Lenabel Courtney Oral Interview

Biographical Note: Mrs. Courtney was probably born about 1883 and died in 1979. She grew up on a farm near Iowa Falls and moved with her family to Henrietta, Texas, when she was about 16. She and her sister, Nellie, received certificates from Iowa College Academy in 1900, having attended the Academy for only one year.

J. Courtney Wilson, who conducted the interview, is an attorney I New Orleans and is the brother of Grinnell graduate Robert S. Wilson, ’70.
The major portion of the interview focuses on life on an Iowa farm at the end of the nineteenth century, a much smaller portion touches on Mrs. Courtney's experiences as an adult. The interview barely mentions her year at Grinnell College and would be of no value for research on Grinnell College in 1900.

Scope and Content: Lenabel Body Courtney was interviewed by her grandson, J. Courtney Wilson, in January, February, August and December 1977. The collection consists of 15 cassette tapes and transcripts of approximately 230 typed pages, the transcript for each tape having an index of topics discussed.

Copyright: Literary property rights are controlled by J. Courtney Wilson, who states, "Anyone may quote from the material, provided it is properly acknowledged, but we would request that no one make a movie or TV production or book from the material without our permission,”

Suggested citation: Lenabel Courtney interview, Grinnell College Libraries, Department of Special Collections, Grinnell, Iowa. Ms.01.10.