If you have not read any of the posts, they are provided below.
Part 1 Delight Adams Benham and is there a Story?
Part 11 Delight Adams Benham and There is a Story (I hope you will read the comments, among the best I've ever had.)
Follow-up for Howard C. Benham and his family:
“As for the motive for the crime, it was said that (Howard) Benham desired to be free from his wife, not only that he might inherit $30,000 that she possessed, but that he might marry a young woman with whom he was said to be desperately in love.”
Howard was found not guilty in June 1900 and tried to put his life in order. He desperately wanted to be in vaudeville and had signed a contract. The show was canceled because there were too many protests in Buffalo against him. Other headlines state, he moved to Cleveland and tried to recover control of his wife’s property from his step-father-in-law. In January 1901, Howard “reported married in Indianapolis to millionaire, Esther (Estelle) Crum.” The new Mrs. Benham says she fell in love with Howard from a picture during the trial. On June 27, 1901, a paper reported he (Howard) was ill in Ohio with Typhoid fever, and it was reported two weeks later that he died in Columbus, Ohio, and was buried back home in Byron, New York.
The story continues to be sad, for his (Howard's) property went to the lawyers, not to his very young orphaned son.
Martin C. Benham (Howard's father):
Howard’s father, Martin C. Benham had his own problems. And headlines as well. Martin moved in with the young couple, Florence and Howard, and was hired to handle their finances and to be the guardian of Florence. Everything seems to be fine, until after the murder and the arrest of his son in January 1897.
Per the New York Times, March 20, 1897, “Batavia, N.Y., March 19.—Martin C. Benham, father of Howard, the alleged wife murderer, made three attempts to take his own life yesterday. Mr. Benham has been gradually breaking down mentally since his son’s arrest.”
Per the Democrat and Chronicle, Sept. 29, 1897, of Rochester, NY. – The headline: “Contest Over the Account of Martin C. Benham as Guardian.” He was in court because of possible misuse of the money, as there was a shortage in his accounts of $2,449.12.
The headlines from March 1897 to January 1901 ran from, “Mind said Failing,” “Condition improved,” “Not insane,” “Health now excellent,” “Mentally confused,” “Declared insane,” “Home,” “Ill,” “in Jail on Contempt, then released on health reasons,” “Worse – Confined to bed,” “To be Freed Today,” “Has pneumonia – now at home,” and four days later “Died.”
Other Family Members:
Howard’s second wife eloped with a Cincinnati lawyer, per paper dated 12-7-1903.
Mrs. Martin C. Benham (Howard’s mother) died in December 1911.
All of Howard’s sisters died young, all three under 35 years of age.
The murder, trials, and deaths had to have affected everybody in the family. Delight Benham was only alive for a year and a half after the murder, and I believe she was well aware of what was going on.
