Oral history interviews with John L. Draper, November 1980.
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

The interview consist of sound recordings in two formats: 1 original audio cassette recorded in 1980 and a duplicate cassette made in 2006; and a set of 3 data CD-Rs containing MP3 files (a preservation master, a copy master, and a use copy). The original cassette was digitized during a conversion project in 2006.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scope and content: Oral history interviews with Nashville judge John L. Draper, conducted on two dates in November 1980 by Malcolm McKinney as part of the Century III Nashville: Nashville Heritage Project. Draper, who served Nashville as a magistrate (1929-1937), General Sessions Judge (1937-1960), and Criminal Court Judge (1960-1982), discusses such topics as his childhood on his family's farm in Goodlettsville, Tennessee; his education; his law career; how the Great Depression affected Nashville; elected judges versus appointed judges; and how the role of the courts and the process of campaigning for judgeships has changed during his career.

Cite as: Oral history interviews with John L. Draper, Century III Nashville: Nashville Heritage Project Oral History Collection, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)

Source of acquisition unknown;,RT-100.

Nashville judge for over 50 years. John L. Draper was born ca. 1902 in Goodlettsville and grew up on his family's farm there. His father was a farmer, while his mother was a schoolteacher. Draper entered Vanderbilt University in 1919 and graduated from its Law School in 1924. He first worked as a lawyer in firm Levine & Levine, where he met his wife Helen Scott, a secretary in the firm. Draper was elected to the Davidson County Court as a magistrate on 14 Nov. 1929, and he presided over cases involving small civil claims and criminal misdemeanor charges. Draper became one of Davidson County's first three General Sessions Court judges when that court was created by the General Assembly in 1937, and he served in this position until 1960, when Governor Buford Ellington appointed him to a Criminal Court vacancy. Draper was elected to eight-year terms on the Criminal Court bench in 1966 and 1974 and retired in 1982. Draper died 19 Jan. 1990 of congestive heart failure in Goodlettsville and is buried at Spring Hill Cemetery.

In English

Forms part of the Century III Nashville: Nashville Heritage Project : oral history collection