Scope and Contents:
The Alayu Family collection documents the experiences of an immigrant Filipino family living in Chicago during the twentieth century. The earliest materials relate to the family's patriarch, Joaquin Alayu (1867-1947), who lived and farmed in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines, for much of his life. A diary and correspondence written in the Gaddang language are included in his papers. The collection also contains materials related to Joaquin's son, Francisco ("Frank") P. Alayu (1894-1982), who immigrated to Sunnyside, Wash., in the 1920s to attend preparatory school and worked as a clerk at the University of Chicago Library for much of his career. Other family members represented in the collection are Francisco's wife, Melchora G. Alayu (1896-1988), a clerk at Argonne National Laboratory, and their daughters, Jane (Juana) Teresa Alayu (1926-2009), a one-time president of the Midwest Chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society, and Fran Alayu Womack (1932-), a treasurer for that organization. There are no papers for another daughter, Ethel Alayu Parisot (1929-2003), a teacher, although she is mentioned in letters throughout the collection.
The collection contains diaries; correspondence; papers related to the family's agricultural, financial, and real estate interests; and family photographs. The correspondence relates in part to the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II, life in the Philippines during World War II, life in the post-War Philippines, the experiences of Filipino students in the United States, and family news.
The collection also documents civil court cases relating to the Alayu family's real estate properties in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines.
In addition, the collection includes correspondence, event programs, and photographs related to Filipino-American organizations and social clubs based in Chicago, including the Filipino Community Center, Filipino National Council, and Nueva Vizcaya Association.
The collection was donated to the Library by Fran Alayu Womack in 2011.
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