When Eugene and Abigail Were Born:
Eugene Joseph McCarthy: Born in Watkins, Minnesota on March 29, 1916.Abigail Quigley: Born on April 16, 1915 in Wabasha, Minnesota.
When Eugene and Abigail Died:
Eugene McCarthy died on December 10, 2005 in a retirement home in Washington, D.C. His death was attributed to complications from Parkinson's disease.His family had a private funeral on December 14, 2005 in Woodville, Virginia. A public memorial service was held in Washington, D.C.
Abigail McCarthy was 85 when she died on February 1, 2001 at her Connecticut Avenue apartment in Washington, D.C.
A funeral Mass was celebrated on February 10, 2001 in her home town of Wabasha, Minnesota at St. Felix Church.
A memorial liturgy celebrated her life on April 22, 2001 at the chapel at St. Catherine College. Another memorial Mass was held at the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle in Washington, D.C.
How Eugue and Abigail Met :
Eugene and Abigail met in Mandan, North Dakota, when they were both teachers there. They had an extended courtship and were finally wed after Eugene's decision to become a Benedictine novice didn't work out.Wedding Date:
Abigail and Eugene were married on June 5, 1945 in St. Paul, Minnesota.Honeymoon:
Their honeymoon was delayed until they could visit friends at the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies in Toronto and the Grailville Catholic settlement in Ohio.Religion:
Both Eugene and Abigail were devout Roman Catholics.Residences:
Their first home was in Watkins, Minnesota at an agriculture commune formed by Catholic couples.In later years, they lived separately. Eugene had both a rural home in Woodville, Virginia and an apartment in Washington, D.C. After his retirement, Eugene lived in a retirement home.
Abigail had an apartment in Washington, D.C. on Connecticut Avenue.Marriage Separation:
After Eugene McCarthy lost his presidential bid in 1968, he left Abigail and their children in 1969. According to an article in Commonweal, Eugene "had a long involvement with a devout Catholic woman who had covered that campaign, and Abigail's memoir Private Faces/Public Places, published in 1972, ends with a bleak reference to McCarthy's abandonment of the ideal of "life-long fidelity and shared life."Eugene and Abigail never divorced.
Children:
Eugene and Abigail had four children and six grandchildren.- Michael Benet McCarthy:
- Ellen McCarthy:
- Margaret Alice McCarthy:
- Mary Abigail McCarthy: Mary died on July 28, 1990, after a long illness. She graduated from Radcliffe College of Harvard University and New York University Law School. She was a public defender in Washington, D.C.
Education:
Eugene graduated in 1935 from St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota with honors and a B.A. degree. He graduated in 1941 with a M.A. from the University of Minnesota.Abigail graduated as a Phi Beta Kappa from St. Catherine's College in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1936. The Abigail Quigley McCarthy Women's Research, Resources and SCholarship Center was established at St. Catherine's College in her honor.
She received her M.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1942 and did postgraduate work at the University of Chicago and the Middlebury School of English.
Abigail received many honorary degrees throughout her life.
Occupations:
Eugene: Eugene played baseball and was an excellent first baseman. He was the top scorer in 1935 in the hockey conference championship team. After giving up the idea of playing professional baseball, from 1935-1940 he taught in Minnesota and North Dakota high schools.In late 1942-1943, Eugene spent nine months as a novice in a Benedictine monastery, Abbey at St. John's College. Later he taught economics, sociology, and education at the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota.
During WWII, in 1944, he served as a civilian code-breaker in Military Intelligence. Eugene was an independent politician, elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949-1958. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1958-1970.
Known for his antiwar leadership, he worked as a writer, author, poet, editor, syndicated columnist, and lecturer after his retirement from Congress.
Eugene McCarthy was a candidate for president several times -- as a Democrat in 1968, 1972, 1988, and 1992, and as an independent in 1976.
Abigail: Abigail was a well-known Catholic author, educator, and advocate for women. She wrote several successful books and was a regular columnist for Commonweal magazine from 1974-1999. She also wrote reviews for The New York Times and for The Washington Post.
Abigail was the founder and president of Church Women United.
Quotes About the Marriage of Abigail and Eugene McCarthy:
Abigail on their separation: "He wanted to cut off everything and that is what he did …. He had to be against his party, against his home state, people — and against his wife. It was a dividing point in his life — and he had to divide from so much to do it … so many things that mattered."Source: Observer.com.
Abigail on the 1968 campaign: "Despite the fact that the campaign brought almost unbearable emotional strain and disaster to our family, I cannot wish that the campaign did not happen."
Source: Commonweal
