Wikipedia

Calva Watson Wootton

Calva Watson Wootton (1886 – August 3, 1961) is an American educator and one of the five founders of the national sorority Alpha Sigma Alpha.[1][2]

Calva Watson Wootton
Born
Calva Watson

1886
Nottoway County, Virginia, U.S.
DiedAugust 3, 1961(1961-08-03) (aged 74–75)
Petersburg, Virginia, U.S.
Burial placeBlandford Cemetery
Alma materFarmville Normal School
OccupationTeacher
Known forFounder of Alpha Sigma Alpha
RelativesWalter Allen Watson (brother)

Early life edit

Calva Watson was born in on the Woodland plantation near Crewe in Nottoway County, Virginia.[1][3][2] Her parents were Josephine and Meredith Watson, a lawyer, judge, and chairman of the Nottoway County Republican Party.[1][4][3] Her father died in 1893 and her mother followed in 1913.[3][5]

Wootton's family affectionately called her "Pig".[2] Wootton loved sports and would often go hunting birds with the men.[2] She had three sisters, Rebekah Watson Sutton, Hilary Watson Rolall, and Lois Waton Royal, and three brothers, H. Hunter Watson, M. Leon Watson, and congressman Walter Allen Watson.[6][7][8][9][3]

She was educated by private tutors before attending Farmville State Female Normal School, now Longwood University.[2][1] On November 15, 1901, Wootton was one of the five women who started Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority.[2] She also served as the sorority's historian and secretary and participated in campus literary societies and language clubs.[2][10] She graduated from college in June 1905.[11]

Career edit

After college, she became a teacher in a one-room school Sheppards, Virginia.[12][2] She continued to teach in Petersburg after her marriage.[1]

Personal life edit

She married Percy Walton Wootton of Petersburg, Virginia on April 25, 1917, at her sister's home in Richmond, Virginia.[1][6][13] Wootton was a farmer and a wholesale seed and fertilizer salesman.[2] The couple lived in Petersburg at 2020 Matoax Avenue.[1][14] They did not have children.[2]

She was raised a Presbyterian but was a member of the First Baptist Church of Petersburg.[14][3] In 1957, she was one of the founders of Alpha Sigma Alpha honored when a plaque was decidated at Longwood College.[15][16]

Wootton died on August 3, 1961, in Petersburg at the age of 75.[17][1] She was buried in Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg.[2][7][14]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Mrs. Percy W. Wootton". The Progress-Index. Petersburg, Virginia. 1961-08-04. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Williamson, Barb J. (2008). "Calva Watson Wootton". The Phoenix (Spring): 15 – via issuu.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Mrs. Josephine L. Watson". The Presbyterian of the South. Atlanta, Georgia. 1914-01-14. p. 21. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Nottoway Recalcitrant". Richmond Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. 1884-08-27. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Funeral of Mr. Merdith Watson". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. 1893-08-25. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "Society at Richmond". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. 1917-03-25. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "Obituary for Calva Watson Wooton". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. 1961-08-05. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Sutton-Waton". The Daily Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. 1915-05-26. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Cut Cake with a Sword". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. 1904-09-29. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "The Farmville Normal". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. 1905-05-07. p. 22. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Farmville Normal: Thirty-Seven Young Ladies in the Graduating Class". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. 1905-06-04. p. 21. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Buckingham Bits". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. 1906-04-01. p. 22. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Virginia News". The Daily Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. 1917-05-01. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ a b c "Mrs. Percy W. Wootton". The Progress-Index. Petersburg, Virginia. 1961-08-06. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Sorority's Star to be Marked at Longwood College". The Roanoke Times. Roanoke, Virginia. 1957-11-07. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Soroity Plaque to be Dedicated". The Richmond News Leader. Richmond, Virginia. 1957-11-07. p. 42. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Mrs. Calva Watson Wootton". The Richmond News Leader. 1961-08-04. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
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