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| Children of PETER PETERSON and EMILY JOHNSSON are: 6. i. JUSTIN EWALD (SJOLUND)6 PETERSON, b. October 29, 1902, Frederika, Bjornsjo, Sweden; d. April 22, 1970, Detroit, MI.m Keena Robbins. ii. ALICE MARY PETERSON, b. July 17, 1904, d. September 07, 1905. iii. ROY PETER PETERSON, b. January 22, 1906, Park Rapids, MN; d. January 01, 1979, MN; m. GRACE LARSEN, March 24, 1928; b. Abt. 1906. iv. SELMA CHRISTOVE PETERSON, b. February 19, 1908, Park Rapids, d..January 15, 1995; m. EARLE ATKINSON, June 24, 1927; v. HUGO ANTON PETERSON, b. February 19, 1910, Park Rapids,MN d May 12, 2000, Mesa, AZ . vi. VERA MARIE PETERSON, b. October 27, 1911, Park Rapids, d. 1968., Michigan vii. ALICE EMELIA PETERSON, b. April 05, 1913; d. April 30, 1914. viii. CARL OSCAR PETERSON, b. January 09, 1915, Park Rapids, Minnesota. ix. HELEN G PETERSON, b. March 19, 1916; d. March 30, 1916. x. DOROTHY ELVINA PETERSON, Private xi. MARGARET ELVIRA PETERSON, Private xii. JOHN E PETERSON, b. September 24, 1920; d. September 30, 1920. xiii. BERNHARD PETERSON, b. October 21, 1921; d. October 22, 1921. xiv. RUTH PAULINE PETERSON, Private xv. BETTY LOU PETERSON, b. September 28, 1927, Park Rapids, Minnesota; d. September 30, 1927, Park Rapids, Minnesota. Sources: Family Bible of Emily C. Peterson Birth & Death Records of Hubbard Co. Minnesota Historical Society of Hubbard Co. Minnesota Genealogy Files of Keena Robbins Kartak Interviews with Uncle Carl and Aunt Ruthie Sorry, links below not ready yet. Hope you'll come again. Ancestry of Emily Johnnson Peterson Family Album |
Swedish Ancestry Part 2 From Sjolund to Peterson In 1902, Pehr Sjolund was a translator in the Swedish army who spoke seven or eight languages. Although he was not yet 24 years old, he held the rank of captain. Over the previous several years, he had helped at least one of his sisters, and his younger brother, Eric, to emigrate to America, and hoped to join them. But the Swedish Army was proving reluctant to let him go, and his "tour of duty" kept being extended. Eric had settled in Park Rapids, Minnesota, where he went into logging. At that time, northern Minnesota was all old growth Douglas Fir, and part of the "Great North Woods" which extended all the way to the permafrost of the north. Eric had written Pehr extolling the opportunities to be had in Minnesota at that time,and in 1903, when his obligations with the Swedish army were complete, Pehr, his wife Emily and year old son, Gustin, left Sweden. They took along a nephew whose mother was already in Minnesota and claimed both children as their own when entering the country. While going through the immigration process at Ellis Island, Pehr's language skills did no good, for the officials had already made up their minds that any newcomers from Sweden were not understanable. By the time the little family left Ellis Island, Pehr Sjolund's name was Pete Peterson. [Note: His son Justin did reclaim part of his heritage when he had his name legally changed back to Sjolund sometime around 1960.] Very shortly after the new immigrant Pete Peterson and his family arrived in Park Rapids, he and Eric entered a logging venture and contracted with several pulp mills and with Jim Hill of the Northern Pacific Railroad to supply logs for pulp and for RR ties. They became very successful, and within a few years, Pete was able to built a house for his rapidly growing family on 360 acres outside of town. In addition to farming, he rode his bike some 8 miles to work at the mill. In 1924, he opened a new car dealership in Park Rapids with the Starr/Durant automobile, and his son Justin became the lead salesman for the dealership. He and his buddy, Bob Driscoll, did stunts at the fairgrounds with cars onto which they had welded roll bars. With a crowd of onlookers in the stands, they would run the cars at high speed over obstacles that would flip the cars over and then the roll bars would bring them back upright again. Justin sold a lot of cars and the dealership appeared to be a howling success. With the stock market crash of 1929, the family lost everything. Apparently, much of the success had been acquired with credit, and Pete lost the farm, car dealership, and logging camp. The younger children, and the grandchildren born near the end of 1930, grew up not knowing that the family was just renting the farm they lived on. Justin was the first to move to Michigan in hopes of making an income, and over the years, with the exception of the youngest brother,Carl, the Peterson siblings joined him. Pete and Emily later sold the farm to Carl when he and his wife, Jeanette, made it clear they were not planning on moving to a big metropolitan area, nor would they consider leaving Minnesota. After several years of retirement living on a smaller farm near Park Rapids and at their summer cabin on Long Lake, Pete and Emily moved to Pontiac. In 1962, they celebrated their 60+ wedding anniversary, and on December 20, 1962, Emily died. A devoted wife and mother in the days when most Swedish farm husbands did not even pour their own coffee, her concern was for Pete. Who would take care of him? It didn't matter that in the last few years he had taken care of her. That was all forgotten, as she lay dying with her children gathered around her hospital bed. Some of her last words were, "Girls! Get on your knees and pray for Dad!" Pete died on May 12, 1965. Both are buried at Glen-Eden Cemetery in Livania, Michigan. ***************** |
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