Mrs. O. Peterson, Aged Resident, Laid to Rest
 
Passed away Feb. 13; Funeral Held From First Lutheran Church Tuesday
 
Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon, February 17 from the First Lutheran Church of Dassel for Mrs. Oscar Peterson, one of the oldest residents of this community, who had passed away Friday, February 13th.
 
The Rev. Philip A. Leaf, pastor of the church, officiated at the services and special music consisted of the following numbers: vocal duet, “Rock of Ages,” by Mr. Nels Dokken and Mrs. Ralph Peterson of Cokato; vocal solo, “Abode of Peace,” sung by Mrs. Verner Anderson, and a vocal solo by C. W. Johnson. Interment was made in the Steelesville Cemetery. Pallbearer were Homer and Ralph Peterson, Vincent and Bernard Peterson, Seymour Peterson and Verner Anderson.
 
Mrs. Peterson was born at Gränna, Småland, Sweden on October 30, 1853. Her youth was spent in Gränna, and later in Stockholm, Sweden. She came to this country on May 30 1886, coming direct to Collinwood township south of Dassel, where she resided with her parents until July 3, 1886 when she was united in marriage to Oscar Peterson.
 
She continued to make her home south of Dassel and had lived in the Steelesville community for 62 years, being loved and respected by all who knew her. She was a kind and loving mother and grandmother, and was always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone in need. The past eight weeks she had been ill and had been tenderly cared for at her home by children and grandchildren, passing away February 12, 1948, at the advanced age of 94 years, 3 months and 13 days.
 
Mr. Peterson passed away in 1928. A daughter, Sigrid, preceded her mother in death in 1939 and two daughters passed away in infancy. Surviving are the following children: Joseph M. Peterson of Dassel, Alfhild and Herman Peterson at home; two stepsons, Albert Peterson of Alliance, Nebraska and Carl J. Peterson of Dassel. There are also ten grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, besides a large number of other relatives and friends who mourn her passing.
 
Obituary Dassel Dispatch 1948
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1853 Sometime after Maria Christina’s birthday on October 30, Heda and daughter Maria Christina are living with Heda’s mother Maja Persdotter back in Jönköping Adelöv Sotåsa Norrge.
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1854 Nov5 Heda Jakobsdotter Wallgren & daughter move from Mosseryd to Gränna Jönköping>Vireda>Utflyttning(Moving out)>1851-1860(C-5)>92 p.172
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1856 Oct. Heda Jakobsdotter Wallgren came back to Adelöv with 3yr old daughter Jönköping>Adelöv>Inflyttning(Moving in)>1851-1862(B-1)>17 line 57 p.25
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1860 Heda Jakobsdotter Wallgren and daughter Christina are at Sötåsa Norrge (Johannes Samuelsons farm Granlund Bostelle) living with her mother Maja Persdotter, a widow b3Nov1784 in Adelöv. Heda’s sister Inga Maja Jakobsdotter b12Feb1822 lives here, also born in Adelöv.
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1860 Heda Jakobsdotter Wallgren; Maria now leaves for Södraholm in 1862 Jönköping>Adelöv Sotåsa Norrge Granlund>Husförhör (HHexam)>1860-1865(AI-14)>308 p.306
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1862 Bo, Christina fosterdtr at Burman, Gustav, came in 1862 to Södraholm Rom Torp Jönköping>Adelöv>Husförhör(HHexam)>1860-1865(AI-14)>293 p.290
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In the 1866 HHexam, Maria (Christina) is a foster daughter of Gustav Burman in Bunström Mellan. She left Bohult Jan. 29, 1868 for Adelöv
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Jönköping > Gränna > Husförhör (Household examination) > 1866 - 1870 (AI:5) > 88
(9Nov1866 Heda leaves Skatte Bunström Mellan. There is no mention of Maria Christina on this page.)
http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=2...1024_1086__78-039800
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1866 Nov9 Heda came to Bohult and married Johannes Bo Nov27 1866. Stina Gustava Andersdotter had died Mar27 1866 giving birth to Augusta Josefina, who was born that day. Anna Mathilda is 5 years old. (Maria did not come here till 10 months later when she was 15 years old.)
Lotta Johanna on p.571
Lars Johan on p. 754
Maria Christina came here 29Jan1868.
Lotta Johanna came here 11Nov1868.

http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/BookView.aspx?db...00&sid=&gskw=
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1866 When Hedda came to Bohult to marry Johannes Bo, Maria lived as a fosterdtr of Gustav Burman in Södraholm. She lives here till January 1868, when she leaves for Bohult to join her mother Heda and stepfather Johannes Bo.
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1868 Maria Christina Bo leaves the family of Gustav Burman in Södraholm Jan16 and arrives in Bohult Jan. 29 to live in the home of Heda and Johannes Bo, Maria’s mother and adoptive father. HHexam 1866-1870 (AI:15)>268 line 19 p.306 (<from p.306 to p.541>) [see 1866 Bo, Johannes in Bohult Jönköping>Gränna>Husförhör (HHexam)>1866-1870(AI-6)>150 p.541]
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1870 Oct. 24 Christina Bo leaves Bohult and goes to the home of Lovisa Röding (maiden name Malmberg), a well to do widow. Maria is a servant amongst many servants there, and works here through Oct. 1871. Jönköping>Gränna>Husförhör(HHexam)>1866-1870(AI-27)>192 line 11 p.974 (from p.541 to p.974)
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1870 HHexam p.969 and 1866 HHexam p. 974 are the same info in two successive volumes of the HHexams
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1870 Oct. 24 Christina Bo is a servant at Mellan R. and works here through Oct. 1871. Jönköping>Gränna>Husförhör(HHexam)>1871-18750(AI-28)>200 line 6 p.969
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1871 Oct. 31 Christina Bo at Westra R. and works here till May 1876. Jönköping>Gränna>Husförhör(HHexam)>1866-1870(AI-27)>192 line 9 p.834
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1876 May 3 Christina Bo leaves Westra R. and goes to Stockholm Jönköping>Gränna>Husförhör(HHexam)>1876-1880(AI-29)>42 line 2 p.835
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1876 Christina Bo goes to Stockholm to work [?? is this where she works for the von Engelhardts??]
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General Engelhardt came in the mid 1700s from Hungary to Sweden with Johan Casper Engelhardt, who became kammartjänare (served in the king’s chambers) of king Adolf Fredrik. The af Schmidt adlades in 1815 and became friherrlig 1841 (n:o 393). Carl Edvard (Brelin) Gyllensköld was surnamed Carlheim of his mother's stepfather (by adoption). He became baron adlades 1805 and 1817. Carl Edvard Carlheim-Gyllenskölds branch of the extinct, however, at his death 1819.
[http://www.ediffah.org/search/present.cgi?id=ediffah:kb:809951:1196408692]

Gustaf Engelhardt was married to Sofia Maria Aurora af Schmidt b1837 in Nyköping
[http://riccard.se/Html/0005/6598.htm]
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June 13, 1881 In Bohult, Johannes (65), Heda (55) and Augusta (15) are marked in the HHexam as leaving for America. They are in Hull ENG June 24, 1881 on a boat named Romeo.
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1885 May 4 MN Census Meeker Co. Collinwood Twp family 5 page 1 line 24 - Oscar 29 (no Annie Mathilda, no Maria Christina yet), Albert S 2, Carl J 1, Peter M Carlson 68, Chatrana Carlson 67.
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When Oscar Peterson's first wife, Annie Mathilda Boo died in April of 1885, Oscar was left with the care of his two sons, Albert, and Carl. Word was sent back to Sweden to see if someone from the family could come over to America to mother the young boys aged 2-1/2 and 1 year. Maria Christina Boo, Annie Mathilda’s adopted sister, agreed to come, arriving May 14 1886. Marriage to Oscar also soon followed (July 3), and the couple raised Albert and Carl and had six more children of their own.

Annie Mathilda, born in 1861, was the firstborn of Johannes Bo’s 2nd wife, Stina Gustava Andersdotter who died in 1866 in childbirth to their 3rd daughter. When Stina died, Johannes married Heda Wallgren, whose daughter Maria Christian was 12 years old at the time. Hedda was 27 years old when Maria was born.

As Maria left Sweden, the Ludvig von Engelhardt family for whom she worked as a maid, presented her a ring made of nearly pure 22K gold. This ring bore the inscription Minne Loc L Engelhardt, which translated means it was a gift to Maria from the Engelhardts so she would remember them. This ring was passed down to her grandson Joseph Homer Peterson, to whom Maria gave it to wear as his wedding ring when he married in 1947. The present bearer of the ring is J Homer’s son, and Maria’s great grandson Winston Phillip Peterson. Homer gave it to Winston to wear as his wedding ring since 1981. It is a most cherished family heirloom. It is this ring which inspired Winston’s pursuit of his ancestry.

A jeweler friend of Winston recognized the official stamp of the Swedish crown the inside of the ring which all gold in Sweden must bear to be legally owned, as all gold is controlled by the crown. The ring, being made of nearly pure gold (22k), is very soft and occasionally needs to be made round again when it gets bent.
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1886 Marriage
Meeker Cty  Certificate No D 269  Date of marriage 7/03/1886  Groom's name OSCAR PETERSON  Bride's name MARY BOO
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1895 June 1 MN Census 1895 > Meeker > Collinwood > page 1 family 5 - Oscar 39, Marie C 41, Albert S 12, Carl J 11, Joseph M 8, Alfhild JM 5, Herman H 3, Sigrid V 1. Peter Magnus 79 is living next to Oscar’s family. Both Oscar and Peter have been residents of the state for 23 and have lived in this enumeration district for 19yr 7mo. The date of the census is 1 Jun 1895, so they have been in MN since about 1872, and Collinwood Twp since Dec 1876.
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1900 4 June US Census Meeker Co. Collinwood Twp page 2A Family 26 line 25 - Oscar 44, Maria 46, Albert 18, Carl 16, Joseph 13, Alfild 10, Herman 9, Sigrid 6
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1905 June 8-15 MN Census 1905 > Meeker > Collinwood > 25 line 51 Oscar 49, Mary 51, Albert 22, Carl J 21, Joseph M 18, Alfhild 15, Herman H 13, Sigrid 11. Oscar has been a resident of the state for 33 yr, a resident of this district for 32 years. Mary (Maria) has been a resident of both for 19 yr.
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1910 Apr 15 US Census Meeker Collinwood District 83 page 1 Family 2 - Oscar 54, Maria 56 (married 23 years, borne 6 children, 4 living), Joseph 22, Alphild 20, Herman 18, Sigrid 16. This census states that Oscar immigrated in 1872, Maria in 1886.
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1920 Minnesota > Meeker > Collinwood > District 115 > 1 line 7 Oscar 64, Maria C 66, Alfhild 30, Herman H 28, Sigrid V 26, Ruth M dtr in law, Vincint 2yr 7mo
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1930 Census Minnesota > Meeker > Collinwood > District 3 > 2 line 90 Herman 38, Ruth 34, Vincent 14, Bernard 2, Alfhild 40, Sigrid 36, Marie mother 56
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1940 Collinwood Twp Census Family 149 p. 7B lines 79-80, & p. 8A lines 1-5, age 86, living with son Herman’s family
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[The following is a story that appeared in the Dassel Cokato Enterprise written by Amy Wilde, in her On the Back Road column]

Old letters reveal romance based on tragedy, sacrifice

Looking at the picturesque countryside, its harvested fields dotted with woodlots and sloughs, I sometimes wonder how this area looked to the Indians and early white settlers. The horizon was not as expansive before the woods were cleared.

My family’s log-foundation farmhouse was constructed during the late 1870s, with a lean-to kitchen added in 1881. This makes the house more than 110 years old. In the last few “On the Back Road” columns, I wrote about the rather primitive condition of this house when we purchased it in 1972. Since that time, a basement and new foundation have been installed underneath it. We’ve also added a second bath, replaced chimneys, windows and cupboards, insulated the porch, built a deck and installed central heating. These improvements have been made, piece by piece, over the years.

Many of our neighbors have taken down their old houses and constructed lovely new homes. One of the few older homes still remaining belongs to Dennis and Jan Casey, who purchased it from the Herman Peterson estate several years ago. There are few sights as beautiful as watching the sun set behind their farm, which is located on the southwest shore of Butternut Lake.

The old Peterson place was settled about the same time as our farm. Like our place, that farm has undergone a number of renovations over the years.

The original log house was occupied by Oscar Peterson and his wife, Anna Mathilda Boo. One of their sons, Carl Joshua Peterson, started the C.J. Peterson Seed Company which later became Payco Seeds. Many of Oscar’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren still reside in this area.

One grandson, Ralph Peterson, Cokato, brought in copies of several letters which were discovered about 10 years ago in an upstairs room of the Peterson farmhouse and translated into English by Mrs. George Fredricks. The letters were written shortly after Mathilda’s death, when Oscar Peterson was left with two small boys, Albert, 3, and Carl, 1, to raise.

The content of the letters would make a good movie or TV special. We will let EnterpriseDispatch readers in on the drama.

In the first letter, dated January, 1886, the grieving Oscar appealed to his late wife’s stepsister, Maria Boo (not a blood relative), to leave Sweden and come to America to become his wife and a mother to his sons. He had never met her, but had heard good things about her from Mathilda, he wrote. (Ralph noted that the girls’ parents had already emigrated to America and resided near Oscar’s family.)

In the second letter, dated February of the same year, Maria accepts Oscar’s invitation, with fear and trepidation. “If I can only fill the place she has left, only God knows, and we will leave it all in His hands,“ she wrote. “I hope Peterson will overlook my faults.”

In a later letter, just before she leaves Sweden Maria describes Christina’s opposition to the plan and that “there is almost an uproar with the people and relations that I’m going to leave…they only want me to forget going, but once I’ve made up my mind, I will leave it all in God’s hands and my only hope is that He will strengthen and lead all things right and lead each one to the place that is best suited for them.” Although the pair had exchanged photos, she also expresses her fears that Oscar might “as the saying goes, buy a pig in a sack and you don’t know what you get.”

In a letter to his in-laws, Oscar expresses gratitude for Maria’s acceptance of his invitation. “Maria will think that I am in an awful hurry, but as the saying goes, ‘need has no law’,” he wrote. “I can’t stand to see my dear little boys go through life without guidance.” He went on to write that, since Mathilda’s death, his own parents had been helping out, but since they were nearly 70 and his mother wasn’t well, that he “can’t expect much of them in the future.”

Probably to assure them that Maria would be well cared for, he went on to describe his success as a farmer and his proficiency in the English language.

Maria, who had always worked in town and was not accustomed to country living, made arrangements quickly and arrived in Dassel early that summer. She and Oscar were married within a few weeks and their first child, Joseph, was born April 21, 1887.

“This marriage, by so-called ‘arrangement,’ turned out for the best,” said Ralph. “Six children were born to this union, namely Joseph, Alfhild, Herman, Sigrid and two girls who died in infancy.”

Herman farmed the home place. Following his own wife’s rather early death, he was assisted by his maiden sisters.

This community’s pioneer ancestors faced genuine hardship which makes today’s shallow, selfish attitudes look rather foolish. Imagine a modern young woman taking the self-sacrificial “step of faith” Maria did.
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Family Members
Spouse
•
Oscar Peterson
1855–1928 (m. 1886)

Children
•
Joseph Magnus Peterson
1887–1957
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Alfhild Jennie Marie Peterson
1889–1963
•
Herman Hilding Peterson
1891–1984
•
Sigrid Victoria Peterson
1893–1939

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There was a a descendant of King Oscar II from northern MN. Her name was Mrs. Oscar (Norma) Eliason. Her husband wrote several well known hymns. Her maiden name was Olson.

It was her parental grandfather who was the son of Oscar II. The mother of the child was living in Norway and the Royal Court paid for her travel to America. Norway and Sweden had one king until 1905.