Descriptive Summary
Access
Access Restrictions
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Processing Information
Biography / Administrative History
Scope and Content of Collection
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Separated Material
Descriptive Summary
Title: Flood family papers
Dates: circa 1850s-1963
Collection number: MS 49
Collector:
Flood, Lydia Flood.
Creator:
Flood family.
Collection Size:
.1 linear feet
(2 folders)
Repository:
African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
Abstract: The Flood family was one of the earliest and most prominent African American families to settle in Oakland, California. The
Flood Family Papers includes 18 photographs, Lydia Flood Jackson’s funeral program, and two letters written by Lydia Flood
Jackson to Ruth Lasartemay.
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 Flood Family Papers must be obtained from the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.
Preferred Citation
Flood family papers, MS 49, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.
Processing Information
Processed by Sean Heyliger, 08/15/2013.
Biography / Administrative History
The Flood family was one of the earliest and most prominent African American families to settle in Oakland, California. After
purchasing his freedom, Isaac Flood (1816-1892) moved to California in following the Gold Rush, settling in Oakland in 1853.
He worked as a laborer and tradesman and married Elizabeth Thorn Scott (1828-1867) in 1855, a school teacher from Sacramento
who started the first public school for African American students in the state. In 1857, Elizabeth opened a private school
in the Flood home for African American students, which was moved to the African Methodist Church in 1863 and operated for
three years before closing in 1866. The couple had two children, George Francis Flood, who was born in 1857 and was thought
to be the first African American born in Oakland, California, and Lydia Flood (1862-1963).
Isaac Flood and Lydia Flood Jackson were both out-spoken advocates for African American civil rights and education. Isaac
Flood served as secretary on the Education Committee of the Colored Citizens of the State of California and in 1871 successfully
petitioned the Oakland Public School Board to admit minority children. Lydia Flood Jackson was active in many women’s organizations,
including the Native Daughter’s Club, Fanny Jackson Coppin Club, and Federation of Women’s Colored Clubs. She served as the
Federation of Women’s Colored Clubs’ first legislative chairwoman and advocated for the organization to promote women’s suffrage.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Flood Family Papers includes 18 photographs, Lydia Flood Jackson’s funeral program, and two letters written by Lydia Flood
Jackson to Ruth Lasartemay. A majority of the photographs are portraits of Flood family members and friends of the Flood family
in Oakland, California. Included in the collection is a tintype portrait of Oakland’s first African American school teacher,
Elizabeth Scott Thorn Flood, taken mostly likely in the 1850s.
Arrangement
Series I. Photographs
Series II. Lydia Flood Jackson
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Flood family.
Jackson, Lydia Flood.
African American families -- California -- Oakland.
African American teachers -- California -- Oakland.
Separated Material
Four folders of photocopies of genealogical material transferred to accession file.