His being born and spending much of his life in Texas is more than a biographical detail: Benefield had been mentioned as "One of The Lone Star writers", who "Followed the Southern tradition".
He was born in Jefferson at a time when it was a major East Texas city, though its decline – due to becoming inaccessible to river traffic – happened in his own early years.
At that time the young Barry Benefield gained much knowledge of the region's character and lore, which would later influence his literary work.
Some of Benefield's books, such as Valiant Is the Word for Carrie (1935), are written from the point of view of a Southerner who feels an exile living in the North, and who longs for the more carefree life of a small Southern town, undoubtedly reflecting the writer's own feeling.
"Jefferson native Barry Benefield was a writer who had serious intentions, but his work now seems dated and flat.