(October 6, 1853 - February 6, 1935)
Frances Elliott Mann was born the daughter of a sea captain on October 6, 1853 in the seaport town of Yarmouth, Maine. Her father, Captain William Mann, died of yellow fever in 1861, leaving his wife, Charlotte Elizabeth Mann, to support her three young children alone. With her mother teaching school to make ends meet, 8-year old Frances was given the hefty responsibility of caring for her younger brothers, William and Louis. Under these circumstances, it would have been easy and not uncommon for Frances to give up on her dream of an education, but Frances would not be deterred. Despite the fact that her efforts to further her own education were often interrupted by family commitments, she persisted.
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 decided to further her education and enrolled at Colby College.
A beautiful girl, “femininne to the tips of her toes,” Frances was known for her vivacity, wit, and humor. She was responsible for the ideals of Sigma Kappa, the open motto, and the name Sigma Kappa itself. One of her fellow Founders said of Frances that her keenness and practicality helped the fledgling organization through many rough patches.
Unfortunately, like her classmate and fellow Founder Ida Fuller, Frances 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!
Although her mother thought she was too young - an unusual opinion at the time and perhaps an indication that Charlotte Mann was ahead of her time - Frances married George Washington Hall, a Colby graduate, in 1877. After a few years in Maine, Frances and George Hall moved west and, not content to be only a loving wife and capable housekeeper, 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 Mann Hall was instrumental in the granting of a charter to Zeta chapter at George Washington University in 1906. In speaking of Sigma Kappa, Frances Hall once said: “I think we builded well. We built on solid rock.” Her farewell in 1935 was simple and sincere: “Take my love to all the chapters - God bless them and you.” 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.
