strife had a part in the Chapter’s demise.

University students were forbidden to leave campus without permission.  When the circus came to town, many Brothers decided to go, even though it was not sanctioned by the University.  One Brother reported the incident to the administration, bringing punishment on the traveling Brothers.  In retaliation, the Brothers forced the informer from membership.  When University officials learned of this, they in turned forced Phi Gamma Delta from the Georgia campus.  In the group picture of 1890, one face has apparently been rubbed out, that of the informer.  This explanation comes to us from Charles Edward Harman III, grandson of Founder Charles Edward Harman.

 
 It is this picture that is associated with the “circus incident,”
which may have been the reason for
the Kappa Deuteron chapter’s demise in 1890.

 * * *

In 1890, at the time of Phi Gamma Delta’s disappearance from Athens, there were troublesome divisions between some fraternities.  Writes Thomas Walter Reed in his History of the University of Georgia, ca. 1949, p. 1550:

“There was a big row among some of the secret fraternities during this year [1890].  The details just now escape my memory, but they were such as to arouse the opposition of Chancellor Boggs, who suspended the fraternities until the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees, and then made report to the governing body, stating:

‘This discipline seems to have had a salutary effort, though it remains true that in one way or another, the fraternities are connected with nearly every difficulty among students.  The evils of these secret clubs are apparent, but the remedy is not so clear.  Among the evils, so I am told, whenever fraternities appears, comes the decline of the literary societies, from which students would otherwise derive educational benefits about equal to those of any chair.  Literary qualifications seem to make no figure in their membership now.  In Chancellor Tucker’s time, they were abolished.  Chancellor Mell, it is said, valued them as a means of governing the students.  Just how he used them, I do not know.  Their open existence now is ascribed to his agency.  I think that every member of the faculty agrees with me in believing them to be a great evil.’

The eight fraternities at the University, resenting the action of Chancellor Boggs, presented a document to the Board of Trustees in which they gave their side of the question.  This memorial was not in a belligerent tone.  It was rather submissive.  The boys were seeking to make peace and get back on a recognized footing.  The trustees did not abolish the fraternities, but a very firm and impressive lesson was read to the boys by the trustees, who said that in view of the statement made by the fraternities, that they considered the law of the University above that of the fraternities and their pledge to observe the University regulations and that proper apology had been made to Chancellor Boggs, and that promise of more attention to be given in the future to the literary societies had been given, it was not necessary to discuss or pass on the abolishing of fraternities.”

* * *

There is also some evidence to lay blame on a rival fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, for Kappa Deuteron’s demise.  Many of the Chapter’s early correspondences reference the enmity between Phi Gamma Delta and Sigma Alpha Epsilon.  Indeed, SAE – of the eight fraternities at the University of Georgia – “seceded from the others” in publishing the Pandora.  The final letter to the Grand Chapter gives evidence that the Georgia Phi Gams were at the center of inter-fraternity hostilities.  A short time before Phi Gamma Delta’s exit, the Kappa Deuteron chapter correspondent noted:

 “We rejoice in the fact that we are on friendly terms with all the fraternities here, with the exception of Sigma Alpha Epsilon ...”

Attempts were made thereafter to explore the possibility of once again restoring the Kappa Deuteron Chapter, including in 1911 and 1926, but to no avail, that is, until 1966, when Phi Gamma Delta re-colonized at The University of Georgia.

These are the men of the KAPPA DEUTERON chapter
of PHI GAMMA DELTA at The University of Georgia
from 1871 until its demise in 1890
The link above is to a large text file containing biographical notes on each of the following: