Scope and Contents
Biographical / Historical
Arrangement
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Separated Materials
Processing Information
Preferred Citation
Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Bibliography
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Presidio Research Center
Title: Den, Bell, and Luton Families Papers
creator:
Den, Richard S.
creator:
Den, Nicholas Augustus
creator:
Meagher, Thomas Francis, 1823-1867
creator:
Pico, Pío, 1801-1894
creator:
Micheltorena, Manuel, 1802-1853
creator:
Stearns, Abel, 1798-1871
Identifier/Call Number: MS-07
Physical Description:
2.2 Linear Feet
2 record storage boxes
Date (inclusive): 1784-1974
Abstract: The papers of the Den, Bell, and Luton Families are focused largely on land ownership by brothers Nicholas and Richard Den,
early settlers of Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, and their heirs. They highlight the transition in land tenure during the
Mexican period and early years of California statehood as well as the inner operations of land and oil development in Santa
Barbara County during the first part of the twentieth century.
Language of Material: Materials in Spanish and English.
Scope and Contents
The papers are focused largely on land ownership by brothers Nicholas and Richard Den, early settlers of Santa Barbara and
Los Angeles, and their heirs. They highlight the transition in land tenure during the Mexican period and early years of California
statehood as well as the inner operations of land and oil development in Santa Barbara County during the first part of the
twentieth century.
The types of materials contained in these papers include: correspondence; land titles, deeds, and leases; legal documents
including opinions, powers of attorney, and depositions; diaries, photographs, and printed materials. Many of the deeds to
various parcels and ranchos are scarce handwritten copies of the originals. Many are accompanied by certifications of authenticity
by local officials or by the U.S. Surveyor General.
Biographical / Historical
Den Family
Nicholas August Den (1812–1862), son of Emanuel Den and Katherine O'Shea, came to California, by way of Nova Scotia, from
Waterford, Ireland. Den had studied to become a medical doctor in Dublin, and although there is no record of his having graduated,
he became the first medical doctor in the Santa Barbara area, moving there in 1836. He later served as mayor of Santa Barbara.
He married Rosa A. Hill, a daughter of Daniel A. Hill in 1843 and died in 1862, leaving ten children.
Richard Somerset Den (1821–1895) also studied medicine in Ireland. Afterwards, he sailed to Australia and then Mexico, landing
in Mazatlan, before arriving in Santa Barbara in the fall of 1843 where his brother lived. Richard Den was given a certified
medical license in 1844 by Governor Micheltorena to practice medicine in Mexico, and he treated wounded Californios and American
prisoners during the Mexican-American war. Den also practiced medicine in Los Angeles where he resided for much of his life.
He never married.
Over the course of his life, Nicholas Den acquired several Mexican ranchos in Santa Barbara County, starting with Rancho Dos
Pueblos in 1842. In 1845 Den and Daniel Hill became lessees of the Mission Santa Barbara lands which were granted to his brother
Richard in 1846 by Governor Pio Pico. Richard acquired Rancho Los Prietos in 1857 and Rancho Tequepis in 1858. The brothers
also owned the Rancho San Marcos which Richard managed for a number of years.
Bell Family
Nicholas Den's daughter Catarina Maria Den, who grew up on Rancho Dos Pueblos, married John Stewart Bell in 1842. Bell was
born in Tahiti where he father had a sugar plantation. They lived in Santa Barbara and had five children: Katherine Maria
Den Bell, Charles Den Bell, Caroline Alexandra Bell, Rosa Margaret Antonia Bell and Mary E. Bell. Katherine M. Bell married
Seth Cheney and in 1931 she compiled a history of her mother Catarina's life entitled
Swinging the Censer: Reminiscences of Old Santa Barbara.
Luton Family
Caroline "Carrie" Bell married George Roscoe Luton. They had one son, William and lived in Montecito, California.
Arrangement
The papers of the Den, Bell, and Luton Families are arranged in four series:
Series 1 - Documents
Series 2 - Miscellaneous Family Materials
Series 3 - Photographs
Series 4 - Printed Matter
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Nancy Luton Jackson.
Separated Materials
Two books removed and added to library collection.
Processing Information
Collection guide updated by Chris S. Ervin CA 2020-03-18.
Preferred Citation
Den, Bell, and Luton Families Papers, MS-07, Presidio Research Center, Santa Barbara
Trust for Historic Preservation, Santa Barbara, California.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Archivist and Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation Research Center as the
owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be
obtained by the reader.
Bibliography
Bell, Katherine M.
Swinging the Censer: Reminiscences of Old Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara, CA: Finlay Press, 1931.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ranches
Land tenure
Diaries
Deeds
Church lands
Oil and gas leases
Leases
Inventories of decedents' estates
Letters
Rancho Dos Pueblos (Calif.)
Rancho Las Armas (Calif.)
Rancho Los Prietos (Calif.)
Rancho San Marcos (Calif.)
Rancho Tequepis (Calif.)
Den, Richard S.
Den, Nicholas Augustus
Bell, John Stewart
Bell, Katherine M., 1844-1926
Luton, Caroline
Luton, George Roscoe, 1880-1947
Hill, Daniel A.
Santa Barbara Mission