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The Peterson Brothers1900
Near Mirror, Alberta
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Charles A. Peterson and his sons, George and Oscar.Charles was born in Sweden in 1840. He married Martha Olsen (born 1846) and their twelve (five of which died) children were born in Stillwater, Minnesota.
He and George and Oscar worked in the woods in the winters, cutting logs for the Stillwater mill.
Charles brought his wife and two sons to the Lakebend area, near Mirror, in 1903, after hearing about the free land here. He and his boys, George and Oscar each claimed their own homesteads.
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Charles Peterson Golden Wedding Anniversary1 April 1916
Near Mirror, Alberta
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A photo of Charles Peterson, April 1, 1916.When Charles decided he was going to take his family to this new land he had heard glowing stories of, he prepared.
Knowing he would need strong horses to help him break virgin prairie, he went to a logging friend, Mr. Rutherford, who was about to leave the timber industry.
Rutherford sold him his four extraordinarily conditioned Percheron horses, which had been trained for hard work and obedience, huge horses, over 1800 lbs each.
He also offered to sell him the rest of the equipment he would need to get the horses and equipment to where they were going once they arrived in Alberta.
For $500, Charles agreed to buy the horses, a wagon with box, all the harness, four blankets, 50 feet of steel chain, 20 sacks of oats, axes, shovels, pick axe, single and double trees, and four horse hitches.
Charlie loaded horses, equipment, machinery and household goods into a boxcar and in the spring of 1903, arrived by train in Ponoka.
He filed his homestead claim for SE 32-40-21, after he arrived.
What adventurers these men must have been to trust so strongly that they would be able to tame this wild land, that they would bring all they owned, and family to a place they hadn't even seen yet.
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Mrs. Charles (Martha) Peterson on her Golden Wedding Anniversary1 April 1916
Near Mirror, Alberta
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Martha Peterson (Olson), born in 1846, died in 1919.This photo is on her golden wedding anniversary, April 1, 1916.
Before taking a homestead in the Buffalo Lake area, Martha and her family ran the County Poorhouse in Stillwater, Minnesota for many years.
She and her husband homesteaded in the Buffalo Lake area for many years, before selling their place, and moving back to Minnesota a few years before she died.
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George Peterson was one of the original George's of the George District1902
Near Mirror, Alberta
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George Peterson just before he arrived in Alberta.George came to Canada with his parents in 1903, taking a homestead in the George district, and was one of the 'George's', the district was named after.
He married Bessie Rider, and they moved to the homestead in 1909. George and Bessie had four children, Alice, Carl, Ellene and Irving.
In 1924, George developed multiple sclerosis, and he and Bessie moved to Alix. He was still always known for his sunny disposition, right up to his death in 1943.
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George Peterson and Bessie (Rider) Peterson on their Wedding? Day26 April 1909
Near Mirror, Alberta
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George and Bessie Peterson on their wedding day, April 26,1909.11
Alice Peterson as a Child1912
Near Mirror, Alberta
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Alice Peterson, George and Bessie's daughter, around 1912.13
George Peterson with some of the Horses He Brought to Canada1922
Near Mirror, Alberta
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George Peterson with some of the Peterson horses and their offspring. |
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