Toyota family papers, ca. 1910-1961

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Summary

Title:
Toyota family papers
Dates:
ca. 1910-1961
Creators:
Toyota family
Abstract:
Fred Shizutaro Toyota (1885-1959) worked as a labor contractor heading the Japanese labor camp for the Nevada Consolidated Copper Corporation from 1912 to 1941. He arrived in the United States from Hiroshima Prefecture in 1905. In 1916 he married Kame Tetsumura, another Hiroshima native who came to join her husband in the United States the following year. Together they had five children. Kame and her children worked tirelessly to prove Fred's innocence and seek justice during his internment from 1941 to 1944 on false charges. The collection consists of personal and financial document of the family, numerous correspondence including letters of appeal, as well as records relating to the labor camp Fred headed. Materials are in both English and Japanese.
Extent:
2 boxes (1 linear ft.)
Language:
Finding aid is written in English and Japanese.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Toyota family papers (Collection 2010). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of documentation and ephemera for Fred and Kame Toyota individually as well as official and financial records of their family as whole. A large portion of it comprises of various correspondence, both within family members and with others. Included among the correspondence are letters written by Kame and her children to appeal charges against Fred and seek justice for his wrongful internment. Further, the collection contains materials relating to the Japanese labor camp Frank headed in McGill, Nevada, such as correspondence between camp workers and the Toyotas as well as the camp's financial records. Materials are in both English and Japanese.

Biographical / historical:

Fred Shizutaro Toyota was born March 18, 1885 and a native of Hiroshima Prefecture. He arrived in the Untied States in 1905. After working as an interpreter and foreman for various railroad companies, he was put in charge of a Japanese labor camp of about 250 men for the Nevada Consolidated Copper Corporation at Ruth and McGill, Nevada in 1912. He remained in this position until 1941, when he was arrested and interned on the suspicion of loyalty to an enemy nation, stemming from the fact that he had been sending money back to Japan on behalf of some of his workers. In the span of December 1941 to Janauary 1944, he was interned at Fort Missoula, Montana; Fort Sill, Oklahoma: Fort Livingston, Louisiana; and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He died on May 22, 1959 from a lingering illness.

Kame Toyota (né.e Tetsumura) was born July 10, 1894 and also a native of Hiroshima Prefecture. She married Fred S. Toyota on August 17, 1916 and arrived in the United States in 1917 to join her husband. Prior, she taught elementary school in Hiroshima. During her husband's internment, she worked tirelessly to appeal charges against him.

Together, they had five children: Yoshiko, Toshiko, Fred Taro, Shizuko, and Kimiko.

Processing information:

Processed by Susanne Mari Sakai in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Megan Hahn Fraser, November 2011.

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series:

  1. Personal and financial records of the family
  2. Correspondence of the family
  3. Correspondence regarding Fred Toyota's wrongful internment and his family's efforts to seek justice
  4. Personal correspondence of Kame Toyota
  5. Documents relating to the Japanese labor camp in McGill, Nevada and its employees

Physical location:
Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by Susanne Mari Sakai in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Megan Hahn Fraser, November 2011; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
Date Prepared:
© 2012
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid derived from database containing container list structure and data, encoding added via MS Access and Notetab Pro; Date of source: 2011; frontmatter gathered MARC Record. Supplementary encoding and revision supplied by Caroline Cubé.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Toyota family papers (Collection 2010). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
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