Name Allen Ericson | ||
Dr. Allen Easter Ericson Weatherford was born on March 25, 1907 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Although an African American in the deep south at a time when blacks could be sent to jail for going to school beyond the ninth grade, his parents encouraged him to further his education. His uncle, Benjamin Tonsler, worked as a school principal. He was a driving force in helping Allen Weatherford to take his education as far as he could. Weatherford left home to attend the Hampton institute in Hampton, Virginia. It is there that he earned his bachelor's degree. Allen E. Weatherford then went on to obtain his master's degree, and finally obtained his PhD degree in physical education; the first black man to do so. Weatherford moved to North Carolina, where he married Rebecca Christmas in 1939. They had six children together. Allen E. Weatherford continued to work as a professor at St. Augustine's University; he also worked as Chairman of the Department of Physical Education there. In 1965, Allen E. Weatherford died and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery. St. Augustine's University. Mount Hope Cemetery (Raleigh, North Carolina).