His grandfather, Curtis Travis (of English descent) was originally from Sleepy Hollow, New York before becoming an early settler of northern Indiana.
Stephenson, a prominent Ku Klux Klan leader and powerful figure in Indiana politics, had attempted to appeal the death sentence he received for murdering and raping Madge Oberholtzer.
Travis's re-election bid in 1926 was opposed by the KKK both due to his ruling in the Stephenson case and because the KKK was a pro-Temperance organization, and Travis had previously reversed the conviction of a defendant who had been charged with violating Indiana's Prohibition laws due to evidence in the case having been collected illegally.
Governor Edward L. Jackson attempted to pardon Edward Shumaker, a local leader of the Anti-Saloon League, after Shumaker was found to be in contempt of court for spreading libelous information about the court's handling of cases involving Prohibition law violations.
Travis lost re-election in the 1932 statewide Democratic sweep, succeeded on the court by Justice Michael Fansler.
[3] Travis was the President of the Rustic Hickory Furniture Company, a prominent local business in La Porte.
[1] During both the First and Second World War, when military conscription was implemented in the United States, Travis served on the Selective Service Appeals Board.