Collection Information
Historical Background
Scope and Content Note
Folder Listing
Cataloging Information
Processed
by:
Paul Brockman
4 October 1993
Updated 17 May 2004
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 2 folders, 23 letters.
COLLECTION DATES: November, 1923-December, 1935.
PROVENANCE: Herbert H. Heimlich, West Lafayette, Indiana, 29 October 1968.
RESTRICTIONS: None
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society.
ALTERNATE FORMATS: None
OTHER FINDING AIDS: None
RELATED HOLDINGS: George P. Stewart (M 0586)
ACCESSION NUMBER: 1968.1004
NOTES: Collection was sealed as per terms of donation until 1 October 1993
Warren Terry McCray (1865-1938) was born near Kentland, Indiana. McCray was educated in local public schools and began work at the age of fifteen in his father's bank. He assumed ownership of the bank when his father died in 1913. McCray also owned several grain elevators and a livestock farm where he bred Hereford cattle. His community service record includes treasurer for the Northern Hospital for the Insane, 1904-1912, member of the Indiana Board of Agriculture, 1912-1916, and agricultural planning offices during World War I. In 1920 McCray was elected governor of Indiana as a member of the Republican Party. During his term as governor, McCray was beset with several personal financial losses, and in 1923 he was forced to resign his office after being convicted of mail fraud resulting from his financial difficulties. After serving three years in prison in Atlanta, Georgia, McCray returned to Kentland where he resumed his livestock breeding business. He was later pardoned by President Herbert Hoover.
Source: Peat/Ruegamer, Portraits and Painters of the Governors of Indiana, p. 72.
The papers consist of twenty-three letters from November, 1923 to December, 1935, most of which were written by McCray while he was serving his prison sentence in Atlanta, Georgia. All but two of the letters were written to Lafayette, Indiana minister Charles L. Harper. In these letters McCray writes of his health, his religious faith, inquiries of news from home, and his appreciation to Rev. Harper for writing and for his attempts to obtain a pardon. Also included is a letter to Harper from U.S. Representative William R. Wood (1861-1933) of Indiana praising his attempts to secure McCray's pardon. There is also a letter of recommendation written by McCray to assist Harper in obtaining the chaplain position at the Lafayette Soldiers Home.
FOLDER CONTENTS
1 Correspondence, November, 1923-1925
2 Correspondence, 1926-December, 1935
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, SC 1014).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.