Clarence E. Benadum manuscripts

Clarence E. Benadum, born 7 June 1889 on a farm in Delaware County, lived a rich and interesting life. After leaving his boyhood farm, Benadum worked for a time in Canada driving a dog sled for a freight company, homesteaded in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and prospected for gold there and in Canada. He graduated from Valparaiso University, passed the bar in 1910, and started his career as a successful trial lawyer in 1916.

World War I infantry and artillery service interrupted his law practice but in 1922 he resumed his legal pursuits when he was elected to Delaware County prosecutor. In the courtroom he was known for his melodramatic theatrics. In one case in 1938 he reenacted a shooting scene in court while wearing the decedent's bloody shirt. In 1940, Benadum ventured into full-fledged politics by running for Indiana Governor on the Republican ticket. After losing the election, Benadum continued to practice law but also began to pour more energy into writing books, poems, and short stories. His wife, Mary A. Benadum (neé Brandt), however, was a trustee for the Indiana State Woman's Prison for many years in the 1940s and 1950s. She died in 1970.

Benadum published his first book entitled Blackshirt in 1935 (call number PS 3503. E48 B4) which portrayed behind-the-scenes political life in Indiana in the early 1900s. He continued to write and in 1951 published his second and best-known book: Bates House (call number PS 3503 .E48 B3). The book recounts a tale of life in Indiana during the Civil War and the effects it had on local peoples. In 1967, Benadum published a poem entitled The Trial of Bill Jones about a lawyer who acquits a man of a crime by reason of insanity (i.e. over-drinking) (call number PN 6099.3 T75). The present collection contains manuscripts and drafts of these works as well as others which Benadum never published. The copies of the two books are autographed copies.

Clarence E. Benadum died 13 November 1978 at the age of 89.