"I have no horticultural genealogy for the "Granny Rose." All I know about it is that when my father, mother and I were marooned by a wash-out near Bury, Que. in 1900, we were quartered with a most pleasant gentleman on his farm. Around his house, at the end of June, there were masses of Granny Roses blooming. My mother admired them; and in the autumn he sent her at Saint John, N.B. some roots.
They thrived and multiplied, and are still blooming in the garden there. From these I cut roots which did well in Calgary, Alta.; in Lachute, Que.; at Montreal; and now at Vaudreuil on Lake of Two Mountains near Montreal.
It is named "Granny Rose" for my mother. It is a strong grower and multiplies by sending out runners which thrive if about 6" of root is retained when transplanting.
Usually a bush grows to a height of about 4 to 5 ft. Immediately after blooming I thin out the canes, leaving only the strong ones and cut the remaining canes back to about 3 ft. These head out into new branches before the frost. I do not protect them in the winter. In the spring there is frost kill-back of 6" or so. I leave this until the bushes are well headed out in the spring, and then cut out the frost killed tips. These roses are greedy and like a lot of compost and bone meal.

Personal correspondence - From F.G. Robinson to A.K. Grimmer, March 27, 1951 - The Province of Manitoba Archives.

GRANNIES ROSE - One of the old roses, brought to eastern Canada by early settlers, whose real name has long been forgotten. Though it kills back a bit, it can be relied upon to survive our winters without protection and flowers freely. Flowers are in clusters of 5 to 7 semi-double clear pink, very fragrant, in June-July. Each...$2.00"
Dropmore Hardy Plants for 1955 - Skinner's Nursery Limited