Ida Benfey Judd
Ida Benfey Judd (c. 1858 – February 14, 1952) was an American educator, elocutionist and monologist, billed as "The American Storyteller".[1] She founded the Mark Twain Association, and was its first president.
Early life
[edit]Ida Benfey was born ca. 1858-59 in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Delia M. and Louis Benfey. She and her older sister Myra lost their mother when they were 11 and 13 years of age, respectively.[2][3] She studied elocution at the Michigan State Normal School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and graduated from the University of California in 1883.[4] Her sister Myra married Waldo S. Waterman, son of California governor Robert W. Waterman, in 1887 and died of consumption later that year.[5]
Career
[edit]Judd was a popular speaker at community events, schools, and in theaters, especially in New York City, where she was based, but also on national tours.[6] Of her interpretation of The Book of Job, a signature piece in her wide repertoire,[7] the Times noted that "Miss Benfey has taste, understanding, and uncommon powers of expression, and her new undertaking cannot fail to interest many persons."[8] She was also known to read works by women writers; an 1896 recital included texts by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman and Ruth McEnery Stuart, with both authors in the audience.[9] At the 1920 centennial commemoration of George Eliot held at a Columbia University, Judd performed scenes from The Mill on the Floss, accompanied by a trio of women musicians.[10] Les Misérables and A Tale of Two Cities were other popular texts for Benfey's performances.[1] She also told Chinese folk tales, recited Socrates, and read Mark Twain essays and stories.[11]
Judd taught public speaking and elocution at Teachers College, Columbia University; among her students was political strategist Belle Moskowitz.[12]
In 1926, Judd founded the Mark Twain Association, to promote the study and reading of Twain's work. She was the association's longtime president,[13] organizing contests, raising funds, and corresponding with writers and publications.[14] In the 1930s, she organized Great Literature Across the Footlights, to promote cultural literacy through dramatic presentation in prisons and reformatories and summer camps.[4][15]
Personal life and death
[edit]Ida Benfey married George W. Judd, a lawyer. She died in Ossining, New York on February 14, 1952, at the age of 93.[16] Her papers are archived at the New York Public Library.[4] Her Mark Twain Association was still meeting annually in New York City in 1990.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Miss Ida Benfey, The American Storyteller" (brochure, 1900-1910) in Traveling Culture: Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century (University of Iowa Libraries).
- ^ What Women Can Earn: Occupations of Women and Their Compensation (Frederick A. Stokes 1899): 52-55.
- ^ "Myra Benfey in the Michigan, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1784-1980". Ancestry.com.
- ^ a b c Ida Benfey Judd papers, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.
- ^ "Mrs. Myra Benfey Waterman". San Jose Herald. November 18, 1887.
- ^ Joseph Dana Miller, "Women Elocutionists" National Magazine (November 1900): 55.
- ^ "Miss Ida Benfey" The Parisian (February 1898): 195-196.
- ^ "Ida Benfey's Reading" The New York Times (January 22, 1899).
- ^ "The Public Readers" The New York Times (February 5, 1896).
- ^ "To Commemorate Eliot at Institute Tonight" Columbia Daily Spectator (February 6, 1920): 1.
- ^ "Mrs. Judd Gives Recital" The New York Times (March 9, 1931): 28.
- ^ Elisabeth Israels Perry, Belle Moskowitz: Feminine Politics and the Exercise of Power in the Age of Alfred E. Smith (UPNE 1987): 5. ISBN 9781555534240
- ^ "Mark Twain Group Honors Mrs. Judd" The New York Times (March 10, 1935): N4.
- ^ "Award Offered for Ten Best Quotations from Twain's Books" Stanford Daily (May 20, 1927): 6.
- ^ Meyer Berger, "About New York" The New York Times (December 1, 1939): 20.
- ^ "Mrs. Ida Judd Dies; Noted Monologist" The New York Times (February 15, 1952): 25.
- ^ Andrew L. Yarrow, "Weekender Guide" The New York Times (April 6, 1990).