Lucius Virginius Bassett was born on March 2, 1861, in Tarboro, North Carolina. Bassett was an attorney who served as state senator from Edgecombe and Halifax Counties from 1909 to 1913. During World War I, he served as chairman of the Edgecombe County Exemption Board. Bassett died in Rocky Mount (Nash County) on February 4, 1927.