William Ross Rust Family Photograph Collection, approximately 1865-1938

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Rust (Family : Rust, William Ross, 1850-1928)
Title
William Ross Rust Family Photograph Collection
Dates
approximately 1865-1938 (inclusive)
Quantity
81 photographs (2 boxes, 1 folder)
Collection Number
PH1421
Summary
Photographs of the William Ross Rust family, the construction of the William Rust building in Tacoma, portraits of soldiers and people from the 1860s including John Wilkes Booth and Jefferson Davis
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Entire collection can be viewed on the UW Libraries Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator is required to view original photographs.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

W.R. Rust was born in Pennsylvania on August 1, 1850 and died in 1928. He moved to Washington in 1889, and purchased the Tacoma Smelting & Refining Company, a business that occupied 67 acres in Tacoma. He made his fortune smelting copper at what would later become the infamous ASARCO plant along Commencement Bay that caused the lead and arsenic contamination around Puget Sound that will take generations to correct. But little was understood about environmental pollution when Rust owned the plant, and he was considered by most to be a man of vision and a bringer of jobs. The City of Ruston is named after him. The historic Rust mansions are also a part of his legacy. The original was constructed on 1001 North "I" Street in Tacoma's north end. The Rust family, including William's wife Helen and two sons, Henry Arthur Rust (August 21, 1900-May 13, 1936), and Howard Rust (April 11, 1886- April 9, 1911), lived in this house until 1911, the year that Howard mysteriously died. At that time a new house was constructed a few blocks away at 521 North Yakima Avenue because Mrs. Rust could not live in the house so closely associated with the death of her son. W.R. Rust founded the Tacoma Smelting and Refining Company, was president of the Chichagoff Mining Company (1910-1934), and held other business interests in Tacoma, Washington and Alaska. He was involved in over a dozen business concerns, including his own investment firm. In 1921, his business success was reflected in the construction of the Rust Building, located in the central business district of Tacoma. He was interested in Democratic Party politics and a friend of Hugh C. Wallace, a political activist and ambassador to France.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Photographs of the William Ross Rust family and of the construction of the William Rust building in Tacoma in 1920. Also includes carte-de-visite and tintype photographs of Rust family members and soldiers from the era of the Civil War and just after the war. Among them are portraits of John Wilkes Booth and of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy. The carte-de-visite and tintype photographs were probably originally in an album.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

View the digital version of the collection

Restrictions on Use

Status of creator's copyrights is unknown; restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Users are responsible for researching copyright status before use.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

July, 31, 2006.

Processing Note

Processed by: Sara Cordes, 2017

Separated Materials

Material Described Separately:

Rust Family Papers (Collection No. 1115)

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Carte-de-visite PhotosReturn to Top

These photographs were probably originally from an album.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box item
1 1 1867
1 2 1867
1 3 1867
1 4 1867
1 5 1866
1 6 circa 1860-1867
1 7 circa 1861-1862
1 8
Capt. S.V. Munson, Company A
Carpenter & Mullen, Lexington, KY (photographer)
1867
1 9
David H. Rust
C.D. Fredricks & Co., NY (photographer)
1864
1 10 1865
1 11
Cadet S. M. Boyd
D.B. Elrod, Lexington, KY (photographer)
circa 1860-1867
1 12
Portrait of a child
A.C. Moore, Arcola, IL (photographer)
circa 1860-1867
1 13
J.K Brown, Lexington, KY
"Elrod" Lexington, KY (photographer)
Written on verso: From your friend and school mate- J.K. Brown. Lexington May 31st 69.
May 31, 1869
1 14 1865
1 15
General Roger Weightman Hanson
E. & H. T. Anthony, New York, NY (photographer)
Brigadier General in Confederate States Army, nicknamed "Old Flintlock".
circa 1860-1863
1 16 1866
1 17
Lieutenant W. B. Munson, Company B
Carpenter & Mullen, Lexington, KY (photographer)
1867
1 18
Joe Lindzey, Frankfort, KY
Campbell & Ecker's, Louisville, KY (photographer)
1867
1 19 1865
1 20
Cadet W. J. Ritchey
Webster & Bro, Louisville, KY (photographer)
1867
1 21
James Ramsey Dabney, Cadiz, KY
W. R. Phipps, Lexington, KY (photographer)
circa 1860-1867
1 22 circa 1860-1867
1 23 circa 1860-1867
1 24
Alfred C. Rust
Cancannon's, Tuscola, IL (photographer)
1866
1 25
Lucy B. Jameson
Written on verso: Now Mrs. Fester. Mt. Sterling, KY.
1866
1 26
[illeg.] Mattie Lee Jameson
Wilson & Wallace, Mt. Sterling, KY (photographer)
1867
1 27
Portrait of a woman
A. C. Moore, Arcola, IL (photographer)
circa 1860-1867
1 28 1866
1 29 1866
1 30 1865
1 31
Portrait of a man, Jessie
J. H. Chandler, Madison, IN (photographer)
circa 1860-1867
1 32 circa 1860-1867
1 33 circa 1860-1867
1 34 circa 1861-1864
1 35 circa 1860-1867
1 36 circa 1861-1865
1 37
Philip M. Saunders, Lexington, KY
Hoag Quick & Co., Cincinatti, OH (photographer)
circa 1861-1865
1 38
J. R. Peefles, Ordinance Sergeant Company A
Carpenter & Mullen, Lexington, KY (photographer)
1867
1 39
John Wilkes Booth sitting in a chair
Shaw, Chicago, IL (photographer)
circa 1862-1863
1 40 1867
1 41
Portrait of soldier
Written on verso: [illeg.] First Lieutenant LaneFrom accompanying material Lexington KY 1867
1867
1 42
Cadet John D. Wakefield
D. B. Elrod, Lexington, KY (photographer)
1867
1 43
Two children and woman
Frederick Wirth, Chicago, IL (photographer)
Written on verso: Emity N. Reni[illeg.] Nellie W. Rust
circa 1860-1867
1 44
E. Adams [illeg.]
Written on verso: Eminence [probably Eminence, KY]
1865
1 45
A. B. Price
Written on verso: Florance, KY [Florence]
1866
1 46a circa 1860-1867
1 46b
Portrait of sleeping child
circa 1860-1867
1 47
Portrait of a young woman
A. C. Moore, Arcola, IL (photographer)
circa 1860-1870s
1 48 circa 1877

Rust Family PhotographsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
2/1 49 circa 1900-1910
2/1 50 1903
2/1 51
Billie Grant
Whitney Bros. Chicago, IL (photographer)
December 25, 1918
2/1 52
Portrait of William Ross Rust
E.A. Lynn, Tacoma, WA (photographer)
January 22, 1919
2/1 53a
Portrait of William Ross Rust
Mezzo Studio, Tacoma, WA (photographer)
circa 1919
box-folder:oversize
XC2 53b
Engraving of photograph of William Ross Rust
circa 1919
Box/Folder
2/1 54
Portrait of three women and a child
Written on verso: Greeting from four generations
circa 1920s
box-folder:oversize
XC2 55
Portrait of William Ross Grant
Mabel Sykes, 140 North State St., Chicago (photographer)
Written on photo: age 11 years.
March 20, 1926
Box/Folder
2/1 56
Picture of woman reading to a child
Shawsply, Tacoma, WA (photographer)
Written on verso: [illeg.] July 1928 Hugh Gallagher.
1928

Construction of the William Rust building in Tacoma. Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
2/2 57 March 27, 1920
2/2 58 May 1, 1920
2/2 59 May 7, 1920
2/2 60 May 14, 1920
2/2 61 May 21, 1920
2/2 62 May 28, 1920
2/2 63 June 4, 1920
2/2 64 June 18, 1920
2/2 65 July 2, 1920
2/2 66 July 9, 1920
2/2 67 July 16, 1920
2/2 68 July 24, 1920
2/2 69 July 30, 1920
2/2 70 August 6, 1920
2/2 71 August 13, 1920
2/2 72 August 27, 1920
2/2 73 September 4, 1920
2/2 74 September 10, 1920
2/2 75 September 18, 1920
2/2 76 September 25, 1920
2/2 77 October 2, 1920
2/2 78 October 11, 1920

Scandinavian American Bank BuildingReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
2/3 79
Scandinavian American Bank Building foundations
Written on verso: Taken from roof of People's Store
October 29, 1920

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Soldiers--United States--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Booth, John Wilkes, 1838-1865--Photographs
  • Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889--Photographs
  • Hanson, Roger Weightman, 1827-1863--Photographs
  • Rust, William Ross, 1850-1928--Archives
  • Rust, William Ross, 1850-1928--Family--Photographs

Geographical Names

  • Tacoma (Wash.)--Buildings--Design and construction--Photographs
  • United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Photographs