This collection of photos and publications belonged to Val Witmer and her family. It contains several portraits and group shots of family members, an oversized photo of the Cota Ranch, and a set of photos of Father Jose Godayol representing several periods in his life.

Father Jose Godayol (1829-1902) was one of the first three novices received into the Franciscan Order in California in 1854. He was ordained as a priest in 1860 by Fr. Joseph Alemany in San Francisco. In 1876 he most likely went to Vich, Spain where he was born. Returning to the United States, Godayol was assigned to various dioceses including Phoenix, Arizona and the Pajaro Valley (Calif.) where he died in 1892.

1 box

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.

Collection is open for research.