Olivia A. Davidson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Olivia A. Davidson
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Olivia America Davidson
June 11, 1854 Mercer County, Virginia, U.S.
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| Died | May 9, 1889 (aged 34) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Hampton University, State Normal School at Framingham, Massachusetts |
| Occupation | Educator |
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| Children | 2 |
Olivia America Davidson Washington (born June 11, 1854 – died May 9, 1889) was an important American teacher. She was also a dedicated educator.
Olivia was born free in Virginia. Her family later moved to Ohio, a state where slavery was not allowed. There, she went to school and then college.
In 1881, Booker T. Washington hired Olivia as a teacher. She also became the assistant principal at the Tuskegee Institute. She helped raise money for the school. Olivia also gave speeches about educating black women. In 1885, she married Booker T. Washington. He was the principal of Tuskegee. They had two sons together. She also helped raise his daughter from his first marriage. Olivia Washington passed away four years later from tuberculosis.
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Early Life and Learning
Olivia America Davidson was born on June 11, 1854. She was born free in Mercer County, Virginia. This area is now part of Mercer County, West Virginia. Her mother was a free woman. Her father, Elias Davidson, had been freed from slavery. He worked in farming.
Olivia had at least two sisters and a brother. All of them were born free. When Olivia was young, her family left western Virginia. They moved because free black people were not treated fairly there.
Moving to Ohio
Her family moved to Ironton, Ohio, which was a free state. After her father Elias died, the family moved again. They settled in Albany, Ohio. Olivia kept going to local schools.
By 1870, she was living with her sister Mary. She also lived with her brother-in-law Noah Elliot in Gallipolis. Her sister was a dressmaker. The family moved a few times. They finally settled in the bigger city of Columbus, Ohio.
Olivia's Teaching Career
In 1870, when she was 16, Olivia started teaching. She taught in towns across Ohio, Mississippi, and Arkansas. In 1874, she became a sixth-grade teacher. She taught at the new Clay Street School in Memphis, Tennessee. This school is now known as the Booker T. Washington High School.
Her sister Margaret also taught there. Their brother Joseph lived and worked in Memphis too. Olivia suggested changes to her principal, and they were put in place. While Olivia was in Memphis, her sister Margaret passed away. In 1878, her brother Joseph was murdered. This happened during a time when violence was used to stop black people from voting. Olivia returned to Ohio soon after.
College and Further Studies
That same year, she enrolled at the Hampton Institute in Virginia. This school is now called Hampton University. She did very well in her studies. Olivia was chosen to be one of the graduation speakers on May 22, 1879.
After Hampton, she attended the State Normal School at Framingham, Massachusetts. This school is now Framingham State University. She studied more to get a teaching degree. Olivia graduated on June 29, 1881. She was one of six students who graduated with honors.
After getting her teaching degree, she taught in the Worcester Public Schools. However, some wealthy people in the city protested her job. The school committee then took back her appointment.
Working at Tuskegee Institute
Olivia returned to Hampton to get better from a serious illness. She also started teaching a group of Native American men. These men had been prisoners of war. They were warriors from Plains Tribes. They had been captured in wars and were now students at Hampton.
Booker T. Washington was a speaker at Hampton. He contacted Olivia. He asked her to help him start a new school, the Tuskegee Institute. After she recovered from her illness, she joined him on August 25, 1881. She became a teacher and the vice principal. She worked very hard, even though her health was not strong. She became Washington's partner in building Tuskegee. His first wife had passed away in 1884.
On August 11, 1886, Olivia married Booker T. Washington in Athens, Ohio. She became a stepmother to Portia Washington. Portia was Booker T.'s daughter from his first marriage.
In 1886, Olivia Davidson Washington spoke to the Alabama State Teachers' Association. Her speech was about "How Shall We Make the Women of Our Race Stronger?" She encouraged teachers to help black girls. She believed they were the "hope of the race." While at Tuskegee, she also helped raise money for the school. She raised funds both locally and through her contacts in the North.
Her first son, Booker T., Jr., was born on May 29, 1887. Their second son, Ernest Davidson Washington, was born on February 6, 1889. Two days later, the Washingtons' house at Tuskegee burned down. Olivia Washington was exposed to the cold early morning air. She likely already had tuberculosis (TB). Her health got worse. She passed away three months later from TB on May 9, 1889. She died at Massachusetts General Hospital.
