Dr. Edward Alvey, Jr. (1902-1999) was born in Richmond and later studied at the University of Virginia, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in 1923 and returning for a doctorate in 1931. He came to Mary Washington College in 1934 to teach and became Dean of the school in 1936. He was responsible for initiating the college’s bachelor of arts degree system as well as its honor code. After retiring in 1971, Dr. Alvey wrote extensively about the area’s history, publishing several books, like History of Mary Washington College (1976); History of the Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburg, Virginia (1976); The Streets of Fredericksburg (1978); The Fredericksburg Fire of 1807 (1981); History of the Literary Club of Fredericksburg, 1892-1982 (1984); The Fredericksburg Savings & Loan Association, A Record of Progress, 1922-1986 (1986); and 90 Years of Caring: Mary Washington Hospital (1989).

Dr. Alvey also served as President of Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. (HFFI) and was instrumental in getting the Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburg listed on the National Register of Historic Places, where he was a trustee and elder. In recognition of his accomplishments at Mary Washington College, the Alumni Association presented him with a plaque that read: “to a gentleman, scholar, educator and friend … integrity, courage, patience, kindness, strength of character and geniality,” and in 1991, the North Hall dormitory on Mary Washington’s campus was named “Alvey Hall” in his honor. A beloved member of the community, Dr. Alvey’s books and the many articles he penned for the Fredericksburg Times, continue to inform and assist historians of all walks of life in re-telling the City’s history through the tangible remnants of it all around us.  

Citations:

Alvey, Edward Jr. 1974. History of Mary Washington College 1908-1972 (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia); The Daily News Ledger, July 15, 1999, 2:2; Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc., 1997-1998. Oral History Project: “Dr. Edward Alvery, Jr.: The Dean Who Lived and Chronicled a Century.” Copy of transcript on file at Central Rappahannock Regional Library.

Dr. Edward Alvey, Jr. Bibliography

A Portrait of a Daughter (1993)
Published by Mary Washington College Foundation, 1993

90 Years of Caring, Mary Washington Hospital, 1899 – 1989 (1989)
Published by Mary Washington Hospital, 1989

History of Mary Washington College, 1908 – 1972 (1974)
Published by University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1974
ISBN 10: 0813905281ISBN 13: 9780813905280

History of the Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburg, 1808 – 1976 (1976)
Published by Session of the Presbyterian Church, 1976

The Streets of Fredericksburg (1978)
Published by Mary Washington College Foundation, 1978

History of the Literary Club of Fredericksburg, 1892 – 1982 (1984)
Published by Literary Club, 1984

Fredericksburg Savings and Loan Association: A Record of Progress, 1922 – 1986 (1986)
Published by Fredericksburg Savings and Loan Association, 1986

Days of My Youth (1987)
Published by Mary Washington College Foundation, 1987

The Fredericksburg Fire of 1807 (1988)
Published by Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, 1988

The Honor System at the University of Virginia (1945)
Published by The Battlefield, Charlottesville, 1945