Inventory of the William Carl Saxon Diaries

Michael P. Palmer
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90007
Phone: (213) 741-0094
Fax: (213) 741-0220
Email: askone@onearchives.org
URL: http://www.onearchives.org
© 2008
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives. All rights reserved.

Inventory of the William Carl Saxon Diaries

Collection number: Coll2008-015

ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives

Los Angeles, California
Processed by:
Michael P. Palmer
Date Completed:
May 5, 2008
Encoded by:
Michael P. Palmer
© 2008 ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives. All rights reserved.
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.


Descriptive Summary

Title: William Carl Saxon diaries
Dates: 1971-1992
Collection number: Coll2008-015
Creator: Saxon, William Carl, 1954-1992
Collection Size: 4 archive cartons. 1.4 linear feet.
Repository: ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.
Los Angeles, California 90007
Abstract: Journals, 1971-1992, of William Carl Saxon (1954-1992). The entries are primarily of a psychological nature, and chronicle his relationships with his family, friends, and his long-time partner, William John "Billy" Lorenz, and, from July 1990, the emotional effects of his struggle with AIDS.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.

Publication Rights

Researchers wishing to publish materials from this collection must obtain permission in writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the physical and copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

William Carl Saxon diaries, Coll2008-015, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.

Acquisition Information

Gift of William John Lorenz, legatee of William Carl Saxon, September 1, 1994.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Michael P. Palmer, May 5, 2008.
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Biography

William Carl Saxon was born in Los Angeles, California, on September 26, 1954. He graduated from Franklin Hugh School in 1972, and received a journalism scholarship from the Los Angeles Times to attend California State University Los Angeles, where he served as president of the Gay Student Union, and from which he graduated in 1979 with a BA in American Studies. Saxon did much volunteer work with the Braille Institute, the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center, and the Suicide Hot Line. He was last employed as a Quality Control Engineer and Customer Service Representative at Champion Irrigation Co. He was diagnosed with AIDS in July 1990, and died of the disease in Los Angeles on February 22, 1992.

Scope and Content of Collection

The collection consists of the journals of William Carl Saxon (1954-1992) for the period 1971-1992. The entries are primarily of a psychological nature, and chronicle Saxon's relationships with his family, friends, and his long-time partner, William John "Billy" Lorenz. The entries are extensive for the period 1972-1977, then become increasingly intermittent until 1990, when Saxon was diagnosed with AIDS. The entries from July 1990 until January 1992, document, in a deteriorating hand, the emotional effects of Saxon's struggle with the disease. A single folder contains several photographs of Saxon and Lorenz, Saxon's last will, his last letter to Lorenz, and materials from his memorial service.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
AIDS (Disease) --Psychological aspects
Diaries
Saxon, William Carl, 1954-1992


Box 1 : 1

Personal circa 1980-1992

Box 1 : 2-7 ; 2 : 1-4 ; 3 : 1-3 ; 4 : 1-2

Journals 1971-1992

Box 1 : 2

No. 1 / 2 (copy) September 20, 1971 - April 13, 1973

Box 1 : 3

No. 2 (original) April 18, 1972 - March 12, 1973

Box 1 : 4

No. 3 March 13 - July 27, 1973

Box 1 : 5

No. 4 July 29, 1973 - April 8, 1974

Box 1 : 6

No. 5 April 9 - December 29, 1974

Box 1 : 7

No. 6 December 30, 1974 - April 6, 1975

Box 2 : 1

No. 7 April 9, 1975 - June 7, 1976

Box 2 : 2

No. 8 June 8, 1976 - November 25, 1977

Box 2 : 3

No. 9 November 30, 1977 - July 23, 1980

Box 2 : 4

No. 10 August 1, 1980 - September 3, 1983

Box 3 : 1

No. 11 October 4, 1983 - November 2, 1990

Box 3 : 2

No. 12 November 2, 1990 - March 13, 1991

Box 3 : 3

No. 13 March 14 - September 15, 1991

Box 4 : 1

No. 14 September 17, 1991 - January 5, 1992

Box 4 : 2

Poetry undated