Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Ring family papers, 1941-2001
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Ring family
- Title
- Ring family papers
- Dates
- 1941-2001 (inclusive)19412001
1942-1945 (bulk)19421945 - Quantity
-
0.23 cubic feet plus 5
items
1 microfilm reel : positive - Collection Number
- 4241
- Summary
- Seattle peace activists who corresponded with several incarcerated Issei and Nisei citizens, including Gordon Hirabayashi, during World War II.
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Fred and Mabel Ring were Seattle peace activists both before and after World War II. Their pacifist convictions, rooted in Christian beliefs, spurred them to reach out to Japanese American families who were incarcerated under Executive Order 9066. Most of these families they knew through their daughter Eleanor (Ellie), who had met many Japanese American friends as a student at the University of Washington, and as an active member of the University of Washington YMCA/YWCA. The Ring Family corresponded with several incarcerated families, providing support and small luxuries that were difficult to obtain in the camps.
Gordon Hirabayashi (1918-) was one of Ellie's YMCA/YWCA friends. Born in the Sand Point area of Seattle, he grew up on the farmland surrounding Kent. In Japan, both of Hirabayashi's parents had become members of Mukyokai, or the "non-church" movement. Teaching Christian principles free from denominational issues, Mukyokai stressed an uncompromising stand against social injustice. When he was a student at the University of Washington, Hirabayashi became a Quaker and a consciencious objector. Hirabayashi refused to comply with the curfew imposed on Japanese Americans in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and later refused to report for relocation to the internment camps on the grounds that the directives were based solely on race and therefore were unconstitutional.
After the last Japanese were forcibly removed from Seattle, Hirabayashi turned himself in to the FBI and was tried and convicted in the Federal District Court of Seattle. The case ultimately went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the curfew was constitutional. Hirabayashi was sentenced to serve three months in a minimum security prison in Arizona. No funds were available to transport him, so Hirabayashi spent two weeks hitchiking to get there. Later, he was tried and convicted of draft resistance and served nine months in the federal penitentiary on McNeil Island. When released Hirabayashi returned to the University of Washington and received BA, MA and PhD degrees in sociology. He then taught overseas at American University in Beirut, American University at Cairo, and he retired from the University of Alberta in 1983. In the 1980s Hirabayashi and his legal team brought new evidence to the courts of government misconduct regarding reasons for the exclusion order and was successful in getting his 1943 convictions overturned.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection primarily consists of letters written by incarcerated Japanese American friends of Eleanor Ring and their parents to Eleanor's parents Fred and Mabel Ring. There are letters written to Eleanor Ring as well, from Kenji Okuda and from Gordon Hirabayashi.
Gordon Hirabayashi is a primary correspondent. Most of his letters are to Eleanor Ring and span 1942 to 1976. One postcard dated September 15, 1943 was mailed from Utah as Hirabayashi was hitchiking to prison in Arizona.
Other documents pertaining to Hirabayashi include a copy of his statement dated May 1943 to the FBI explaining his refusal to comply with the exclusion order. Clippings date from 1942-1985 and document both Hirabayashi's initial trial and his later fight to have the war-time convicion overturned.
Ephemera includes pamphlets and other material circa 1943 criticizing the forced relocation.
Accession 4241-003 is a microfilm copy of the first two accessions.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View selectsion from this collection in digital format
Restrictions on Use
Gordon Hirabayashi welcomes quotation and publication of his writings. Kenji Okuda has approved digital publication of some of his letters. Mr. Okuda and other correspondents retain rights in their letters; they or their heirs should be contacted for requests to publish.
Alternative Forms Available
Most of the collection is also available on microfilm as accession 4241-003.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
Organized into 4 accessions.
- Accession No. 4241-001, Ring family papers, 1942-1945
- Accession No. 4241-002, Ring family papers, 1942-1945
- Accession No. 4241-003, Ring Family papers, 1942-1945
- Accession No. 4241-004, Ring family papers, 1942, 2001
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Accession No. 4241-001: Ring family papers, 1942-1945Return to Top
Scope and Content: Letters, 1942-1945; ephemera, 1942-1945, and undated. Letters written by incarcerated Japanese-American friends of Eleanor Ring (later Davis) to her and her parents, Fred and Mabel Ring. The family kept in touch with several families who were incarcerated, providing emotional support, and small luxuries difficult to obtain in the camps. Many of the letters were authored by Gordon Hirabayashi, who knew Eleanor Ring through student activities at the YWCA/YMCA at University of Washington.
Digital Content/Other Formats: View selections from this accession in digital format
Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.
Restrictions on Use: Some restrictions exist on copying, quotation or publication. Contact Repository for details.
Acquisition Info: Bibliographic Source: Eleanor Ring Davis, Portland, OR Donor Database Source: Eleanor Ring Davis, null
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Incoming Letters |
|||
Box/Folder | |||
1/1 | 4241-001 | 1944-1945 | |
1/2 | 4241-001 | 1942-1945 | |
1/3 | 4241-001 | 1943-1944 | |
1/4 | 4241-001 | Hirabayashi, Eddie |
1942 |
1/4 | 4241-001 | Hirabayashi, Esther
General Notes: See note in photo folder.
|
1944 |
1/5 | 4241-001 | 1942 | |
1/6 | 4241-001 | 1943 | |
1/7 | 4241-001 | 1944 | |
1/8 | 4241-001 | Hirabayashi, Gordon |
1957-1981; 2001; undated |
1/9 | 4241-001 | 1942 | |
1/9 | 4241-001 | Hirabayashi Mrs. S. |
1942 |
1/10 | 4241-001 | Hiroshige, K. |
undated |
1/10 | 4241-001 | Kadama, M. |
1942 |
1/10 | 4241-001 | 1944-1945 | |
1/11 | 4241-001 | Kitagawa, Daisuka |
1942 |
1/11 | 4241-001 | 1942 | |
1/11 | 4241-001 | Mochizuki, Waka |
1943 |
1/12 | 4241-001 | 1942-1943 | |
1/13 | 4241-001 | Nakamura, S. |
1942 |
1/13 | 4241-001 | 1942-1943 | |
1/13 | 4241-001 | Tamura, Mr. and Mrs. N. |
1943 |
1/14 | 4241-001 | U.S. War Relocation Authority |
1945 |
1/15 | 4241-001 | Watanabe, Bessie |
1942 |
1/15 | 4241-001 | Unidentified Greeting Card |
undated |
Speeches and Writings |
|||
Box/Folder | |||
1/16 | 4241-001 | Unidentified Quotation |
undated |
Statements |
|||
Box/Folder | |||
1/17 | 4241-001 | Hirabayashi, Gordon |
1942 |
1/17 | 4241-001 | 1943 | |
Subject Series |
|||
Box/Folder | |||
1/18 | 4241-001 | Noji, Oliver K. |
1943 |
Box/Folder | |||
1/19 | 4241-001 | 1943 | |
Photograph |
|||
Box/Folder | |||
1/20 | 4241-001 | 1941 | |
Clippings |
|||
Box/Folder | |||
1/21 | 4241-001 | Hirabayashi, Gordon |
1942-85(?) |
Box/Folder | |||
1/22 | 4241-001 | ||
Notes |
|||
Box/Folder | |||
1/23 | 4241-001 | Hirabayashi, Gordon |
1942 |
Accession No. 4241-002: Ring family papers, 1942-1945Return to Top
Scope and Content: Letters from Kenjii Okuda to his former classmate Eleanor Ring while he was incarcerated in the Puyallup Assembly Center, then at Amache in Colorado, and after his release during his travel before college and then his return to Seattle, 1942-1945. The letters are dated June 2, 1942, July 26, 1942, Nov. 9, 1942, Sept. 20, 1944, June 9, 1945.
Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.
Restrictions on Use: Some restrictions exist on copying, quotation or publication. Contact Repository for details.
Acquisition Info: Bibliographic Source: Eleanor Ring Davis Donor Database Source: Eleanor Ring Davis, null
Accession No. 4241-003: Ring Family papers, 1942-1945Return to Top
Scope and Content: Microfilmed letters and other items which comprise Accession No. 4241-001 and 4241-002; 1942-1945.
Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.
Restrictions on Use: Some restrictions exist on copying, quotation or publication. Contact Repository for details.
Acquisition Info: , null
Accession No. 4241-004: Ring family papers, 1942, 2001Return to Top
Scope and Content: Photocopies of notes from Ellie Ring to Gordon Hirabayashi (1942), and from Hirabayashi to Charlie Davis (2001). Also included is a copy of a quote from Hirabayashi's 1942 diary and a handwritten note by Mabel Ring regarding her trip to Tule Lake with Mary Ferguson.
Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.
Restrictions on Use: Some restrictions exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections for details.
Acquisition Info: Eleanor Ring Davis ("Ellie"), 2012-06-06
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Concentration camp inmates--West (U.S.)
- Japanese Americans--Civil rights
- Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
- Japanese Americans--Washington (State)--Seattle
- Japanese Americans--West (U.S.)--Correspondence
- World War, 1939-1945--Japanese Americans