Ruth and Lulu Wightman join “General” Charles Kelly in Sacramento, California, in March, 1914, to show their support for the Army of the Unemployed, a radical workers’ movement.
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Ruth Wightman trains to be a pilot with instructor Clarence Oliver “Ollie” Prest at the Riverside Aircraft Company in the summer of 1917.
Courtesy of University of Southern California, on behalf of the USC Libraries Special Collections
Ruth Wightman, Nina Vitagliano, and Mrs. P.H. Marmon compete at Ascot Park on February 3, 1918, in the first ever women’s auto racing event.
Courtesy of Harold Osmer
Ruth Wightman (second from right) and Nina Vitagliano (far right) pose with their race cars during a practice session at the Stockton race track in preparation for their big match race on March 3, 1918.
Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of Pacific Library
Gouverneur Morris, Ruth Wightman and a studio actor perform for the camera at Goldwyn Pictures in Culver City, California, circa 1921.
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
Gouverneur Morris, Pola Negri, Charlie Chaplin, and Ruth Wightman meet up in Pebble Beach (then known as Del Monte) in January, 1923.
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
Gouverneur Morris and Ruth Wightman practice golf in the backyard of their new Spanish-style home in Monterey, California.
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
Gouverneur Morris, newly-married Ruth Morris, Doris Deane, and Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle pose just outside the front gate of the Morris property in December, 1924.
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
Gouverneur Morris, Ruth Morris, Gene (Eugenia) McComas, and Francis McComas, both painters, greet the 1912 Italian Olympic wrestling champ at the Morris home in 1926.
Courtesy of the Pebble Beach Company Lagorio Archives
Photo by Julian P. Graham
Gouverneur Morris, Bay Morris (Govie’s daughter), and Ruth Morris enjoy a game of tennis at Del Monte in 1926.
Courtesy of the Pebble Beach Company Lagorio Archives
Photo by Julian P. Graham
Ruth Morris and Gouverneur Morris travel by ocean liner between San Francisco and French Polynesia, which had become their home away from home in the late 1920s.
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
Ruth Morris, the Marquesa de Portago, and Gene McComas take in a polo match at Del Monte sometime in the late 1920s.
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
Ruth Morris is joined by actress Lila Lee as a houseguest at the Morrises’ rented home in Manhattan Beach, California in 1936.
Courtesy of University of Southern California, on behalf of the USC Libraries Special Collections
Lila Lee, Gouverneur Morris, and Ruth Morris endure a grueling day in November, 1936, at the district attorney’s office as Ruth, in particular, received tough questioning.
Courtesy of University of Southern California, on behalf of the USC Libraries Special Collections