The following was provided by member #49425624, 4/12/2021:
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 and was recruited by the FBI 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.
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.
Markward testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities on July 11, 1951 that Annie Lee Moss, Maurice Braverman, 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 activism; several people whom Markward accused were less involved with communism and more concerned with picketing segregated areas of the city.
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, at age 50. She was buried in Baltimore National Cemetery.
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 and was recruited by the FBI 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.
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.
Markward testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities on July 11, 1951 that Annie Lee Moss, Maurice Braverman, 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 activism; several people whom Markward accused were less involved with communism and more concerned with picketing segregated areas of the city.
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, at age 50. She was buried in Baltimore National Cemetery.
The following was provided by member #49425624, 4/12/2021:
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 and was recruited by the FBI 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.
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.
Markward testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities on July 11, 1951 that Annie Lee Moss, Maurice Braverman, 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 activism; several people whom Markward accused were less involved with communism and more concerned with picketing segregated areas of the city.
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, at age 50. She was buried in Baltimore National Cemetery.
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 and was recruited by the FBI 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.
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.
Markward testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities on July 11, 1951 that Annie Lee Moss, Maurice Braverman, 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 activism; several people whom Markward accused were less involved with communism and more concerned with picketing segregated areas of the city.
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, at age 50. She was buried in Baltimore National Cemetery.
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