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Gratia
Countryman's eulogy summed up her life perfectly: "In her youth a library was a sacred precinct for guarding the treasures of thought, to be entered only by the scholar and the student... Her crusading zeal carried the book to every part of her city and county, to the little child, the factory
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In 1931, she was awarded the Civic
Service Honor Medal by the Inter-Racial Service Council of Minneapolis for Outstanding Civic Service for work with immigrants. In 1932, she was awarded an honorary MA degree from the University of Minnesota for Distinguished Public Service; this was "only the fourth
179:
Gratia
Countryman was born on November 29, 1866 to Levi and Alta Chamberlain Countryman. Her father was a Latin scholar and Civil War veteran who had studied at Hamline University, and named her after the Latin root of thanks. She had two older brothers and a younger sister. Countryman graduated from
248:
Countryman never married but lived with her longtime partner, Marie Todd, for thirty eight years. In May 1917, they took in a homeless boy named
Wellington Wilson, and Countryman later was awarded guardianship of him. Wellington Wilson later changed his name to Wellington Countryman. He eventually
170:
from 1904 to 1936. She was the daughter of immigrant farmers Alta and Levi
Countryman. She pioneered many ways to make the library more accessible and user-friendly to all of the city's residents, regardless of age or economic position. Countryman was called the "first lady of Minneapolis" and the
211:
Due to her philosophy of outreach, collections and reading rooms were established in
Minneapolis fire halls, factories, hospitals, and an open-air reading area in Gateway Park. Countryman was a capable leader who, over her 32 years as head librarian, helped increase the library’s scope and reach
216:
truck, and she and her staff added over 500,000 volumes to the already substantial catalog. The programs she developed encouraged children to read, continued the education of adolescents and young adults, and helped adults find and hold jobs during times of war, recession and depression.
28:
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and served as MLA president in 1904 and 1905. She established The
Minnesota Library Commission and remained recording secretary of that group until 1918. From 1912 to 1914, Countryman organized and was president of the Foreign Policy Association
208:. She was the nation's first female head librarian at the Minneapolis Public Library from 1904 to 1936. When she accepted this job, she knew that she would be making one third less than her predecessor, with a yearly salary of $ 2,000.
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Countryman, Gratia; Shaw, Robert
Macgregor; Shaw, Virginia Buffington. "Gratia Countryman's letters to the family twenty three letters written by Gratia Countryman describing a European Bicycle trip in the summer of
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married and had a daughter whom he named Alta
Countryman after his adoptive mother. The Countrymans lived in Chicago, Illinois, and Wellington died in 1997.
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Hastings High School in 1882, and her father moved the family to
Minneapolis so that both she and her sister could attend college.
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Rohde, Nancy Freeman (1998). "Gratia Alta Countryman: Librarian and Reformer". In Stuhler, Barbara; Krueter, Gretchen (eds.).
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Gratia A. Countryman: an inventory of the Gratia A. Countryman and family papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
559:"Madame Librarian: The new Minneapolis Public Library could bear the name of Gratia Countryman, its former director"
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with a Bachelor of Science degree and Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1889. She was recommended by university president
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Volume 1: A–M An Index to U.S. and Canadian Biographies in History Journals and Dissertations ABC Clio Press
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229:. She also served on the National Liberty and War Service Committee and the Woman's Warfare League.
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The Privilege for Which We Struggled; Leaders of the Woman's Suffrage Movement in Minnesota
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Culture and Reform: The Women and the Work of the Women's Club of Minnesota 1907–1914
473:"Gratia Countryman" www.mnhs.org. 1994. Minneapolis Historical Society. 19 Mar. 2009.
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A Composite Biographical Dictionary Volume A–L. Gale Research Company, 1981, page 194
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worker, the farmer, the businessman, the hospital patient, the blind and the old."
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162:(pronounced gray-sha) (November 29, 1866 – July 26, 1953) was a nationally-known
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honorary degree conferred by the university and the first received by a woman."
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313:. Internet Archive. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press. pp.173–189.
240:. She was forced into retirement by the city's pension law at age 70 in 1936.
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The Library Book: Centennial History of the Minneapolis Public Library
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Kendall, James Hosmer; Countryman, Gratia. '"Our Frontispiece"
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Minnesota 150: The People and the Places that Shape Our State
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exponentially. She oversaw the building of 12 branches and a
733:. University of Minnesota Archives, 1889, 1923, 1951. 1 box.
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Traveling Libraries and a First Step in Developing Libraries
509:"A brief overview of queer and trans history in Minnesota"
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Women's International League for Peace and Freedom people
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Gratia Countryman: Her life, her loves, and her library.
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Gratia Countryman: Her Life, Her Loves, and Her Library
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707:. (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Hess, Roise and Co. 2006)
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Gratia Countryman: Her Life, Her Loves, Her Library
727:. Minnesota Historical Society, 1861-1953. 6 boxes.
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731:Countryman, Gratia Alta, faculty and alumni papers
281:. Minneapolis: Minneapolis Public Library, 1984. (
227:Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
369:"Countryman adopted boy who was found at library"
419:"Past Presidents. Minnesota Library Association"
310:Women of Minnesota: Selected Biographical Essays
642:(Published by Woman's Occupational Bureau 1930)
236:In 1934, Countryman served as president of the
1609:Presidents of the American Library Association
705:Gratia Countryman, more than an ordinary woman
341:. Internet Archive. Minneapolis: Nodin Press.
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784:President of the American Library Association
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43:President of the American Library Association
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760:NORTHERN LIGHTS Minnesota Author Interview
482:Kramer, Amanda. "Gratia Alta Countryman."
26:
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744:Gratia Alta Countryman Digital Collection
394:National Cyclopedia of American Biography
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718:Gratia A. Countryman and family papers
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672:, (The University of Minnesota 1913)
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1634:American Library Association people
598:Brandt, Steve (November 26, 2000).
769:Non-profit organization positions
204:, where she started in 1889 under
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758:, interviewed by Margot Siegel,
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171:"Jane Addams of the libraries".
1599:People from Hastings, Minnesota
670:Vocations Open to College Women
1614:University of Minnesota alumni
679:. 13. 1929. (Worldcat OCLC 27)
188:Countryman graduated from the
1:
640:Library Work as a Profession.
222:Minnesota Library Association
837:American Library Association
538:Minnesota Historical Society
367:Meier, Peg (March 1, 2003).
238:American Library Association
557:Meir, Peg (March 1, 2003).
486:. 15 May 2008. 19 Mar. 2009
220:She was very active in the
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1629:Suffragists from Minnesota
1624:LGBT people from Minnesota
1594:Minneapolis Public Library
202:Minneapolis Public Library
168:Minneapolis Public Library
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1584:Librarians from Minnesota
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752:Interview with Jane Pejsa
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747:Hennepin County Library.
677:Bulletin of Bibliography
484:Library History Timeline
462:American Women 1935–1940
1604:People from Minneapolis
600:"A vote for Countryman"
406:Hennepin County Library
190:University of Minnesota
138:University of Minnesota
777:Harry Miller Lydenberg
160:Gratia Alta Countryman
97:Gratia Alta Countryman
66:Harry Miller Lydenberg
762:TV Series #328 (1995)
396:, Volume E, 1937–1938
693:(Nodin Press, 1995)
668:Countryman, Gratia.
661:Countryman, Gratia.
655:Countryman, Gratia.
649:Countryman, Gratia.
638:Countryman, Gratia.
335:Pejsa, Jane (1995).
277:Benidt, Bruce Weir.
206:James Kendall Hosmer
703:Peterson, Penny A.
534:"Gratia Countryman"
110:Hastings, Minnesota
794:Charles H. Compton
723:2018-01-18 at the
78:Charles H. Compton
32:Countryman in 1917
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439:People in History
348:978-0-931714-66-5
319:978-0-87351-367-8
200:for a job at the
184:Professional life
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107:November 29, 1866
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608:. Retrieved
606:. p. 35
604:Star Tribune
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563:Star Tribune
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541:. Retrieved
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517:. Retrieved
515:. 2021-06-01
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373:Star Tribune
372:
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219:
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187:
178:
166:who led the
159:
158:
122:(1953-07-26)
73:Succeeded by
50:
1579:1953 deaths
1574:1866 births
1528:W. K. Brown
1523:Garcia-Febo
1138:C. H. Brown
1013:W. L. Brown
898:H. M. Utley
61:Preceded by
1568:Categories
1413:Somerville
1113:M. G. Wyer
1098:Countryman
1043:G.B. Utley
1018:Montgomery
983:J. I. Wyer
953:Richardson
878:Linderfelt
833:Presidents
788:1933–1934
543:2021-12-26
519:2021-12-26
257:References
175:Early life
144:Occupation
103:1866-11-29
1548:Drabinski
1533:Jefferson
1498:Stripling
1383:Dougherty
1273:McDonough
1268:Mohrhardt
1223:Greenaway
1198:Ludington
1173:McDiarmid
1093:Lydenberg
988:Elmendorf
164:librarian
148:Librarian
134:Education
55:1933–1934
51:In office
1493:Sullivan
1443:Freedman
1398:Franklin
1368:Chisholm
1333:Sullivan
1283:Bradshaw
1253:Castagna
1208:Richards
1163:Rothrock
1158:Ulveling
1123:Ferguson
1088:Rathbone
1048:Jennings
998:Anderson
968:Bostwick
938:Billings
928:Thwaites
883:Fletcher
721:Archived
712:Archives
513:MinnPost
449:page 124
424:7 August
1508:Feldman
1488:Raphael
1483:Stevens
1433:Kranich
1388:Schuman
1373:Summers
1363:Minudri
1348:Sheldon
1343:Nemeyer
1203:Mumford
1143:Metcalf
1103:Compton
1073:Eastman
1008:Plummer
1003:Wellman
963:Andrews
863:Crunden
835:of the
580:page E3
379:May 24,
1513:Todaro
1473:Rettig
1463:Burger
1458:Gorman
1448:Hayden
1423:Symons
1408:Turock
1403:Curley
1393:Miller
1378:Berger
1328:Galvin
1308:Martin
1303:Holley
1298:Lowrie
1258:Vosper
1248:Wagman
1238:Morton
1228:Powell
1218:Morsch
1183:Graham
1148:Warren
1133:Culver
1118:Craver
1108:Wilson
1083:Strohm
1058:Belden
1028:Hadley
1023:Bishop
993:Legler
978:Hodges
948:Putnam
943:Hosmer
918:Putnam
913:Winsor
893:Larned
858:Cutter
848:Winsor
697:
686:(2007)
445:
345:
285:
127:Duluth
1503:Young
1478:Alire
1438:Berry
1358:Lynch
1353:Josey
1338:Stone
1323:Shank
1313:Jones
1293:Laich
1263:Gaver
1243:Bryan
1233:Spain
1193:Downs
1078:Keogh
1068:Roden
1063:Locke
1053:Meyer
1033:Tyler
973:Gould
908:Brett
888:Dewey
873:Green
868:Dewey
853:Poole
646:1896"
1553:Hohl
1538:Wong
1518:Neal
1428:Long
1418:Ford
1318:Moon
1288:Doms
1213:Shaw
1188:Fyan
1178:Lord
1168:Rice
1153:Vitz
1128:Munn
1038:Root
958:Hill
933:Carr
923:Lane
903:Dana
695:ISBN
612:2017
443:ISBN
426:2015
381:2024
343:ISBN
315:ISBN
283:ISBN
117:Died
112:, US
93:Born
1468:Roy
1278:Dix
196:to
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