Dr. Frances Wheeler Gregory
Professor of History 1950-1980
The following comments were made by Dr. Fred Anderson of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society upon the addition of Dr. Gregory to the University of Richmond Trustees' Honor Roll of Distinguished Faculty, Administrators and Staff, on January 8, 2006.
Frances Wheeler Gregory joined the faculty of Westhampton College in 1950 and continued to teach history until her retirement thirty years later. And even then, she never left the University of Richmond. She was among the faculty whose residences were on the campus. Daily, she could be seen on the walks and in the library. When she came to the Virginia Baptist Historical Society, we knew that as an Episcopalian it likely was not to research Baptist records. She usually came to visit the University Archives or to ask my advice on preserving her voluminous papers. On one visit she found that the front door squeaked. We probably told her that there were times that the old lock mechanism would not work properly. The next thing we knew here was this tiny lady, Fannie Gregory, shooting WD-40 into our lock.
John Rilling, professor of history emeritus, remembers the first time he met Dr. Gregory. Most of us do! She was unforgettable! He shares that he met her in April 1959 when Dr. George M. Modlin, the president, had invited him to campus for an interview. “Arriving on campus a bit early,” he recalls, “I proceeded to walk, crossing the bridge from the Richmond to the Westhampton side. As I started to walk back to Dr. Modlin’s office, a woman in a blue Chevy coupe honked her horn, pulled over and asked me if I wanted a ride. The woman was Frannie and both of us were to meet Dr. Modlin together.” He soon discovered that Frannie Gregory possessed “a healthy skepticism regarding academic administrators, especially deans” and remembers that “she went directly to Dr. Modlin, ‘the Prexy,’ as she called him.” John adds that “these meetings usually took place on Friday afternoon and Frannie almost always persuaded Dr. Modlin, in the end, to agree with her.”
She was obsessed with a man named Nathan Appleton, a Boston merchant from the late 1700s and early 1800s, and ferreted out every smidgeon of information on the person. She wrote a book on him which was published by the University of Virginia. She spent so much time with the man that she usually referred to Nathan Appleton as “Nate”. She was forever an historian. She had been well prepared at Sweet Briar, Columbia, and at Radcliffe where she earned a PhD in American history.
Another individual entered her life. As John Rilling reminds us, in the late Seventies, “near the Richmond airport, Frannie came upon an abandoned puppy whom she adopted and named ‘Lucky.’” He adds: “Never was a dog more appropriately named for the dog indeed was lucky to have Frannie as his owner. Lucky became Frannie’s almost constant companion and almost too-fierce defender.”
Frances Gregory knew the subject of history and she shared her appreciation for her country’s history and heritage with her students. She also cared about her students, these young women of Westhampton, and used history as a means to connect with the students. Again, Dr. Rilling recalls his colleague’s tea parties which were attended by her students and colleagues. Dr. Rilling summarizes that “Frannie’s legacy is to be found in the young women she inspired.” He observes: “She expected and only accepted academic work of the highest quality. As a consequence of her teaching and example, scores of young women left Westhampton with confidence and self-assurance that little was beyond their reach.” In 1987 the history department established the Francis W. Gregory Award which is given annually to the best graduate in history at Westhampton College. Through the award, Frances Wheeler Gregory is yet teaching.
In her sunset years she became enthralled with her own family’s story and their impact upon the town of Princeton, Massachusetts. She prepared a talk for the town and illustrated it with old home movies. Again, as she worked on this project as well as her personal papers, she came to the Virginia Baptist Historical Society. She wanted to be certain that everything was placed in the proper acid-free materials. And again, she came with her can of WD-40 which, by the way, remains in the storage closet against the day it is needed.
Miss Gregory died in 1998 at age 85.