Mary R. Stalcup Markward (February 10, 1922 – November 23, 1972) was for seven years a member of the

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

"District Communist Party" as director of the party's membership. She was actually working undercover for the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

Background

She was born as Mary R. Stalcup to Maria and Benjamin Stalcup on February 10, 1922. Benjamin Stalcup worked as a government bookbinder. Mary lived in

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

and was recruited by the

in 1943, just a week after her wedding. Her husband, George A. Markward (1912–1969), had been sent to Europe to fight in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Career

Markward was working in a beauty shop on Massachusetts Avenue. She may have been approached to spy because several of her clients were thought to be Communists by the FBI. Her daughter believed that her mother's essay written about her pride in being an American brought her to the attention of the FBI. The essay was published in a local Virginia paper. Markward worked undercover for almost seven years, a time that was stressful for her because she was shunned by friends and family because of her activities with the Party. After consulting earlier in the year with HUAC, the Party heard and expelled her in February 1951. Markward testified before the

House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

on July 11, 1951 that Annie Lee Moss,

Maurice Braverman Maurice Braverman (1916–2002) was a 20th-century American civil rights lawyer and some-time Communist Party member (and Party lawyer) who was convicted in 1952 under the Smith Act, served 28 of 36 months, then immediately faced disbarment, again ...

, and about 240 other people were Communist Party members. She provided the names of their spouses and gave the exact dates of party meetings. While her memory of membership and Party activities was largely accurate, Markward did not provide evidence that the Communist Party had any strength in the DC area. At one point in her testimony, she even joked about the Party's inability to recruit young, new members. In the list of members she did provide, there appeared to be a connection between Party membership and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

activism; several people whom Markward accused were less involved with communism and more concerned with picketing segregated areas of the city. HUAC also questioned her in a manner to discredit the all-but-defeated the

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

from the 1948 election:

Mr. Velde: As to the Communist Party connection with the Progressive Party, could you describe that briefly?
Mrs. Markward: The Progressive Party?
Mr. Velde: Yes. Was the Progressive Party infiltrated by the Communist Party after it was organized, or was the Communist Party responsible for the beginning of the Progressive Party organization?
Mrs. Markward: I don't believe the Progressive Party could have been organized without the energy and activity of various Communists in Maryland and the District of Columbia. They decided it was a desirable organization, and put everything they had to see that it was organized. Several committees, known as political action committees, were set up on city and district levels, and the people on those committees were to see that the Progressive Party did function.
Mr. Velde: Did any of the funds of the Communist Party go into the campaign of the Progressive Party?
Mrs. Markward: I don't know one way or another.
Mr. Velde: In Maryland?
Mrs. Markward: I don't know.

Her accusation of Annie Lee Moss is the most remembered; Moss categorically denied membership or collusion with communists. Moss claimed that she was a victim of mistaken identity; that she was not the only person in Washington named Annie Lee Moss, and the communist Markward identified was a different Annie Lee Moss. However, files declassified years later confirmed Markward's identification as accurate.

Later life

Mary Stalcup Markward contracted multiple sclerosis early in her life, which caused her to retire from the FBI. Later, FBI officials refused to acknowledge her, and retroactively taxed the income she received as an undercover agent. She died on November 23, 1972 in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...

at age 50. She was buried in Baltimore National Cemetery.

People named by Markward

On the stand on July 11, 1951, Markward would name or confirm names mentioned by HUAC, as follows:

Mr. Tavenner: Will you give us the names of those who served with you from time to time as members of the district board?
Mrs. Markward: Al Lannon was the chairman while he was here. He was replaced by Phil Frankfeld ... * Elizabeth Searle ... * Dorothy Strange ... * William Johnson ... * William S. Johnson, from Washington ... * Henry Thomas ... * Elsie Smith ... * Sam Gordon ... * Dorothy Rose Blumberg ... *
Albert Blumberg Albert E. Blumberg (August 10, 1906 – October 8, 1997) was an American philosopher and political activist. He was an official of the Communist Party for several years before joining the Democratic Party as a district leader. Early life Al ...
was a member after he got active in the district, but he was assigned to a national activity and did not participate on a local level so much. *
Maurice Braverman Maurice Braverman (1916–2002) was a 20th-century American civil rights lawyer and some-time Communist Party member (and Party lawyer) who was convicted in 1952 under the Smith Act, served 28 of 36 months, then immediately faced disbarment, again ...
often attended the meetings of the board, particularly during election campaigns. He was particularly active with the political-action committee of the organization. * Roy Wood was a member of the district board ... * Pete Forrest ... * Isidore Schwartz ... was a delegate to the national convention in 1944, either a delegate or an alternate. * Florence Schwartz ... * Levy Williamson ... attended meetings of the district committee ... * Robert W. Lee ... * Irving Winkler ... * Sally Winkler ... * Herbert J. Nichol ... also called Herb Silver ... * Irving Kandel ... attended district committee meetings ... * Sam Fox ... * Ruth Fox ... employed by the
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), is an independent democratic rank-and-file labor union representing workers in both the private and public sectors across the United States. UE was one of the first unions to be c ...
? * Louis Pearlman ... running a grocery store in Wahshington ... * Chase Isaacs ... also known as "Mama" Isaacs ... * Julia Kotelchuck ... elected to the district committee in 1945 ... * Lou Gilbert ... leadership nomination committee ... functionary in the Furniture Workers Union in Baltimore * Herb Kransdorf ... * Jack Zucker ... international organizer in Baltimore of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America * Anne Zucker ... * Esvand Jones ... * Mary Roberts ... * Eve Lannon * Jean Frankfeld

She also named Sheppard Carl Thierman and Annie Lee Moss.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Markward, Mary 1922 births 1972 deaths McCarthyism Federal Bureau of Investigation informants Double agents American communists of the Stalin era Members of the Communist Party USA Burials at Baltimore National Cemetery People from Fairfax County, Virginia American anti-communists