Research At The National Archives And Beyond!

 Telling Her Story: Finding Female Ancestors When Few Clues Exist” Viola Osborne Baskerville is a Richmond native who has been tracing several lines of her own family history for over thirty years.  Brief sketches  about three family matriarchs led her on a hunt to find out more about  them. Ms. Baskerville is a member of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), Greater Richmond VA Chapter as well as a member of ASALH, Richmond Chapter.  She received her B.A. from the College of William and Mary and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa, College of Law.  As a public servant, she advocated for the preservation of Virginia’s African American history through placing statues and historical markers, most notably a monument to Arthur Ashe in Richmond and a plaque naming and honoring Virginia’s Black Reconstruction Era state lawmakers at the Capitol.  In addition, Ms. Baskerville secured state funded scholarships for former students locked out of Virginia’s schools when the state clo