CCGS Library Hosts Charlotte Ottinger, author of Madge:The life and times of Madge Oberholtzer
On Saturday, July 25th, the Clay County Genealogical Society located at 309 Main Street in Center Point will be hosting a presentation by author Charlotte Halsema Ottinger, who will be discussing her 2021 book, Madge: The life and times of Madge Oberholtzer, the young Irvington woman who brought down D.C. Stephenson and the Ku Klux Klan. Madge Oberholtzer was born in Clay County, Indiana, where she lived until her family moved to Irvington, five miles east of downtown Indianapolis.
According to newsman Harold C. Feightner, “Few deaths of comparatively inconspicuous people have had the far-flung effects that [Oberholtzer’s] did. Her passing marked the beginning of the end of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana; it resulted in the indictment of Governor Ed Jackson; the indictment and conviction of Mayor Ed L. Duvall, of Indianapolis, and other city officials and a complete change in the capital city’s administration, and it nearly wrecked a political party.”
Ottinger will discuss Oberholtzer’s limited relationship with Stephenson, Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, her abduction and assault, her death bed declaration and the trial that sent D.C. Stephenson to prison for second degree murder. In addition to a display of related artifacts from the 1920s, Ottinger will share interesting aspects of Oberholtzer’s short life including her time studying under notable Indiana artists William Forsyth, Otto Stark and Clifton Wheeler. Special attention will be given to the legal precedents established during the trial and Oberholtzer’s lasting legacy. Much of Ottinger’s extensive research was used by Timothy Egan for his 2023 book Fever in the Heartland.
Timothy Egan wrote: “Charlotte Ottinger has done what no one else has done in telling the tale of the woman whose life and death destroyed the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s: she brought her subject fully to life. Page after page is full of discoveries that other historians of the era have missed. Her Madge emerges as a multi-dimensional woman of character and intelligence, the result of brilliant, tireless and original scholarship on Ottinger’s part. “Madge” is the story of a genuine American hero – a Hoosier original who deserves her place in history.”
Ottinger is a retired nurse and American Sign Language Medical Interpreter who makes her home in Historic Irvington on Indianapolis’ eastside. Ottinger has a psychology degree from Purdue University, Nursing degree from Indiana University, and a Master’s degree from Gallaudet University, a university for the Deaf in Washington, D.C. A lifelong history enthusiast, Ottinger is a current member and former board member of the Irvington Historical Society. In her spare time, she enjoys buying and selling antiques and fostering kittens.
Following her presentation, she would be happy to answer any questions and sign books.
You are welcome to bring your own copy of Madge to be signed or you may purchase a copy following the presentation. The book costs $35.00 with fifty-percent of the proceeds going to the Irvington Historical Society. Payment methods include cash, check, Venmo, Zelle or credit card.
Mark your calendar for Saturday, July 25th. The event is free of charge and will begin promptly at 1:00 in the new Clay County Genealogical Library. If you have any questions, you may contact someone at the library Mon, Wed, Thurs, or Friday between 10:00 and 4:00 p.m. The library phone number is 812-835-5005.