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Chow family collection
mssChowfamily  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Scope and Contents
  • Processing Information
  • Arrangement

  • Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
    Title: Chow family collection
    Creator: Chow family
    Identifier/Call Number: mssChowfamily
    Physical Description: 83.85 Linear Feet (157 boxes and 2 oversize folders)
    Date (inclusive): 1893-2009
    Abstract: This collection contains the professional and personal material of the Chow family from San Francisco, California.
    Language of Material: The records are in English and Chinese.

    Conditions Governing Access

    Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

    Conditions Governing Use

    The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item]. Chow family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Gift of Edward A. Chow and Sylvia Eng, July 2013.

    Biographical / Historical

    William Jack Chow was born on July 3, 1909 in Fresno, California. Chow received his B.S. from Saint Mary's College and J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1935. As one of the country's first Chinese American lawyer, he represented Chinese immigrants battling against federal immigration authorities. In 1949, Chow and Jack Wong Sing formed the law office of Chow and Sing in collaboration with Chow's politically well-connected older brother, Albert Chow. He was the first Chinese American deputy district attorney for San Francisco, the first president of the San Francisco Civil Service Commission, and chairman of the San Francisco Housing Authority. He also served on the San Francisco Parking Authority. Throughout his life, he was actively involved with numerous organizations, including: Six Companies, Bay Area Asian American Bar Association, the Chinatown Optimist Club, the Chinese Cemetery Association, the National Gee Tuck Benevolent Association, the Chinese Sportsman Club, Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and International Institute and Chinese Cultural Foundation. In addition to his community and political activities, Chow was president and Director of the Four Seas Restaurant and Director of Wing Sing Chong Company, Importers of Food Products.
    Anne Kwok Chow was born on March, 12, 1912 in San Francisco, California. Chow graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. Before settling down with her husband and starting a family, Chow ran her own beauty shop. She married William Jack Chow in December 1936. Similar to her husband, Chow was also an active member of the community. She was the founder and three times president of the Chinatown Opti-Mrs. Club, served on the Board of Management and Board of Directors of the YWCA, and volunteered with the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center. She was also a founder of the Chinese Hospital Auxiliary.
    William Jack and Anne K. Chow had three children: Edward, Sylvia, and the late Jeffrey Jason Chow. Chow passed away on April 18, 1988 and his wife, Anne, passed away on March 17, 2009.

    Scope and Contents

    Series 1: Business and legal files. The first series consists of business and legal files of William Jack Chow. The files are arranged in alphabetical order by subject. These files concern both Chow's career as a lawyer and a businessman. The folders may contain a combination of business records, case files, correspondence, financial records, legal documents, memoranda, and securities. Chow also frequently traveled to Hong Kong for work. Those files are also found in this series and they span from the 1950s through 1970s. A subject of interest includes the Supreme Court of the United States landmark decision to uphold affirmative action in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. At the end of this series are Chow's books primarily related to business and law. Note: Chow's appointment books and business cards are found in Series 2.
    Series 2: Community and political files. The second series consists of community and political files. This series is arranged by genre and includes: address books and cards, appointment books, awards, business cards, bylaws, membership cards, plaques, political files, and subject files. As a strong advocate of the conservative wing of the Democratic Party, there are numerous material related to the Democratic National Convention in 1944, 1956, 1960, 1964, and 1972. The other political files relate to politicians and include campaign mailers, presidential inaugurations, and programs. The subject files mostly relate to the Chow's community activities. These files primarily consist of printed ephemera related to that specific event or organization; however, there are some considerable items related to Anne Chow's work with the Chinatown Opti-Mrs. Club, Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center, and YWCA.
    Series 3: Personal files. The third series consists of personal material related to the Chow family. This series is arranged by genre and includes: bankbooks, currency, death certificates (copies), greeting cards, guestbooks, invitations, postcards, stamps, subject files, textbooks, travel ephemera, and yearbooks. The bulk of the greeting cards are from family and friends congratulating Jack and Anne Chow on their 25th and 50th wedding anniversary. There is also an abundance of travel ephemera, primarily postcards, from all over the world. The postcards that are blank are noted, while the postcards used by the Chow family are organized chronologically. The subject files primarily relate to Chow's education at Saint Mary's College and University of California, Hastings College of the Law and his continued involvement as an alumni. The textbooks are in Chinese and appear to be around or before the 1950s.
    Series 4: General files. The final series is the General files. This is a catch-all series that consists of books, correspondence, ephemera, and photographs that may be related to the previous three series. The correspondence is arranged chronologically. The early letters from Anne to Jack written in the 1930s reveal obstacles with their relationship. Anne painfully writes, "My mother has forbidden me to go out with you because she's afraid that you would love me. And she emphasized very strongly that no matter what will happen, we can never have each other" (1932, June). In the 1950s, there are numerous letters from Jack updating family on his travels. There are also several letters from government officials, including Diane Feinstein in the 1970s. The photographs are roughly divided into four subjects: events, family, trips, and miscellaneous. The events include campaigns, ceremonies, funerals, reunions, parties, and weddings. The family photographs include birthdays, celebrations, gatherings, graduations, and portraits. The Chow family traveled frequently and their trips included Asia, Europe, South America, and the Caribbean. Family portraits from various cruise lines are also part this section. Note: If there were negatives that accompanied the photographs, they were kept with together. The miscellaneous photographs include pictures of Chow's office, furniture, immigration and/or passport headshots, portraits from politicians and entertainers. The other ephemera found in this section includes clippings, invitations, menus, newspapers, periodicals, and programs.
    Series 5: Oversize. The series consists of oversize material. Box 149 contains awards, certificates, and scrolls. Box 150 consists of photographs, some are enlarged versions found in the previous series. Box 151 contains a scrapbook related to Jack Chow's activities in the 1960s. Boxes 152-153 include newspapers from 1957-1961. There is a painting of the late Jeffrey Jason Chow in Box 154. The two folders consist of additional oversize awards, certificates, and photographs. Most of the material found in this series were removed from frames.
    Series 6. Additional material. The series contains passports, handbooks, booklets, and miscellaenous ephemera.

    Processing Information

    Processed by Gina C Giang in 2016. In August 2023, Mari Khasmanyan added box 157 and updated the finding aid.

    Arrangement

    The collection is arranged in the following order: Series 1: Business and Legal files (Boxes 1-32), Series 2: Community and political files (Boxes 33-56), Series 3: Personal files (Boxes 57-81), Series 4: General files (Boxes 82-148), Series 5: Oversize (Boxes 149-154), Series 6: Additional material (Box 155-157).
    Boxes 155 and 156 were added in February 2017 after mold remediation.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Businessmen -- California -- San Francisco
    Chinese American families -- California -- San Francisco
    Chinese Americans -- California -- San Francisco
    Chinese Americans -- Societies, etc.
    Emigration and immigration law -- United States
    Immigration advocates -- California
    Lawyers -- California -- San Francisco
    San Francisco (Calif.)
    Business records
    Financial records
    Greeting cards
    Photographs
    Postcards
    Printed ephemera
    Professional papers
    Chow family
    Chow, Anne Kwok, 1912-2009 -- Archives
    Chow, Edward Anson
    Chow, William Jack, 1909-1988 -- Archives
    Eng, Sylvia