Thomas William Peterson is my 2nd great-grandfather. He was born 27 August 1872 in Huntsville, Weber, Utah to Peter “B” Peterson & Ann Powell. Peter Powell Peterson is Thomas’ next younger brother. Peter Powell Peterson was born 14 September 1874 in Hooper, Weber, Utah.
Both brothers are seen here with Peter on the left and Thomas on the right.
Their parents, Peter “B” & Ann, were immigrants. He from Denmark, she from Wales. When they met, they did not speak the same language. Their love story is a favorite of mine. This comes from a history of Peter “B” Peterson written by his granddaughter-in-law, Mabel Alice Green:
“About this time {early spring 1869} he met Ann Powell, daughter of Bishop Thomas and Margaret Powell of Marriott, Weber County, Utah, but it was quite a challenge to court the young lady. At that time there was no bridge across the Weber River, so Peter would remove his clothing and swim his horse across, holding his bundle of clothing high over his head to keep it dry. Upon reaching the opposite side, he would dress quickly, hidden by the willows growing on the banks and then proceed to the Powell residence. Neither could converse in English. She was Welsh and he was Danish, but as he said, “We know we loved each other.” They were married December 12, 1870.”
The back of this wonderful photo is labeled with the brother’s names, but I wish I knew the date and the occasion. I’m wondering if they were both about to depart to serve LDS missions. I know that Thomas served a mission for one year in California from April 1901 to April 1902. You can find him in the “Early Mormon Missionaries” database here. I cannot find Peter in that same database.
Interestingly, Thomas was married the day after he was officially a missionary. Now I am super curious about whether his wife, Lettie Taylor, went with him or stayed home. I need to learn more about these 2nd great-grandparents!
Photo back:
This post is for my cousin Nancy. Thomas is also one of her ancestors. Nancy, maybe you know, what did Grandma Peterson do while Grandpa was serving his mission…?
Happy Thursday, I hope you make a wonderful photo discovery today!! xoxo
Gorgeous photo. They both have such intense expressions.
Thank you, Su. It is in really good shape and a nice 5×7 so it has lots of detail that definitely shows through in the scan. Yes they do! It was taken around the turn of the century so I wonder if they were just holding very still?
What a love story! How great that you have that bit of family history. One question: why is there a “B” in Peter’s name?
Great question, Amy! He was from Denmark and his name is the fall of patronymics in my family. His father was Hans Peterson whose father was Peder Madsen. He should have been Peter (or Peder) Hansen but used his father’s last name in America instead. His parents and siblings came to America after him. He got to Utah and there were so many Peter Petersons that he added the “B” to help distinguish himself from the others. Some family members have mistakenly believed that the “B” is for Bjorup where he was born, but when asked what it stood for he would say something along the lines of, “Oh, bread or biscuits, whichever you prefer.” We always put the B in quotation marks so younger generations don’t fall into the Bjorup trap or just delete it because he didn’t actually have a middle name. 🙂
That is some story! Now wouldn’t it have been nice if some of my ancestors with the same name (I have lost count of the Jacob Goldsmiths and Joseph Brotmans and so on in the family) had done that also!
Yes, so cool! But I can totally relate. I have James Youngs coming out my ears! Haha.
Such a sharp photograph. I loved the love story, Amberly.
Thank you, Cathy! <3