Peterson Family History
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Peterson Family History John and Minnie Peterson Peterson Family History Preface I want to tell you what I think I know about the Peterson family history, the “Peterson family” being (mostly) the descendants of John Morris Peterson and Minnie Alace Putney. I say “think I know” because history in general and family history (practiced mostly by non-historians) in particular is far from precise. There are countless opportunities for misspelling, misinterpretation, mistakes, mis……, etc. For instance, is Minnie Putney’s middle name Alace as recorded on what may be a page from a Putney Family Bible 1 or Alice as the Illinois State Marriage archive 2 has it? In the pages that follow you will no doubt find what you consider to be errors. Some will have been inherited by me and others will have been created by me. When you find information you consider to be incorrect, I would be most interested in hearing the details from you. Please contact me with any comments you may have. I hope that this document will serve to inform you and perhaps motivate you to tell me what I have left out that should have been included. For now I will discuss what I think I know about Johan Magnus Persson, Minnie Alace Putney, and their parents, siblings and children. JB Peterson 2802 Hidden Knoll Court Sugar Land, Texas 77478 March 21, 2004 [email protected] Peterson - Taylor Genealogy 1 Births 2 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763–1900 Groom Bride Date Vol./Page County PETERSON, JOHN M PUTNEY, MINNIE ALICE 07/04/1881 00C/0021 HENDERSON Peterson Family History In Sweden John Morris Peterson was born June 7, 1848, near Katteberg 3 in Skärstad parish, Jönköpings county in the province of Småland. According to Swedish Church records 4 he was named Johan Magnus. His father was Per Jonasson and his mother was Brita Månsdotter. In accordance with the patronymic naming system used prior to 1900 in Sweden the sons of Per Jonasson took Persson (Per’s son) as their last names and his daughters took Persdotter (Per’s daughter) as their last names. The “Americanization” of Swedish names led me down many blind alleys when I first began researching the Peterson family history. The family history data I had access to in the 1990’s listed Per and Brita by their Americanized names as Peter Johnson and Mary Munson. As you may have noticed if you looked at the partial image of the Swedish Church record in the appendix, Johan had a number of siblings in 1850. They were twins Maja (Maria) and Brita (Mary) born in 1836, Johannes born in 1839, Lars Petter born in 1842, and Anna Christina born in 1845. Johan’s arrival in 1848 was followed by the birth of Johanna in 1851, Karl August in 1852, Johanna Sofia in 1855, Per Alford in 1859 and Inga Carlotta in 1861. In various records dated through 1869, Johan’s occupation is listed as farmer (bonde). The family moved a number of times as Johan was growing up, staying in Skärstad parish. In 1869 Johan joined thousands of other Swedes who emigrated to the United States. Swedish emigration records show that Johan left Esbjörnarp on March 19, 1869, bound for America. The American West 5 website has this to say about the Swedish migration to the United States: “The Swedish mass emigration would not have been possible without the Swedish railroads and the organized passenger traffic over the Atlantic. At this time no Swedish line carried passengers directly from Gothenburg [Sweden] to New York. The Swedes therefore had to use British or German ships. The emigrant route started with the train ride to the big port of Gothenburg, where the complete passage, such as Gothenburg-Chicago, of the British Wilson Line, brought the emigrants to Hull in England. A train took them across the country to Liverpool or Glasgow; from there the Inman Line or some other company's ships sailed them to New York. The whole voyage Gothenburg-New York need not take more than three weeks in 1870.” 3 Map of Katteberg (now Lyckås) 4 Swedish Church records for Katteberg 1847 – 1850 listing son Johan Magnus born 7/6 1848. 5 The American West Peterson Family History In America There is some evidence that Johan came to New York from Liverpool on the ship “City of Brooklyn” 6, owned in 1869 by the Inman Line. The passenger manifest for the “City of Brooklyn” shows one John Person, age 21, a male from Sweden, arriving in New York on April 12, 1869, from Liverpool. The name, age, and date of arrival are a good fit for Johan Magnus Persson who was just two months short of age 21 in April 1869 and had departed Sweden three weeks prior on March 19, 1869. I cannot say with certainty that John entered the United States at the port of New York. And if he did, I know virtually nothing about how he came to be in Sagetown (Gladstone), Illinois in 1870. My mother, Neola Peterson, remembers hearing that he was in or near Chicago for a time and there learned to speak English from the lady who employed him. It is a certainty that he was living in Sagetown when the 1870 federal census was conducted. Census records 7 dated September 2, 1870 show John Peterson living in the town of Lynn, Illinois, Sagetown post office. He was apparently a boarder in the home of John Jonasquist (or Jungquist), a quarryman, along with seven other quarrymen with Scandinavian surnames. At this point there is a 12 year hole in the history of John Morris Peterson as I know it. Along this 12 year path, John made his way from Sagetown to some point further south in Henderson County, probably Olena, where Minnie Putney was living in 1880 8. 6 “City of Brooklyn” Passenger Manifest 7 John Peterson - 1870 Census of the United States 8 Minnie Putney – 1880 Federal Census Peterson Family History In Canada Ira Putney, Jr. was the natural son of James H. Brown and Elizabeth Copp, born in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada, on June 16, 1840. Some think his name may have originally been Garrison Brown. By the time of the 1850 census he was living in the household of his uncle, Joshua Copp, a merchant in Burlington, Iowa, along with his uncle and aunt, Ira and Sarah Copp Putney, who had become his guardians. Sarah Copp Putney was the sister of his birth mother Elizabeth Copp Brown. By all accounts Ira and Sarah, having no children of their own, took their nephew to raise as their own son although he was apparently never legally adopted. When Ira Jr. finished his studies in the Burlington schools in 1853 the family moved to Olena where father and son opened a dry goods store called Putney & Son. Five years later, at the age of 18 years, Ira Jr. married Azubah Ann Haislett who was also 18 years of age. Ira Turton and Libbie Vie were born to the couple before Ira enlisted in the Grand Army of the Republic in 1861. Minnie Alace and her younger siblings were born after his return from the Civil War in 1864. Minnie Alace Putney was born June 18, 1866 in Olena, Illinois. Her father was Ira Putney, Jr. and her mother was Azubah Ann Haislett. Minnie was the third of six children. Before her came Ira Turton in 1859 and Libbie Vie in 1860. Following her were Harry in 1868, Bert Brown in 1871 and Gear Maxwell in about 1874. Peterson Family History Our Peterson Family Our Peterson family began with the marriage of John Morris Peterson and Minnie Alace Putney on about the 4 th of July, 1882, in Keithsburg, Illinois. I am curious as to why the marriage took place in Keithsburg, if it did. The marriage license was issued in Henderson County. The only other Keithsburg connection I know about is Tom and Gladys Hufnagel Putney living in Keithsburg at the time of the 1930 census. A marriage license 9 was issued to John M Peterson and Minnie Alice Putney by the state of Illinois, Henderson County, in 1881. The marriage date recorded was July 4 th of that year. My guess is that the newlyweds took up housekeeping in Olena, but that is only a guess. The information I have about the expansion of their family does contain a few know facts. I have no doubt there are errors and omissions as well. If you notice any of the latter and have the time I would be grateful to receive your corrections. The following is a chronological list of John and Minnie Peterson’s children who were: Eleanor Ann, John Major, Ira Brown, Flora Pearl, Gear E., Eva Agnes, Marie Alice, Thelma Dongola , and Lois Dorothy . 1. Eleanor Ann Peterson was born on 13 APR 1882 in Henderson County, IL and died in Oct 1962, at age 77. She was always known as Nell or Nellie, “Aunt Nell” in my memory. 2. John Major Peterson was born in Aug 1883 in Stronghurst, IL and died in Nov 1941 in Stronghurst, IL, at age 57. My grandpa Peterson (Ira) always referred to him as Joke. 3. Ira Brown Peterson was my grandfather; born on 17 Aug 1886 in Olena, IL, died on 04 Oct 1968 in Burlington, IA, at age 82, and is buried in the Olena Cemetery. Most folks called him Ike. 4. Flora Pearl Peterson was born on 02 Dec 1889 in Olena, IL, died on 17 Sep 1975 in Monmouth, IL, at age 85, and was buried in Oquawka, IL.