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Guide to the Ambrosia Wysinger Jones Papers
MS 27  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Access Restrictions
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Processing Information
  • Biography / Administrative History
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Ambrosia Wysinger Jones papers
    Dates: circa 1860s-1991
    Collection number: MS 27
    Creator: Jones, Ambrosia Wysinger, 1905-1999.
    Creator: Jones, Hillarie, 1918-1975.
    Collection Size: 1.5 linear feet (3 boxes + 1 oversized box)
    Repository: African American Museum and Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
    Oakland, CA 94612
    Abstract: Ambrosia Wysinger Jones Papers includes photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, newspaper clippings, legal documents, and ephemera that document the various business activities and family history of Ambrosia Wysinger Jones.
    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 Ambrosia Wysinger Jones Papers must be obtained from the African American Museum and Library at Oakland.

    Preferred Citation

    Ambrosia Wysinger Jones papers, MS 27, African American Museum and Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.

    Acquisition Information

    Papers donated to the Northern California Center for Afro-American History and Life by Ambrosia Jones on December 20, 1993.

    Processing Information

    Processed by Sean Heyliger, Archivist, April 18, 2013.

    Biography / Administrative History

    Ambrosia Wysinger Jones (1905-1999) was born on August 30, 1905 in Oakland, California. She was the granddaughter of the noted civil rights activist, Edmond Wysinger, an early advocate of desegregating the California public school system in the 1890s. In the 1940s, she married Hillarie Jones and the two owned and operated a number of business enterprises, including a chain of barbershops in Oakland and ‘The Alameda’ Barbeque Pit and Union Barbershop in Alameda, California. In 1960, they started Charm Beauty College in Oakland becoming the first African Americans to own and operate a beauty college in Northern California. They also operated an additional beauty school in Richmond and started the first black travel agency, Charm Travel Agency, that catered to African Americans looking to vacation in Africa and the Caribbean.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    Ambrosia Wysinger Jones Papers includes photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, newspaper clippings, legal documents, and ephemera that document the various business activities and family history of Ambrosia Wysinger Jones. A majority of the papers are family photographs of the Jones and Wysinger families and Jones’ beauty school and travel agency businesses. The papers also include four scrapbooks with assorted cards, photographs, and newspaper clippings related to the Jones family and business activities, as well as two guest books with signatures of visitors to the Jones home. Correspondence in the collection is most related to scholarships given to students attending the Charm beauty school, and a small number of assorted programs.

    Arrangement

    Series I. Photographs Series II. Correspondence Series III. Newspaper clippings Series IV. Ephemera Series V. Programs Series VI. Legal records

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
    Charm Beauty School (Oakland, Calif.).
    Charm Travel Agency (Oakland, Calif.).
    Beauty culture--United States--History--20th century.
    Beauty culture--Study and teaching--California.
    Hairdressing of African Americans--History.
    African American businesspeople--History--Sources.
    Photographs.