My Genealogy Hound

LARS PETERSON, a native of Denmark, was born March 5, 1845, and is a son of Lars and Kate (Johnson) Peterson. The senior Peterson was a farmer and died in 1847. There were eight children in the Peterson family, five boys and three girls. Lars Peterson is the youngest of the family and remained on the old homestead, attending school when he could, until he was about twenty years old, when he came to America in 1865, and landed at New York city August 5, and came West immediately as far as Muskegon, Mich. He worked in a sawmill at this point for a few months, when he departed for Rock Island county, Ill., and found employment on a farm there at fair wages. He next went to Omaha and worked for a transfer company for two years. Subsequently he visited Denver and spent three years in the gold and silver mines of Colorado. His next move was to California, where he was employed at farm work for about three years. In 1878 he visited Denmark, and, after his return, spent six months in Omaha; he then came to Kearney county and bought railroad land in Grant township.

Mr. Peterson was married, October 26, 1878, to Kirstine Holst, who was born in Denmark, June 23, 1853, and came to America in 1876. Eight children grace the happy home, born as follows — Andrew, July 19, 1879; Christian, November 14, 1880; Matilda, November 16, 1881; Frederick, January 24, 1883; Willemoes, March 19, 1885; George, November 29, 1886; Eva and Adam (twins), May 28, 1889. Mr. Peterson has three hundred and twenty acres of land, all under cultivation. His house and barn are new and substantial structures and everything bears the mark of a thrifty and enterprising husbandman.