ANNA JOSEPHINE GRAN AND WALTER GRAN:
An Inventory of Their Oral Histories at the Minnesota Historical Society
Oral History Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Gran, Anna Josephine, interviewee. | |
| Title: | Oral history interviews with Walter Gran and Josephine Gran Carson. | |
| Dates: | 1967-1971. | |
| Language: | Materials in English. | |
| Abstract: | Frank Walter Gran and Anna Josephine Gran Carson, children of John P. and Sara Gran, discuss growing up in the Kensington community and the Kensington Rune Stone. Josephine Carson speaks extensively about family farm life, the other Gran siblings, her own family, and her career in nursing. Both Gran and Carson talk about the Rune Stone hoax, how it was invented and discovered, and its impact on the community. The three interviews take place in 1967, 1970, and 1971. The 1967 interview is with both siblings, the 1970 interview is with Walter Gran, and the 1971 interview is with Josephine Carson. Interviewed by Russell W. Fridley, K . Paul Carson, Jr., Cary Carson, and Barbara Carson at various times in Minnesota and Maryland. | |
| Quantity: | Transcripts: 3 volumes (243 pages; 28 cm. Sound recordings: 5 master sound reels. Sound recordings: 6 submaster sound discs and 6 user sound discs (6 hours, 45 minutes). | |
| Location: | OH 128: See Detailed Description for shelf locations. |
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Gran, Anna Josephine, Oral history interviews with Walter Gran and Josephine Gran Carson. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession number: AV2011.11; AV2011.12; AV2011.13
Processing Information:
Processed by: Jennifer Huebscher, November 2011
Catalog ID number: 990074363310104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(FRANK) WALTER GRAN AND MRS. (ANNA) JOSEPHINE GRAN CARSON, KENSINGTON,
MINNESOTA AUGUST 13, 1967.
Use Restrictions: None.
Biographical Information: Frank Walter Gran (1894-1973) and Mrs. Josephine Gran Carson (1886-) are the children of John Peter and Anna Gran. John was born in Sweden and came to the United States at the age of seven. Sarah was born in Norway and came to the United States at age eighteen. Both families homesteaded near Kensington in Douglas County.
Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include the Kensington Rune Stone and its authorship, the hoax, and how it was invented and discovered. The interview also includes numerous family reminisces.
Interviewed by: Dr. K. Paul Carson, Jr.
| Transcript | |||||||||||||
| OH 128 | 1 | 37 pages. | |||||||||||
| Audio | |||||||||||||
| OH 128 | 1 | 1 preservation master sound reel (60 minutes), and 1 submaster and 1 user sound disc. | |||||||||||
(FRANK) WALTER GRAN, ALEXANDRIA, MINNESOTA, JANUARY 17, 1970.
Use Restrictions: None.
Biographical Information: Frank Walter Gran (1894-1973), born to John Peter and Anna Gran, farmed around Kensington, Minnesota. He spent several years in Canada and lived in Alexandria before his death in 1973.
Scope and Content: Subjects discussed relate to the Kensington Rune Stone and the Ohman family and their relationship to the Rune Stone; Fogelblad's statement of neighbors near where the stone was found; descriptions of finding the stone; his opinion of the stone as a hoax and his reasons for it; the Ohman family of the 1970s and their relationship to the stone; Kensington's view of the stone; old methods of chiseling rocks; and who knew of the hoax.
Interviewed by: Russell W. Fridley and Paul Carson.
| Transcript | |||||||||||||
| OH 128 | 2 | 44 pages. | |||||||||||
| Audio | |||||||||||||
| OH 128 | 2 | 1 preservation master sound reel (1 hour and 15 minutes), and 1 submaster and 1 user sound disc. | |||||||||||
(ANNA) JOSEPHINE GRAN CARSON, ST. MARY'S CITY, MARYLAND, FEBRUARY 5-6, 1971.
Use Restrictions: None.
Biographical Information: Josephine Gran Carson was born March 5, 1886 on a farm outside Kensington, Minnesota. Her parents emigrated from Europe. Her father, John Peter Gran (originally Peterson), came from Sweden and was the second group of settlers in Douglas County. Carson lived on the family farm and with Dr. Moos in Kensington until the age of 18 when she moved to Minneapolis to study nursing at the Swedish Hospital. In 1910 she married Dr. Paul Carson.
Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include her parents' backgrounds; working for the Kensington town doctor and a practical joke; memories of her family; World War I episodes involving siblings Sophie and Walter; working for a doctor and delivering a baby; nursing those with diphtheria; getting into nursing school and working for a doctor; her father's farm and the town of Kensington when she was young; Swedish Hospital; meeting her husband, his background, and his personality; nurses' training; churches in the community; attitudes towards and of girls; her neighbors; the kitchen stove and heating system; her father's fruit farm; traveling peddlers; Indians in the area; Finnish people; hired hands; and everyday food and meals. She's interviewed by her grandson.
Interviewed by: Cary and Barbara Carson.
| Transcript | |||||||||||||
| OH 128 | 3 | 162 pages. | |||||||||||
| Audio | |||||||||||||
| OH 128 | 3 | 3 preservation master sound reels (4 hours and 30 minutes), and 4 submaster and 4 user sound discs. | |||||||||||
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Kensington Rune Stone.
- Nursing -- Study and teaching -- Minnesota.
- Persons:
- Carson, Barbara, interviewer.
- Carson, Cary, interviewer.
- Carson, K. Paul, Jr., interviewer.
- Fridley, Russell W., interviewer.
- Gran, Walter, interviewee.
- Gran family.
- Ohman, Olof, d. 1935.
- Places:
- Kensington (Minn.)
- Document Types:
- Oral histories (document genres)
- Interviews.
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