Marion Osborne


	On September 24, 1879, Marion Osborne was born to Sam and Maria Osborne in Waterville, ME. Marion's parents were freed slaves who came to Waterville in 1865. Sam Osborne began working at Colby in 1867, and continued there until 1903. In 1896, Marion Osborne entered Colby with the class of 1900. There were twenty-three women in her class, only 13 of whom would ultimately graduate. Marion, one of the 13 and treasurer of the women's class, was the first African American woman to graduate from Colby. From 1902 through 1906, she was a teacher in Brooklyn, New York. Later in life she returned to Waterville where she was a member of the Pleasant Street Methodist Church and district president of the Woman's Society of Christian Service of the Methodist Church. Marion Osborne died in Waterville on June 6, 1954.
Marion (back row, far right) with her parents and siblings.
Photos courtesy of the Alumni Magazine and Colby Special Collections.