Portia M. Washington (1883 - 1978)

Born 6 Jun 1883 in Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama, USA

Ancestors

Wife of William Sidney Pittman — married 31 Oct 1907 in Tuskegee, Macon, Alabama, United States

Died 26 Feb 1978 in Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA

Profile manager: Laura Copenhagen [send private message]

Biography

Portia was a daughter of Booker T. Washington. She was the first African American to graduate from the Bradford Academy in Bradford, Massachusetts.

Pittman née Washington was born on June 6, 1883[1] in Tuskegee, Alabama.[2] She was the daughter of Booker T. and Fanny Washington. Her mother died when she was a young child and her early education was away from home, mostly in New England,[3] including at Framingham Normal School. Her secondary education included attendance at Tuskegee Institute, Wellesley College and Bradford Academy where she graduated in 1905, the first African American to do so.[2]

In 1908 she married William Sidney Pittman (1875–1958) with whom she had three children. The couple moved to Washington, D.C. where William established an architectural practice. After falling on financially hard times Portia began teaching piano. In 1913 the family moved to Dallas, Texas where William served as president of the Brotherhood of Negro Building Mechanics of Texas and Portia Taught music at Booker T. Washington High School.[3] At that time Portia was also chairman of the education department of the Texas Association of Negro Musicians.[2]

In 1928 Portia left William, taking her daughter Fanny, and returned to Tuskegee where she supported herself by teaching piano, music, and choir at Tuskegee. She left the faculty of Tuskegee in 1939 because she lacked the required credentials to continue there. She returned to teaching piano privately, retiring in 1944.[2]

Portia spent her later years preserving the memory of her late father[3][4] and helped advocate for the preservation and monument status of her father's home She died on February 26, 1978 in Washington, D.C.[3] All of her children and her estranged husband predeceased her.[5] Tuskegee Institute has a fellowship named in her honor.

The 1900 U.S. Census (enumerated in June 1900) recorded 16-year-old Portia M. Washington in Tuskegee, Alabama, in the household of her father, Booker T. Washington and her father's wife Margaret J. Washington. According to her census entry, Portia was born in Alabama in June 1883 to parents who were born in Virginia, and was attending school.

^[1]

Sources

1. ↑
   • "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-XXH9-BTD?cc=1325221&wc=9BW6-CX8%3A1031034401%2C1030822401%2C1034126601 : 5 August 2014), Alabama > Macon > ED 107 Tuskegee town > image 40 of 40; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portia_Washington_Pittman
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Photo_of_Portia_Washington_Pittman.jpg
• https://aaregistry.org/story/portia-washington-pittman-teacher-born/
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7617594/portia-marshall-pittman
• https://www.amazon.com/Portia-Washington-Pittman-Daughter-Booker/dp/0385053290
• https://kathmanduk2.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/black-women-in-america-portia-marshall-washington/

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