From The Indianapolis News , Monday, January 25, 1926:  Indianapolis attorney Charles Orbison was appointed imperial klaliff (vice president) of the Ku Klux Klan national organization by imperial wizard Hiram Evans at a Hotel Lincoln banquet attended by 300 Indiana Klansman yesterday evening.  Orbison will receive an annual salary of $12,000 ( 2024 :  $217,000).   He succeeds local attorney Walter Bossert who had relinquished the office as well as the position of Indiana gran

From The Indianapolis Star , Thursday, January 7, 1926:  Four hundred precinct committeepersons, ward chairs, and other prominent members of the Marion County Democratic Party adopted resolutions last evening pledging to fight to eliminate the Ku Klux Klan from controlling politics in the county.  The resolutions called upon, “all fair-minded citizens regardless of past political affiliations to join in eliminating the Ku Klux Klan and its leaders from all political control i

From The Indianapolis News , Saturday, December 12, 1925:  D. C. Stephenson, former Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon now serving a life sentence in Indiana State Prison for the murder of Madge Oberholtzer, appeared in circuit court at Noblesville today where his attorneys filed motions asking his conviction of second degree murder be vacated and a new trial be granted.  After hearing defense arguments from attorney Floyd Christian, Special Judge Will Sparks overruled the motions as

From The Indianapolis Star , Sunday, November 15, 1925:  Late yesterday afternoon after deliberating five hours and 35 minutes a Hamilton County Circuit Court jury found former Indiana Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon D. C. Stephenson guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Madge Oberholtzer.  A handful of spectators, including Madge Oberholtzer’s only brother Marshall Oberholtzer, were in the courtroom during the reading of the verdict; Stephenson, pale but smiling, listened

From The Indianapolis Times , Monday, November 9, 1925:  Mayor-Elect John Duvall has named the first eighteen members of his administration, and the Ku Klux Klan has scored heavily in the appointments.  The Klan organization maintained a Duvall campaign headquarters in the City Trust Building and there has been considerable speculation in political circles as to whether the Klan or the Republican Party would receive the greater recognition when appointments were made.  Among

From The Indianapolis Times , Monday, November 2, 1925:  At a meeting of United Protestant Clubs of Indianapolis at Cadle Tabernacle Saturday night, presided by George Elliott, exalted cyclops of Marion County Klan No. 3, John Duvall, Republican mayoral candidate, and several Republican council candidates urged support of the Ku Klux Klan United Protestant school board ticket which includes Charles Kern, Lillian Sedwick, Theodore Vonnegut, Fred Kepner, and Lewis Whiteman.  Th

From The Indianapolis Times , Thursday, October 29, 1925:  After thirteen days of jury selection, opening testimony began this morning in the trial of D C. Stephenson and his two co-defendants who are charged with the murder of Madge Oberholtzer.  The first witness to take the stand was Mrs. George Oberholtzer, dressed in deep mourning, her voice breaking with sobs and at times unable to speak because of her grief, told of the last time she saw her daughter – how Madge left h

From The Indianapolis Times , Tuesday, June 16, 1925:  A copy of the dying declaration of Madge Oberholtzer, for whose murder former...

From The Indianapolis Times , Friday, May 15, 1925:  D. C. Stephenson, Earl Gentry, and Earl Klinck will go on trial in Marion County...

From The Indianapolis News , Tuesday, April 14, 1925:  Madge Oberholtzer died this morning at her Irvington home, 5802 University Av,...