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William Chaney photographs and slides

 Collection — Folder: SP061
Identifier: SP061

Scope and Contents

This collection includes photographs and 35mm slides of William Chaney and other Klansmen in Indiana circa 1965-1971 at Ku Klux Klan (KKK) events. Many of the slides show Chaney giving an interview wearing his KKK regalia to a man who might be Randall Jehs of the Indiana State Library, who interviewed him on June 6, 1971. There are also 2 images of Chaney's family.

Dates

  • circa 1965-1971

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Biographical Note

William Chaney was Grand Dragon of the Indiana Ku Klux Klan during the 1970s. He was born on July 22, 1922 in Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky son of, Willilam Amos and Eva Marie (Calhoun) Chaney, one of 10 children. Chaney served the U.S. Army during World War II, achieving the rank of staff sergeant. He married Mae Marie Smith on December 1, 1945, in Meece, Kentucky and they had two daughters, Berneta and Jane S., and one son, William Marshall, Jr. They family moved to central Indiana soon after the war. He worked as a driver for over 20 years, for a transport company and city bus company, though at some points he earned money as a Klan member and through an unnamed political position.

Chaney joined the Klan in the early 1960s and quickly advanced at the local and natioanl level until he became Grand Dragon of Indiana. In October 1976, Chaney was convicted of possession of an unregistered explosive device and throwing it at a building in connection with the firebombing of the Naegele Outdoor Advertising Company in May 1976. After several appeals, on May 26, 1979 he was sentenced to five years in prison with five years probation.

Chaney died on May 27, 2002 and was buried in Mills Springs National Cemetery in Nancy, Kentucky.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. "William M. Chaney." Accessed November 2, 2019. http://search.ancestrylibrary.com.

William M. Chaney oral history transcript, 1971. Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library.

Findagrave.com. "William M. Chaney, Sr." Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed November 2, 2019. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65473458/william-m-chaney.

"William M. Chaney Sr." Obituary. Franklin Daily Journal, May 29, 2002.

Smulevitz, Howard. "Klan's Chaney Gets 5 Years in Prison." The Indianapolis Star, May 26, 1979, 49.

Extent

0.01 Cubic Feet (1 folder)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by subject.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Related Materials

Materials relating to this collection may be found in the following collections in Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN:

OH057: William M. Chaney oral history

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 2019/11/02 by Brittany Kropf. EAD finding aid created 2019/11/02 by Brittany Kropf. EAD finding aid revised 2020/08/27 by Brittany Kropf.
Title
William Chaney photographs and slides
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671