Edwin Kemp Steers
Edwin K. Steers Oral History
OH
Jan.-Mar. 1977
1 transcript draft, 4 reel to reel tapes
Manuscript Section, Indiana Division
Indiana State Library
Processed by: Christina Baich, May 2006
Biographical Note:
Edwin Kemp Steers was born on January 19, 1915, in Indianapolis, Indiana. His parents were Edwin M. S. and Leila E. (Kemp) Steers. He graduated from Indiana University with an A.B. in 1935 and an LL.B. in 1937. He was admitted to the bar and joined the firm of Steers, Klee, Jay & Sullivan. On June 15, 1939, he married Dorothy Hamilton, with whom he had two daughters, Susan Jane and Sandra Lynn. From 1940 to 1949, he served as deputy prosecuting attorney of Marion County.
During World War II, Steers enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served 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. He then became a Special Prosecutor in the Office of the U.S. Chief of Counsel where he served as the American prosecutor in the Belsen Bergen Concentration Camp trial. During the Korean War, Steers was recalled to active duty and served two years.
In 1952, Steers became one of the youngest men to ever be elected Indiana Attorney General. He served three terms, finally leaving office in 1964. He then returned to private practice at the firm of Steers, Klee, Sullivan & LeMay. He died on November 30, 1992.
Source:
Ancestry Library. Indiana State Library. 18 May 2006. <http://www.ancestrylibrary.com>.
Who’s Who in the Midwest, 1965-1966. Chicago: Marquis Who’s Who, 1966.
Scope and Content Note:
The collection contains tapes of four interviews with Edwin K. Steers conducted by Jerry Handfield. Only the first interview has been transcribed. Steers discusses his family and early childhood; fishing and having a newspaper route; attending Arsenal Technical High School; the 1920s in Indianapolis; his father’s law practice and political activities; and D.C. Stephenson and the Ku Klux Klan. There is an indication that the second interview moves onto his years in law school.
Item Listing:
1977 Jan. 5 Reel-to-reel tape
1977 Jan. 5 Transcript draft
1977 Jan. 12 Reel-to-reel tape
1977 Feb. 10 Reel-to-reel tape
1977 Mar. 9 Reel-to-reel tape
Collection Information:
Size of Collection:
1 transcript draft, 4 reel to reel tapes
Collection Dates:
January-March 1977
Provenance:
Indiana State Library Oral History Project.
Access: This collection is open for research.
Restrictions:
None
Reproduction Rights:
Permission to reproduce, exhibit, or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Manuscript Section, Indiana State Library. Possession of a reproduction from an Indiana State Library collection does not constitute permission for use.
Language Materials are entirely in English
Alternate Formats:
None
Related Holdings:
L244, Edwin K. Steers Papers
Notes:
Search the Indiana State Library's Online Catalog.