The Collier Family Papers include correspondence, photographs, military service records, deeds, and newspaper clippings that document members of the Collier, Taylor, and Coffin families.
The papers are organized into six series: Francis B. Collier, Muriel Taylor Collier, Cherie Collier Ivey, Claire Lynne and Muriel Patricia Florey, Willis Patrick and Lillian Taylor, and photographs. The bulk of the collection is approximately 800 photographs of mostly of Frank and Muriel Collier, their children, Patricia Flory, Claire Lynn Flory, and Cherie Collier, and family, friends, and relatives. There are also a number of photographs of Muriel Collier’s first husband, Ishmael Flory, the noted civil and labor rights activist, her father, Willis Patrick Taylor, who was active in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and her uncle, Alfred Oscar Coffin, the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in the biological sciences.
Guide to the Collier Family Papers
Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO)
We encourage researchers to contact AAMLO before visiting so that we can be prepared to assist you. Please call 510-637-2000 or email aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org to arrange an appointment or inquire about access.
