ohy_mss2854.xml Guide to the Oregon Black History Project records 1844-1981 Oregon Black History Project records Jeffrey A. Hayes Oregon Historical Society, Davies Family Research Library 2019
1200 SW Park Ave. Portland, OR 97205 libreference@ohs.org https://www.ohs.org/research-and-library/
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2019-12-14. Finding aid is written in English. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition. English Oregon Historical Society, Davies Family Research Library
1200 SW Park Ave. Portland, OR 97205 libreference@ohs.org https://www.ohs.org/research-and-library/
Oregon Black History Project records McLagan, Elizabeth, 1947- Mss 2854 2.66 cubic feet 5 legal document cases; 1 slim legal document case; 1 slim letter document case 1844-1981 Administrative records, research files, and photographs gathered or created by the Oregon Black History Project, a grant-funded project that culminated in the publication of the book "A Peculiar Paradise: A History of Blacks in Oregon, 1788-1940."

Collection is open for research.

Gift of Christine W. Poole and Helen Warbington, December 1989 (Lib. Acc. 19746).

Collection is arranged in five series: Series 1. Administrative records; Series 2. Biographical materials and sketches; Series 3. Oral history materials; Series 4. Topical research; Series 5. Photographs.

The Oregon Black History Project was a grant-funded project that conducted research on the history of African-Americans in Oregon up to the beginning of World War II. The project was directed by Elizabeth McLagan and culminated in her book "A Peculiar Paradise: A History of Blacks in Oregon, 1788-1940," which was published by the Georgian Press of Portland, Oregon, in 1980.

Photographs in the collection were previously designated as Org. Lot 482, "A Peculiar Paradise" photographic collection; and Org. Lot 679, Oregon Black History Project photographs collection.

Detailed inventory of photographs in the collection is located in Box 7.

Oregon Black History Project records, Mss 2854, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

The collection consists of administrative records, research files, and photographs gathered or created by the Oregon Black History Project. Most of the research files consist of notes and quotes, photocopies, or excerpts from primary and secondary resources concerning the history of African-Americans in Oregon from the late 18th century to the mid-20th century. Most of these source excerpts were assembled between 1976 and 1979. Topics include early African-American emigrants to Oregon; the slavery debate in Oregon; exclusion laws and other forms of discrimination or violence against African-Americans; African-American business, social, and activist organizations; and early 20th-century African-American newspapers such as The Advocate, the New Age, and the Portland Times.

Photographs include portraits of African-American Oregonians; African-American social groups and activities; residences; and businesses operated by African-Americans in Portland, Oregon. Some of the photographs are copies of images originally published in newspapers such as Portland Times and The Advocate.

Oral histories conducted for the project were separated to Oral History Collections, Oregon Historical Society Research Library. A microfilm copy of records of the NAACP of Portland, Oregon, was separated and cataloged as Microfilm 195.

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Copies of "A Peculiar Paradise," the book produced from the Oregon Black History Project research, are held in the book collections of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Selected photographs from the collection are viewable online in OHS Digital Collections.

 African Americans--Oregon--History African American business enterprises--Oregon--Portland Discrimination against African Americans--Oregon African Americans research (documents) Administrative records Series 1 1974-1979 Copy of bibliography of works on African-American history in Oregon, compiled by Lenwood G. Davis 1974 1 1 Correspondence 1975-1979 1 2-3 Correspondence, including rough drafts of Elizabeth McLagan's letters 1978 February-July 1 4 Project correspondence 1978 July 1 5 Correspondence and records relating to funding; articles about copyright law 1977-1978 1 6 Correspondence with museums and historical societies in Oregon, Library of Congress, and NAACP 1978 June-September 1 7 Notes, source excerpts, and correspondence relating to lectures circa 1844-1978 1 8 Mailing lists and addresses for project contacts, repositories, and outreach or publicity efforts circa 1979; undated 1 9 Notes, mailing lists, and correspondence concerning acknowledgements and citations 1976-1978; undated 1 10 Notes and source excerpts relating to planned revisions and additions to book undated 1 11 Notes and revisions for Chapter 1 of "A Peculiar Paradise" undated 1 12 Notes and revisions for Chapters 3-4 of "A Peculiar Paradise" undated 1 13 Project notebooks undated 1 14-15 Blank copies of research questionnaire undated 1 16 Unsorted notes, papers, and correspondence 1978; undated 1 17 Unsorted materials including notes, project minutes, NAACP booklets, and business cards 1974-1978 2 1 Unsorted newspaper clippings, newsletters, and brochures 1978; undated 2 2 Biographical materials and sketches Series 2 1915-1978

The term "source excerpts" in folder titles refers to photocopies, quotes, and transcripts (both handwritten and typed) of primary and secondary sources consulted during the research project.

 Biographical sketches and related correspondence 1899-1977; undated 2 3 Biographical sketches 1919; undated 2 4 Biographical notes on 19th-century figures undated 2 5 Notes and source excerpts concerning Waldo and Bogle families undated 2 6 Biographical information concerning Peter Hardeman Burnett undated 2 7 Notes and source quotes and excerpts concerning James Douglas 2 8 Notes and source excerpts concerning Mary Jane Shipley Drake and Reuben Shipley 1861-1978 2 9 Notes and copied source material concerning Flowers family 2 10 Correspondence, clippings, and photograph relating to Bert Harber 1960-1978 2 11 Source excerpts concerning Amanda Gardiner Johnson and Benjamin Johnson 1922-1970 2 12 Notes, source excerpts, and correspondence concerning William and John Livingston 1912-1978 2 13 Notes, primary source documents, and correspondence concerning Alvin McCleary and Louis Southworth 1915-1947; 1976-1978; undated 2 14 Newspaper clipping about Benjamin Seals 1922 February 12 2 15 Newspaper articles and excerpt from a book concerning George Washington, founder of Centralia, Washington 1976; undated 2 16 Notes and source excerpts concerning York, an enslaved man on Lewis & Clark Expedition 1962; undated 2 17 Oral history materials Series 3 1938-1978 Guidelines and instructions from other projects and institutions; notes; completed interviewer questionnaire forms circa 1978; undated 2 18 List of tapes; instructions and forms for interviewers circa 1976; undated 2 19 Correspondence with interviewees 1978 July 2 20 Requests for interviews and information 1978 January-February; undated 2 21 Questionnaire forms and correspondence concerning interview requests 1978 January-July; undated 2 22 Quotes, excerpts, and outlines undated 2 23 Quotes, excerpts, and notes from interviews undated 2 24 Partial transcripts of interviews with Mary Morton and Marie Smith 1978 May-November 2 25 Excerpts of 20th-century oral histories and reminiscences undated 2 26 Excerpts from WPA interviews of Albina neighborhood residents 1938-1939 2 27 Topical research Series 4 1844-1981

The term "source excerpts" in folder titles refers to photocopies, quotes, and transcripts (both handwritten and typed) of primary and secondary sources consulted during the research project.

 General history Subseries 1 1854-1981 Book or article excerpts and notes relating to history up to 1900 1950-1969; undated 3 1 Notes and source excerpts on African-American history undated 3 2 Source excerpts concerning 1788 murder of Marcus Lopez 1886-1941 3 3 Notes and publication excerpts concerning African-American fur traders and mountain men 1951; undated 3 4 Notes and source excerpts concerning African-Americans serving on whalers 1846; undated 3 5 Notes and photocopied primary and secondary source material concerning territorial and early statehood periods 1854-1865; undated 3 6-7 Notes and source excerpts considering settlement and demographics of 19th-century Oregon 1879-1890; undated 3 7 Notes and source excerpts concerning African-American emigrants to Oregon 1846-1920; undated 3 8 Notes, source excerpts, and correspondence concerning African-Americans in Oregon during the 19th century undated; 1978 June-August 3 9 Notes on Oregon African-Americans in 19th-century Census records undated 3 10 Source excerpts and correspondence relating to African-Americans in 19th century Grant County 1884-1978 3 11 Source excerpts, oral history transcript, and correspondence concerning African-Americans in Jackson County 1976-1978; undated 3 12 Notes and source excerpts concerning African-Americans in Portland during the 19th century 1869-1871; undated 3 13 Notes and source excerpts concerning African-American population in Oregon; maps showing where African-Americans lived in Portland from the 1860s to the 1880s 1908-1926; undated 3 14 Notes concerning African-Americans listed in Portland city directories undated 3 15 Reminiscence, correspondence, and newspaper clippings about African-Americans in Vernonia 1925-1926; 1978 3 16 Thesis of James William Pitton, "Negro Settlement in British Columbia, 1858-1871" 1951 3 17 Notes concerning Daniel G. Hill's thesis, "The Negro as a Political and Social Issue in Oregon" undated 3 18 Notes and source excerpts concerning African-Americans in Oregon after the Civil War, including chapter of Daniel G. Hill thesis 1864-1868; undated 3 19 Notes and copies of primary and secondary source material concerning Sam Oakley, Harrison Wright, and 1860s smallpox epidemic 1971-1973; undated 3 20 Data on African-Americans arrested in Portland between 1868 and 1885 undated 3 21 Notes and source excerpts relating to African-Americans serving in the military during the 19th century circa 1886-1922; undated 3 22 Population and occupational statistics 1910 3 23 Notes and source material relating to late 19th and early 20th centuries circa 1885-1974 3 24 Newspaper articles and excerpts concerning African-American businesses and civil rights 1899-1923 4 1 Notes and newspaper clippings concerning African-American businesses in 20th-century Portland 1919-1932; undated 4 2 Source excerpts concerning African-American entertainers, musicians, and speakers who visited Portland 1927-1932 4 3 Newspaper clippings about African-Americans in sports 1912-1924; undated 4 4 Notes and newspaper articles relating to wrongful murder conviction of Theodore Jordan 1932-1951 4 5 Notes and transcript of petition relating to wrongful murder conviction of Theodore Jordan 1932; undated 4 6 Notes, newspaper clippings, and publications concerning African-Americans in Oregon during and after World War II 1942-1978 4 7 Clippings from Capital Journal about civil rights and affirmative action 1973-1978 4 8 Unsorted notes and newspaper editorial excerpts 1897-1978 4 9 Unsorted notes and source excerpts 1903-1977 4 10 Unsorted source materials and notes on source materials 1981; undated 4 11 Slavery and exclusion laws Subseries 2 1844-1978 Notes concerning slavery and race in the 18th century undated 4 12 Notes on books and primary sources cited relating to church attitudes on slavery undated 4 13 Notes and source excerpts relating to slavery in Oregon undated 4 14 Notes on and trial transcript of 1853 case, Holmes v. Ford 1853; undated 4 15 Notes and source excerpts concerning Holmes v. Ford case and slavery in Oregon 1924-1931; undated 4 18 Notes and source excerpts concerning slavery debate in Oregon Territory 1844-1857; undated 4 17-18 Source excerpts concerning slavery debate in Oregon 1856-1857 4 19 Source excerpts concerning anti-slavery Free Soil Convention of 1855 1855-1857; undated 4 20 Excerpts from correspondence of Jesse Applegate and Matthew Deady concerning slavery; notes on Applegate's stance towards slavery 1851-1857; undated 4 21 Notes, primary source excerpts, and brief essay about the Homestead Act and slavery protection acts undated 4 22 Primary and secondary source excerpts concerning pro-Confederate secret society, Knights of the Golden Circle, and its members 1857-1862; undated 4 23 Source excerpts concerning birthplaces and sectional loyalties of Oregon Constitutional Convention members 1952; undated 4 24 Notes and primary source excerpts concerning 1840s-1860s legislation concerning slavery and African-American exclusion 1857-1862; undated 4 25 Excerpts from books and primary sources regarding 19th century legislation concerning slavery and African-American exclusion 1857-1859; undated 5 1 Notes and source excerpts concerning exclusion laws 1857; undated 5 2 Notes, reading materials, and statistical tables concerning exclusion laws and African-American population in Oregon from 1850-1910 1859-1978 5 3 Notes and photocopies of secondary source material relating to "Black Laws" in Washington and California undated 5 4 Notes and source excerpts concerning repeal of the exclusion clause from the Oregon state constitution 1895-1926; undated 5 5 Emancipation and suffrage Subseries 3 1865-1949 Source excerpts concerning 13th Amendment 1865-1866 5 6 Notes and source excerpt concerning Oregon's withdrawal of support for the 14th Amendment and move to remove Senators Williams and Corbett from office 1868; undated 5 7 Source excerpts concerning the 15th Amendment and African-American suffrage 1865-1866; undated 5 8 Notes and source excerpts concerning African-American suffrage 1865-1871 5 9 Notes and source excerpts on opposition by women's suffrage movement to African-American voting rights undated 5 10 Notes about Oregon Supreme Court case Wood v. Fitzgerald, concerning disenfranchisement 1870 5 11 Source excerpts concerning African-American suffrage and laws discriminating against African-Americans in the South, California, and Oregon 1902-1949; undated 5 12 Discrimination and violence against African-Americans Subseries 4 1872-1968 Notes and source excerpts concerning discrimination and segregation 1902-1927 5 13 Notes and source excerpts concerning difficulties of African-Americans seeking employment 1925-1947 5 14 Notes and source excerpts concerning housing discrimination against African-Americans in Eugene and Corvallis 1946-1981; undated 5 15 Notes and source excerpts concerning the Ku Klux Klan and racial violence in Oregon 1872-1926; undated 5 16 Correspondence of L. B. Sandblast, Portland attorney and Ku Klux Klan member 1965-1968 5 17 Chapter from unidentified book about the Ku Klux Klan in Oregon, "Portland: Headquarters of the Realm" undated 5 18 Charts comparing segregation and anti-discrimination laws in Oregon, California, and Washington 1949 5 19 Newspapers Subseries 5 1870-1974 Handwritten quotes and excerpts from newspaper sources 1893-1907; undated 5 20 Notes on and excerpts of newspaper editorials 1922-1923; undated. 5 21 Notes about and excerpts from newspapers 1895-1926; undated 5 22 Quotes and excerpts from The Advocate 1913-1919 5 23 Materials concerning the New Age, The Advocate, and Portland Times 1913-1949; undated 6 1 Excerpts of New Age editorials concerning discrimination against African-Americans 1903-1907 6 2 Notes and source excerpts concerning the New Age; notes about and quotes from Oznathylee Aluerdo Hopkins thesis, "Black Life in Oregon, 1899-1907: A Study of the Portland 'New Age'" 1899-1907; 1974 6 3-4 Excerpts of editorials from New Age, The Herald, and the Oregonian 1870-1899 6 5 Organizations Subseries 6 1912-1978 Newspaper clippings and typescript concerning African-American churches in Portland 1912-1942 6 6 Notes concerning African-American churches in the 18th and 19th centuries; program for 116th anniversary of First African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Portland, Oregon undated; 1978 6 7 Notes about Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union undated 6 8 Notes concerning African-American lodges in the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows undated 6 9 Notes and source excerpts concerning NAACP Portland Branch 1914-1977 6 10 Notes and excerpts relating to NAACP Portland Branch meetings 1923-1932 6 11 Notes about Portland Negro Progressive Association, Inc.; photocopy of Portland Negro Progressive Association, Inc. articles of incorporation undated; 1934 6 12 Photographs Series 5 1862-1972 People Subseries 1 1862-1972 Portraits of Portland-area African-Americans, surnames A-H 1913-1919; undated 7 1 Portraits of Portland-area African-Americans, surnames J-R 1850-1919; undated 7 2 Portraits of Portland-area African-Americans, surnames S-Y 1919-1972; undated 7 3 Portraits of African-Americans outside the Portland area 1862-1900; undated 7 4 Vanport Flood refugees 1948 7 5 Residences Subseries 2 1919; undated Residences in Portland area 1919; undated 7 6 Residences outside of Portland area undated 7 7 Social groups Subseries 3 1913-1980 Social groups and activities 1913-1919; undated 7 8 LINKS, Inc. 1968-1980 7 9 Masonic Lodge 1961; undated 7 10 Elks undated 7 11 YWCA 1927; undated 7 12 Musicians undated 7 13 Church groups 1913-1916; undated 7 14 Business community Subseries 4 circa 1875-1919; undated Businesses 1912-1919; undated 7 15 21st U.S. Infantry at railroad completion ceremony; "Harper's Weekly" illustration of African-American porters in railroad dining car undated; circa 1875 7 16 Professionals at work 1913; undated 7 17 Other topics Subseries 5 circa 1978; undated Unsorted photographs undated 7 18 Contact sheets circa 1978 7 19