["itemContainer",{"xmlns:xsi":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance","xsi:schemaLocation":"http://omeka.org/schemas/omeka-xml/v5 http://omeka.org/schemas/omeka-xml/v5/omeka-xml-5-0.xsd","uri":"https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=African-American+Community&output=omeka-json","accessDate":"2024-03-28T10:10:32-07:00"},["miscellaneousContainer",["pagination",["pageNumber","1"],["perPage","10"],["totalResults","6"]]],["item",{"itemId":"134485","public":"1","featured":"1"},["fileContainer",["file",{"fileId":"21628"},["src","https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/f0c246d6dc9dd949879de19dff0a822d.pdf"],["authentication","9e9ceb09765ddcb7b0869cbfec4d4162"],["elementSetContainer",["elementSet",{"elementSetId":"7"},["name","PDF Text"],["description"],["elementContainer",["element",{"elementId":"94"},["name","Text"],["description"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1900401"},["text","Uncle Dave's Story: The Life of Ex-Slave Dave Boffman\nBy Phil Reader\nFor thirty-six years he lived quietly on a small homestead which was located atop a wooded hill at the end of\nBranciforte Drive in the Vine Hill district. When he died in 1893 he was a wizened old man bent low with age,\nsporting a balding pate and grizzled white beard. In death his looks belied the once hulking ex-slave who had\ntrod barefoot across the prairie in search of freedom. Tales involving slavery have, by their very nature, an\nunderlying sense of pathos. No story in Santa Cruz county history is more poignant than that of Dave Boffman.\nIt is indeed one of those stories which cries out to be told.\nHe was born at the Baughman plantation in Crab Orchard, near Stanford, Lincoln County, Kentucky. The exact\ndate of his birth and the name of his parents remain lost to history having been recorded in one of those slave\ninventories which reduces the nativity of a human being to a mere number. \"Born on this date, one Nigger\nboy.\" Boffman, himself, estimated the year be about 1820.\nHis old master was Henry Baughman, a transplanted Virginia aristocrat, who owned one of the largest cotton\nplantations in central Kentucky. To work his fields, he owned nearly one hundred slaves, and it is among these\npeople that young Dave grew into manhood.\nIn 1837 he was mated to Matilda a sixteen year old fellow resident of slave row. During the next ten years, six\nchildren were born to this union, three boys and three girls. Old master Henry died in 1843 and Dave and his\nfamily were deeded to a grandson, Newton Baughman.\nThe word that gold had been discovered in California spread quickly across the country, reaching Kentucky\nduring the summer of 1848. Newt Baughman, who was a restless sort, immediately made plans to move west\nwith his wife and daughter. In late summer they left Kentucky, taking with them their slave Dave and his\nfamily. Crossing the Mississippi River, they continued on into north-western Missouri and bought a farm at\nLafayette township in Clinton county.\nAfter settling in, Newt Baughman began to prepare for his trip to the gold fields. In order to finance the\njourney he sold three of Dave's children to a slave buyer from the south. He then asked Dave to accompany\nhim to California in return for the opportunity to purchase his freedom once they had reached the mines.\nDave readily accepted, seeing in it the chance to not only buy his freedom, but to reunite his family.\nDuring the month of May, 1851, master and slave set out, planning to follow the Missouri River up to old Fort\nKearny and, there, pick up the California Trail. But this was not meant to be an easy journey.\n1\n\n�All of the border states were fraught with slave hunters forever on the lookout for run-away slaves, and most\nwere not opposed to kidnapping a freedman, or stealing a slave from his master. All of the points of terminus\nfor the overland trails were closely watched.\nAs luck would have it, Dave and Newt Baughman were quickly separated and he had to make it to Fort Kearny\non his own. One day as he walked along the river bed, he happened upon a party of slave hunters, who were\nrunning a large pack of blood-hounds. He immediately dove into the swift current, where he knew that the\ndogs would not follow, and swam to the opposite shore while a hail of bullets plunked into the water all\naround him. He was forced to employ this maneuver on two other occasions to avoid capture before arriving\nsafely at the fort where he found his master waiting.\nAfter resting a few days they set out across the prairie following the Platte River through Nebraska and\nWyoming toward the Rocky Mountains. This was Indian country and the Cheyennes and Pawnee were on the\nprowl. Twice they were attacked and during the second raid Dave, who was not allowed to carry arms, was\ntaken prisoner.\nHe was marched with much ceremony into the Indian camp. Because he was the first black man that this tribe\nhad ever seen, they looked upon him more as a curiosity then a captive. During his time with the Indians, he\nwas puzzled by the fact that he was constantly being touched and rubbed. Dave soon learned that his capture\nwas considered to be a good omen and that anyone who touched his black skin would surely have good luck.\nHis special standing with the tribe proved to be a boon because they did not post a guard on him and he was\nable to effect his escape.\nContinuing westward alone, he found Baughman again waiting for him at Fort Laramie. There they joined a\nlarge flotilla of wagons and completed the rest of their journey to California in relative comfort and without\nfurther incident. Dave, now in the prime of his life, had walked the whole two thousand miles barefoot.\nOctober, 1851 found the two men busily prospecting near Mokelumne Hill in the northern mines. Their efforts\nmet with success and Dave was able to unearth enough gold to meet the one thousand dollar price that\nBaughman wanted for his freedom. He stayed on at the diggings long enough to accumulate a small stake.\nDuring this time he met a young man named Samuel McAdams, who told him about the opportunities to be\nfound working in the redwood groves near the coastal community of Santa Cruz. Lumber was selling for 5100\nper thousand feet, and if a man was willing to work hard, he could amass a fortune. In early spring the exslave, who now referred to himself as Dave Boffman (spelled phonetically), set out with McAdams for Santa\nCruz. Boffman's goal was to earn enough money in the woods to buy freedom for his wife and children, whom\nhe had not heard from in well over a year.\nUpon arriving at Santa Cruz, he bought a small house on an acre of land in pueblo de Branciforte. He then\nwent up to Zayante and leased a saw mill from Isaac Graham. Boffman and McAdams spent the rest of the\nyear milling enough lumber to fill a large schooner which they planned to ship up to the market in San\nFrancisco. However on the way up the coast, the schooner was caught in a storm and dashed upon the rocks\nPescadero. The cargo was lost and consequence the two men were ruined.\nMcAdams left the county in despair, but Dave knuckled down and went to work for the Weeks Brothers, who\nwere putting in their first crop of potatoes along Branciforte Creek. By dint of much hard labor he accumulated\nthe money to purchase a nice little 45 acre ranch at Rodeo Gulch in February of 1860.\n2\n\n�He took on as a partner, a German immigrant named Herman Siegmann. They planted a orchard and sowed a\ncrop of wheat and oats. Prospects had never looked brighter for Dave and he began to plan for the day when\nhe could send for his family.\nWhen they had taken possession of the ranch they had found running there a young unbranded colt. In May,\nSiegmann, against Boffman's advice, traded the colt to Live Oak stockman Martin Kinsley for a mare and her\nfoal. Thinking nothing more of the matter they set about the business of ranching.\nSeveral days later, Kinsley appeared at their door in the company of county sheriff John T. Porter. Kinsley\nstated that the colt which Seigmann had traded to him belonged to sheriff Porter and that he, Kinsley, was\nthere to retrieve his mare and foal.\nAt this point, Porter stepped in and told Boffman and Seigmann that what they had done\nwas a crime punishable by imprisonment at San Quentin. Boffman protested, saying that\nhe had nothing to with the trade, so he was innocent. But the sheriff insisted that Dave\nand the German were partners and if they didn't immediately pay him two hundred\ndollars, he would have them sent to prison. Boffman asked for time to go into Santa Cruz\nand talk to a lawyer.\nAgain Porter threatened them with jail, adding that if they didn't have cash, they could\ngive him a promissory note for the amount. He then guaranteed them if they paid off the\nnote he would not say anything about the affair. The sheriff had known Boffman for\nJohn T. Porter\nseveral years, and knew the man's reputation for honesty and fair dealing. Porter also\nknew that Dave was of innocent of any wrong doing, yet he continued to force the issue.\nBoffman realizing that he was a poor man, who on account of his color could not testify in court on his own\nbehalf, and knowing full well that Porter, in his role as sheriff, was quite capable of sending him to jail,\nacquiesced to the extortion. Porter wrote out the note which Boffman and Seigmann then signed.\nOn October 9, 1860, local businessman George Otto, also of German extraction, paid Porter the sum of one\nhundred dollars to be applied on the note in the name of Herman Seigmann. Both Boffman and Seigmann\nhoped that this would satisfy the sheriff, as it was the German alone who had inadvertently wronged him. But\nthis was not to be, because on January 3, 1861 Porter initiated court proceedings against Boffman for the full\namount.\nBeing ignorant of the laws and intimidated by Porter's standing in the community, Dave didn't contest the suit\nand a judgment of one hundred and eighty-five dollars plus interest was granted in Porter's favor. At the\nhearing the sheriff also claimed that Otto had only paid him fifty dollars not one hundred dollars.\nJudge McKee, in who's court the case was heard, denounced the way Porter had handled the matter and\npublicly regretted that he would have to rule in the sheriff's favor. Kinsley too, later testified as to the illegal\nactions taken by Porter.\nBoffman was unable to pay the judgment and lost the property when it was sold off at a constable's sale on\nMarch 16, 1861. The ranch was auctioned for eight hundred dollars, much more then the one hundred which\nPorter bid. Afterwards he learned that Boffman still possessed some stock -a mare, a colt, two milk cows with\ntheir calves, and a heifer - which he ordered seized and sold to satisfy the judgment.\n3\n\n�A demoralized Dave Boffman moved back to town and went to work as a day laborer. He was employed for a\ntime by Elihu Anthony, a local merchant. Anthony, also a Methodist minister, befriended him and was to keep\nan eye on Boffman's interests so that he would never have to undergo another shameful incident like the\nPorter affair. It was also Anthony who suggested that he take up a preemption on eighty acres of school land\nin section 16 of the Vine Hill area. Boffman filed the necessary papers in 1864 and took up residence at that\ntime.\nThe hillside land was so densely covered with brush and chaparral that Dave was forced to crawl on his hands\nand knees to find a clear spot. For three weeks no one heard from Dave, so Anthony rode out to the property\nwere he found Boffman hard at work clearing the land. During the time he had nothing\nto eat except for a few wild berries. The preacher took him home, fed him a hot meal,\nand drove him back to the homestead with a wagon load of provisions.\nIn time Dave finished clearing most of the land and built himself a small wooden shack\nwith a stone fireplace. In later years he planted an orchard and a forty acre vineyard.\nThis was to be his home for over thirty years.\nLittle by little he gave up on his dream of being again united with his wife Matilda and\nthe children. He was to remain desperately poor, earning only enough from his fruit and\nElihu Anthony\nvegetables to keep himself alive. He bought an old mare to help him with the plowing\nand was never known to ride it. When he went to town for supplies, he would lead the mare, plodding along\nbarefoot next to it, for Dave Boffman never owned a pair of shoes in his life.\nThe 1870s were exciting times for him because his nearest neighbors were the Lorenzana's and the\nRodriguez's. The young bandidos from these families trusted him and would sometimes hide out in his cabin.\nFaustino Lorenzana stayed there when things got too hot for him around Branciforte. During September of\n1871, Tiburcio Vasquez and his gang which included one of the Rodriguez boys were hiding there after they\nhad robbed the stage coach at Soap Lake near Hollister. On the 13th of the month, Vasquez was camped in a\nravine next to Boffman's house recovering from a bullet wound, when a gunfight broke out between the\ndesperadoes and a posse led by under sheriff Charlie Lincoln. Dave helped load the dangerously wounded man\ninto a wagon so that he could make good his escape.\nThe years slipped away and he became quite well known in the area for his many eccentricities. His hair and\nbeard turned white with age and his body shrunk and became gnarled by the passage of time. The children in\ntown came to know him as \"Uncle Dave\" and he was never without a story for them. His constant companion\nwas an old dog called \"Watch\" and he treated the animal with kindness allowing it to sleep on the foot of his\nbed.\nOn one occasion when Dave was bitten by a rattlesnake and the Santa Cruz Sentinel , printed a story reporting\nthe incident and declared the old man dead. The following day, however, he was seen in his orchard pulling up\nweeds with a bandaged hand. The paper was forced to print a retraction, concluding that it was the snake that\nwas dead not Uncle Dave.\nFor many years his friend Elihu Anthony had been searching for any member of Dave's family that remained\nalive. One day he heard about a granddaughter who was living up in northern California at Colusa county. Her\nname was Annie Drisdom and she was the child of Dave's oldest daughter Matilda. Anthony sent her money\nfor a ticket and was at the depot with Dave to meet her train.\n4\n\n�For Dave Boffman it was to be a bittersweet reunion as the girl brought him up to date on the fate of his\nfamily. His wife Matilda, thinking him dead, had remarried and moved to Kansas where she had passed away\nseveral years before. The only one of his children who was yet alive was a son George, then living in Topeka.\nGeorge had been a baby of less then one year when Dave had left home in 1851, he therefore had no\nmemories of his father.\nAnnie stayed with Boffman for six months taking care of his every need in an attempt to make up for all of the\nmissing years. But then the day came for her to return to her own life, leaving the old man to the company of\nhis dog.\nOn the night of April 19, 1893, Uncle Dave, almost senile and well into the\neighth decade of his life, fell asleep in an arm chair next to a roaring fire that\nhe had started in his fireplace. As he slept the flames leapt out of the hearth\nand caught the wooden floor boards of his cabin on fire. He barely escaped\nwith his life as the fire all but completely destroyed his shack.\nOnce again his longtime friend Elihu Anthony came to his rescue taking Dave\ninto his home and providing for him until it became necessary to commit him\nto the state asylum at Agnews. On September 23, 1893, Dave Boffman, the\nluckless ex-slave died quietly in his sleep. His remains were brought back to\nSanta Cruz and buried in the Anthony family plot at the Odd Fellows\nCemetery where a humble tombstone now marks his final resting place.\n\nDave Boffman's Grave\nDave Boffman's Grave\n\nThe Santa Cruz Sentinel eulogized him as \"honest, confiding, simple, industrious, and without a vice\",\nremembering a day \"thirty years earlier when we saw Uncle Dave carrying on his back a heavy plow from a\nSanta Cruz blacksmith shop to his farm, a distance of fully eight miles, performing this great task to save the\nstrain on his old horse.\"\nHowever it was his faithful dog \"Watch\" who was to have the final word of praise for Uncle Dave. The animal\nescaped from the Anthony place where it was being kept, and found his way back to the Boffman ranch. For\nmany months afterwards he lay in the burnt out shell of the cabin whining for his master.\n\nAuthor’s note:\nThe name of Dave Boffman sits uneasy on the ledger books of Santa Cruz county because there is still a debt\nthat is owed this meek and mild man, who for so many years could be found among us. This obligation can\nbest be resolved by simply revealing the truth about his life.\n\nNotes and References on Uncle Dave Boffman\nBirth\nWills and Inventories, Lincoln County, Kentucky, 1800-1850.\n\n5\n\n�United States Census\nLincoln County, Kentucky, 1820-1840.\nClinton County, Missouri, 1850.\nSanta Cruz County, California, Soquel Township, 1860.\nSanta Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz Township, 1870- 1880.\nBiography\nSanta Cruz Sentinel: September 2, 1885, April 21, 1893.\nSanta Cruz Surf: April 21, 1893.\nThe Riptide: Pioneer Edition, November 5, 1953.\nUncle Dave and the Rattlesnake\nSanta Cruz Sentinel: September 22, 1877, September 29, 1877.\nThe Porter Extortion Affair\nPajaro Times: August 31, 1867.\nSanta Cruz Sentinel: February 23, 1861 (Legal Ad re: Constable's Sale), January 2, 1864.\nHandbill in the David Jacks Collection, Special Collections, Stanford University.\n\nSource\nFrom: It Is Not My Intention to Be Captured. Copyright 1991 Phil Reader. Reproduced with the permission of\nPhil Reader. Photographs courtesy of Phil Reader.\n\nIt is the library’s intent to provide accurate information, however, it is not possible for the library to completely\nverify the accuracy of all information. If you believe that factual statements in a local history article are\nincorrect and can provide documentation, please contact the library.\n\n6\n\n�"]]]]]]]]],["collection",{"collectionId":"8"},["elementSetContainer",["elementSet",{"elementSetId":"1"},["name","Dublin Core"],["description","The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/."],["elementContainer",["element",{"elementId":"50"},["name","Title"],["description","A name given to the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"123576"},["text","Santa Cruz History Articles"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"41"},["name","Description"],["description","An account of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"123577"},["text","Original articles by library staff and by local authors and material from historical books. "]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"264219"},["text","Articles on Santa Cruz County history, many with illustrations, are available here.\r\n\r\nThe Santa Cruz Public Libraries is grateful to our local historians and their publishers for giving permission to include their articles. The content of the articles is the responsibility of the individual authors.\r\n"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"264220"},["text","It is the library's intent to provide accurate information. However, it is not possible to completely verify the accuracy of individual articles obtained from a variety of sources. If you believe that factual statements in an article are incorrect and can provide documentation, please contact the library."]]]],["element",{"elementId":"45"},["name","Publisher"],["description","An entity responsible for making the resource available"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"264216"},["text","Santa Cruz Public Libraries\r\n"]]]]]]]],["itemType",{"itemTypeId":"1"},["name","Document"],["description","A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text."],["elementContainer",["element",{"elementId":"7"},["name","Original Format"],["description","If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893843"},["text","Paper"]]]]]],["elementSetContainer",["elementSet",{"elementSetId":"1"},["name","Dublin Core"],["description","The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/."],["elementContainer",["element",{"elementId":"43"},["name","Identifier"],["description","An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893827"},["text","AR-182"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"50"},["name","Title"],["description","A name given to the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893828"},["text","Uncle Dave's Story: The Life of Ex-Slave Dave Boffman"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"49"},["name","Subject"],["description","The topic of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893829"},["text","Boffman, Dave"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893830"},["text","African-American Community"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893831"},["text","Anthony, Elihu"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893832"},["text","Porter, John"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1954203"},["text","Black People"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"39"},["name","Creator"],["description","An entity primarily responsible for making the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893833"},["text","Reader, Phil"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"48"},["name","Source"],["description","A related resource from which the described resource is derived"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893834"},["text","It Is Not My Intention to be Captured. Phil Reader, 1991."]]]],["element",{"elementId":"45"},["name","Publisher"],["description","An entity responsible for making the resource available"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893835"},["text","Santa Cruz Public Libraries"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"40"},["name","Date"],["description","A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893836"},["text","1991"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"38"},["name","Coverage"],["description","The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893837"},["text","Santa Cruz (County)"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893838"},["text","1890s"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893839"},["text","1870s"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"42"},["name","Format"],["description","The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893840"},["text","Text"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"44"},["name","Language"],["description","A language of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893841"},["text","En"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"51"},["name","Type"],["description","The nature or genre of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893842"},["text","ARTICLE"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"47"},["name","Rights"],["description","Information about rights held in and over the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893844"},["text","Copyright 1991 Phil Reader. Reproduced with the permission of Phil Reader. Photographs courtesy of Phil Reader."]]]]]]],["tagContainer",["tag",{"tagId":"39"},["name","Biography"]],["tag",{"tagId":"22"},["name","Minority Groups"]]]],["item",{"itemId":"134433","public":"1","featured":"1"},["fileContainer",["file",{"fileId":"20870"},["src","https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/1ee62d86123691ef95e7c695afae0f7e.pdf"],["authentication","e2e3197c3ad2b271caa4bc2e4c15e2de"],["elementSetContainer",["elementSet",{"elementSetId":"7"},["name","PDF Text"],["description"],["elementContainer",["element",{"elementId":"94"},["name","Text"],["description"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1899652"},["text","Oscar Thomas \"O.T.\" Jackson\nBy Phil Reader\n\nAs a young man, he had cut hair for a number of years at a small barber shop in the farming community of Watsonville,\nCalifornia. As an old man, he cut hair at a shaving parlor on Railroad Avenue in Oakland. But in between he lived a life\nwhich was unthinkable for any descendant of slaves just a single generation removed from the cotton fields. For one\nbrief moment, during the summer of 1883, he stood center stage in most of the major concert halls of the world and\nheadlined numerous command performances before the royal families of Europe. This remarkable man was Oscar\nThomas Jackson.\n\"O.T.\" Jackson was born in upstate New York on November 20, 1846 to\nDavid and Emma (Lane) Jackson. He joined a family that already consisted\nof two boys, named Adam and Jethro. The elder Jacksons were former\nslaves freed when England banned the institution of slavery in its West\nIndies colony.\nAfter coming to the United States, David Jackson—like so many other\nfreedmen—found it difficult to become integrated into American society.\nHe was a restless sort who traveled from town to town working as a day\nlaborer, usually following the course of the Erie Canal. It was a difficult\nliving with the prospects of raising and educating a family being sketchy at\nbest. So when word of the discovery of gold in California reached the east\ncoast, David Jackson turned his steps westward.\nDuring the spring of 1850, the Jacksons sailed out of New York harbor,\nrounding the Horn, and arrived at San Francisco on June 23, 1850. After\nsettling his family among the burgeoning African-American community in\nthat city, David Jackson set out for the gold fields. His efforts met with\nmoderate success so the family was able to establish itself comfortably\nand the boys were enrolled at the new all-Black school conducted by the\nReverend Jeremiah B. Sanderson in the basement of the St. Cyprian\nAfrican Methodist Episcopalian Church.\n\nO.T. Jackson\n\nEmma, with her husband away at the mines, found work as a seamstress and involved herself in church activities.\nPossessing a beautiful soprano voice, she became a soloist with the choir. In the late 1850s, she received word that her\nhusband had been killed in a mining accident. A few years later, the widow remarried, taking as her second husband\nPleasant Hill, a resident of the Oakland area.\n\n1\n\n�In their late teens, while still attending school, the boys were all apprenticed into a trade. O.T. was trained as a barber\nand went to work at a shop on Montgomery Street. After learning that the sizable African-American community in\nWatsonville was without the services of a barber, he moved south in the company of his two brothers. He set up his own\nshaving and hair dressing salon in the old Union Hotel building on Main Street and opened for business April 1, 1868.\nSoon his clientele was such that he found it necessary to take on the first of what would be three partners. His name\nwas Alexander Wilkins and he had come to California from Jamaica via Portland, Oregon.\nWilkins was a wild young man with a fondness for drink and women. On the night of Sunday, September 25, 1869, this\nweakness would cost him his life. In the company of a fellow known only as \"Indian George\", he rode out to Whisky Hill\n(now Freedom) to attend a fandango at one of the brothels located there. At 2 a.m., after considerable drink and\nmerriment, they mounted their horses and started back towards town. Just as the two reached the site of the old\nCatholic cemetery, they were attacked by a gang of bandidos. Wilkins was killed and George, who was seriously\nwounded, escaped and made his way back into Watsonville. When the town marshal and his posse arrived at the scene\nof the shooting, they found Wilkins' body had been robbed and stripped of most of its clothing. The following day, O.T.\nJackson buried his colleague.\nHis next two partners were William H. Miller, who after a few years with Jackson would move to Salinas and become a\npioneer of that city; and Charles Bryant, a native of England, who had come to California during the gold rush.\nMeanwhile the other Jackson brothers were branching out on their own. Adam, who was restless like his father, moved\naway from Watsonville and took up a mining claim in Calaveras County, near San Andreas. Jethro continued to live with\nOscar and became the town bill-poster. In the spring of 1870, when the U.S. Congress passed the 15th amendment, the\nJackson brothers were among the first Black people in Watsonville to register to vote.\nOn August 23, 1871, Oscar Jackson married Mary Ellen Wiley, the only daughter of California pioneer John Wiley-Scott, a\nveteran of John C. Fremont's exploration party in 1844. The couple had just settled into a quiet existence when O.T.\nmade a discovery which was to radically alter the direction of their lives.\nLiving in Watsonville at the time was a man with a flair for the arts. His name was J. 0. Child and from time to time he\nwould put on musicals for the enjoyment of the citizenry. Perhaps the most popular musical style of the period was the\nMinstrel show. Child hit upon the idea of organizing such a show in Watsonville using solely the talent to be found in the\nAfrican-American community. When he approached the group with this idea, he was greeted with great enthusiasm.\nThe date of the concert was set for July 22, 1870 at Allen's Hall, and it was decided that all the proceeds from the event\nwould be donated to [a local school for children of color]. Rehearsals began late in June, so the cast only had time for 12\nlessons from Mr. Child to prepare them. The lead singers in the group were Oscar and Jethro Jackson. Prior to the\nproduction, complimentary tickets were sent to Charley Cummings, editor of the Watsonville Pajaronian. He responded\nby giving the event a great deal of publicity.\nOn the evening of the 22nd, the hall was filled to capacity and the event proved to be a resounding success both\nculturally and financially. Editor Cummings in his next issue of the Pajaronian warmly praised the company and singled\nout Oscar Jackson's performance, noting \"the way he had rendered the ballads with a beautiful tenor voice.\" In private,\nhe and other members of the community encouraged O.T. to turn professional. It was a suggestion not wasted on\nJackson.\nIt was not long before the Jackson brothers and other members of the Black community had organized a group called\nthe \"Sable Minstrels\" and were playing dates all over the central coasts. The company consisted of O.T. Jackson as a\nballad singer; Charley King singing harmony; Louis Parris, who narrated the skits; Ben Johnson doing the plantation jig;\nand Jethro \"Bones\" Jackson as a song and dance man. The instrumental accompaniment was provided by Jose and\nEmidio Soria, members of the old Branciforte family. In time they honed their routine and took it up to San Francisco\n2\n\n�which was a center for touring minstrel troupes. Although their jaunt to the city met with only mild success, it did\nhowever bring the considerable talent of O.T. Jackson to the attention of big time promoters.\nAs he began to feel more and more that his future lay in music, Jackson realized that it would be best for his career to\nmove back up to the San Francisco Bay area where the various cultural arts were flourishing. So in 1874, he and Mary\nEllen bade farewell to his many friends in Santa Cruz County and bought a small house at 714 Pine Street in west\nOakland. It was located close to his mother's home and that of his in-laws so that his wife would not be alone when he\nwas on tour.\nO.T. was quickly picked up by a series of West Coast Minstrel groups which kept him traveling up and down the state the\nnext few years playing at small town fairs, circuses, and auditoriums. It was a period of apprenticeship during which\nthree daughters were born into the Jackson family. Only one, Mayme—born May 26, 1876—would survive to adulthood.\nIn 1877, Jackson broke into the \"big time\" when he joined the Haverly Colored Minstrel Troupe, the most important\ngroup of its kind in America. He was one of their lead tenors as they crisscrossed the nation following the theater circuit\nto all of the major cities.\nLured away by the promise of a larger salary, he signed on with Charley Hick's Georgia Minstrels and sailed off on the\nadventure of a lifetime. Hicks, a Black performer and promoter, hailed the trip as \"A Grand Tour of the Entire World\",\nand it almost lived up to its title. After a two month cruise which took them to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), Tahiti, and\nother South Sea islands, they landed in Australia where they played the larger cities. This was followed by a slow journey\nthrough the bush country entertaining in countless churches, school houses and pubs.\nAfter leaving Australia their itinerary took them to New Zealand, Java, China, Japan, and across the continent to the\nEuropean countries which housed the greatest concert halls of the world. The run ended with a triumphant year's tour\nin England which included a command performance before King Edward VII.\nWhen they returned to the states in 1884, Jackson had been away from home for almost six years. He settled down for a\ntime in the comforts of family and friends, enjoying the savings which he had been able to send back to Mary Ellen\nduring his tours. The Jacksons made a brief trip back to Watsonville to renew acquaintances with his ex-neighbors.\nBut it was the heyday of Black minstrelsy and it was Charlie Hicks who would tempt O.T. back on the road. Hicks, who\nwas planning another tour of Australia and Europe, offered him $40 a week to travel with the show giving him the top\nbilling as lead tenor. So for two years, between 1886 and 1888, Jackson retraced his earlier steps around the world. At\nthe end of his second extended tour, he promised his family no more overseas travel and once again settled down.\nHowever this \"retirement\" proved as temporary as the first because in 1890, he was off again. This time Lew Johnson, an\nold friend from the first tour, organized a series of minstrel troupes geared to play in the \"secondary markets\", that is\nthe small western towns where none of the major touring companies ever appeared. These areas were starved for\nentertainment and would prove to be lucrative for the Johnson troupes.\nStill receiving top billing, Jackson would play a series of one-night stands in almost every little town and village from the\nMississippi River to the Pacific Coast. There were frequent name changes for the troupe, including Lew Johnson's\nRefined Colored Minstrels and Electric Brass Band, and the Black Baby Boy Minstrels.\nWhile they were in these rough frontier towns, the all-Black troupe met with a tremendous amount of prejudice and\ndiscrimination. At times their mere survival was at risk because the modes of transportation were still quite crude,\nleaving them to travel on accident prone mountain railroads and hot, dusty, uncomfortable stage coaches. Good food\nwas frequently scarce and accommodations were often primitive. In most towns they were forced into segregated\nquarters; when no commercial housing was available because of this discrimination, they found lodging with local Black\nfamilies in their already crowded shacks and shanties. Every small town had a building which was optimistically called\n3\n\n�their \"opera house\" or \"theater\" where, more often than not, the troupe would play to a near empty hall and it was not\nat all uncommon for an unscrupulous agent or advance man to abscond with the troupe's money.\nOn one occasion when Jackson was with a show in the cow country of west Texas a group of rowdies in the audience\nbated the performers with a series of racist slogans. One proud member of the cast made the mistake of returning the\ngibes. A mob of angry whites dragged the player from the stage and out into the night. The next morning as the troupe\nwas preparing to board their coach at the train station, the unfortunate man staggered up to the platform with his back\nwhipped raw and covered with tar and feathers.\nIn spite of all of this discomfort and suffering, the Johnson Minstrels and O.T. Jackson prospered. For Jackson and most\nof the other Black performers on the minstrel circuit, the opportunity to \"be somebody\" through the use of their own\nnatural talents made the extra risks worthwhile.\nThe fall of 1897, found O.T. and his group, now called the Original Nashville Students, touring California. On November\n12 and 13, when they played dates in Watsonville and Santa Cruz it was like a homecoming for Jackson. In attendance\nwere many of his friends from the old days when, twenty years earlier, he had operated the small barber shop on Main\nStreet. The flow of money back home to Mary Ellen and the girls continued until 1898, when O.T., now well into the 5th\ndecade of his life and tired of the road, gave up minstrelsy, and settled down in Oakland for the final time.\nHe returned to his former occupation of barbering and was hired at the salon on Railroad Avenue. The wall behind his\nchair was lined with press clippings, notices, and handbills from his years on the circuit. The old man never tired of\nwalking with a \"stage swagger\" and delighted his customers with tales of the far away exotic places which he had visited.\nThe high point of a trip to O.T.'s barber chair was the colorful way which he boasted of the time that he had played\nbefore the British Royal Family. In Oakland he was always in demand as a soloist at weddings, funerals, and other\noccasions. To the very end his beautiful tenor voice remained mellow and melodious. He died quietly at his home on\nNovember 25, 1909 at the age of 63 years.\nIn the course of his lifetime, this son of slaves had risen to some dazzling heights through the use of his unique talent. He\ncould claim kinship to all of the now famous names in the history of minstrelsy including W.C. Handy, Edwin Christy, Billy\nKersands, and Wallace King. Along the way, Jackson had managed to cross paths with the likes of Tin Pan Alley composer\nGussie L. Davis and a young Bessie Smith. These gifted performers would help Black people establish themselves in the\nmainstream of American show business.\nAlmost a century later, Professor Douglas H. Daniels wrote a book entitled Pioneer Urbanites, A Social and Cultural\nHistory of Black San Francisco. (Temple University Press, 1980) In it, Professor Daniels includes one chapter on the arts.\nIn the section on music, he suggests that Oscar T. Jackson and his improvisational vocal technique deserve some of the\ncredit for establishing \"Afro-American elements\" in the music styles of the west during the 19th century. This musical\nformat would ultimately lead to the creation of Jazz, the Blues, and other Black contributions to American cultural art\nforms.\n\nSources\n\n\n\nCopyright 1996 Phil Reader. Reproduced with the permission of the author.\nPhotograph courtesy of the Northern California Center for Afro American History and Life.\n\nThe content of this article is the responsibility of the individual author. It is the Library's intent to provide accurate local history\ninformation. However, it is not possible for the Library to completely verify the accuracy of individual articles obtained from a\nvariety of sources. If you believe that factual statements in a local history article are incorrect and can provide documentation,\nplease contact the Webmaster.\n\n4\n\n�"]]]]]]]]],["collection",{"collectionId":"8"},["elementSetContainer",["elementSet",{"elementSetId":"1"},["name","Dublin Core"],["description","The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/."],["elementContainer",["element",{"elementId":"50"},["name","Title"],["description","A name given to the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"123576"},["text","Santa Cruz History Articles"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"41"},["name","Description"],["description","An account of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"123577"},["text","Original articles by library staff and by local authors and material from historical books. "]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"264219"},["text","Articles on Santa Cruz County history, many with illustrations, are available here.\r\n\r\nThe Santa Cruz Public Libraries is grateful to our local historians and their publishers for giving permission to include their articles. The content of the articles is the responsibility of the individual authors.\r\n"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"264220"},["text","It is the library's intent to provide accurate information. However, it is not possible to completely verify the accuracy of individual articles obtained from a variety of sources. If you believe that factual statements in an article are incorrect and can provide documentation, please contact the library."]]]],["element",{"elementId":"45"},["name","Publisher"],["description","An entity responsible for making the resource available"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"264216"},["text","Santa Cruz Public Libraries\r\n"]]]]]]]],["itemType",{"itemTypeId":"1"},["name","Document"],["description","A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text."],["elementContainer",["element",{"elementId":"7"},["name","Original Format"],["description","If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1892561"},["text","Paper"]]]]]],["elementSetContainer",["elementSet",{"elementSetId":"1"},["name","Dublin Core"],["description","The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/."],["elementContainer",["element",{"elementId":"43"},["name","Identifier"],["description","An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1892553"},["text","AR-158"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"50"},["name","Title"],["description","A name given to the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1892554"},["text","Oscar Thomas \"O.T.\" Jackson"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"39"},["name","Creator"],["description","An entity primarily responsible for making the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1892555"},["text","Reader, Phil"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"45"},["name","Publisher"],["description","An entity responsible for making the resource available"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1892556"},["text","Santa Cruz Public Libraries"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"40"},["name","Date"],["description","A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1892557"},["text","1996-"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"42"},["name","Format"],["description","The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1892558"},["text","Text"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"44"},["name","Language"],["description","A language of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1892559"},["text","En"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"51"},["name","Type"],["description","The nature or genre of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1892560"},["text","ARTICLE"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"47"},["name","Rights"],["description","Information about rights held in and over the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1892562"},["text","Copyright 1996 Phil Reader. Reproduced with the permission of the author. Photograph courtesy of the Northern California Center for Afro American History and Life."]]]],["element",{"elementId":"49"},["name","Subject"],["description","The topic of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893144"},["text","Jackson, Oscar \"O.T.\""]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893145"},["text","African-American Community"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893146"},["text","Music and Musicians"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1954204"},["text","Black People"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"38"},["name","Coverage"],["description","The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1893147"},["text","Watsonville"]]]]]]],["tagContainer",["tag",{"tagId":"19"},["name","Arts and Entertainment"]],["tag",{"tagId":"39"},["name","Biography"]],["tag",{"tagId":"22"},["name","Minority Groups"]]]],["item",{"itemId":"10004","public":"1","featured":"1"},["fileContainer",["file",{"fileId":"11803"},["src","https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/2e6f9cb28d9bff37c0ead0a6fea228eb.jpg"],["authentication","d2cb30c842038332be03d2e2c6769960"]]],["collection",{"collectionId":"9"},["elementSetContainer",["elementSet",{"elementSetId":"1"},["name","Dublin Core"],["description","The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. 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See the About section for a list of sources used."]]]],["element",{"elementId":"45"},["name","Publisher"],["description","An entity responsible for making the resource available"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1840000"},["text","Santa Cruz Public Libraries"]]]]]]]],["itemType",{"itemTypeId":"6"},["name","Still Image"],["description","A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. 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She continued to operate the boarding house after her husband died in 1922."]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244084"},["text","Source of information: Article on this Website, see link below."]]]],["element",{"elementId":"38"},["name","Coverage"],["description","The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244085"},["text","Santa Cruz (City)"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"46"},["name","Relation"],["description","A related resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244086"},["text","To Know My Name"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"47"},["name","Rights"],["description","Information about rights held in and over the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244089"},["text","This photograph is courtesy of Phil Reader."]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244090"},["text","Restrictions on Use"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"49"},["name","Subject"],["description","The topic of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244091"},["text","Logan, Mary"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244092"},["text","African-American Community"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244093"},["text","Hotels and Boarding Houses"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1954201"},["text","Black People"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"45"},["name","Publisher"],["description","An entity responsible for making the resource available"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244096"},["text","Santa Cruz Public Libraries"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"42"},["name","Format"],["description","The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244097"},["text","Image"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"44"},["name","Language"],["description","A language of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244098"},["text","En"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"51"},["name","Type"],["description","The nature or genre of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244099"},["text","PHOTO"]]]]]]],["tagContainer",["tag",{"tagId":"22"},["name","Minority Groups"]],["tag",{"tagId":"4"},["name","Portraits"]]]],["item",{"itemId":"10003","public":"1","featured":"1"},["fileContainer",["file",{"fileId":"11802"},["src","https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/7e28fdb16b11f96ec69ba8d8a55e40e4.jpg"],["authentication","c2788fba057d3e23c4ae923bf8ecab74"]]],["collection",{"collectionId":"9"},["elementSetContainer",["elementSet",{"elementSetId":"1"},["name","Dublin Core"],["description","The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. 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She died in 1931."]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244065"},["text","Source of information: Article on this Website, see link below."]]]],["element",{"elementId":"46"},["name","Relation"],["description","A related resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244067"},["text","To Know My Name"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"47"},["name","Rights"],["description","Information about rights held in and over the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244070"},["text","This photograph is courtesy of Phil Reader."]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244071"},["text","Restrictions on Use"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"49"},["name","Subject"],["description","The topic of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244072"},["text","Wells, Ida"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244073"},["text","African-American Community"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244074"},["text","Race Relations"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1954202"},["text","Black People"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"45"},["name","Publisher"],["description","An entity responsible for making the resource available"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244077"},["text","Santa Cruz Public Libraries"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"42"},["name","Format"],["description","The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244078"},["text","Image"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"44"},["name","Language"],["description","A language of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244079"},["text","En"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"51"},["name","Type"],["description","The nature or genre of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244080"},["text","PHOTO"]]]]]]],["tagContainer",["tag",{"tagId":"22"},["name","Minority Groups"]],["tag",{"tagId":"4"},["name","Portraits"]]]],["item",{"itemId":"10002","public":"1","featured":"1"},["fileContainer",["file",{"fileId":"11801"},["src","https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/4e301a89951398993f0642139093af0e.jpg"],["authentication","d31af59a3d22c735ad3fabd0c1c6e2c8"]]],["collection",{"collectionId":"9"},["elementSetContainer",["elementSet",{"elementSetId":"1"},["name","Dublin Core"],["description","The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. 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See the About section for a list of sources used."]]]],["element",{"elementId":"45"},["name","Publisher"],["description","An entity responsible for making the resource available"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1840000"},["text","Santa Cruz Public Libraries"]]]]]]]],["itemType",{"itemTypeId":"6"},["name","Still Image"],["description","A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type \"text\" to images of textual materials."],["elementContainer",["element",{"elementId":"7"},["name","Original Format"],["description","If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244046"},["text","B&W"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"10"},["name","Physical Dimensions"],["description","The actual physical size of the original image."],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244047"},["text","Unknown"]]]]]],["elementSetContainer",["elementSet",{"elementSetId":"1"},["name","Dublin Core"],["description","The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. 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In 1861, he and his sons-in-law Robert Johnson and John Derrick began a 20 year struggle to break the color line in Watsonville Schools."]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244043"},["text","Source of information: Article on this Website, see link below."]]]],["element",{"elementId":"38"},["name","Coverage"],["description","The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244044"},["text","1860s"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"260836"},["text","Watsonville"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"46"},["name","Relation"],["description","A related resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244045"},["text","To Know My Name"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"47"},["name","Rights"],["description","Information about rights held in and over the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244048"},["text","This photograph is courtesy of Phil Reader."]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244049"},["text","Restrictions on Use"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"49"},["name","Subject"],["description","The topic of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244050"},["text","African-American Community"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244051"},["text","Rodgers, Dan"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244052"},["text","Racism"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1954205"},["text","Black People"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"45"},["name","Publisher"],["description","An entity responsible for making the resource available"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244058"},["text","Santa Cruz Public Libraries"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"42"},["name","Format"],["description","The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244059"},["text","Image"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"44"},["name","Language"],["description","A language of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244060"},["text","En"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"51"},["name","Type"],["description","The nature or genre of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"244061"},["text","PHOTO"]]]]]]],["tagContainer",["tag",{"tagId":"22"},["name","Minority Groups"]],["tag",{"tagId":"4"},["name","Portraits"]]]],["item",{"itemId":"9934","public":"1","featured":"1"},["fileContainer",["file",{"fileId":"11733"},["src","https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/a32cd76d1b0cc41e29e54e48b0e67c39.jpg"],["authentication","a22e73cd3f4e377a76b8aa853e93a83a"]]],["collection",{"collectionId":"9"},["elementSetContainer",["elementSet",{"elementSetId":"1"},["name","Dublin Core"],["description","The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/."],["elementContainer",["element",{"elementId":"50"},["name","Title"],["description","A name given to the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"127597"},["text","Photograph Collection"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"41"},["name","Description"],["description","An account of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"267482"},["text","Photographs from the 1860's to the 2000's, documenting the history of Santa Cruz County.\r\n"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1840003"},["text","See the About sectionfor the library's reproduction policy and restrictions on use."]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1840004"},["text","Various sources were used to identify persons, events, and places. Citations to print sources were abbreviated. See the About section for a list of sources used."]]]],["element",{"elementId":"45"},["name","Publisher"],["description","An entity responsible for making the resource available"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1840000"},["text","Santa Cruz Public Libraries"]]]]]]]],["itemType",{"itemTypeId":"6"},["name","Still Image"],["description","A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type \"text\" to images of textual materials."],["elementContainer",["element",{"elementId":"7"},["name","Original Format"],["description","If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242431"},["text","B&W"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"10"},["name","Physical Dimensions"],["description","The actual physical size of the original image."],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242432"},["text","8\"x10\""]]]]]],["elementSetContainer",["elementSet",{"elementSetId":"1"},["name","Dublin Core"],["description","The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/."],["elementContainer",["element",{"elementId":"43"},["name","Identifier"],["description","An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242423"},["text","LH-cov-020"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"40"},["name","Date"],["description","A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242424"},["text","1955"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"50"},["name","Title"],["description","A name given to the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242425"},["text","Salz Tannery lunchroom"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"41"},["name","Description"],["description","An account of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242426"},["text","This photo of the Salz Tannery lunchroom was taken sometime during the mid-1950's. According to Jeremy Lezin, Salz was one of the very few companies in the 50's and early 60's that hired African Americans. As a point of interest, Helen Salz, Ansley's wife, co-founded the ACLU in San Francisco. In the 1950's the Salz workforce numbered about 60. In the 70's that grew to as many as 350. At the end in 2001, there were approximately 100 employees."]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242427"},["text","Source of information: Jeremy Lezin"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"38"},["name","Coverage"],["description","The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242428"},["text","Santa Cruz (City)"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"267813"},["text","1950s"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"46"},["name","Relation"],["description","A related resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242429"},["text","Economic Development of the City of Santa Cruz 1850-1950: Tanneries"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242430"},["text","Leather with Personality [A.K. Salz Company] San Lorenzo Tannery [1896]"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"47"},["name","Rights"],["description","Information about rights held in and over the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242433"},["text","This photograph was taken by Vester Dick and is the property of the Lezin Family. It is displayed here with the permission of the Lezin Family and Covello and Covello."]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242434"},["text","Restrictions on Use"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"49"},["name","Subject"],["description","The topic of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242435"},["text","Tanneries"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242436"},["text","Salz Tannery"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"267814"},["text","African-American Community"]],["elementText",{"elementTextId":"1954206"},["text","Black People"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"45"},["name","Publisher"],["description","An entity responsible for making the resource available"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242448"},["text","Santa Cruz Public Libraries"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"42"},["name","Format"],["description","The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242449"},["text","Image"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"44"},["name","Language"],["description","A language of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242450"},["text","En"]]]],["element",{"elementId":"51"},["name","Type"],["description","The nature or genre of the resource"],["elementTextContainer",["elementText",{"elementTextId":"242451"},["text","PHOTO"]]]]]]],["tagContainer",["tag",{"tagId":"31"},["name","Industries"]]]]]