Skip to main content

Edwin K. Steers papers

 Collection
Identifier: L244

Scope and Contents

This collection includes legal papers, newspapers clippings, war correspondents' writings, photographs, event and campaign documents, badges and greeting cards from courts, newspapers, and political parties from Edwin K. Steers in Indiana, Illinois and Washington, D.C. ranging from 1930 to 1964 regarding his life, law career, politics, and World War II.

Dates

  • 1930-1964, undated

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Biographical Note

Edwin Kemp Steers was the son of Edwin McMasters Stanton and Leila Edith (Kemp) Steers and was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 19, 1915. He had a sister, Pearl. Steers was graduated from Indiana University with an A.B. in 1935 and an LL.B. in 1937 from the Indiana University Law School. He was admitted to the bar and joined the firm of Steers, Klee, Jay and Sullivan in 1937. Steers married Dorothy J. Hamilton on June 15, 1939 in Marion County, Indiana and they had two daughters, Susan Jane and Sandra Lynn.

During World War II, Steers enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving as an officer aboard a PT-510 and participated in the Normandy Invasion under the command of Commander John D. Buckley. After V.E. Day, he was assigned to the joint Army-Navy State Department War Crimes Office where he helped prepare indictments against Nazi war criminals. Steers then became a special prosecutor in the Office of the U.S. Chief of Counsel where he served as the American prosecutor in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp trial. He was a deputy Marion County prosecutor from 1940 to 1949 and served as Indiana state attorney general from 1952 to 1964, returning to private practice at the firm of Steers, Klee, Sullivan and LeMay. Steers died November 30, 1992 and was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. "Edwin Kemp Steers." Web: Marion County, Indiana, Marriage Index, 1925-2012. Accessed June 13, 2016. http://search.ancestrylibrary.com.

Findagrave.com. "Edwin Kemp Steers." Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed June 13, 2016. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46019683/edwin-kemp-steers.

"Steers, Edwin K." Indiana Division clipping file. Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN.

"Steers, Edwin Kemp." Who’s Who in the Midwest, 1965-1966. Chicago: Marquis Who’s Who, 1966.

Extent

3.3 Cubic Feet (2 cubic foot boxes, 2 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by subject.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 2016/06/15 by Edythe Huffman. EAD finding aid created 2016/06/15 by Edythe Huffman. EAD finding aid revised 2021/03/02 by Brittany Kropf.
Title
Edwin K. Steers papers
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671