MSS 80-03

Papers of James L. Skerritt

Dates

Creation: 1910-1978 (bulk 1935-1974)

Extent

6 Cubic feet
15 archival boxes

Abstract

Professional legal files (1935-1974) regarding the claims of Thomas Smidt and Richard H. Strongman with property in Germany at the time of their deaths in 1940. Also files of H. P. James, John J. Slater and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Acquisition Information

This collection was donated to the library in 1980 by Richard Lillich who was given them by a Skerritt relative. An addition to these papers was donated to the Law Library by his daughter Elizabeth Skerritt in 2004.

Arrangement

This collection was arranged alphabetically by client's name and chronologically.

Biographical / Historical Note

James Lewis Skerritt was born in Kentucky in 1898, and attended the University of Louisville prior to receiving his law degree from the New York University School of Law. He practiced in New York, specializing in estate and trust matters. He was associated with the firm of Dunnington, Bartholow & Miller for a time, but subsequently established a solo practice. He served on the Committee on the Surrogates' Courts of the Bar Association of the City of New York. He resided for a number of years in Mount Vernon, New York. James L. Skerritt died in 1974.

Physical Description

Professional legal files, approximately 6 linear feet.1 arbitrary_unit

Preferred Citation

The Papers of James L. Skerritt, MSS 80-3, Box Number, Special Collections, University of Virginia Law Library.

Scope and Content

The papers of New York attorney James L. Skerritt contain the cases of Thomas Smidt and Richard H. Strongman, U.S. nationals with assets and property in Germany at the time of their deaths in 1940. Skerritt, acting as executor for both clients, dealt with the problems the settlements presented because of World War II. The majority of the documents consist of executor accounts and correspondence with the heirs. There is some correspondence with German lawyers and petitions with the War Claims Settlement Commission. Both cases were not completed until the 1960s.

The Strongman case is of particular interest. He worked for the Woolworth Company from 1901 to 1939 and owned 3% of the shares of the German Woolworth Parent Company. The vast majority of this case file documents Skerritt's research and efforts to recuperate the value of those shares for the heirs. There is some correspondence between Woolworth officials and Skerritt. Though Skerritt represented Strongman most of his life, these files relate solely to the German property.

Other files added to the collection are of clients: H. P. James, John J. Slater and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Mr. Skerritt acted as executor and administrator of their estates. The Whitney Vanderbilt file reflects Skerritt's work as part of a larger team in the accounting of the estate.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions