Oscar S. Peterson, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Oscar S. Peterson
OSCAR S. PETERSON, retired farmer, was born n 1837, in Sweden. He is one of eight children born to John and Anna (Lindstadt)Peterson, both natives of Sweden. When sixteen years of age, Mr. Peterson left home and came to the United States, and settled in Chicago, and was engaged in building the early Chicago "plank streets." In a short time, he went to Aurora, Ill., and learned and worked in upholstering for about three years. He then went to Lyons, Iowa, and established his business there, but failed, and as he was but nineteen years of age, and lost all, he shipped on a steamboat as "roustabout" to St. Louis, where he was without work and food for about three days, but soon got work near, on a farm, for all winter. He afterward bought a team, and began farming in Madison County, Ill. After two years, he moved to Westchester Township, and began farming in Waverly, remaining there eleven years, when he bought his present farm of 209 acres of fine land, hidden by a fine grove. He has altogether about three hundred and thirty acres, indicating him to be a successful farmer and financier. He has been a member of the Swedish Lutheran church. He has always been a Republican, but in local affairs is liberal. He was married, in 1861, to Christina S. Carlson, a native of Sweden. They have four children - Charles A., Ida B., Arthur O. and Cora M. In 1863, he went to Sweden on business and on the way there and back he visited and traveled through Norway, Germany, France, Denmark, all Great Britain and Ireland, to see the countries.
Source: Goodspeed, Weston A., and Charles Blanchard. 1882. Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana: Historical and Biographical, Illustrated. Chicago, Illinois: F. A. Battey & Company. 771 p.
Page(s) in Source: 307-308
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook