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Guide to the Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People of California Records
MS 122
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Table of contents
Title: Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People of California records
Dates: 1892-1940
Collection number: MS 122
Creator:
Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People of California (Oakland, Calif.).
Collection Size:
1.25 linear feet
(2 boxes)
Repository:
African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
Oakland, CA 94612
Abstract: The Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People of California was established on September 26, 1892 in Oakland, California and
was the first institution to provide elderly care and housing for African Americans in California. The organization was created
by Mary E.A. Cole, Ann S. Purnell, Elenora Amos, Areminto Stanford, Mary Goodman, Rosa H. Lockett, Mary C. Washington, Ellen
Whiting, Harriet E. Smith, Mary J. Humphrey, and Anna Williams to “sustain a home for the aged and infirm who may be from
any cause, incapacitated from taking care of themselves, and such others as the Board of Directors or trustees may think entitled
to its benefits.” The Home for the Aged and Infirm Colored People of California Records consists of articles of incorporation,
constitution and by-laws, correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, programs, and newspaper clippings documenting the history
of the home from its creation in 1892 through its dissolution in 1940.
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 Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People of California Records from the must be obtained from the African
American Museum & Library at Oakland.
Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People of California records, MS 122, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland
Public Library. Oakland, California.
Processed by Sean Heyliger, 01/29/2014.
Biography / Administrative History
The Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People of California was established on September 26, 1892 in Oakland, California and
was the first institution to provide elderly care and housing for African Americans in California. The organization was created
by Mary E.A. Cole, Ann S. Purnell, Elenora Amos, Areminto Stanford, Mary Goodman, Rosa H. Lockett, Mary C. Washington, Ellen
Whiting, Harriet E. Smith, Mary J. Humphrey, and Anna Williams to “sustain a home for the aged and infirm who may be from
any cause, incapacitated from taking care of themselves, and such others as the Board of Directors or trustees may think entitled
to its benefits.” The association was directed by a Board of Directors consisting of thirty women and advisory board of ten
men, and the home was managed by a matron, nursing assistants, and a resident physician.
On August 22, 1897, five years after the association was established, a 16 room home was erected on Underwood Ave. in Beulah
Heights on what is now the campus of Mills College. The association raised $4,000 for the building’s construction while Oakland
philanthropists George and Carrie Montgomery donated a plot of land. An eight room annex was added to the building in 1905
allowing the home to accommodate a total of 19 residents. The home’s first resident was California pioneer Alvin A. Coffee
and charged residents a $500 lifetime membership fee, prohibited the use of alcohol and opiates, and maintained separate living
quarters for male and female residents. The association maintained a steady stream of private donations and residents until
the 1930s, when the Depression prevented many from donating to charitable organizations. The home’s declining revenues combined
with the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935 that provided a stipend for the elderly to seek housing elsewhere led
to the home’s decline and eventual close in December 1938. Mills College purchased the home on June 15, 1938 and razed the
building in January 1939.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People of California Records consists of articles of incorporation, constitution and
by-laws, correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, programs, and newspaper clippings documenting the history of the home from
its creation in 1892 through its dissolution in 1940. The records are organized into three series: administrative records,
programs, and newspaper clippings. The bulk of the records are meeting minutes of the home and includes a 296 pp. ledger of
meeting minutes of the home’s board of directors and committees between 1925-1938. The minutes include reports from various
committees discussing the home’s financial, legal, and day-to-day operations. Reports include annual reports of the president
and board of directors, Elizabeth Brown, ‘Materon’ monthly reports documenting the home’s day-to-day operations, and reports
of the budget committee. Correspondence includes letters with the Community Chest of Oakland, California regarding the home’s
financial difficulties, solicitation letters to members asking for financial contributions, and the renewal of the home’s
license with the California Department of Social Welfare. The program series consists of two photocopied programs of Florence
Cole-Talbert's grand recital at the Civic Auditorium Opera House and a turkey dinner fundraiser for the home held at Foresters'
Hall.
Series I. Administrative records
Series II. Programs
Series III. Newspaper clippings
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People of California (Oakland, Calif.).
Oakland (Calif.)--History.
Older people--Institutional care--California.
Older people--California--San Francisco Bay Area.
Older African Americans--History.