Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Ella Yee Quan collection2022.M.1.Quan
2022.M.1.Quan
No online items
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
Title: Ella Yee Quan collection
Creator:
Ella Yee Quan
Creator:
Yee Wah Yee
Identifier/Call Number: 2022.M.1.Quan
Physical Description:
3.53 Cubic Feet
3 Banker's boxes, 1 document box
Date (inclusive): 1903-2014
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.
Language of Material:
English
, Chinese
.
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.
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.
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
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.
This collection is open to researchers and to the public for access. Please contact the Chinese Historical Society of Southern
California for more information.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Received as a donation from Ella Yee Quan's son, Richard Quan, after Ella's death in 2014.
Ella Yee Quan Collection, Chinese Historical Society of Southern California.
Name of Cataloger / Date Completed
Coryn Hardison, 5/6/2022