Ida Benfey Judd ( – February 14, 1952) was an American educator, elocutionist, and monologist, billed as "The American Storyteller"."Miss Ida Benfey, The American Storyteller" (brochure, 1900-1910) in Traveling Culture: Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century (University of Iowa Libraries). She founded the Mark Twain Association, and was its first president.
Early life 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.What Women Can Earn: Occupations of Women and Their Compensation (Frederick A. Stokes 1899): 52-55. She studied elocution at the Michigan State Normal School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and graduated from the University of California in 1883.Ida Benfey Judd papers, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. Her sister Myra married Waldo S. Waterman, son of California governor Robert W. Waterman, in 1887 and died of consumption later that year.
Career 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.Joseph Dana Miller, "Women Elocutionists" National Magazine (November 1900): 55. Of her interpretation of The Book of Job, a signature piece in her wide repertoire,"Miss Ida Benfey" The Parisian (February 1898): 195-196. the Times noted that "Miss Benfey has taste, understanding, and uncommon powers of expression, and her new undertaking cannot fail to interest many persons.""Ida Benfey's Reading" The New York Times (January 22, 1899). 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."The Public Readers" The New York Times (February 5, 1896). 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."To Commemorate Eliot at Institute Tonight" Columbia Daily Spectator (February 6, 1920): 1. Les Misérables and A Tale of Two Cities were other popular texts for Benfey's performances. She also told Chinese folk tales, recited Socrates, and read Mark Twain essays and stories."Mrs. Judd Gives Recital" The New York Times (March 9, 1931): 28.
Judd taught public speaking and elocution at Teachers College, Columbia University; among her students was political strategist Belle Moskowitz.Elisabeth Israels Perry, Belle Moskowitz: Feminine Politics and the Exercise of Power in the Age of Alfred E. Smith (UPNE 1987): 5.
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,"Mark Twain Group Honors Mrs. Judd" The New York Times (March 10, 1935): N4. organizing contests, raising funds, and corresponding with writers and publications."Award Offered for Ten Best Quotations from Twain's Books" Stanford Daily (May 20, 1927): 6. In the 1930s, she organized Great Literature Across the Footlights, to promote cultural literacy through dramatic presentation in prisons and reformatories and summer camps.Meyer Berger, "About New York" The New York Times (December 1, 1939): 20.
Personal life and death Ida Benfey married George W. Judd, a lawyer. She died in Ossining, New York on February 14, 1952, at the age of 93."Mrs. Ida Judd Dies; Noted Monologist" The New York Times (February 15, 1952): 25. Her papers are archived at the New York Public Library. Her Mark Twain Association was still meeting annually in New York City in 1990.Andrew L. Yarrow, "Weekender Guide" The New York Times (April 6, 1990).
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