Benson family

Walter S. Benson Jr. was born in 1917 in Austin. He graduated from Austin High School and the University of Texas. Walter worked at W. S. Benson Publishers, an educational book publishing company started by his father in 1918. His wife, Frances Byrd Bolton Benson, was born in 1922 in Jacksonville, Texas. Frances attended Lon Morris College and was a Stephen F. Austin University student when World War II began. Marriage to Walter in 1945 interrupted her plans to attend the University of Texas. Frances was an active member of the Junior League of Austin.

Walter and Frances had two children, Barbara Bolton (born 1946) and Walter Scott III (born 1953).

Barbara Bolton Benson-Padgett graduated from Austin High School, attended Marjorie Webster and the College of Artesia. She was a 1967 debutante and a member of the Junior League and the Cotillion Club. Barbara married Gary Emerson Duck in 1971, from whom she was divorced in 1991. Barbara remarried in 1997 to William B. Padgett. Barbara is a member of the Austin Woman's Club and the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Walter III earned a business degree from St. Edwards University. He continues to operate the publishing company W. S. Benson and Company. He married Cindy Archer from Tyler, Texas in 1982. They had 2 children, Walter IV (born 1989) and Courtney Amanda (born 1992). Courtney died in 2003.

Frances died on November 21, 2005.

From the guide to the Benson Family Scrapbooks and Papers AR. 2009. 064., 1943-1984, 1932-1944, (Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, )