A Guide to the Lewis C. Warden Papers

Finding aid prepared by Dept. Staff

University of Florida Smathers Libraries - Special and Area Studies Collections
November 2004

Descriptive Summary
	Creator:	Warden, Lewis Christopher
	Title:	Lewis C. Warden Papers
	Dates:	1934-1987
	Abstract:	Manuscripts of popular and legal works, personal papers, legal research materials, and photographs of lawyer and author, Lewis C. Warden.
	Extent:	8 Linear feet. 12 boxes.
	Identification:	MS Group 91
	Language(s):	English

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Biographical/Historical Note

Lewis Christopher Warden (1913-1989) was a lawyer and legal editor and writer, who also wrote novels and other popular works. Warden was born August 26, 1913, near St. Clairsville, Ohio, the son of Christopher M. and Alice Lewis Warden. He married Emma Wallace in 1939. The couple had two daughters, Rebecca and Deborah. Lewis Warden died April 30, 1989, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Warden received his bachelor's degree from Ohio State University, in 1934, and a law degree from Harvard University in 1937, converted to a juris doctorate in 1969. He entered private practice in Columbus, Ohio, in 1938, and was later Common Pleas Judge in Gallia County. In 1950, he began employment as a writer and later as an editor for the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company of Rochester, New York, and continued until his retirement in 1978. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Prior to entering the bar, he was a Methodist pastor in Ohio and Massachusetts. Warden lived in Gainesville, Florida, from 1961 to 1981.

Warden's published books are The New Crusade (1934), a work of personal philosophy; The Life of Blackstone (1938); and three works of fiction, Torrent of the Willows (1954), Murder on Wheels (1964), and Running against the Wind (1981). Additionally he is the author of numerous articles in legal reference works, including American Law Reports, 2nd ed (1950-1953), American Jurisprudence, 2d ed (1974-88), and texts for Florida, Ohio, and New York, all published by the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company. He also contributed to the Harvard Law School Bulletin and other periodicals. (Source: Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2002; and the Gainesville Sun, May 4, 1989.

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Scope and Content

The Papers include manuscripts of Warden's published and unpublished writings, legal, literary, and personal correspondence, manuscript and printed records of various aspects of his life, and photographs of himself, family, and places he visited.

The bulk of the Papers are manuscripts of his published and unpublished works. Published works include The Life of Blackstone, Torrent of the Willows, a historical novel of French emigrants to Ohio during the time of the French Revolution, and two crime novels Murder on Wheels, and Running against the Wind. Unpublished fiction includes "Courthouse Row," "Cricket on the Hearth," "Devil Tide," "Mr. Grundery," "Mr. Littleman," and "Stick around She Said." Several of these works exist in multiple drafts with alternate titles. His fictional writing tended towards criminal cases with his extended courtroom scenes. The manuscripts also include some short legal writings.

The Papers include legal, literary and professional correspondence. Correspondence relating directly to the literary works are filed with the manuscripts. A large file includes letters, newspaper clippings, and other records relating to a publicity tour in Ohio and West Virginia for Torrent of the Willows. General correspondence, extending from 1935-1987 is in several chronological files. Special files include correspondence with his employer, the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company, 1950-1981, both his alma maters, Ohio State University and Harvard Law School, Warden family correspondence, and correspondence concerning a suit Warden bought against the United States government over the question of violation of privacy in the 1940 census. Some records other than correspondence may be found in the correspondence file.

Miscellaneous records include biographical information and records concerning Lewis Warden and his wife, Emma, various certificates and diplomas, printed article by or about Warden from periodicals sources, real estate records regarding his homes, and Warden family history.

There are numerous photographs of Warden throughout his adult life, as well as of his father, wife, and children. Several photographs were taken during his publicity tour for Torrent of the Willows. There are also numerous snapshot photographs from trips in Florida, Alaska, Europe, and elsewhere, that Warden made in the last years of his life, with either his daughter Rebecca or Deborah.

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Access or Use Restrictions

Access

The collection is open for research.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Lewis C. Warden Papers, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Acquisition Information

Donated to the University of Florida Libraries by Lewis C. Warden.

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Selected Subjects and Access Terms

Alachua
Contemporary Florida, 1960
Lawyers as authors -- Correspondence.
Warden, Emma.
Warden, Lewis Christopher -- Correspondence.

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For further information, please contact: Special Collections Access Services.

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Last updated November 2004 - jrn