The typescript includes small line drawings above each chapter heading. I presume that Naomi drew these herself.
Our Family Story
by Naomi Peterson Strand
Chapter One
EARLY HISTORY
Father, Jonas Peter
Peterson, was born March 28, 1845, in Tigerstad, Småland, Sweden,
His parents were of the class of small farmers so common on Småland’s
rocky hillsides. As was the case with many of the young men of
Sweden, he left for America to escape the compulsory military
services of his home land. How ironical it is that wen his grandsons
grew to manhood, they here, in the land of freedom, were subject to
military duty.
Coming a stranger to a
strange land, he found his way first to Kansas where he spent some
time working on a railroad. But soon he came to Montana, and for some
time ten years worked then in the gold mines, sharing the rough life
of those early days in the mining camps.
Mother, Emma Sofia
Sjostrand, was born February 24, 1862, in Kalltorp, Kalmar Län,
Småland, Sweden. Her father also owned a small acreage but the land
was tilled by a renter or “bonde” who lived in a separate house
on the little farm.
By
trade, Grandfather was a carpenter and also the coffin-maker for the
community. Always a very timid child, Mother has told of how
frightened she was when she oft-times had to sleep in the room where
there was an unfinished coffin standing. Grandfather was also almost
a genius at the art of inventing. He designed and built a primitive
threshing machine. He even built a cabinet organ. We can see some of
this inventive ingenuity shown forth in his oldest grand-son, brother
Carl’s love for machinery.
Mother
was the oldest child. She had two little brothers, Alfred and Johan.
The family was poor, having only the bare necessities of life. The
“bonde” owned a cow, and sometimes when the children were ill,
they were given milk to drink, but then they were too sick to enjoy
it. At Christmas time or at some other festival time, they had “kalas”
— a big company dinner. For this even many good things were baked
and prepared for the feast. But before and after the “kalas”
there was the fasting to make up for the feasting!
When
Mother was but six years old, and her little brothers were four and
two, their mother died. Then followed difficult times in the little
home. Mother was sent to stay with her Grandmother many times. It was
a long walk for a small girl through the woods, a distance of about
one Swedish mile
which equals seven of our miles, and she was often frightened on that
walk. But not as frightened as she was the day she came to her
Grandfather’s home when they were preparing to butcher a pig. Poor
little Emma, for she was commanded to hold a vessel to catch the
blood from the animal. Of the blood, a dish called palt
was prepared. Beside herself with fear, she ran and hid in the woods.
Her Grandmother was a very kind and understanding person, but not so
her Grandfather, who was often harsh and much feared by his little
granddaughter. But this time she would rather take any kind of
punishment than to obey.
After
three years her father re-married. Soon there were more little mouths
to feed, and living was very meager. The new mother was very kind to
her step-children, even though busy with her own growing brood. For
some years Mother attended the parish school, learning not only to
read and write, but was also instructed in the Bible, Catechism, and
Church History — the curriculum of schools in Sweden.
When
Mother was fourteen years old, her step-uncle Jonas Peter came back
to Sweden for a visit. He spoke in glowing terms of the wonderful
opportunities in the new land across the sea. When he was ready to
return to America he had persuaded his youngest brother Fred and his
sister, Sofia, some other relatives and also his lovely step niece,
Emma, to go with him to the land of promise.
So it
was that on her fifteenth birthday, Mother left her home land. It had
seemed best for her thus to try to earn her own living, but she often
said that if her father had been there when the ship was to take
sail, she would even then have gone back home with him. It was a
fearful journey across the wide ocean and to a strange land for a
timid young girl of fifteen. But Grandfather had left and there was
no alternative now but to get on the ship with the others of the
party.
The
journey across the North Sea was very rough. All the young girls on
board slept on one long bench and all were very seasick. Emma and
Sofia, two very young, very seasick, and very homesick girls, lay
holding each other’s hands and trying to comfort one another.
However, after they left Liverpool, the voyage across the Atlantic
was not so rough and as every journey sometime much come to an end,
so did this one.
That
one sea voyage was enough for Mother. Father in later years dreamed
of, planned and saved for another visit to Sweden, which however, he
did not live long enough to realize. But Mother had no such dreams.
When
after a two week’s voyage they reached New York, both of the girls
were very glad to see land again. From New York they took a train to
Chicago where they visited awhile with a cousin. It was here that
Mother first heard that new and strange American language. She
wondered if she ever would be able to learn it. It is really
remarkable that with only three months of schooling in this country,
she understood, spoke and read it easily. In later years she could
even write letters in the new language, with better construction and
spelling than many high school graduates of today. As she grew older
she said she had to learn it well so that she could talk with her
grandchildren. For after World War I all foreign languages were
frowned upon and only the two oldest of her grandchildren learned any
Swedish at all. The rest of them were all “green Yankees” when so
easily we could have taught them Swedish for naturally we, as
children, learned to speak, read and write the Swedish language.
After
visiting for some time with relatives in Illinois, Aunt Sofia
remained there and later married Charles Munson. For some years they
lives in Galesburg, Illinois. Mother, however, came farther west to
Gowrie, Iowa, Here Uncle and Auntie Callerstrom had made their home
and here she was made to feel as if she indeed was one of their own
daughters. To us, Auntie Callerstrom was like a grandmother. Although
she herself had a large family, it was to her that Mother could come
for help whenever needed.
 |
| Mathilda Marie Sjostrand Callerstrom, Emma's father's sister |
Mother’s confirmation instruction, begun in Sweden, was interrupted when she left for America. There was not yet an established congregation in Gowrie and Mother went to live with her Uncle Carl Gustaf for some months while completing this instruction in Dayton. She also stayed part of the time at Rev. Hemborg’s, working there to pay for her keep. However, she was at her uncle’s farm home when confirmation day came and that day there was such a terrible blizzard that it was feared they couldn’t get to the church. In those days to travel in such a storm was hazardous, for one could easily get lost on the vast expanse of unfenced prairie. Her uncle decided to try it, and they did get safely to church in time for the service.
That
fall she attended the public school in Gowrie for three months. At
this time the school in Gowrie had just two rooms. Since Mother did
not as yet know much of the new language, she naturally was enrolled
with the smaller children. Learning to read was not difficult, for
she easily memorized the first and second readers. Pronunciation was
harder. Unlike the Swedish, this new language had so many different
sounds for each vowel. Since “us” is “us” and “up” is
“up”, she was very much embarrassed when the others in the room
shouted with laughter when one day she pronounced the word “union”
as “onion.”
Auntie
Callerstrom had a growing family, and Uncle, a small town carpenter,
earned small wages. So it was necessary to Mother to quit school and
find work to earn her own keep. All she could do was house-work. She
went to work for Rev. Youker, the pioneer Congregational pastor in
Gowrie. The Rev. Youker was a kind man but rather eccentric. For
example, he always wore white trousers, whether he was receiving a
caller, milking his cow or working in his garden. The washing and
ironing of Rev. Youker’s white trousers, without benefit of washing
machine or electric iron was no small task. Often Mother would even
be hungry for Mrs. Youker always kept her cupboards locked and food
was scanty. Their usual breakfast fare was just cold boiled potatoes.
In
the summer of 1878 Father returned from Montana where he had gone
back to work in the gold mines. Mother was then a beautiful girl of
sixteen, and Father was thirty-three. He asked he to marry him, and
though, as she often said, she was nothing but a child, she gave her
promise. They were married in the Callerstrom home on July 22, 1878,
by the Rev. C. A. Hemborg of Dayton.
 |
| This marriage certificate that I found in a box of family papers shows the presiding minister to have been named Westerdal, not Hemborg. |
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