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Guide to the Jefferson A. Beaver Papers
MS 62
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Table of contents
Title: Jefferson A. Beaver papers
Dates: 1946-1970
Collection number: MS 62
Creator:
Beaver, Jefferson A.
Collection Size:
.25 linear feet
(1 box + 1 oversized box)
Repository:
African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
Oakland, CA 94612
Abstract: The Jefferson A. Beaver papers consist of photographs, correspondence, awards, newspaper clippings, and programs that document
his activities as a banker, co-founder of the Transbay Federal Savings and Loan, and his service on various public and civic
boards.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.
Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating.
Permission to publish from the Jefferson A. Beaver Papers must be obtained from the African American Museum and Library at
Oakland.
Jefferson A. Beaver papers, MS 62, African American Museum and Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.
Processed by Sean Heyliger, 06/12/2013.
Biography / Administrative History
Jefferson Beaver (1908-1991) was born on May 20, 1908 in Warren, Arkansas to Rev. Robert Jefferson Beaver and Ethel Jordan.
In 1911 Beaver relocated with his family to San Francisco, California where he graduated with a B.A. from the University of
California, Berkeley in 1936 and briefly attended Golden Gate Law School in San Francisco. Beaver was co-founder and executive
vice president of Transbay Federal Saving and Loan, a bank which was established in 1949 to primarily serve African Americans
in the San Francisco Bay area. He was also the founding director of Golden State National Bank in 1961.
Beaver was known for his civil rights work among San Francisco’s African American community, serving as president of the San
Francisco Chapter of the NAACP and the Bay Area Urban League in the 1950s and was the director of San Francisco's United Community
Fund. He was active in governmental affairs and was appointed to the City and County of San Francisco Advisory Committee on
Urban Development, California Committee for Fair Employment Practices, and was a member of the San Francisco Council for Civic
Unity. In 1959, Beaver was also part of a U.S. Department of Commerce trade delegation sent to the Soviet Union and Nigeria
to stimulate trade and business opportunities between nations.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Jefferson A. Beaver papers consist of photographs, correspondence, awards, newspaper clippings, and programs that document
his activities as a banker, co-founder of the Transbay Federal Savings and Loan, and his service on various public and civic
boards. The papers include thirteen photographs of Beaver at speaking at assorted public events and at the 1961 Debutante
Ball. Beaver’s correspondence mostly relate to his service on the City and County of San Francisco Advisory Committee on Urban
Development, as a California delegate to the 1956 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and assorted letters of congratulation
on being elected to various boards.
Series I. Photographs
Series II. Correspondence
Series III. Certificates
Series IV. Printed material
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Beaver, Jefferson A., 1908-1991.
African American bankers.
African Americans--California--San Francisco--History.
Bishop, Victoria. “Beaver, Jefferson A. (1908-1991).” The Black Past Remembered: An Online Reference Guide to African American
History. Accessed 12-06-2013 http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aaw/beaver-jefferson-1908-1991.