Use Restrictions

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Bernice Jones Smith Photograph Album, circa 1930s, SC 0367, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Purchased from Tim Abbott Americana in December 2023.

Processing Information

Loose paper items including Lucy Brooks Jones's obituary were placed in a sub-folder with the photograph album.

Biographical / Historical

Bernice Jones (1915-1994) was a Black woman from Staunton, Virginia and the daughter of Henry and Lucy Brooks Jones. As a youth, she attended Fairview School, a segregated school in Staunton. In 1943, she married William C. Smith (1915-1967), a Black singer and actor from Nyack, New York. The 1950 census confirms Nyack as their permanent residence where they lived with Smith's parents. Bernice was employed as a government worker in Staunton and New York.

Scope and Contents

A photograph album compiled by Bernice Jones Smith of Staunton, Virginia comprising 66 black-and-white photographs of members of Staunton's African-American community, likely friends and family of Bernice.

The first page of the album is inscribed with Bernice's name, address, and date. The front cover of the album is embossed "Bernice Jones." While the album is dated May 28, 1933, the photographs are undated. It is presumed that the bulk of the photographs date to approximately the 1930s though some are likely earlier and later.

The album includes candid and posed group and individual photographs, adults and children, people swimming in a river or lake and in bathing suits, and formal portraits. The bulk of the photographs were taken outdoors. Two photographs feature a young woman wearing graduation regalia. Only a few of the photographs are captioned or identified.

Loose paper items include Lucy Brooks Jones's obituary, recipts for a Mary S. Miller, and a newspaper clipping poem dedicated to Dr. R.C. Pannell.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• African Americans -- Virginia -- Staunton -- 20th century
• Photograph albums
• Photographs
• Staunton (Va.) -- History