User:Jacobycurtiss/sandbox



= Virginia Juanita Gregg =

Virginia Juanita Gregg (September 6,1919-February 11, 1953

An American born female notable for being the first white child born at what was then referred to as "Point Barrow, Alaska " The village of Barrow was located at the northern most point in the United States (north of the Arctic Circle). Point Barrow, named in 1825 by Captain Beechey of the Royal Navy for Sir John Barrow, second secretary of the British Admiralty. Beechey was plotting the Arctic coastline of North America at the time and discovered the headland. Locally though, the name "Ukpeagvik" continues.

Early life
Virginia Juanita Gregg was born September 6, 1919 in the home of Charles Brower and upon her delivery, a United States flag was hoisted and flown to commemorate and celebrate the occasion of being the first white child born in an Eskimo community. In 1886, Charles D. Brower arrived in Barrow as a whaling crew member. Brower established a trading post at Barrow and became its first white settler. Eventually he learned Inupiaq, married two Native women and fathered 14 children. To this day, many of the community's leaders, white and Eskimo, bear his surname. By 1893, he and partner Tom Gordon were running their own whaling operation. Their Cape Smythe Whaling and Trading Company established the first store in Barrow in 1893. Brower's whaling station, store, and home can still be seen in Barrow today. The residential "suburb" of Barrow was named Browerville in his honor.

Virginia Gregg was the daughter of Belva Sullivan and James Edward Gregg. Both parents were Government employees with the Bureau of Education sent to Barrow with the medical, schools and reindeer services which offered medical care and education to the native Iñupiat, an indigenous Inuit ethnic group. The Reindeer Services were established in Alaska in 1892 when the Bureau of Education imported 171 head of Reindeer from Siberia. The object of the importation was to furnish a source of supply for food and clothing to the Eskimos in the vicinity of Bering Strait. This importation was continued until 1902, and a total of 1,280 reindeer were brought from Siberia. This industry had given to the Alaskan Eskimos not only food and clothing, but a means of transportation superior to dog teams. Instead of being nomadic hunters eking out a precarious existence on the vast untimbered lands of the Arctic coast region "the Eskimos," according to the Bureau's bulletin "Assured support and opportunity to acquire wealth by the sale of meat and skins to the white men." The reindeer industry was carefully guarded. "No native was permitted to sell or otherwise dispose of a female reindeer to any person other than a native of Alaska." This was done, "lest white men deprive the natives of their reindeer and destroy this great native industry which the Bureau of Education had built up and fostered." The reindeer service was an integral part of the educational system of the Bureau of Education for northern and western Alaska. The district superintendents of schools were also superintendents of the reindeer service. The ambitious young natives were selected by superintendents as apprentices in the reindeer service, receiving 6, 8 or 10 reindeer at the close of the first, second and third years, respectively, and 10 more at the close of the fourth year. Upon the satisfactory termination of his apprenticeship, the native becomes a herder and assumes entire charge of a herd.

Parents
Virginia Gregg's mother Belva Sullivan was born 21 March 1890 in Ellsinore, Missouri and was later instrumental and active in the founding of the Universal Christ Church. In her earlier years, Belva's occupation was that of a nurse and later found her calling in Religious teaching, ministering and healing. Belva was an active minister until her death on Feb 23, 1975 in Los Angeles, California. James Edward Gregg was born in Paris, Kentucky on Sep 2, 1884 but other sources cite his birth as being 1874 depending on the source. James Gregg was reportedly the son of a Native Cherokee mother "Marie Charlotte" (Christian given name). Not much is known about the life of James Gregg except that he had a background in law and reportedly served in clandestine military operations during the First and possibly Second World Wars. His military records have been "misplaced" or "esponged" from public record. James Gregg died in San Diego on Dec 26, 1974. His death was shrouded in as much mystery as his life. His family had no idea of his whereabouts, existence or even the occasion of his passing. It wasn't learned until many decades later that James Gregg died in 1974.

The Ketchikan Daily News :

The details of Virginia Gregg's birth are as follows: At the time of child labor, James and Belva Gregg boarded the trading schooner "Herman" Commanded by Captain Pedersen, one of the best known arctic skippers. Leaving from the village of Wainwright and in a race with the stork, they began their journey to Point Barrow. Captain Pedersen noted that the ice conditions were worse that he had seen them in more than 30 years. Normally, the trip from Wainwright to Barrow should have taken only 2 days but the ice flows were so thick and the leads between them were so narrow and torturous that after 11 days, they were still 20 miles from the shore of Point Barrow. Several times, they had to blast dynamite to keep the ice from crushing the schooner. As the schooner lie still in the lee of broken ice, the crew of the schooner noticed four men dressed like Eskimos but heavily beared approach the vessel and climb on to the decks. To their astonishment, they were the last four members of the Vilhjalmur Stefansson's expedition and had not seen civilization for 6 years. The four men were somewhat embarrassed by the presence of the white woman but after they had shaved and finished a hearty meal, they learned of the situation and suggested that they might take Mrs. Gregg to Barrow by sled and skin boat. Accordingly, a sled and a large skin boat, of the type used by the Eskimos, were made ready and the race took on another aspect. Mrs. Gregg rode in the skin boat, which was hauled over the ice on the sled until an open lead was reached. Then all hands piled into the boat, the sled was taken aboard and they sailed or paddled to the next ice barrier. The party finally reached the beach near Barrow and was met by Dr. Spence, Charles Brower, the famous arctic trader, and some 500 of Barrow's native population. Mrs. Gregg was placed on the sled and willing hands dragged it a short distance over the tundra to the doctor's house. It was only a short while later that Dr. Spence emerged from the house to announce to the waiting Eskimos, who had gathered silently around, that a baby girl, Virginia Gregg, had been born. American flags were hoisted at once on the United States public school building, the Presbyterian mission and over the home of Charles Brower and the event was an occasion for celebration by the whole community.

Later life
Young Virginia Gregg, her brother James E Gregg Jr. and parents eventually left Point Barrow and made their home in Westmoreland, California eventually moving to her mother’s native state of Missouri during her high school years. The family later settled in Butte, Montana where Virginia met and married Walter Francis Lowney. Together, they left Butte and, along with their two children, Sharon Hope and Walter Gregg Lowney, moved to Ketchikan in 1946 where Virginia and Walt operated a Grocery store and lunch counter on Tongass Avenue. Poor health would cause Virginia to return to Butte, Montana in 1951 and she died there on Feb 11, 1953 at the young age of 34.