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Robert D. Starrett collection

 Collection — Folder: S1930
Identifier: S1930

Scope and Contents

This collection includes three items related to establishment of the Lincoln Memorial Way and the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial in Indiana. The first item is a copy of the booklet The Lincoln Memorial Way Through Indiana, a published report by the commission appointed by Governor Harry G. Leslie to designate the historic route of the Lincoln family through Indiana. The booklet also includes a handwritten note added by Robert D. Starrett on January 5, 1956 regarding what Judge Curtis Shake told him about how the commission determined the route. The second item is a May 20, 1941 program from the ceremony of the laying of the cornerstone for the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial and the third item is a copy of The Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial, a 1944 report prepared by Richard E. Bishop and published by the Indiana Lincoln Union that also contains a few handwritten notations added by Starrett in 1957.

Dates

  • 1933-1957

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Biographical Note

Robert Dickson Starrett was born September 21, 1907 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania to Andrew D. and Helen (Wagner) Starrett. A 1933 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, he worked for the National Park Service and studied museum methods and techniques under a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship at the Buffalo (N.Y.) Museum of Science. Following his naval service in World War II, Starrett was appointed curator of the Indiana State Museum. He later organized the move of the state museum out of the basement of the Indiana Statehouse to the old Indianapolis City Hall building and was named the museum director in 1966. In 1970, Starrett was named assistant to the director of the Division of State Memorials and Museums and held this position for a short time before retiring. He was the widower of Charity Laning Starrett and Winnifred Berry Starrett and the father of Samuel D. Starrett. He died in Florida at the age of 90 on July 9, 1998.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. "Robert D. Starrett." 1910 United States Federal Census. Accessed September 18, 2020. https://www.ancestry.com/.

Ancestry.com. "Robert Dickson Starrett." Pennsylvania, World War II Veteran Compensation Application Files, 1950-1966. Accessed September 18, 2020. https://www.ancestry.com/.

"Robert Starrett was Director of the Indiana State Museum." Indianapolis Star (Ind.), July 11, 1998.

"State Museum Curator Named: Robert Starrett Chosen in Expansion Program." Indianapolis News (Ind.), June 10, 1946.

Extent

0.01 Cubic Feet (1 folder)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged chronologically.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Robert D. Starrett.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Processing Information

Collection processing completed in 1998 by Philip N. Williams. EAD finding aid created 2020/09/DD21 by Laura Eliason.
Title
Robert D. Starrett collection
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671