This collection contains the professional and personal material of the Chow family from San Francisco, California.

William Jack Chow was born on July 3, 1909 in Fresno, California. Chow received his B.S. from Saint Mary's College and J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1935. As one of the country's first Chinese American lawyer, he represented Chinese immigrants battling against federal immigration authorities. In 1949, Chow and Jack Wong Sing formed the law office of Chow and Sing in collaboration with Chow’s politically well-connected older brother, Albert Chow. He was the first Chinese American deputy district attorney for San Francisco, the first president of the San Francisco Civil Service Commission, and chairman of the San Francisco Housing Authority. He also served on the San Francisco Parking Authority. Throughout his life, he was actively involved with numerous organizations, including: Six Companies, Bay Area Asian American Bar Association, the Chinatown Optimist Club, the Chinese Cemetery Association, the National Gee Tuck Benevolent Association, the Chinese Sportsman Club, Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and International Institute and Chinese Cultural Foundation. In addition to his community and political activities, Chow was president and Director of the Four Seas Restaurant and Director of Wing Sing Chong Company, Importers of Food Products.

156 boxes and 2 oversize folders

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, please go to following web site.