Ella Yee Quan collection, 1903-2014

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Summary

Title:
Ella Yee Quan collection
Dates:
1903-2014
Creators:
Ella Yee Quan and Yee Wah Yee
Abstract:
Ella Yee Quan was an educator in the Los Angeles Unified School District as well as an active community leader in numerous educational, civic, and cultural groups. In 1975, she helped found the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC), where she would later serve as president. This collection includes Quan's personal records, including class photographs from her time teaching at Castelar Elementary School; artifacts belonging to her herbalist grandfather, Yee Wah Yee; immigration records for Quan's relatives dating back to the early twentieth century; and publications as well as other documents pertaining to Santa Barbara Chinatown, where Quan was originally from.
Extent:
3.53 Cubic Feet 3 Banker's boxes, 1 document box
Language:
English , Chinese .
Preferred citation:

Ella Yee Quan Collection, Chinese Historical Society of Southern California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection includes documents, photographs, and artifacts belonging to Ella Yee Quan that pertain to her career in education, research on the Santa Barbara Chinatown community, herbalist materials, ephemera dating back to the 1920s, and immigration records. A significant portion of the collection consists of medicinal artifacts and realia belonging to Quan's grandfather, Yee Wah Yee. Publications such as journals, newspaper articles, maps, and brochures related to Santa Barbara and the city's Chinese American community make up another substantial part of the collection.

Biographical / historical:

Ella Yee Quan was born in Santa Barbara, California in 1926. She initially worked as a nurse's aide and as a typist before entering the field of education in the late 1950s. She earned her Bachelor's and Master's degree in Education as well as an Elementary and Adult Teaching Credential from California State University, Los Angeles. She also received a Secondary and an Administrative Credential from Mount St. Mary's College and a Bilingual Cross Cultural Credential from the University of Southern California. From 1964 until her retirement in 1989, Quan worked as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in several schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District, including Castelar Elementary School in Chinatown. She also developed bilingual teaching materials for non-English speaking students of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and Samoan descent. In addition to her illustrious educational career, Quan was involved in several community organizations, including the Chinese Drum and Bugle Corps, Chinese Language School, Services for Asian American Youth, and Asian American Educators Association. She was also a founder of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, where she would serve as president. Quan passed away in 2014, after which her materials were donated to CHSSC.

Acquisition information:
Received as a donation from Ella Yee Quan's son, Richard Quan, after Ella's death in 2014.
Processing information:

After Ella Yee Quan's passing in 2014, her son, Richard Quan, donated his mother's materials to CHSSC. The Ella Yee Quan collection was processed by Collections Manager Coryn Hardison as part of the CHSSC Archive's mission to pursue, preserve, and communicate knowledge of the history of Chinese Americans in Southern California. Boxes 1-3 of the collection were labeled and inventoried to create a container list and an initial finding aid. Several of the artifacts in Box 1 were placed in smaller containers within the box, with some items remaining in their original containers. This was mainly for the purpose of preservation and maintaining original order, as well as due to limited resources. Additional items originally belonging to Quan were added to the collection during processing and rehoused in a Banker's box, labeled now as Box 4. To help preserve the integrity of the collection, the documents and other materials retain the original order in which CHSSC received them.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged by topic into three series: 1. Yee Clan Materials; 2. Santa Barbara Chinatown Documents; 3. Personal Materials. Each series contains subseries sorted by material type, with two of the eight total subseries containing files organized by topic.

SERIES I: Yee Clan Materials, 1903-1966

SUBSERIES 1A: Yee Wah Yee Materials, approx. 1920-1939 (undated)

FILE 1: Documents, approx. 1927

FILE 2: Medicinal Artifacts, approx. 1920-1939 (undated)

FILE 3: Realia, approx. 1920-1939 (undated)

SUBSERIES 1B: Immigration Documents, 1903-1966 (bulk 1903-1930)

SERIES II: Santa Barbara Chinatown Documents, 1950-1998

SUBSERIES 2A: Newspaper Articles, 1950-1982

SUBSERIES 2B: Brochures and Maps, undated

SUBSERIES 2C: Publications, 1962-1998

SUBSERIES 2D: Notes and Correspondence, undated

SERIES III: Personal Materials, 1976-2014

SUBSERIES 3A: Awards and Honors, 1976-1994

SUBSERIES 3B: Photographs, 1977-1991

FILE 1: Family Photographs, undated

FILE 2: Castelar Elementary School Photographs, 1977-1981

FILE 3: Events, 1991

About this collection guide

Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2022-05-13 15:06:00 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open to researchers and to the public for access. Please contact the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California for more information.

Preferred citation:

Ella Yee Quan Collection, Chinese Historical Society of Southern California.

Location of this collection:
411 and 415 Bernard Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012, US
Contact:
(323) 222-0856
info@chssc.org
Website