Agnes Larson (15 March 1892 – 24 January 1957) was an American

local historian The British Association for Local History (BALH) is a membership organisation that exists to promote the advancement of public education through the study of local history and to encourage and assist the study of local history throughout Great Bri ...

Life and work

Agnes Matilda Larson was born in

Preston, Minnesota Preston is a city in Fillmore County, Minnesota, Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,325 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Fillmore County. The Root River (Minnesota), Root River r ...

on 15 March 1892, sister of

Henrietta Larson Henrietta Melia Larson (24 September 1894 – 25 August 1983) was an American business historian. Life and work Henrietta Melia Larson was born in Ostrander, Minnesota on 24 September 1894 to Hans Olaf Larson (1858–1937) and Maria Karen Nordg ...

. She attended

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...

, graduating with a B.A. in history and English. Larson taught

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Walcott, North Dakota Walcott is a city in Richland County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 262 at the 2020 census. Walcott was founded in 1880. It is part of the Wahpeton, ND– MN Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Walcott is located at ...

and

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W. N ...

and studied social work at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

in the summer. She was awarded her M.A. by

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1922 and she began teaching at Mankato State Teachers College. Larson started teaching at St. Olaf in 1926 and she received another M.A. from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

in 1929. Two years later she was awarded a fellowship by the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide network of 170,000 ...

and she studied the white pine industry in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

with

Frederick Merk Frederick Merk (August 15, 1887 – September 24, 1977) was an American historian. He taught at Harvard University from 1924 to 1956. Biography Frederick Merk was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1887. He graduated from the University of W ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. The following year, she returned to Northfield to work on her thesis and catalog for the

Norwegian-American Historical Association Norwegian-American Historical Association is a non-profit, member-supported organization dedicated to locating, collecting, preserving and interpreting the Norwegian-American experience. It publishes scholarly books and maintains a historical arc ...

. Larson received her doctorate in 1938 and served as chair of the history department from 1942 to 1960, writing ''History of the White Pine Industry in Minnesota''. Just before her death on 24 January 1957, she finished ''John A. Johnson: An Uncommon American''.Scanlon & Cosner, p. 140

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Agnes 1892 births St. Olaf College alumni University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration alumni Columbia University alumni 20th-century American historians Radcliffe College alumni 1957 deaths American women historians People from Preston, Minnesota Writers from Minnesota 20th-century American women writers Historians from Minnesota Minnesota State University, Mankato faculty