William Taylor Baskett diaries

Online content

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Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
160 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Brenda Gunn
Phone: (434) 924-1037
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

The donor has not imposed any restrctions on access to this collection. However, the University of Virginia Law Library prohibits researchers from accessing the original paper diaries, because they are in fragile condition. Digital copies of the diaries may be provided to researchers, and there are no access restrictions on any of the other materials.

Terms of access:

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the donor were transferred to the University of Virginia in 2023. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the University of Virginia Law Library. The diaries will enter the public domain, on June 1, 2042, 70 years after the death of their creator.

Summary

Extent:
.4 Linear Feet and 20.366 Gigabytes
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of 7 diaries that William Taylor Baskett (1884-1972) created to document his life in 1903 and 1904, including his experiences as a University of Virginia School of Law student. It also contains digital copies of the diaries and digital files the donor created while researching Baskett.

The original diaries are in fair condition. The paper is separating or has already separated from the notebook bindings. It is flaking off in small pieces around the edges, and this deterioration has already led to the loss of some content in the diaries.

Biographical / historical:

William Taylor Baskett (1884-1972) was born in Baghdad, Kentucky, to James Simeon Baskett (1847-1889) and Julia Gwin Taylor Baskett (1855-1909). After his father's death, William moved with his family to Louisville, Kentucky, where he lived for most of his life. In 1903, William graduated from the Louisville Male High School, and in 1905, he graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law.

In 1917, after several years in private practice, William Taylor Baskett was appointed as the Second Assistant to Louisville's City Attorney. He continued to work in Louisville's legal department until 1933, and from 1924 to 1933, he served as the City Attorney.

In 1910, William Taylor Baskett married Sibyl Sunbeam Wilds (1887-1974), with whom he had six children. William died on May 31, 1972, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Acquisition information:
William Taylor Baskett's granddaughter, Lois Evelyn Mowery Roberts, inherited the diaries and donated them to the University of Virginia Law Library in the Spring of 2023.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
University of Virginia. School of Law
Places:
Student life