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Creator
Martin, Antonia Cottrell
Call number
Sc MG 782
Physical description
3.0 linear feet (3 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
[Item], Antonia Cottrell Martin collection, Sc MG 782, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Antonia Cottrell Martin became one of the first African American flight attendants for Pan American World Airways in 1967. She helped found the Jean Sampson Scott Greater New York Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society and established the Foundation for African American Women. The Antonia Cottrell Martin papers consist primarily of records of the organizations with which Martin was associated.

Biographical/historical information

Born in San Francisco in 1943, Antonia Cottrell Martin was the descendent of Black pioneers who initially went to California during the Gold Rush. Martin attended the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, where she studied textile design. In 1967, she became one of the first African American flight attendants for Pan American World Airways. As a descendent of a Black pioneer family, she became interested in tracing her family's roots, and joined the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS). In 1989, she helped found the Jean Sampson Scott Greater New York Chapter of AAHGS and became its president. Inspired by the women in her family, Martin also established the Foundation for African American Women, and served as its president for a number of years. The mission of the Foundation was to find solutions to problems particular to African American women and to the larger African American community in general. Martin's social commitment and genealogical interests came together in her involvement with the Schomburg Corporation, a friends' group of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. In 1989, she was invited to become a member of the Schomburg Corporation and served as the chairperson of the Family History and Genealogy Committee.

Scope and arrangement

The Antonia Cottrell Martin papers consist primarily of records of the organizations with which Martin was associated: the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Foundation for African American Women, and the Schomburg Corporation. Files for the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), including the Jean Sampson Scott Greater New York Chapter, encompass by-laws, minutes of meetings, information about genealogical fairs and resources, newsletters from other chapters, memorial programs for deceased members, correspondence, financial records, a chapter establishment handbook, and related documents, 1990-1994. There are also notebooks containing workshop-related and conference-related material (but not the papers presented by the speakers) for three conferences sponsored by the AAHGS, 1998-2002.

Files of the Foundation for African American Women include documents for an oral history film project entitled "African American Women: Their Lives, Their Survival, Their Future", consisting of taped interviews and conversations about various topics affecting African American women. The files in this collection include a list of questions, a tape log, Martin's narration, and signed waivers.

As a member of the Schomburg Corporation's Genealogy and Family History Committee, Martin's files consist of minutes, sources for genealogical information, and minutes and treasurer's reports for the larger Schomburg Corporation, 1989-1992. The collection also includes one file for the Brooklyn-based Society for African American Congressional Pioneers, 1993.

The Antonia Cottrell Martin collection is arranged in four series:

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of Antonia Cottrell Martin, September 2007.

Revision History

Finding aid updated by Lauren Stark. (2022 April 21)

Processing information

Accessioned by Janice Quinter, May 2008.

Separated material

Transferred to the Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division: books and periodicals.

Transferred to the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division: audio and moving image materials. For more information, please contact the division at schomburgaudiovisual@nypl.org or 212-491-2270.

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor