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Ruiz, Russell A. (Russell Antonio), 1925-1988

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1925 - 1988

Biography

Russell Antonio Ruiz was a local artist-historian who in many ways may be called the father of the contemporary restoration of the Santa Barbara Presidio. Mr. Ruiz was himself a presidio soldier's descendant. He claimed direct ancestry to Felipe de Goicoechea, early comandante of the Spanish Royal Presidio. Prior to the founding of the Santa Barbara Trust, Mr. Ruiz expressed a goal to restore the Santa Barbara Presidio. He devoted more than thirty years of totally volunteer effort to this end. Russell provided historical accounts, drawings and paintings, models of buildings, flags, hand-made soldiers uniforms, presidio soldier models, construction, direction, and archaeological advice to the presidio project.



Russell Ruiz was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation in January of 1971. He was made Honorary Life Trustee in 1984. Mr. Ruiz was also a life member of the Santa Barbara Historical Society. He acted as historian for the Quabajai Indian Association and was a member of Los Californianos and of Los Pobladores 200. In 1977, Mr. Ruiz served as honorary grand marshal of the Old Spanish Days historical parade.



Mr. Ruiz was best-known for his paintings and pen and ink sketches of early California. His drawings of early Santa Barbara history appeared in numerous publications. Russell Ruiz received an Award of Merit for outstanding contributions to California history from the California Historical Society in 1968. He was lauded by the society at that time for his work in skillful oil and watercolor paintings and scale models of historic sites backed up by resourceful scholarship and meticulous research."



— Obituary written by Michael R. Hardwick and published in the Winter 1988 issue of La Campana.

Found in 10 Collections and/or Records:

1. 3 1/2" x 31/2" daguerreotype of Edward Doty 2. " " daguerreotype of Grandmother Doty 3. 5 1/2" x 4" photo of Edward Doty 4. " " photo of Grandmother Doty 5. 7" x 8 1/2" photo of Doty family taken around 1904. 6. 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" photo of Florence Doty as a young child 7-8. 6 1/2" x 4 1/4" photo of Frank and Clara Doty (Following 13 items are all color postcards of...) 9. of Edinburgh Castle 10. of Caledonian Hotel 11. of Amsterdam 12. of Reims Cathedral 13. of English flag 14. of Houses of Parliament in England 15. of Culzean Castle 16. of Galloway Burn 17. of SB Courthouse 18. of Galloway Burn 19. of Banyan tree 20. of Fresno Hilton 21. of President and Mrs Eisenhower 22. Postcard by Ashleigh Brilliant 23. B/w postcard of Tuckabatchee Tribe 24. 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" b/w photo of signpost US 50. 25. 9" x 7" b/w photo of Florence Doty as child 26. 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" b/w photo of Castle Rock 27. 10" x 8" b/w photo of Frank Doty and Mitch Farren, 1894 28. B/w photo of Florence Doty at 6 months 29. B/w photo of Frank Doty 30. b/w photo of Clark Hill in Yosemite with hunting kills 31. b/w photo of Edward Doty as a child 32. b/w photo of Frank and Clara Doty 33. b/w photo of Frank, Margaret, Henry and Edward Doty 34. b/w photo of Florence Doty at 6 months 35. b/w photo of Frank and Clara Doty in old age 36. b/w photo of Florence Doty as young girl at beach. 37-39. 3 Handcolored postcards of Arlington Hotel 40. b/w photo of people in wagon w/ four-horse team 41. b/w postcard of Nora Higgins and Florence Doty on porch of house. 42. color photo of SB harbor 43. color photo of Channel Drive, looking east 44. Sepia toned postcard of State St., Ukiah, CA. 45. b/w photo of burned home of Henry and Almidia Hill. 46. b/w photo of Hill property w/ horse 47-48. Two b/w photo of Den School, Naples 49. b/w photo of closeup view of Den School 50. b/w photo of Frank Doty on lawn 51. " " of Frank and Clara Doty on front steps 52. " " of group of four on Santa Cruz Is., 1929 53. " " of Edward Dorothy at the Doty Ranch 54. " " of 8 people outside cabin 55. " " of four members of the Hill family. 56. " " of five members of Hill family sitting on bench. 57. " " of the Tommy Hill family sitting on bench. 58. b/w photo of Eisenhower home in Abelene, Kansas 59. color photo of Robert Bourguin in Vancouver, WA. 60. Color postcard of "The Skunk" RR, Fort Bragg, CA. 61. b/w photo of Doty Ranchhouse, 1918. 62. b/w photo of Doty Ranch, 1918. 63. b/w photo of Frank R Doty, aged three. 64. b/w photo Edward and Frank Doty as children 65. b/w photo of Florence Doty with two boys, 1902 66. b/w photo of Florence Doty and boy, 1902. 67. b/w photo of Charlotte, Lily, Henry and Chester 68. b/w photo of Mr and Mrs Henry Doty at 50th wedding anniv. 69. b/w photo of "Mother, Father Doty, Edward, Frank, Florence" 70. b/w photo of Henry and Frank Doty and E.W. Meechum 71. b/w photo of group at Mr. Lowe (in folder) 72. b/w postcard of Dinard, France 73. b/w photo of Chester and Charlotte Doty w/ rabbit. 74. Souvenir photo booklet of Black Hills of South Dakota 75. color photo of Kathryn and Dee Romans w/ dog. (faded) 76. b/w photo of Ed and Frank Doty as children. 77. Souvenir photo booklet of Mesa Verde National Park. 78. b/w photo of Tuckabatchee Tribe. 79. Photocopy of photo of 80th anniv. of Jayhawker desendants. (in folder) 80. Postcard, "Florence" 81. b/w photo of Doty ranch, ca 1895. 82-83. 2 b/w photos of group of 13 people. 84-85. Two b/w photos of group of 27 people 86-94. 9 photo albums 95. Rolled map of Presidio area by Russel Ruiz (DEACC 11/10/1989 MR) 96. Same as above in sepia (DEACC 11/10/1989 MR) 97-104. Eight copies of chart of course of Jayhawkers 105. Booklet, "The Season's Glory" 106. Booklet, "Summer and Winter" 107. Book, Death Valley, The Facts, by WA Chalfant 108. Book, Death Valley in '49 by William Lewis Manly 109. Book, Death Valley, The Facts, by WA Chalfant. (paperback) (DEACC 5/1/1994 MR) 110-114. Five framed sheets, "Doty Family Records" 115. Brochure on "Death Valley, California", 1968/9 116. Booklet, "A Brief History of the Pilgrims: A Continuous History." 1947 117. "Historical and Biographical Sketch of the Doty-Doten Family" 118. Booklet, "Edward Doty, A Mayflower Passenger..." by Ethan Doty 119. Book of autographs 120. Book, Little Minnie and Other Stories 121. Booklet, "What is Stonehenge" 122. Booklet, "Pinto Bill, Poems of the Desert" 123. Booklet, "In The Woods" 124. Card, "To One I Fondly Love" 125. Book, Cinders and Smoke, by Doris B. Osterwald 126. Blue guestbook 127-130. Four copies of Death Valley Centennial Celebration Program. 131. Booklet, "The Wade Story" by L Burr Belden. 132. Booklet, "Geological Story of Death Valley" by Thomas Clements 133. Pamphlet, "Santa Barbara Street Names" published by Santa Barbara National Bank. 134. Advertising card for Mellins's's Foods 135. Card, "Honor Thy Father and Mother" 136. Booklet, "Death Valley National Monument" by US Dept of Interior 137. Booklet, "Goodbye Death Valley!" by Belden 138. Booklet, "The Pilgrim Story" by Atwood, comp. 139. Card, "The Lord is my Shepherd..." 140. Card, Happy New Year 141. Sticker, Death Valley 49ers Centennial" 142. Card, "A Happy Easter to You" 143. Postcard, "Present...s'il le faut..." 144. Postcard of flowers, "Best Wishes" 145. Postcard of Menlo Mineral Springs Hotel. 146. Postcard of two Dutch children, "A Happy New Year" 147. Newsletter of the Tennis Club of Santa Barbara, #4, vol. 38. 148. Paper butterfly in envelope 149. Card, "To Greet You" 150. Card picturing 4 children around xmas tree, "A Merry Xmas" 151. SB News-Press, 3/7/1969 152. Program for dedication of SB Post Office, 5/8/1937 153. The Methodist Bulletin for 1st Methodist of SB, centennial. 154. Booklet, "Coachella Valley Desert Trails..." 155. Book, The Jayhawkers of Death Valley by John G Ellenbecker 156. Booklet, "The Story of Death Valley, Its Museum and Visitor Center" 157. Card, "God Bless Thy Easter" 158. Program for wedding of Candace English and Kenneth Edwards, 1975. 159. Booklet, "Suggested Menus for Reducing Diet" by Franklin Nuzum. 160. Autograph book of Jayhawker Reunion, 1937 161. Bible 162. Book, The Doty-Doten Family in America by Ethan Allen Doty 163. Book, History of Santa Barbara Co., California, by Owen O'Neill 164-340. One hundred seventy seven unidentified photos. 341. Misc Correspondence and clippings.

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1989-086
Found in: Gledhill Library

1. Mexican & Central American Mythology, by Irene Nicholson.

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1967-172
Found in: Gledhill Library

1. Thompson Family Bible. Thompson Geneology 1794-1930

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1962-058
Found in: Gledhill Library

Santa Barbara Legacy Reel Audio Tape Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR-2022-003
Abstract The Santa Barbara Legacy Reel Audio Tapes Collection contains the earliest recordings of people and events of mid-20th century Santa Barbara historic preservation efforts. From the 1950s into the 1970s, there was a concerted effort at the local, county, and state levels to raise awareness of Santa Barbara's storied past. During this period the Historical Society, as the Museum was then known, began a publications program, established a decade-long presence at the Santa Barbara Mission,...
Dates: 1954 - 1977

Additional filters:

Type
Unprocessed Material 9
Collection 1
 
Subject
Maps 2
Santa Barbara Earthquake, Calif., 1925 2
Adobe houses 1
Architecture 1
Architecture, Spanish colonial 1