With materials ranging in date from 1862 through 1994, the Virginia MacWatters collection is organized into four series: Biographical, Professional files, Correspondence, and Scrapbooks.

The Biographical (1862-1992) series includes a wide range of materials, including numerous appointment books dating from 1922-1989 which document MacWatters's daily activities and the times and locations of the rehearsals and performances; several recordings and transcripts of interviews of MacWatters, including one titled "Faith in Our Time" from 1953; awards such as the Frederic Bachman Lieber Award which she received in 1979, and an undated notebook filled with her thoughts on her family and her profession. This series also contains the papers of some of MacWatters's family members, including records relating to her sister Kathryn MacWatters's employment with the U.S. Army, and to Edward T. Harlan's work with the 1863 Military Commission.

The second series, Professional files (1933-1989), is further organized into two sub-series. The first, Performances files (1933-1989), contains those materials relating to MacWatters's performing career such as clippings, contracts, programs and press releases. This sub-series also contained numerous recordings of her performances on both reel-to-reel and LP record formats. The Teaching files (1958-1989) sub-series, contains materials relating to her teaching career at Indiana University, such as clippings and programs on her students, doctoral exam questions, transcripts of voice lessons with her students, as well as her compiled dossier for the Lieber Award for Distinguished Teaching. Several recordings of her students' performances were transferred to the Music Library.

Correspondence (1891-1994), the third series, contains both personal and professional related correspondence. The majority of the early correspondence until 1929 is addressed to Idoleein Hallowell MacWatters, Virginia's mother. This early correspondence also includes invitations to events, Christmas cards and correspondence with acquaintances. Later material includes personal correspondence with her mother, father, and sister Kathryn as well as with her future husband Paul Abée. Prominent subject matter includes information on her daily activities and performances. Additionally, this series contains a great deal of correspondence related to her professional activities. Prominent correspondents within the professional correspondence include the Matinee Musical Club of Philadelphia in the early years, the Radio Corporation of America, Columbia Concerts, Inc., Columbia Artists Management, National Artists Corporation, the Metropolitan Opera Association, and numerous letters from acquaintances regarding her performances.

The Subject files (1935-1988) series contains miscellaneous materials such as clippings on the Indiana University School of Music and on MacWatters' two voice teachers, Henrietta Conrad and Greta Stauber; general music related clippings and programs, and a reel-to-reel recording of a speech by Winston Churchill. Other materials included in this series include the transcript of a talk by MacWatters titled "The Theatre as Part of Our Life" as well as notes and clippings gathered for a book she had planned to write on vocal pedagogy.

The final series, Scrapbooks (1930-1992) includes newspaper clippings, programs, news releases and photographs relating to MacWatters' extensive career as an opera singer. The two most recent scrapbooks were compiled in celebration of her 80th birthday and include information on and photographs of her students.

Note that several hundred photographs were separated from the papers and are now stored with the Archives Photographs collection. Contact the Archives Photographs Curator for more information.