Oral history interview with Gretchen Brown

Collection

Identifier: SR 9667

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Gretchen Brown was conducted by Charles Digregorio at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, on April 12, 1977, as part of the oral history program at the society’s research library.

In this interview, Brown discusses the 1858 overland journey from Ontario, Canada, to Salem, Oregon, of her father, James Charles Brown. She talks about her father’s hardware store, about her early life, and about the Chinese and Native communities in Salem. She briefly talks about her career as a teacher, and closes the interview by discussing the life and legal career of her husband, McDannell Brown.

Dates

1977 April 12

Creator

Brown, Gretchen, 1901-1994 (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of Gretchen Brown. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/

Biographical note

Gretchen Brown was born in Salem, Oregon, in 1901. In the 1920s, she taught English and Latin. In 1927, she and Francis McDannell Brown were married; they later had two children. She died in 1994.

Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (15 min., 10 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Gretchen Brown conducted by Charles Digregorio on April 12, 1977. Brown discusses the overland journey from Ontario, Canada, to Salem, Oregon, of her father, James Charles Brown, and the life and career of her husband, McDannell Brown.