Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Fukuda and Whitney Families Papers
2008.16  
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Processing Information
  • Biographical Note
  • Scope and Content
  • Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms
  • Additional collection guides:

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Fukuda and Whitney families papers
    Dates (inclusive): 1940-1995
    Dates (bulk): 1942-1943
    Collection number: 2008.16
    Collection Size: 1 linear foot (2 boxes, 1 folder, 1 lamp stand)
    Repository: Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, Calif.)
    Los Angeles, California 90012
    Creator: Fukuda, Fumiko
    Creator: Fukuda, Louise
    Creator: Whitney, Olive Harrison
    Abstract: The collection contains materials sent between the Fukuda and Whitney families during WWII; primarily letters from Fumiko Fukuda at Poston to Mrs. Olive Whitney in Upland from 1942 to 1943. Items include mostly correspondence, research materials, photos, and information about both families.
    Physical location: Japanese American National Museum. 100 North Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

    Access

    By appointment only. Please contact the Collections Management and Access Unit (collections@janm.org). Advanced notice is required.

    Publication Rights

    All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in this collection must be submitted to the Collections Management and Access Unit at the Japanese American National Museum (collections@janm.org).

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Fukuda and Whitney Families Papers. 2008.16, Japanese American National Museum. Los Angeles, CA.

    Acquisition Information

    The collection was acquired in 2007 as a gift of the George H. Whitney and Isabel C. Whitney Family Trust.

    Processing Information

    Letters were transcribed by Isabel and George Whitney prior to donation. Many extra photocopies and duplicates were discarded. A container list and finding aid was created in 2017 by Jamie Henricks.

    Biographical Note

    The Fukuda family was connected to the Whitney family by way of the Whitneys’ home in Upland, California. Mr. Fukuda (a widowed father of 7 daughters) was the caretaker of the Whitneys’ property and lived in a home on the grounds. Fumiko Fukuda lived with her father in the caretaker’s home prior to evacuation and was a companion to Mrs. Olive Whitney.
    After being forced to evacuate, Mr. Fukuda and five of his daughters were sent to Poston Relocation Center and lived together in one room. One daughter (Alma) and her husband and son were at Santa Anita Assembly Center before requesting a transfer to Poston. Mrs. Whitney kept the Fukuda family’s cat at her Upland home, and frequently sent care packages and goods the family requested (paper, cowboy boots, cloth, canned fruit, and many other items). The Whitneys and Fukudas corresponded almost daily, commenting on camp life and Catholicism (to which some of the daughters and Mrs. Whitney had converted). During the war, Mr. Whitney was frequently ill, and both their sons were abroad with the Navy.
    Mrs. Whitney died unexpectedly in 1943 in a car crash, and the Whitneys tried to request that Fumiko be released from Poston to care for Mr. Whitney in Upland, but the request was denied. The families continued to correspond for a while, but writing dropped off dramatically after the Fukudas traveled to Oregon and Utah to try resettling and when Mr. Whitney died in 1945.
    Mrs. Whitney’s daughter-in-law, Isabel, collected items related to the Fukudas and Whitneys in the early 1970s. She transcribed all of the letters, did research about Poston and Japanese Americans, and hoped to publish a book about the Fukudas in the early 1990s. The book project fell through, and the collection was eventually donated to the Japanese American National Museum.
    Fukuda family members:
    • Hichirouyemon Fukuda [Fukuda, or Mr. Fukuda] (2/19/1874 – 2/15/1946)
    • Kotora Sugsta Fukuda [Mrs. Fukuda] (12/24/1889 – 9/30/1926)
    • Virginia Fukuda Ciaranello (6/19/1909-2/8/1984)
    • Alma Fukuda Watari (husband Jimmy Watari, son Layne Watari)
    • Mary Masako “Socks” Mariya Fukuda Okita (3/28/1919-2/16/1987)
    • Fumiko “Micky” Fukuda Emoto (6/2/1923-7/6/1972), (husband George Emoto, 5/1/1925-4/14/1983)
    • Shizue “Sue” Fukuda Ono
    • Dorothy “Dot” Fukuda Itami
    • Louise “Lou” Fukuda Sagata
    Whitney family members:
    • Alden Bradford Whitney [Mr. Whitney] (12/1/1885-1/5/1945)
    • Olive Harrison Whitney [Mrs. Whitney] (12/29/1884-2/10/1943)
    • George Harrison Whitney (3/3/1914-1/15/2000), (wife Isabel Agnes Whitney 5/26/1915-5/7/2007)
    • Bradford “Braddo” Whitney (9/6/1917-1/20/2005)

    Scope and Content

    The collection contains materials sent between the Fukuda and Whitney families during and after WWII, and some correspondence in the 1970s and 1990s. The collection is primarily letters from Fumiko Fukuda at Poston to Mrs. Olive Whitney in Upland from 1942 to 1943. The collection was assembled, and organized, and transcribed by Isabel Whitney.
    Though the families wrote letters back and forth, the majority of the remaining collection are letters received by Mrs. Whitney. The bulk of the letters are from Fumiko, but also include letters from Louise (whose cat was cared for by Mrs. Whitney) and the other sisters. Louise collected a group of letters from Mrs. Whitney, which Louise sent to Isabel. Fumiko’s husband collected a group of letters and ephemera from the Whitney family, which he sent to Isabel. Other letters come from Mrs. Sanderson (the Whitneys' housekeeper), George and Braddo, Catholic priests, and others.
    The letters are mostly descriptions of camp life (including a diagram of their barracks layout, descriptions of food and activities, jobs, and other details) and requests for items sent to camp. There is also a handful of letters and items about Catholicism, as a few of the daughters converted to Catholicism and tried to attend church at Poston.
    Aside from correspondence and ephemera, there are photos, research materials, and information about both families. One large portrait is of the Fukuda family (including Mr. Fukuda, all seven daughters, and one grandson). Isabel Whitney collected many files of information about Poston and the Fukuda family members, probably to supplement a potential book project. Three audiocassettes of an interview with Isabel and George Whitney are included. Also included in the collection is a large piece of carved manzanita wood, possibly originally a vase, but eventually turned into a lamp base.

    Arrangement

    Previous arrangement was preserved when possible. Collection materials arrived in multiple binders, and original binder number (ex: Binder VIII) is noted on the new folders.

    Indexing Terms

    Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
    Poston Relocation Center (Ariz.)
    Upland (Calif.)
    Catholic Church

    Additional collection guides: