Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2005085250
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Mary McGrory, journalist, were given to the Library of Congress by her nephew, Edward McGrory, and her nieces, Anne Beatty and Polly McGrory, in 2005.
The papers of Mary McGrory were arranged and described in 2007 by Connie L. Cartledge with the assistance of Maria Farmer and Sherralyn McCoy. The finding aid and container list were revised in 2012 to reflect the removal of some access restrictions to the collection.
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Some photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. Some newspapers and
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Mary McGrory in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
Restrictions apply governing the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division for information concerning these restrictions.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Mary McGrory Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Mary Dorothy McGrory (1918-2004) span the years 1928-2004 with the bulk of the material dating 1956-2002. McGrory reported and commented on many of the prominent issues of American politics for five decades, including the Army-McCarthy hearings, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and the Iraq War. The papers are arranged into ten series: Personal Correspondence, VIP Correspondence, General Correspondence, Subject File, Speeches and Writings File, Notebooks and Notes, Miscellany, Scrapbooks, Restricted File, and Oversize.
The Personal Correspondence, 1934-2004, documents McGrory's personal and professional activities. The Personal Correspondence is arranged into three groups: family, friends and colleagues, and get-well letters. Almost all of this series is comprised of incoming letters. The family correspondence relates to family and local news, although sometimes national matters are discussed such as the 1948 presidential campaign in Sarah M. McGrory's correspondence with McGrory. The correspondence from friends and colleagues documents McGrory's personal and professional interests. Many of the letters from colleagues contain complimentary comments about McGrory's columns, although occasionally they disagree with McGrory's point of view. The get-well letters, consisting of cards and letters from friends and the public, convey wishes for McGrory's recovery from a stroke she suffered in March 2003. A few letters in the Personal Correspondence series contain outgoing final responses from McGrory. The bulk of McGrory's responses to correspondence, whether personal, VIP, or general, is located in the draft responses of the General Correspondence series. McGrory's draft responses were written on long sheets of continuous paper that are filed together. Personal correspondents include Art Buchwald, Blair Clark, Maureen Dowd, Phil Gailey, Anthony Lewis, Gould Lincoln, Gordon Manning, Ralph McGill, Newbold Noyes, Thomas Winship, and Edwin M. Yoder. A few letters to McGrory are addressed as “Dear Molle,” a nickname used by family and friends.
The VIP Correspondence, 1948-2004, comprised chiefly of incoming letters from members of Congress, presidents, government officials, and other prominent individuals, pertains primarily to McGrory's work as columnist for the
The majority of the General Correspondence, 1943-2004, is made up of incoming letters from readers of McGrory's column. Many letters were a one-time impassioned response to McGrory's commentary, although the correspondence also includes letters from readers who corresponded with McGrory through the years. Topics represented are the Army-McCarthy controversy, presidential campaigns, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, social security, the Iran Contra Affair, Clarence Thomas's nomination to the Supreme Court, the Bill Clinton-Monica S. Lewinsky affair, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the Iraq War. McGrory answered the majority of her mail, and her responses are filed in the draft responses of the General Correspondence series. Sometimes McGrory answered quickly; at other times the response took longer. Therefore, a reply to an incoming letter may be filed in the draft responses a month or two after the incoming letter was received. Filed with a few of the incoming letters are attachments of McGrory's final responses. The General Correspondence also includes congratulatory correspondence about awards, requests for information, and invitations for speaking engagements. Some letters from readers are also filed with the Subject File series.
The Subject File, 1928-2004, documents McGrory's longevity as a Washington, D.C., columnist with material ranging from her first big story for the
The Speeches and Writings File, 1933-2004, chronicles McGrory's career as a book reviewer for the
The Notebooks and Notes series, 1956-2004, documents McGrory's coverage of the Washington political scene from 1956 to 2003. McGrory wrote many of these notes while on campaign trips or attending congressional hearings, press conferences, and other functions. A few of the later notebooks contain draft articles for her newspaper column. One item worthy of special mention is McGrory's notebook about the September 11 terrorist attacks. Her notes convey the uncertainty of that day and how she viewed the events in New York and Washington, D.C. Many of McGrory's notes are a mixture of Gregg shorthand and cursive script. Also included in this series are notebooks of McGrory's personal assistant Tina Toll.
The Miscellany series, 1931-2004, relates to McGrory's family, personal interests, and professional accomplishments. The largest amount of material in the Miscellany series relates to McGrory's Pulitzer Prize award in 1975 for her coverage of the Watergate scandal. McGrory was the first woman to receive the prize for commentary. Much of the Pulitzer material consists of congratulatory correspondence from friends, colleagues, congressman, senators, government officials, and the general public. The diary notes in the series document McGrory's first day as a picture cropper at Houghton Mifflin Company and her concern about the possible entry of the United States into World War II in 1939. Also documented in the Miscellany files are McGrory's volunteer work with St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home in Hyattsville, Maryland, her activities at Macomb House, the condominium where she lived, and papers relating to her personal travel, mainly to Italy.
The Scrapbooks series, 1942-1974, consists chiefly of newspaper columns, book reviews, and articles written by McGrory, but some of the albums also include a few newspaper clippings of interest to her.
The collection is arranged in ten series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2005085250
Correspondence and get-well letters, including attachments, between McGrory and family, friends, and colleagues. The get-well letters consist mainly of incoming letters from the public.
Arranged alphabetically by type of correspondence and therein chronologically.
Chiefly incoming correspondence from members of Congress, presidents, senators, government officials, and other individuals of note relating to McGrory's professional activities.
Arranged chronologically.
Incoming letters from readers of McGrory's columns, including draft responses from McGrory and some final responses. Also included are a few letters with requests for information and invitations.
Arranged alphabetically by type of correspondence and therein chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, press releases, campaign material, notes, drafts and newsprints of newspaper columns by McGrory, speeches and statements, reports, background material, schedules and itineraries, press credentials, political memorabilia, newspaper clippings, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by name of person, topic, or type of material.
Correspondence, speeches and speech material, newspaper columns, articles, book reviews, other writings, background material, notes, newspaper clippings, microfilm strips, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically or alphabetically.
Notebooks and notes relating to McGrory's professional activities and those of her assistant, Tina Toll.
Arranged alphabetically by individual and therein chronologically.
Correspondence, appointment books, financial and legal records, medical papers, an oral history interview, photographs, television transcripts, biographical material, playbills, poetry, address cards, report cards, prayer cards, a baseball program, recipes, and other material.
Arranged alphabetically by name of person, topic, or type of material and therein chronologically.
Chiefly newspaper columns, book reviews, and articles written by McGrory.
Arranged chronologically.
Family correspondence, notebooks, notes, medical papers, and other material.
Arranged and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.
Oversize material consisting of a letter, posters, and scrapbooks.
Arranged and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.