From collection Member List
Founder Frances Elliot Mann (Hall) was born on October 6, 1853 in the seaport town of Yarmouth, Maine.
Devoted not only to her own education, but the education of others, Frances would be a life-long educator. She served as both a teacher and a student at the Hebron Academy in nearby Hebron, Maine as a teen. After graduating, she taught high school and served as a principal in Rockport, Maine. In 1873, she enrolled at Colby College.
Unfortunately, Frances E. Mann was forced to leave Colby College in her junior year due to frequent severe headaches and did not graduate. Even more tragic, the cause of her headaches - astigmatism - could have been easily remedied with glasses had it been known at the time!
Frances married George Washington Hall, a Colby graduate, in 1877. After a few years in Maine, Frances and George Hall moved west and Frances continued her lifelong vocation as a teacher. She also never lost her love for learning, continuing her studies at the University of Minnesota. In recognition, Colby College awarded Frances Mann Hall an AM degree in 1891.
In 1884, the Halls moved to Washington, D.C. where Frances taught Latin at one of the area high schools. In 1904, co-founded the Hall-Noyes School of Washington, one of the finest preparatory schools in the country. With a commitment to continued education that we might speculate came from Frances herself, the Hall-Noyes School included an evening school for Senate pages.
Frances Elliott Mann Hall died on February 6, 1935 at the age of 81. She is buried in the Old Ledge Cemetery in Yarmouth, Maine.
Related Items
Frances Mann Hall Cabinet Card, c. 1875
This portrait of Sigma Kappa Founder Frances (Fannie) Mann Hall was likely taken during her time at Colby College.
Frances Mann Hall to Sigma Kappa Letter, January 1, 1924
Frances Mann Hall,Alpha, Colby College, writes to Sigma Kappas about the ideals and mindset of the Founders when they founded the Sorority.
Louise Coburn to Sisters of Sigma Kappa Letter, June 22, 1933
In her greeting to the 1933 national convention, Founder Louise H. Coburn, Alpha, Colby College, writes about her fellow Founders and the ideals they had in founding Sigma Kappa.
Founders Coburn, Hall, Carver, and Pierce at Convention Photograph, 1924
Sigma Kappa Founders (back, left to right) Louise H. Coburn, Francis Mann Hall, (front, left to right) Mary Low Carver, and Ida Fuller Pierce pose together at the 1924 national convention in Waterville, Maine.
Unidentified Banquet Toast by Mary Low Carver
This rhyming toast discussing the Founders and the founding of Sigma Kappa was given by Founder Mary Low Carver, Alpha, Colby College, at an unidentified banquet.
Lorah Monroe Founders' Day Speech, 1932
Lorah S. Monroe, Alpha Eta, Illinois Wesleyan University, delivered this speech, focusing primarily on biographical and personal information about each of the Founders, at an unidentified Founders' Day event in 1932.
Frances Mann Hall to Lorah S. Monroe Letter
Frances Mann Hall,Alpha, Colby College, writes to Lorah S. Monroe,Eta, Illinois Wesleyan University, thanking her for flowers and saying that she hopes to meet with Monroe and other Sigma Kappas soon, likely for a national convention.
Unidentified Banquet Toast by Mary Low Carver
This rhyming toast discussing the Founders and the founding of Sigma Kappa was given by Founder Mary Low Carver, Alpha, Colby College, at an unidentified banquet.
Frances Hall to Sister Brown Letter, June 10, 1933
Frances Mann Hall, Alpha, Colby College, writes about her declining health and that she will be unable to attend the 1933 national convention.
