If all goes according to plan, William Perkins ’27 will walk across the Commencement stage on Wheeler Mall exactly 100 years after his great-grandmother Margaret “Peggy” Harvey Barham Wallace ’27 received her diploma from what was then known as State Teachers College.
Perkins, who arrived on campus last fall as part of the Class of 2027, represents the fifth generation of his family on his mother’s side—and the first male—to attend what is now Longwood University. The generations that came before Perkins started with his great-great-grandmother, Louise Grey Hamlin Barham, who attended what was then Female State Normal School in the late 1890s and became a schoolteacher. Then came his great-grandmother Wallace ’27, also a teacher; his grandmother Julia Grey Wallace Sweeney ’59, a teacher as well; and his mother, Grey Sweeney ’86, who was the first to depart from the family career path and became a lawyer.
Louise Grey Barham’s father, Wood Jones Hamlin, was also a schoolteacher and insisted his daughters receive an education after grade school—which was not common in the late 1800s.
All of the women in our family have greatly valued our legacy of Longwood education. Having that legacy continue through my son, William, is beyond special.
Grey Sweeney ’86 Tweet This
“Our family has a very long history of teachers and placed an emphasis on the education of women,” said Sweeney. “All of the women in our family have greatly valued our legacy of Longwood education. Having that legacy continue through my son, William, is beyond special.”
Given that family history, one might assume that when it came time for Perkins to begin looking at colleges Longwood would have been at the top of the list. But that wasn’t the case.
Sweeney said she purposely did not push the idea of attending Longwood on her son, who grew up in Virginia Beach and then moved to New Orleans, where he graduated with honors from Jesuit High School of New Orleans. He entertained many college options.
“I wanted him to have choices and not feel obligated to attend Longwood because of our family legacy,” Sweeney said. “I never said, ‘I’m fourth generation and you could be fifth.’ That’s a lot of pressure.”
In the fall of his junior year, they made a trip back home to Virginia to visit colleges and Longwood was the first stop. After the campus tour, Perkins was sold that Longwood was his top choice. Still, his mother insisted they continue on with their scheduled visits at other universities. They toured Virginia Commonwealth University the next day and then canceled their remaining visits. Perkins knew—Longwood was it.
“Longwood felt like home to me, and Longwood felt like home to William the moment he set foot on campus,” Sweeney said. “It’s one of those cheesy, unbelievable stories. I think it’s genetic at this point.”
While Sweeney went out of her way not to push the idea of going to Longwood on her son, for previous generations of her family attending college in Farmville was very much encouraged. Fond memories and stories were passed down similar to family heirlooms.
Perkins’ grandmother, Julia Grey Wallace Sweeney, attended what was then known as Longwood College. After graduating in 1959 she taught biology in Princess Anne County and then Virginia Beach Public Schools for more than 40 years. Sweeney said that growing up her mother would tell stories about her time at Longwood, where she was a biology major and president of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. Her mother would bring her to campus for sorority events or to visit with faculty.
“She loved Longwood,” Sweeney said. “Dr. Jeffers was her mentor and her advisor. Mother was a fearless biology student, and her specialty was dissection.”
The 1956 edition of The Virginian yearbook shows that Julia Grey was a member of the Granddaughters Club, which was for daughters and granddaughters of alumnae. She was both.
A student record book located in the university archives shows Louise Grey Hamlin Barham having enrolled in 1895 and financial records show that her father paid her tuition and board from September 1895 to April 1896. It is unclear which year she matriculated, but by 1900 she was back in Brunswick County teaching at Pleasant Shade School in her hometown of Totaro, Virginia.
Later, Barham sent two of her daughters to State Teachers College. Margaret, a member of the Class of 1927, and Laeta Barham Hirons ’35, were also members of the Granddaughters Club during their years at State Teachers College. An edition of Rotunda from March 1926 lists Hamlin and her daughter, Laeta, as visitors to the college for Founders Day—likely visiting Margaret, who was then a student.
Margaret Harvey Barham Wallace ’27 was a first-grade teacher for more than 42 years in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. While in college she was on the Rotunda staff, and a member of the Cotillion Club, Y.W.C.A. Social Committee, Athletic Association and Argus Literary Society. She was also a member of Mu Omega sorority.
Laeta Barham Hirons was also very active and involved as a student in the 1930s. Sweeney recently donated three scrapbooks of memorabilia kept by her great aunt to the university archives.
Sweeney attended Longwood from 1982 to 1986 and graduated with dual degrees in political science and English. She was a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. She went on to earn a law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law in 1989 and a built a career as a medical malpractice defense attorney. She currently serves as associate general counsel at Patient First, based in Richmond.
“I broke the mold of being an educator by going to law school,” she said, noting she was the first Longwood graduate in her family who didn’t pursue a career in the classroom. “But I’ve always said that teaching a jury about medical concepts is a form of adult education!”
Perkins seems likely to continue to breaking that mold. He, too, is majoring in political science, but he may add a criminology minor to his minor in creative writing. He aspires to work for a government agency, perhaps the FBI or CIA. He was excited by the opportunity to attend a networking event on campus last fall with potential employers.
Perkins’ passions are current events and politics and he also enjoys writing, especially fiction. During his visit to Longwood, he took a campus tour and had the opportunity to meet with English department faculty members, including Dr. David Magill and Dr. Brett Hursey. He was impressed by the meeting and the fact that they challenged him, he said, in a good way. He also really liked the self-contained nature of campus, the small class sizes and the classical architecture.
I didn’t come here because of being fifth generation. It was nice to have that in the background, but basically I decided to come to Longwood because of the campus and the academics. I could see myself being challenged here.
William Perkins ’27 Tweet This
“I didn’t come here because of being fifth generation,” Perkins said. “It was nice to have that in the background, but basically I decided to come to Longwood because of the campus and the academics. I could see myself being challenged here.”
With one semester under his belt, Perkins remains very happy with his choice—and reveling in some of the family connections. Last fall he sent a text to his mother after having a meal at Walker’s Diner on Main Street in downtown Farmville.
“It’s cool that I am sitting at the same counter where you sat many years ago—but I guess that applies to the whole campus, too, huh?” he wrote.
Ultimately, Perkins applied to only one school—Longwood. He was thrilled when he got his acceptance in fall 2022. Sweeney was elated as well.
“I was thrilled because I could stop not pushing my school on him,” she said with a laugh.
And Perkins’ grandmother was especially over the moon that her grandson would carry on the family tradition. Sweeney said she mentioned it to Julia Grey every time she saw her until her death two months later.
“William was settled on it. And my mother knew that he was accepted and going to Longwood before she passed away. It’s an incredible legacy,” she said. “We are definitely a very Longwood family.”
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