Jean M. Conklin papers

Collection

Call Number: MS 2057

Scope and Contents

The Jean M. Conklin papers document the life of a Japanese American family that settled initially in San Francisco, California and later in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Included in the collection are materials created and collected by Jean Conklin about the Morisuye (Jean's father's line) and Hasegawa (Jean's mother's line) families, of which Jean was among the first generation born in the United States. Also included among the material is documentation about Jean's father, Masanobu Moriuye, and his efforts to establish the first Japanese American Boy Scout troop in San Francisco, as well as materials documenting Jean's childhood, college years, and life as the wife of Yale anthropology professor Harold C. Conklin. Also included are pieces of Jean's artwork, Jean's public school and college papers, family correspondence, family scrapbooks, 8mm-film footage of family travel between the 1930s and 1960s, VHS tapes, photographs, slides, and research materials related to her family's genealogy.

Dates

1890 - 2006
Majority of material found within 1935 - 2006

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by Jean M. Conklin has been transferred to Yale University. These materials may be used for non-commercial purposes without seeking permission from Yale University as the copyright holder. For other uses of these materials, please contact beinecke.library@yale.edu.

Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of the estate of Harold C. Conklin, 2016.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in six series: I. Correspondence, 1940-2006. II. Family Papers, 1915-2005. III. School Papers, Notebooks, and Diaries, 1930-2004. IV. Travel Papers, 1952-2003. V. Scrapbooks and Photographs, 1890-1980. VI. Audiovisual Materials, 1930-1999.

Extent

30.33 Linear Feet (68 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Japanese

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.2057

Additional Description

Abstract

The personal and family papers of Jean M. Conklin, Yale University employee and wife of Yale anthropology professor Harold C. Conklin.

Biographical / Historical

Jean Mieko Conklin was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania on August 26, 1926 to Masanobu Morisuye and Kikue Hasegawa Morisuye, Japanese immigrants. Masanobu, Jean's father, was an engineer at the Westinghouse Corporation and founded the first Japanese American Boy Scout troop in the United States. Jean graduated from Oberlin College in 1948 and earned a master's degree in biology from Brown University in 1950. After graduating from Oberlin, Jean married Yale University anthropology professor Harold C. Conklin and accompanied him as a research assistant on several of his anthropological field trips. Jean worked at Yale University in a variety of roles, serving in several positions at the Yale School of Medicine, the Human Resources department, the Office of the General Counsel, and the Athletic Director's office. Her avocational interests included family genealogy, which is documented extensively in her papers, as well as photography, writing, and travel. Jean died in Hamden, Connecticut on July 22, 2010 at the age of 83.

Processing Information

The bulk of the materials was arranged by the donor. Information included in the Scope and Contents note and the collection inventory is drawn from information supplied with the collection and from a survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the collection inventory are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles were supplied by staff during processing.