Horatio Nelson Rust Papers: Finding Aid mssRU
Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
October 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Note
Finding aid last updated by Melissa Haley on October 7, 2022.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Horatio Nelson Rust papers
Creator:
Rust, Horatio N. (Horatio
Nelson), 1828-1906
Identifier/Call Number: mssRU
Physical Description:
25.38 Linear Feet
(21 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1799-1906
Date (bulk): 1870-1906
Abstract: A collection of correspondence,
manuscripts, and diaries of Horatio Nelson Rust, United States Indian agent,
horticulturalist, and resident of Pasadena, California.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Horatio Nelson Rust papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Charles Yale, June 1942 and purchase August 1942; RU 1231 purchased from Charles
Yale, July 24, 1942. Gift of Mrs. Nellie Rust Lockwood and Edward A. Rust, June 1943. Gift
of Mrs. Nellie Rust Lockwood, February 1946.
Biographical / Historical
Horatio Nelson Rust (1828-1906) was a U.S. Indian agent, horticulturalist, and Pasadena,
California resident. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, Rust was influenced by early
abolitionists and became acquainted with American abolitionist John Brown (1800-1859),
leader of the Harper's Ferry raid. Rust married Fidelia Humphrey (1830-1899) in September
1851. His interest in archaeology led to his exploration and investigation of North American
Indian antiquities. Rust served as an U.S. Indian Agent to the Mission Indians of Southern
California from 1890 to 1893; he also helped to establish an Indian school at Perris,
California. Rust was influential in civic affairs and active in the discussion over the
incorporation of Pasadena and South Pasadena, California; he died in South Pasadena on
November 14, 1906.
Scope and Contents
A collection of 1,229 items from 1799 to 1906, it consists of letters, manuscripts,
volumes, diaries, scrapbooks, and ephemera related to the life and work of Horatio Nelson
Rust. Subject matter includes: Indian culture in the Southwest; horticulture in Southern
California; and the Freedmen's Bureau; there is also material regarding abolitionist John
Brown and his family. Correspondents represented in the collection include: Franklin George
Adams, Spencer Fullerton Baird, Thomas Robert Bard, George Amos Dorsey, Edward Dwight Eaton,
Thomas Featherstonhaugh, Jessie Benton Frémont, John Charles Frémont, John Watson Foster,
Horace Greeley, Richard Josiah Hinton, Edward Hitchcock, Frederick Webb Hodge, Oliver
Wendell Holmes, William Henry Holmes, Helen Hunt Jackson, A.L. Kroeber, Charles Fletcher
Lummis, Otis Tufton Mason, John Muir, Frederick Ward Putnam, James Redpath, Alexander Milton
Ross, F.B. Sanborn, Carl Schulz, Edward Parmelee Smith, Frederick Starr, and Henry A.
Ward.
Processing Information
Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1950. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the
finding aid derived from a legacy summary report. In 2022, Melissa Haley enhanced
description of the presidential material present in the collection as part of the American
Presidential Papers Project.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
General
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssRU 1-1231.
Related Materials
Five photograph albums were transferred to the Photo Archive of the Huntington Library,
forming the Horatio N. Rust Photograph Collection, which consists of photCL 7-11. Also Views
of the home and family members of Horatio N. Rust in South Pasadena, California (photPF
23997-24009).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Horticulture -- California, Southern
Horticulturists -- California, Southern
Indian agents -- California, Southern
Indians of North America -- California -- History
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New
California, Southern -- History -- 19th century
Diaries -- United States
Ephemera -- United States
Letters (correspondence) -- United States
Manuscripts -- United States
Personal papers -- United States
Adams, F. G. (Franklin
George), 1824-1899
Baird, Spencer Fullerton,
1823-1887
Bard, Thomas Robert,
1841-1915
Brown, John,
1800-1859
Dorsey, George A. (George
Amos), 1868-1931
Eaton, Edward Dwight, 1851-1942
Featherstonhaugh,
Thomas
Frémont, Jessie Benton, 1824-1902
Frémont, John Charles, 1813-1890
Foster, John W. (John Watson),
1836-1917
Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872
Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901
Hinton, Richard J. (Richard
Josiah), 1830-1901
Hitchcock, Edward, 1828-1911
Hodge, Frederick Webb, 1864-1956
Holmes, Oliver Wendell,
1809-1894
Holmes, William Henry, 1846-1933
Jackson, Helen Hunt,
1830-1885
Kroeber, A. L. (Alfred Louis),
1876-1960
Lummis, Charles Fletcher,
1859-1928
Mason, Otis T., 1838-1908
Muir, John,
1838-1914
Putnam, F. W. (Frederic Ward),
1839-1915
Redpath, James, 1833-1891
Ross, Alexander Milton, 1832-1897
Sanborn, F. B. (Franklin Benjamin),
1831-1917
Schurz, Carl, 1829-1906
Smith, Edward Parmelee, 1827-1876
Starr, Frederick,
1826-1867
Ward, Henry A. (Henry
Augustus), 1834-1906
United States. Bureau of
Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands
Box 1, Box 2, Box 3, Box 4
John Brown family material: correspondence
1847-1906
Box 5
John Brown ephemera: clippings, pictures, envelopes
Box 20
Scrapbook of John Brown clippings RU 371
1882-1902
Box 6, Box 7, Box 8, Box 9, Box 10, Box 11, Box 12, Box 13, Box 14, Box 15
Horatio Nelson Rust material: correspondence
1799-1906
Box 17, Box 18
Pocket diaries RU 1228
1859-1903
Box 20
Memoranda on Indian Matters RU 510
1889
Box 20
Account of Trip to Mexico RU 1229
1879
Box 20
Scrapbook of clippings: Personal articles RU 1234
1874-1905
Box 20
Scrapbook of clippings: Obituaries of family members and well-known
persons
RU 1235
1887-1919
Box 21
Scrapbook of miscellaneous clippings RU 1236
1873-1906
Box 19
Newspaper clippings and loose ephemera Envelope 1
Folder Oversize 1
Appointment of Horatio Nelson Rust as agent for the Indians of the Mission Tule
River (consolidated) Agency in California
RU 1231
1889 June 17
Physical Description: 44 x 57 cm
Scope and Contents
Signed by President Benjamin Harrison.
