Frank Hackett Gilreath was born in Moravian Falls (Wilkes County), North Carolina, on March 15, 1869. Gilreath was a physician who ran a medical practice in North Wilkesboro (Wilkes County) for several decades. Around 1938, Gilreath suffered an unspecified injury that forced his retirement. After spending the first few years of his retirement in Moravian Falls, he moved to Lexington, Virginia, in 1947, where he died on June 19, 1948.