RUST, Horatio Nelson

Horatio Nelson Rust

RUST, Horatio Nelson (1828-1906), born to Nelson and Elizabeth Rust on May 11, 1828, in Amherst, Massachusetts. Rust attributed his interest in archaeology to his uncle, O. M. Clapp, who gave him a small collection of archaeological artifacts and minerals at a young age.

Rust had moved to Pasadena by 1888. He collected on various California Channel Islands, including on San Miguel and San Nicolas islands. He published a pamphlet showcasing the 1200-piece collection he gathered on these islands. Rust's papers are located in the Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Horatio Nelson Rust = [1851] Fidelia Humphrey (1830-1899)

• 1. Frank Nelson Rust (1854-1918)
• 2. Frederick Harmon Rust (1858-1862)
• 3. Nellie Fidelia Rust (1861-1951) = [1885] Ernest Herbert Lockwood in Pasadena

Louise E. Lockwood (1887-1954)

Herbert Humphrey Lockwood (1890-1975)

Maria E. Lockwood (1891-1952)

Helen F. Lockwood (1899- )

• 4. Edward Humphrey Rust (1863-1944) = [1898] Mary M. Pryor (1860-1940)

Elizabeth M. Rust (1890-1965) [out of wedlock?] = [1914] Ralph James Roth (1888-1955)

Edward Filson Roth (1926-1988)

[daughter]

• 5. Elizabeth Emily Rust (1870-1933)

Horatio Nelson Rust = [1899] Harriett S.

• Horatio Nelson Rust and His Contributions to the Development of American Archaeology by Teresa Militello

• 1897. Rust, Horatio N. 1897 Catalogue of Pre–Historic Relics from San Nicolas Island, California.

A privately printed pamphlet. On file, California Room, California State Library, Sacramento.

• 1898. Rust, Horatio N. Archaeological Frauds in The American Archaeologist 2:79, 1898

• 1898. Rust, Horatio N. Untitled note regarding fraudulent Indian relics in The American Archaeologist 2:239-240, 1898

• 1898. Rust, Horatio N. Prehistoric Relics from San Nicolas Island, California in The American Archaeologist 2(4):100-101, 1898

• 1902. Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution. 1900. U. S. National Museum. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1902. Gold-stamped green wraps. 738 pages.

Holmes, William Henry. Anthropological Studies in California p. 155-184. Catalina discussion and plates p. 182-184. E. L. Doran, Mexican Joe, Horatio Rust, Schumacher, Banning Brothers mentioned.

[original in SCIF archives] [ex-lib. M. D. Daily]

• 1907. Rust, Horatio N. Archaeological Collections from San Miguel Island American Anthropologist 9:656-657, 1907

In the News~

December 1, 1899 [LAT]: “The California Indian —The Race Dying out. An appeal by Agent Rust—the Indian as a citizen—The present Indian policy—Education—Land—The Treaty of 1848—The Nation's Wards. In Pasadena, on Friday evening last, as announced in The Times, H. N. Rust, vice-president of the Pasadena Academy of Sciences, and Indian Agent of the Pacific Coast, delivered an address on the present status of the California Indians, before a large and appreciative audience, at the Universalist Church. The subject is one which should interest every thinking man and woman, about which very little is known. Mr. Rust has spent a lifetime in studying the life history of the Indian, and no one on this coast is better posted in the affairs relating to them. He said, in substance, since the discovery of this country there has been an almost continuous warfare between the native races and their uninvited, unwelcomed guests, the white man. We have overrun the entire country, crowding the Indians back onto the frontier and today the fact is patent to all observers that the Indian must be absorbed into our rapidly advancing civilization, as the negro has been. This is a fact worthy of the consideration of every American citizen. Before another generation passes off the stage, every Indian will have become an American citizen, with all its responsibilities and privileges, and we are unexpectedly coming to this by force of circumstances. By the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, by which the United States acquired California from Mexico, we guaranteed to all her subjects the same political rights which they enjoyed as citizens of the United States of Mexico. We have rarely recognized that right on account of their ignorance, and only a few of the more intelligent have offered to vote... The Indian policy of the past has been a very uncertain quantity, and the Government has tried by making treaties and by breaking treaties, by making war upon them, by feeding them in idleness and by various expedients to secure their lands for settlement, and all have been unsatisfactory...”

“Major Horatio Nelson Rust died after a lingering illness in South Pasadena, November 14, 1906, at the age of 78 years. Major Rust was widely known for his archaeological studies and collections, which at times led him into the realm of folk-lore, as in several papers published by him in recent volumes of anthropological journals. The last contribution from his pen appears in vol. viii, No. 4, of the American Anthropologist. Major Rust was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. In his youth he ardently espoused the antislavery cause, manifesting the same spirit of hatred to oppression which later made him the friend and champion of the Mission Indians of California. John Brown and his sons counted him among their friends and active partisans. During the Civil War he served as acting surgeon in the medical corps, and under Burnside superintended the transportation of the wounded to their homes. He saw service at Antietam, City Point, and Petersburg. Twenty-five years ago Major Rust came to California and settled in South Pasadena. His home has long been noted for the rare and beautiful plants surrounding it. Two wonderful Gold of Ophir rose bushes planted by Mr. Rust have become world famous and have been photographed hundreds of times. Major Rust was largely instrumental in the founding of Pasadena Public Library, and was one of the organizers of the citrus fair in Chicago in 1886. In 1893 he was connected with the Anthropological Department at the World's Fair, where he exhibited an archaeological collection which is now at Beloit College. Major Rust's character was one of rare unselfishness and fearlessness. His friendships were numerous and warm. Among the intimate associates of his later years was Mrs. Jessie Benton Fremont [(1824-1902) daughter of explorer John Charles Fremont]. He was always modest and unassuming, and it was but rarely that his friends heard from his own lips of the many acts of philanthropy that characterized him. He was a man that granted many favors, but asked for none. He was a careful student and an indefatigable collector, who collaborated with many of the anthropological institutions of the country. His loss will be keenly felt in archaeological circles, especially in Southern California, his chosen home of later years. A. L. Kroeber, San Francisco, Cal. Vol. XX — No. 77.”