Calva Watson Wootton
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1886
Calva Watson Wootton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Calva Watson 1886 |
| Died | August 3, 1961 (aged 74–75) Petersburg, Virginia, U.S. |
| Burial place | Blandford Cemetery |
| Alma mater | Farmville Normal School |
| Occupation | Teacher |
| Known for | Founder of Alpha Sigma Alpha |
| Relatives | Walter 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]
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]