ABIGAIL Q. MCCARTHY:

Abigail Quigley McCarthy, daughter of Stephen M. and Anne (O'Leary) Quigley, was born April 16, 1915, in Wabasha, Minnesota. She attended St. Felix, a Catholic high school in Wabasha, graduated from the College of St. Catherine (St. Paul) and earned a master's degree in English from the University of Minnesota. She continued graduate studies at the University of Chicago and the Bread Loaf School of English. In 1938, McCarthy began her first teaching position in Mandan, North Dakota, where she met fellow teacher Eugene McCarthy who she married in 1945. They first settled on a farm near Watkins, Minnesota. Abigail wrote and sold short stories to national magazines. In 1946, the McCarthys moved to the Twin Cities where Eugene taught at St. Thomas College and Abigail joined the faculty of St. Catherine. During her professional years, she served as president of the Minnesota English Teachers' Association and, at various times, was book editor of Today, editor of Books Abounding, and staff reviewer for Worship. The McCarthys had four children: Ellen (b. 1947), Mary (1947-1990), Michael (b. 1951), and Margaret (b. 1955).

When Eugene McCarthy was elected to Congress in 1948, Abigail provided support and guidance. She played an important role in his 1958 Senate race, launching a statewide Women for McCarthy group. By the time of Eugene's presidential campaign of 1968, this organization had grown into a national organization. Abigail made speeches and personal appearances, took countless telephone calls from staffers and supporters, reviewed campaign literature and organized mailings. McCarthy was not successful in his presidential bid, and he and Abigail separated (but did not divorce) in the summer of 1969. Abigail was deeply committed to the Roman Catholic faith and the ecumenical movement. She served on the National Board of Church Women United. She was also a member of its executive committee and one of three vice-presidents with national responsibilities. McCarthy was one of two lay women appointed to the American Bishops' Committee on Education and Ecumenism.

McCarthy was also an author of note. Besides her short stores and magazine articles, she was editor, author, and publisher of numerous other writings. In 1968 Abigail edited and authored one chapter in First Steps in Christian Renewal. Private Faces/Public Places, a memoir, was published in 1972. Circles: A Washington Story (1977) and One Woman Lost (coauthored with Jane Muskie in 1986) are both novels with story lines situated in Washington, D.C. In 1970 she was publisher of El Periodico, a Spanish language weekly for the Spanish speaking population of the Washington area. Beginning in the 1970s she wrote a regular column for Commonweal, a lay-edited Catholic review dealing with publishing affairs, literature, and the arts. In 1986, the College of St. Catherine dedicated the Abigail Quigley McCarthy Center for Women's Studies. Abigail McCarthy died February 1, 2001, at her home in Washington, D.C.

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Papers include correspondence, notes, and writings from her student and teaching days (1930s-1950s); drafts, correspondence, notes, and reviews relating to her writing career; speech notes and texts (1950s-1986); extensive correspondence, as well as minutes, conference material, and printed matter, documenting her leadership in Church Women United, and in other ecumenical and Roman Catholic lay and educational organizations; and correspondence, campaign materials, and printed matter regarding her political activities including various Democratic Party women's groups, Women for McCarthy, and, especially, Eugene McCarthy's 1968 presidential campaign in which Abigail played a central role.

Other papers include a large group of invitations and Christmas cards, extensive clipping files, and oral history transcripts and related materials from the Eugene McCarthy Historical Project (1968-1970s) at Georgetown University.

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Access Restrictions:

Access restricted to persons who have signed an agreement not to make direct quotations from the papers without written permission from McCarthy.

Use Restrictions:

Quotation or publication from any of the papers requires written permission.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. McCarthy, Abigail Q. Abigail McCarthy papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 11,557; 11,586; 11,602; 12,371; 13,787; 15,141; 15,167; 15,234

Processing Information:

Processed by: Ellen Miller, January 1994.

Catalog ID number: 990017302640104294

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Materials include personal and professional correspondence regarding her organizational activities, speaking engagements, writings and publications.

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Materials include school records, college notes and papers, correspondence, clippings, and publications.

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Files include drafts and outlines, magazine articles, newspaper columns, transcripts, and background notes as well as correspondence, clippings, reviews, and press materials pertaining to McCarthy's publications. Topics are varied and include both fiction and non-fiction writings, which range from politics and the 1968 presidential campaign to Catholicism and women.

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Files consist of correspondence, speech notes and outlines, and the text of speeches.

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The materials include files from her varied board and committee work with various religious organizations. McCarthy's files include agendas and meeting minutes, correspondence, conference and workshop programs, and publications.

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Materials include correspondence, directories, and newsletters primarily focused on women and family issues.

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Materials are related to Abigail McCarthy's organization and support for Eugene McCarthy's political career. The files are arranged as follows: clubs and committee work; Minnesota Women for McCarthy; Women for McCarthy (national); and subject files.

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The volume of these materials were reduced by one-third through sampling during processing.

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The clippings relate mostly to Eugene McCarthy's political career, but in many cases profile Abigail.

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Historical Project files pertain to the 1968 presidential campaign papers and to related oral histories, all held at Georgetown University. Abigail McCarthy was a member of the committee overseeing this project. These files contain correspondence and memoranda, reports, minutes, releases, transcripts, and an index.

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Files contain clippings on women's issues, correspondence unrelated to that found in the previous sections, mailing lists, and other miscellany.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

American literature -- Catholic authors.

Authors, American -- Minnesota.

Catholic college students -- Minnesota.

Catholics -- Minnesota.

Education, Higher -- Minnesota.

Feminism.

Political campaigns -- Minnesota.

Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1968.

Student publications -- Minnesota.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Protest movements.

Women -- Political activity.

Women authors.

Women college teachers -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Women in church work.

Women in the ecumenical movement.

Persons:

McCarthy, Eugene J., 1916-2005.

Organizations:

Catholic Church -- Periodicals.

Catholic Church -- Education.

Church Women United.

College of St. Catherine.

Democratic Party (U.S.)

Georgetown University. Eugene McCarthy Historical Project.

Minnesota Women for McCarthy.

United States. Congress -- Elections.

Women for McCarthy.

Document Types:

Christmas cards.

Interviews.

Invitations.

Manuscripts for publication.

Political cartoons.

Speeches.

Occupations:

Authors.

College teachers -- Minnesota.

Editors.

Feminists.

Politicians.

Titles:

El periodico, 1970 Jul.-Nov.

One woman lost (draft).

Private places/public faces (draft).

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