Calva Watson Wootton

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Calva Watson Wootton
Born
Calva Watson

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

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]

Early life

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

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

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

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Mrs. Percy W. Wootton". The Progress-Index. Petersburg, Virginia. 1961-08-04. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Williamson, Barb J. (2008). "Calva Watson Wootton". The Phoenix (Spring): 15 – via issuu.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "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. 6.0 6.1 "Society at Richmond". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. 1917-03-25. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-07-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "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. 14.0 14.1 14.2 "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. "Sorority 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.