Biographical Information:
Scope and Contents
Conditions Governing Access:
Conditions Governing Use:
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Preferred Citation:
Processing Information:
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Elsa Shelton Miller Collection
Creator:
Miller, Elsa Shelton, 1916-1998
Identifier/Call Number: OCH.ESMC
Extent:
0.21 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1946-1950
Abstract: Elsa Shelton Miller was born in 1916,
and lived in China and Japan until the early 1950s. She worked as a stenographer for a
variety of employers, including the U.S. forces in Peiping after World War II, and Time Life
International in Tokyo. The collection contains documents from Miller's life in Asia,
including identification and citizenship documents, a travel visa, Chinese Yuan from the
late 1940s, postcards with pictures of Shanghai, and documents regarding Miller's attempts
to gain a visa to the United States in 1950.
Language of Material:
English,
Chinese
Biographical Information:
Elsa Shelton Miller was born Elsa Fischer in 1916. She married Jim Shelton, a bar owner in
Shanghai, at around the age of 17, but the marriage was short lived. She worked as a
stenographer for a variety of employers, including the United States Armed Forces in
Peiping, China, and Time Life International in Tokyo. Her brother-in-law, Bob Miller, also
worked for Time Life as a reporter, and in 1950 he tried to help her obtain a visa to the
United States. As the waiting list for U.S. immigration was prohibitively long, they tried
appealing to various contacts, including Senator William F. Knowland, but were unsuccessful.
Ultimately, they decided to marry in order to get Elsa a visa. While the marriage was only
for convenience and therefore did not last long, it did get Elsa into the United States
where she eventually became an American citizen. She passed away in June of 1998.
Scope and Contents
The
Elsa Shelton Miller Collection contains documents from her
life in Asia during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Items in the collection include
identification and citizenship documents, a travel visa, Chinese Yuan from the late 1940s,
postcards with pictures of Shanghai, and documents regarding Miller's attempts to gain a
visa to the United States in 1950.
Related Material
Conditions Governing Access:
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use:
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Janet Augestad, 08/31/2011.
Preferred Citation:
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Processing Information:
Jessica Geiser, 2013
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ephemera
Documents