GENERATION 4

GENERATION 3

PETER OLSSON born: 03-23-1817 Gestad, SWE marr: 09-10-1858 Holm, SWE died: 07-01-1907 Bolstad, SWE             buried: Bolstad Church, Brålanda, Sweden father: OLOF PETTERSSON mother: KERSTIN ANDERSDOTTER

STINA LISA ERIKSDOTTER born: 04-08-1834 Ånimskog, SWE marr: 09-10-1858 Holm, SWE             died: 04-16-1898 Skållerud, SWE buried: Skållerud Church, Håverud, Sweden father: ERIK BRYNGELSSON mother: JOHANNA CAROLINA HANSDOTTER

Peter Olsson Photo Gallery
Peterson Family Reunion - c1939/1940

Biography

bus stop
in Mellerud

PETER OLSSON was born Mar. 23, 1817, at Bön, Gestad, Älvsborg, Sweden. He married first Stina Svensdotter, who was born July 1, 1817, in Holm. They married on Apr. 11, 1840, in Bolstad, Sweden, and had seven children. Stina died on Jan. 28, 1857, at the Fagerlid homestead in Markustorp, Holm, Sweden. The homestead is no longer farmland, having been consumed by urban development. But, the name has survived. A school now stands on the land once farmed by PETER - it is Fagerlidsskolan. Nearby is the Fagerlid bus stop.

STINA LISA ERIKSDOTTER was born on Apr. 8, 1834, at Galmen, Ånimskog, Älvsborg, Sweden. She married PETER on Sep. 10, 1858, in Holm, Sweden. PETER was said to have had "one of the best farms in Dalsland." They had ten children, two of which did not survive. The children were born in the 1860's and 1870's, all at the homestead Fagerlid, in Markustorp, just south of Mellerud. By then the mining industry had withered away.
Skållerud Church It was replaced for a short while by the timber and paper mill business. But those, such as PETER, who were farmers suffered from poverty and famine. During the second half of the 19th century there was a wave of emigration to America. On Aug. 10, 1883, PETER and STINA moved to Kasen in Skållerud, and during the following years five of their children immigrated to America..

STINA died of lungsot [tuberculosis] on April 16, 1898, at Kasan, Skållerud, Sweden, and is buried at Skållerud Church, on Road 45, 6 km SSE of Håverud. It is a beautiful 17th century church, made of wood and painted red. It is often referred to as "the most beautiful church in Dalsland." After 1900, PETER lived with his eldest child, Kristina. He died July 1, 1907, while living with Kristina in Bolstad. In the dödbok [death book] for Bolstad parish, PETER is listed as inhyses [lodger] at Hagen södre at the time of his death.

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Kristina Petersdotter

Bolstad Churchyard

Kristina married Anders Jonasson on Dec. 29, 1873, and they moved to södra Hagen, Bolstad the following year. A stone marker for the familjgrav stands in the churchyard of Bolstads kyrka. They had five children:

children of Kristina Petersdotter
Stina Andersdotter	born	06-14-1874	died	-1874
Lars Johan Andersson	born	11-12-1875	died	01-22-1917
Anna Sofia Andersdotter	born	01-07-1878	died	-1949
Emma Andersdotter	born	10-15-1880	died	-1948
Augusta Andersdotter	born	10-25-1883	died	05-30-1962
Augusta & Emma Andersdotter at södra Hagen click on image to enlarge

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Sven Fredrik Peterson

Sven Fredrik and his wife came to America, leaving Grinstad on May 7, 1886, and settled in Peale, Clearfield, PA. Sven died there Mar. 31, 1913. Britta died there Apr. 4, 1923. Britta went by the name May in America. They had two children, Selma Maria and Hulda Amalia.

date ship from to final destination     Sven Fredrik May 7, 1886 Rollo Grinstad Hull Chicago Sven Fredrik May 6, 1892 Romeo Grinstad Hull Clearfield, PA

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Anna Greta Petersdotter

Anna Greta never married. She continued to live with the family when they moved to Skållerud. She died of hjärtlidande [heart failure] in 1899, the year following the death of her mother. That was the year her sister Augusta left for America. Anna Greta was listed as hemmadotter [home daughter - single living at home]. When Anna Greta died, PETER was all alone at Kasen. He went to live with his daughter Kristina in Bolstad.

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Olof Peterson

Olof moved from Markustorp, Holm to nearby Hassle, Holm. He stayed in Hassle the remainder of his life, until he died there Oct. 19, 1895. Olof and his wife, Stina Eriksdotter, had three children:

children of Olof Peterson
Anna Sofia	born	12-15-1878	died
Jenny	born	12-16-1880	died
Emma Kristina	born	10-01-1882	died
Source: Hassle husförhör (1880-1895)

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Maja Katarina "Katherine" Petersdotter

Maja Katarina moved with the family to Kasen. In 1885, she moved away from Kasen, but returned in 1887. Then on Apr. 1, 1892, she moved to Oslo, Norway. She married and had two children, Harold and Anna Simmons. The circumstances of "Katherine" and her husband are unknown, but the two young children immigrated to America in 1905. Harold was living with his Aunt Hannah and her family in Duluth, MN, in 1920.

Anna married Franklin Horace Haws about 1923, and they were living in Minneapolis, MN, in 1930 with a son Franklin Harold Haws. Dr. Franklin Haws practiced medicine in Minneapolis. Anna continued living in the Twin Cities area until her death in 1978.

children of Maja Katarina Petersdotter
Harold Simmons	born	-1894	died
Anna Marie Simmons	born	09-09-1899	died	08-26-1978

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Children of second marriage - Emigration to America

Five of the children went to America in the late 1880's and early 1890's. Johan was the first to emigrate, leaving on December 2, 1887, from Kasan, Skållerud. Four years later, Ulrika (widow of Lars) went with her two children. Johanna went in the same year, leaving from Gustavi, Göteborg. KARL was the next to emigrate, leaving Kasan, Skållerud on April 1, 1892. He embarked from Göteborg on April 15, 1892. Axel was living at Forsbo, Skållerud, at the time he left on April 14, 1893. Augusta left on August 8, 1898, from Kasan, Skållerud.

Children of second marriage - Emigration
	date	ship	from	to	final destination
Johan (John)	Dec 02, 1887		Skållerud
Ulrika (wife of Lars)	Sep 18, 1891	Ariosto	Stockholm		Worcester, Mass
Johanna (Hannah) E.	Apr 24, 1891	Romeo	Göteborg	Hull	Amerika
KARL (CHARLES)	Apr 15, 1892	Ariosto	Skållerud	Hull	New York
Axel	Apr 21, 1893	Rollo	Skållerud	Hull
Augusta	Aug 12, 1898	Romeo	Skållerud	Hull	New York
[Source: Ancestry.com - Gothenburg, Sweden, Passenger Lists, 1869-1951]

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Lars Peterson Dahl

Lars Peterson Dahl was the only family member, that we know, who took a second last name. In Swedish tradition, it was common for a person to attach a second name, often the name of the family farm. In this case, Dahl is probably a reference to the homeland of Dalsland.

Lars moved from Markustorp to Stockholm. He died Mar. 6, 1891, while living on Swedenborgsgatan in Södermalm [see map], in the central part of Stockholm. His wife, Ulrika, was born in Norra Fågelås. She left for America Sep. 18, 1891, and settled in Worcester, MA, with their two children, Lars Gosta Dahl and Elsa Ulrika Dahl. "Gosta" was a successful stock broker in Worcester. Elsa taught public school there. Passenger ship records show that Lars and Elsa made a number of trips back to Sweden in the 1930's and 1940's.

In the early 1950's, Lars married. His wife's name was Karin. He died Nov. 2, 1955. Karin is listed in the 1956 Polk Directory as "widow of Lars Dahl."

Elsa died Dec. 12, 1960, leaving no family survivors. Her estate went to her cousins, the grandchildren of PETER OLSSON and STINA ERIKSDOTTER.
 

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Axel Peterson

Axel Peterson
photo courtesy Suzanne Sears

Axel married in 1890, and he and Ida began raising a family. Ida's parents were opposed to the children immigrating to America at such a young age. So, in 1893, Axel came by himself to Duluth, St. Louis, MN. He lived at a boarding house in Duluth with his brother, John. The house was at 522 Lake Avenue South, since torn down, and now the location of Grandma's Saloon and Grill. He found work as a carpenter and Ida came two years later, bringing their two young daughters.

In the 1900 Census for Ward 9, St. Paul, Ramsey, MN, the family is found living in a rented house at 119 Sherburne Ave, in an area near the capitol called Frogtown, where he was a laborer. In 1905, Axel was living at 480 Blair St., in St. Paul. His brother CHARLES was living with the family. In 1910, Axel was living at 944 Albemarle St., in St. Paul. His occupation was engineer - stone quarry.

Axel died in 1915. His widow, Ida, is listed in the 1920 census, with four children living with her. Olga is a clerk, Esther a stenographer, and Walter a night reporter for the newspaper. In 1930, Ida was living with her daughter Esther and Esther's husband Vernon Smith.
 

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Johan (John) Peterson

John Peterson

John immigrated to America in 1887. John appears in the 1895 state census, living at at a boarding house in Duluth with his brother, Axel. His occupation is given as engineer, and he stated he had been a resident of Minnesota for seven years.

In the 1900 Census for Ward 9, St. Paul, MN, he is living at 544 Park St. This address is just about a block from where John's brother Axel was living. John's wife, Ida, emigrated in 1875 at the age of 3. Oldest son, Lawrence, is listed in the census. CHARLES is listed in that same census, living in the same household with John and his family. The census gives the occupation of both John and CHARLES as stone sawers.

In 1905, John was living at 237 W. University Avenue, just a few blocks from the capitol, in Frogtown. He was a stationary engineer, possibly working on the construction of the new capitol building, with his brothers.

In 1910, John was still living at 237 W. University Avenue, employed at the stone works as a stationary engineer. His family had grown to five children. By 1920, one more child was in the family, still living at 237 W. University Avenue.

In the 1930 census, the family was living at 1223 Hamline Avenue, in the Como Lake area of St. Paul. His son, Lawrence, was also living there, married with two children.
 

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Johanna (Hannah) Peterson

Hannah Peterson

Johanna moved with the family from the Fagerlid farm to Skållerud in 1883, and on Oct. 26, 1889, received permission from the parish to transfer to the Gustavi Domkyrka in Göteborg. It was from there that she immigrated to America in 1891.

Hannah's husband Frank also immigrated to America in 1891, but not on the same ship. Frank's last name was Peterson, thus Hannah continued to be a Peterson after she married. In June, 1895, they were living at 1812 West Second St., Duluth, MN. They were living at 1309 West First St. in the 1900 Census, with three children. In 1920 and 1930 they were living in the house they owned on North Twenty-Sixth Ave. West.

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Augusta Peterson

"Aunt" Augusta and Mary Ann
June, 1938
East Lansing, MI

Augusta was the lastborn child of PETER OLSSON and STINA ERIKSDOTTER. Augusta came to America in 1898, at age 20. She never married and was active with the Salvation Army throughout her life.

According to her immigration papers, Augusta was going to stay with her sister Sofia, in New York City, upon arrival in America in 1898. In 1910, she is found as an assistant matron living at the Salvation Army Rescue Home in Buffalo, NY. Ten years later she is an officer with the Salvation Army living at their Rescue Home in Philadelphia, PA.

On June 19, 1912, Augusta filed with the New York State Court in Buffalo, a Declaration of Intention to become a citizen. The following month she filed a Petition for Naturalization with the Pennsylvania State Court in Philadelphia. Citizenship was granted September, 15, 1915, in Philadelphia.

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Census Records
[click on link below, then click on census image to enlarge it]

1895 Minnesota State Census	-	CHARLES, John, Axel.
1900 St. Paul, MN Census	-	John, Ida, Lawrence; also CHARLES.
1900 St. Paul, MN Census	-	Axel, Ida, children.
1905 Minnesota State Census	-	Axel, Ida, children; also CHARLES.
1905 Minnesota State Census	-	John, Ida, children.
1910 St. Paul, MN Census	-	Axel, Ida, and children.
1920 St. Paul, MN Census	-	Ida (Axel's widow), and children.
1920 Duluth, MN Census	-	Frank, Hannah, children; also Harold Simmons (nephew).
1930 Duluth, MN Census	-	Frank, Hannah, and children.
1930 St. Paul, MN Census	-	Ida (Axel's widow); also Esther and Vernon Smith.
1930 St. Paul, MN Census	-	Oscar, Elsa, and Arline Engstrom.
1930 St. Paul, MN Census	-	John, Ida, 3 children, and more.
1930 Minneapolis, MN Census	-	Franklin, Ann Haws, and son Franklin.
1910 Detroit, MI Census	-	CHARLES, TILLIE, ARCHIE.
1920 Detroit, MI Census	-	CHARLES, ARCHIE, Harrison; also Oscar, Elsa, and Arline Engstrom .
1930 Detroit, MI Census	-	CHARLES, Lillian, Harrison, other children.
1910 Clearfield, PA Census	-	Sven, Britta (Mary).
1920 Worcester, MA Census	-	Ulrika, Lars, Elsa.
1930 Worcester, MA Census	-	Ulrika, Lars, Elsa.
1910 Buffalo, NY Census	-	Augusta - SA Rescue Home.
1920 Philadelphia, PA Census	-	Augusta - SA Rescue Home.