Royal E. Towns Papers
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c85h7h4w Online items available Guide to the Royal E. Towns Papers Sean Heyliger African American Museum and Library at Oakland 659 14th Street Oakland, California 94612 Phone: (510) 637-0198 Fax: (510) 637-0204 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/locations/african-american-museum-library-oakland © 2013 African American Museum and Library at Oakland. All rights reserved. Guide to the Royal E. Towns MS 26 1 Papers Guide to the Royal E. Towns Papers Collection number: MS 26 African American Museum and Library at Oakland Oakland, California Processed by: Sean Heyliger Date Completed: 04/18/2013 Encoded by: Sean Heyliger © 2013 African American Museum and Library at Oakland. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Title: Royal E. Towns papers Dates: 1857-1990 Collection number: MS 26 Creator: Royal E. Towns Collection Size: 17.8 linear feet(30 boxes + 1 oversized box) Repository: African American Museum and Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.) Oakland, CA 94612 Abstract: Royal E. Towns (1899-1990) was born February 10, 1899 in Oakland, California to William and Elizabeth Scott Towns. The Royal E. Towns Papers consists of photographs, correspondence, publications, financial and legal records, and ephemera that document Towns’ work as a City of Oakland firefighter, photographer, director of public relations for Free and Accepted Masons of California, and as an amateur historian. 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 Royal E. Towns Papers must be obtained from the African American Museum and Library at Oakland. Preferred Citation Royal E. Towns papers, MS 26, African American Museum and Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California. Processing Information Processed by Sean Heyliger, 04/18/2013. Biography / Administrative History Royal E. Towns (1899-1990) was born February 10, 1899 in Oakland, California to William and Elizabeth Scott Towns. Towns was raised in West Oakland and attended West Oakland Free Kindergarten and married Lucille Dennis in 1920. He worked for a short time as dining car waiter before joining the Oakland Fire Department as a hoseman at Engine No. 22 in 1927. In 1941, Towns became the first African American to be appointed as the fire department’s chief operator, and eventually was promoted to lieutenant, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1962. Towns advocated for the hiring and promotion of African Americans within the fire and police departments. He held classes at the North Oakland Y.M.C.A. in the 1940s to help young African Americans study for the civil service exam to become firemen, and he also took a leading role in the integration of the Oakland Fire Department in 1954. Towns also compiled employment statistics on African Americans firefighters throughout the country that were later used by litigators attempting to integrate many of the country’s fire departments. He also served as the Western representative on a national Guide to the Royal E. Towns MS 26 2 Papers firemen’s association task force on racial integration and served as the historian for the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters. Towns was also an active mason as a member of the Adonis Lodge No. 25 and Queen Esther Chapter No. 4, Order of the Eastern Star, Prince Hall Right of Adoption. Towns served as a Senior Master of the Adonis Lodge and was the editor and director of public relations for the Prince Hall Masonic Digest in the 1950s and 1960s. Towns later work as an amateur historian after his retirement from the fire department started while he was performing historical research in mason records when he was an editor on the Prince Hall Masonic Digest. Towns interest in the history of African Americans in California spurred him to give numerous lectures on African American history to students, and he also served on the Allensworth Advisory Committee to establish Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, and he served as treasurer of the Oakland Negro Historical Society. Scope and Content of Collection The Royal E. Towns Papers consists of photographs, correspondence, publications, financial and legal records, and ephemera that document Towns’ work as a City of Oakland firefighter, photographer, director of public relations for Free and Accepted Masons of California, and as an amateur historian. The papers are arranged into six series: masonic activities, firefighters, assorted photographs, biographical, Allensworth Advisory Committee, and assorted printed material. Over 3,200 photographs comprise the bulk of the papers and include African American portraits, group photographs, 19th century tintypes, carte de visites, cabinet cards, and photographs taken by Towns at various family, masonic, and fire department social events. The masonic series includes over 700 photographs of masonic events, portraits of masonic leadership, and group photographs of various African American masonic lodges throughout California. The series also includes newsletters, meeting minutes, and constitution and by-laws of masonic lodges mostly in California. The firefighters series includes over 500 photographs of African American firefighters mostly in Oakland, California, though there are also a significant number of group photographs of African American fire departments taken by Towns in other cities. The series also includes assorted City of Oakland and fire department publications, and a few newspaper clippings and employee records related to Towns’ work as a City of Oakland firefighter. The assorted photographs series includes the bulk of the photographs and is divided into five subseries: architecture, group photographs, portraits, special events, scrapbooks, and assorted. The architecture series includes mostly photographs of various buildings in the Oakland area; group photographs include West Oakland class photographs in the early 20th century and group photographs taken at unidentified social events; portraits include Towns’ work as a portrait photographer and approximately a hundred 19th century portrait photographs collected by Towns, mostly of African Americans in Oakland and San Francisco; special events include photographs where Towns worked as a photographer; and scrapbooks include a small number of photographs that were glued into scrapbooks that were disassembled at a later date. The biographical series includes a small amount of Towns’ personal correspondence, financial and legal records, funeral programs of Royal and Lucille Towns, newspaper clippings, and Towns family photographs. The papers also include brochures and photographs related to Towns’ serving on the Allensworth Advisory Committee and an assortment of printed material. Arrangement I. Masonic Activities II. Firefighters III. Assorted photographs IV. Biographical V. Allensworth Advisory Committee VI. Assorted printed material Indexing Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog. Oakland (Calif.). Fire Dept.--History. Towns, Royal E. Freemasons. Prince Hall Grand Lodge (Calif.). African American freemasonry--California--History. African American freemasons--California--History. African American fraternal organizations--History. African American fire fighters. African American fire fighters--California--Oakland. African American photographers. Portrait photography--West (U.S.)--History--19th century. Portrait prints--1860-1890. Guide to the Royal E. Towns MS 26 3 Papers Oakland (Calif.). West Oakland. Oakland (Calif.)--Social life and customs. Separated Material Four books were removed from the collection and added to the African American Museum and Library at Oakland's library collection. Masonic activities Physical Description: 21 folders + 742 photographs + 1 oversized folder Series Scope and Content Summary Includes African American masonic publications in California, certificates, ephemera, and 742 photographs. A majority of the photographs are portraits of masonic grand masters in California, group photographs of various lodges around California, masonic parades, and the annual masonic convention. Arrangement Arranged by format and date thereafter. All photographs are arranged numerically by photograph identification number. Photographs Box 2:2 Menelik Temple Shiners March [0115] undated Box 2:2 Group photograph of members of the International Order of Eagles [0129] undated Box 2:2 Group photograph of members of the International Order of Eagles [0130] undated Box 2:2 Group photograph of members of the East Gate Lodge #44 F. & A.M. [0131] undated Box 2:2 Group photograph of members of the Gustavus A. Thompson #79 San Diego, California F. & A.M. [0132] undated Box 2:3 Group photograph of members of the Eli Baker #62 F. & A. M. Lodge, Oakland, California [0149] undated Box 2:6 Group photograph of members of the Gustavus A. Thompson #79 F. & A.M. San Diego, California [0195] undated https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7Caa87fa6e-cbc7-4064-a8b0-4844535bd587/ Box 2:6 Group photograph of members of the Jerusalem Lodge # 72 F. & A.M. San Francisco, California [0196] 1954 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7C46ac002d-19a5-49c1-b038-fd3aa718f3c7/ Box 2:6 Group photograph of members of the Thomas Waller #49 F. &