Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Witmer Family collection
MS-27
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Language of Material:
Spanish; Castilian
Contributing Institution:
Presidio Research Center
Title: Witmer Family Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS-27
Physical Description:
1 box
Date (inclusive): 1731-1931
Abstract: 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.
This collection of photos and publications belonged to Val Witmer and her family. There are several portraits and group shots
of family members as well as an oversized photo of the Cota Ranch.
Another set of photos is of Father Jose Godayol. The photos of Godayol in this collection represent several periods in his
life.
The publications are almost all of a religious nature and may have been passed down several generations. Two noteworthy sermons
were written by the first bishop of California, Francisco Garcia Diego, and Joseph Alemany, first bishop of Monterey.
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.
Maria Valentine "Val" Witmer (1927-2014) was the daughter of Edith Cota of Santa Barbara and Baltazar Beltran of Mexico. She
married Alexis Witmer and had three children.
The collection is arranged into two (2) series:
Series 1 - Photographs
Series 2 - Miscellaneous Publications
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Liana Thompson
One (1) book
Misionero parroquial, ò Sermones para todos los domingos del año, escritos en frances por Mr. Chevassu ... y traducidos al
español por don Jacinto Lopez
, transferred to library.
Collection processed by Chris S. Ervin CA on 2020-03-30
[Name of collection], [MS number], Presidio Research Center, Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation.
Collection is open for research.
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Witmer family
Godayol, Jose, Fr., 1829-1902