Collection # M 1316 OMB 0171 CT 2407–2409 VIRGINIA DILL MCCARTY PAPERS, 1824-2003 (BULK 1970-1989) Collection Information Biographical Sketch Scope and Content Note Series Contents Processed by Courtney Rookard October 2017 Manuscript and Visual Collections Department William Henry Smith Memorial Library Indiana Historical Society 450 West Ohio Street Indianapolis, IN46202-3269 www.indianahistory.org COLLECTION INFORMATION VOLUME OF 64 manuscript boxes COLLECTION: 2 oversize manuscript boxes 1 half photograph half box 1 120mm acetate negative envelope 3 35mm slides 3 audio cassette tapes 3 audio tape reels 1 album 1 flat file 11 artifacts 1 book COLLECTION 1824-2003 (Bulk 1970-1989) DATES: PROVENANCE: Janet McCarty for the Estate of Virginia Dill McCarty RESTRICTIONS: None COPYRIGHT: REPRODUCTION Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection RIGHTS: must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. ALTERNATE FORMATS: RELATED ERA Indiana Materials (M 1208) HOLDINGS: Hoosiers for the Equal Rights Amendment (M 0636) Joline Moore Ohmart Papers (M 0610) Indiana NOW Collection (M 0583) Indiana Women’s Political Caucus Records (M 0709) Indianapolis American Inn of Court Oral Histories (M 0871) International Women’s Year Records (M 0545) ACCESSION 2006.0288 NUMBER: NOTES: Some material has been treated for allergens and marked. Please ask a library staff member for assistance with Box 64. Color photographs, negatives, and slides are in Cold Storage. Audio reels and cassette tapes are in a single box in Cold Storage. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Virginia Ann Dill was born in Plainfield, Indiana, on December 15, 1924. A fifth generation Hoosier, she received a B.A. degree from Indiana University in 1946 before attending law school at Indiana University School of Law—Indianapolis (now Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law). She was elected to serve as Indianapolis Editor of the Indiana Law Journal and graduated top of her class in 1950. Virginia did not appear in the public eye until 1964 when she was hired as Indiana Deputy Attorney General, and then later promoted to Assistant Attorney General. In 1966 she was the first woman to be nominated by a major party—the Democratic Party—for a judgeship in Marion County, and was nominated again in 1970. She then worked for Dillon, McCarty, Hardamon & Cohen until 1977. During that time she co-founded the Indiana Women’s Political Caucus (IWPC) and the Greater Indianapolis Women’s Political Caucus (GIWPC) in 1971 and served as the first president, ran for Indiana Attorney General as a democrat in 1972, and in 1976 became the first woman nominated by the Democratic Party to run for Indiana Attorney General. She was also a member of the Indiana Board of Law Examiners from 1971 to 1976. All this led to Senator Birch Bayh recommending her for U.S. Attorney in February of 1977, and on June 17 Virginia Dill McCarty became the first woman nationally to be appointed to a full four-year term as U.S. Attorney (to the Southern District of Indiana). In 1984, Virginia McCarty became the first woman to run for Indiana Governor but lost in the primary election. She declared her candidacy again for 1988, but ended her bid in April of 1987 due to lack of funds. In 1987 she received a Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana University School of Law—Indianapolis, and chaired the Board for the Indiana Department of Correction from 1989 to 2006. After her stint as U.S. Attorney, McCarty was hired by Landman Beatty Lawyers in Indianapolis, where she practiced until her death in 2006. On May 26, 2006 Virginia Dill McCarty died in her home in Indiana. She is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. Many credit her with paving the way for women in politics in Indiana. Her political aspirations were possibly influenced by her father’s connections and involvement in the community in the early- to mid-20th century. Dr. Erasmus Millard Dill was superintendent of the Indiana Boys School from 1941 to 1949, before he became director of the Indiana welfare program. Virginia’s Other Immediate Family Members Mother: Martha Gertrude Paddack Brother: Robert Henry Dill Spouse: Mendel Oz McCarty (married April 28, 1946; his death March 31, 1973) Children: Janet McCarty, Michael McCarty Sources: Collection material Virginia McCarty (1924-2006) (http://www.in.gov/icw/files/2015-03-19_Virginia_Dill_McCarty.pdf) Memoriam page by Landman Beatty Lawyers (http://www.landmanbeatty.com/?t=3&A=7532&p=7098&format=xml) Obituary (http://hosting-4995.tributes.com/show/Virginia-Dill-McCarty-89240887) Ancestry.com “Virginia Dill McCarty has blazed trails for Indiana women all her life”, Super Lawyers, March 2006 (https://www.superlawyers.com/3ndiana/article/the-pioneer/239024c3-1593- 48d2-a636-60f1750485cb.html) American Women Managers and Administrators: A Selective Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Leaders in Business, Education, and Government, Judith A. Leavitt, 1985 (page 168). “A Woman’s Bid for the Highest Post”, Indiana Magazine of History, 31 October 2011 (http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/womans-bid-highest-post/) Digital documents from the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum (https://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/digital_library/sso/148878/26/SSO_148878_026_04. pdf) “Indiana’s Gubernatorial Residency Challenge,” Master’s thesis by Joseph Hadden Hogsett, June 2007 (https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/896/j_hogsett_thesis.pdf?sequence= 6). SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE Series 1: U.S. Attorney Files Material in this series relates to McCarty’s time as U.S. Attorney and is ordered alphabetically. Series 2: Indiana Attorney General Campaigns This series includes material from McCarty’s run for Indiana Attorney General in both 1972 and 1976, with the bulk from the 1976 campaign. It is organized with general campaign material, then alphabetical, and ends with alphabetized county folders. Series 3: Indiana Governor Campaigns The series consists of material from McCarty’s campaigns for Indiana Governor for 1984 and 1988, with the bulk from the 1984 campaign. General folders are in chronological order first, and the rest are alphabetized. Series 4: County Files These files contain information on each county used in McCarty’s campaigns for Indiana Governor. They are arranged alphabetically by county, with related folders at the end. Series 5: Women’s Political Caucuses This series is ordered by organization: Greater Indianapolis Women’s Political Caucus (GIWPC), Indiana Women’s Political Caucus (IWPC), and National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC). It also includes newsletters from the Women’s Equal Rights League (WEAL), with general material from other Women’s Political Caucuses (WPC) at the end. Series 6: ERA This material concerns the national Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and the local Hoosiers for the Equal Rights Amendment (HERA) movements. Series 7: Political Papers These papers pertain to anything related to politics or political topics that does not fall under any of the campaign or U.S. Attorney series. Series 8: Legal Career This series contains material used by McCarty in her capacity as a lawyer, whether for corporate or personal cases. Series 9: Finances This material relates to the personal finances of McCarty and her family, particularly concerning her family’s case against the International Harvester Company. Series 10: Personal This series contains personal correspondence and other material, as well as the records of McCarty’s father, Dr. Erasmus Millard Dill. Series 11: Visuals Includes photographs, negatives, and slides. SERIES CONTENTS Series 1: U.S. Attorney Files CONTENTS CONTAINER U.S. Attorney Files, 1976-1979 Box 1, Folder 1 U.S. Attorney Files, 1977 (1 of 2) Box 1, Folder 2 U.S. Attorney Files, 1977 (2 of 2) Box 1, Folder 3 U.S. Attorney Files, 1977-1978 Box 1, Folder 4 U.S. Attorney Files, 1980 Box 1, Folder 5 U.S. Attorney Files, 1981 Box 1, Folder 6 Advisory Corrections Council, 1977-1981 Box 1, Folder 7 American Council on Education, 1979 Box 1, Folder 8 Chuck Egger FBI File, 1978 Box 1, Folder 9 Clippings, 1978-1980 OMB 171 Box 1, Folder 1 Clippings and Correspondence, 1979-1981 Box 1, Folder 10 Clippings—FBI Stories, 1979 Box 1, Folder 11 Clippings—General, 1979-1980 Box 1, Folder 12 Clippings—McCarty Appointment, 1977-1980 Box 2, Folder 14 Clippings—Office, 1978-1979 Box 2, Folder 1 Clippings—Out-of-Town/Other Newspapers, 1979 Box 2, Folder 2 Clippings—Political, 1979 Box 2, Folder 3 Clippings—Women, 1979-1980 Box 2, Folder 4 Congratulations, 1977 Box 2, Folder 5 Correspondence, 1978-1981 Box 2, Folder 6 Correspondence with U.S. Government, 1979-1981 Box 2, Folder 7 DOJ Policy, 1980-1982 Box 2, Folder 8 Equal Employment Opportunity, 1977-1979 Box 2, Folder 9 Federally Employed Women, 1978-1979 Box 2, Folder 10 Finances, 1980-1982 Box 2, Folder 11 Girls Clubs of Marion County, 1977-1981 Box 2, Folder 12 Integrated Ed Ad Hoc Group, 1979 Box 2, Folder 13 Miscellaneous, 1979-1981 Box 2, Folder 15 Personal Correspondence, 1977-1980 (1 of 3) Box 60, Folder 18 Personal Correspondence, 1977-1980 (2 of 3) Box 61, Folder 1 Personal Correspondence, 1977-1980 (3 of 3) Box 61, Folder 2 Presidential Appointees Poster, July 1979 Flat File 14a, Folder 1 Speakers Bureau Interdepartmental Task Force on Box 2, Folder 16 Women, 1979 Speech Invitations, 1977-1980 (1 of 4) Box 3, Folder 1 Speech Invitations, 1977-1980 (2 of 4) Box 3, Folder 2 Speech Invitations, 1977-1980 (3 of 4) Box 3, Folder 3 Speech Invitations, 1977-1980 (4 of 4) Box 3, Folder 4 Speech