Descriptive Summary
Access
Access Restrictions
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Processing Information
Biography / Administrative History
Scope and Content of Collection
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Ambrosia Wysinger Jones papers
Dates: circa 1860s-1991
Collection number: MS 27
Creator:
Jones, Ambrosia Wysinger, 1905-1999.
Creator:
Jones, Hillarie, 1918-1975.
Collection Size:
1.5 linear feet
(3 boxes + 1 oversized box)
Repository:
African American Museum and Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
Abstract: Ambrosia Wysinger Jones Papers includes photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, newspaper clippings, legal documents, and
ephemera that document the various business activities and family history of Ambrosia Wysinger Jones.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.
Access Restrictions
Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating.
Publication Rights
Permission to publish from the Ambrosia Wysinger Jones Papers must be obtained from the African American Museum and Library
at Oakland.
Preferred Citation
Ambrosia Wysinger Jones papers, MS 27, African American Museum and Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.
Acquisition Information
Papers donated to the Northern California Center for Afro-American History and Life by Ambrosia Jones on December 20, 1993.
Processing Information
Processed by Sean Heyliger, Archivist, April 18, 2013.
Biography / Administrative History
Ambrosia Wysinger Jones (1905-1999) was born on August 30, 1905 in Oakland, California. She was the granddaughter of the noted
civil rights activist, Edmond Wysinger, an early advocate of desegregating the California public school system in the 1890s.
In the 1940s, she married Hillarie Jones and the two owned and operated a number of business enterprises, including a chain
of barbershops in Oakland and ‘The Alameda’ Barbeque Pit and Union Barbershop in Alameda, California. In 1960, they started
Charm Beauty College in Oakland becoming the first African Americans to own and operate a beauty college in Northern California.
They also operated an additional beauty school in Richmond and started the first black travel agency, Charm Travel Agency,
that catered to African Americans looking to vacation in Africa and the Caribbean.
Scope and Content of Collection
Ambrosia Wysinger Jones Papers includes photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, newspaper clippings, legal documents, and
ephemera that document the various business activities and family history of Ambrosia Wysinger Jones. A majority of the papers
are family photographs of the Jones and Wysinger families and Jones’ beauty school and travel agency businesses. The papers
also include four scrapbooks with assorted cards, photographs, and newspaper clippings related to the Jones family and business
activities, as well as two guest books with signatures of visitors to the Jones home. Correspondence in the collection is
most related to scholarships given to students attending the Charm beauty school, and a small number of assorted programs.
Arrangement
Series I. Photographs
Series II. Correspondence
Series III. Newspaper clippings
Series IV. Ephemera
Series V. Programs
Series VI. Legal records
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Charm Beauty School (Oakland, Calif.).
Charm Travel Agency (Oakland, Calif.).
Beauty culture--United States--History--20th century.
Beauty culture--Study and teaching--California.
Hairdressing of African Americans--History.
African American businesspeople--History--Sources.
Photographs.