Paul Peterson: 52 Ancestors 2020 Prompt “Fire”

Paul Peterson: 1867-1941

Fire May Have Impaired Health

            My grandfather Paul Peterson spent the last years of his life in poor health, and according to my father, it was due to injuries he received in a fire on our family farm. As a child, I had envisioned these injuries as burns to his skin, even though photos of him showed no burn scars. Now as I consider my father’s comments from an adult perspective, I suspect my grandfather suffered smoke inhalation that left his lungs permanently impaired.

I wish I had asked for more details about Paul while my father was still alive. I know so few things about my grandfather. Paul was born in Lesja, Oppland, Norway on February 8, 1867 to parents Peder Pederson and Anna Gulbrandsdatter. He was the youngest of their five children. The family immigrated to the United States in 1870, eventually settling in Linden Township, Brown County, Minnesota. Paul’s father was killed in a farm accident sometime between 1875 and 1880; Peder appears on the  1875 Minnesota census, while the 1880 federal census shows 13 year old Paul, his 17 year old brother Jacob, and their widowed mother Anna living together.

1880 census showing widowed Anna using place-name surname of Joramo

Paul married Regina Severson, the daughter of another family of Norwegian immigrants who lived near them in Linden Township, on June 30, 1892. 

Wedding certificate 1892

The couple bought a farm in neighboring Lake Hanska Township, near the farm Paul’s brother Jacob had purchased. I don’t know what happened to the original 40 acre homestead in Linden Township. Presumably they sold it to acquire the funds to buy the other two farms.

Paul and Regina's wedding photo: 1892

           I believe my father was in his teens when the fire occurred, so I would guess it happened between 1931 and 1932.  The Peterson farm had several outbuildings, including a very solidly-built, rectangular building between the house and the barn. When I was a child, the building was used as a chicken coop. I don’t know if that’s what it was being used for in the 1930s, or if Paul had other livestock housed there. The building had a cement foundation, was about 16-20 feet long, and had a loft area for storage built under the steeply pitched roof. The beams that supported the ceiling, roof and walls were very dense and solid, and I remember some had dark patches that my father said was charring from the fire.

The accident happened in winter, and seems to have involved an oil or kerosene-burning heater that was used to heat the building and keep the chickens or other livestock warm in the brutally cold Minnesota weather. The fuel spilled somehow, igniting a blaze that my grandfather managed to put out. He saved the building and probably most of the livestock, but at great cost to himself.

Regina and Paul in front of the new farmhouse built around 1930. Photo probably 1934

Whatever happened, it left Paul weakened, leading to my father dropping out of school to take over the heavy work on the farm.  From that time on, photos of my grandfather show him looking frail and sort of hunched over, so I expect he wasn’t able to be very active. He probably had to delegate nearly all the farmwork he had formerly handled himself. Of course, he was already well into his sixties by that time, so even without the fire-related health issues, he would have likely had to increasingly rely on my father. Even so, I got the impression that my father felt the fire had directly led to the abrupt end of his education, which he regretted.

Paul second from left in 1934 with his four Joramo nephews

Paul died at age 74 on December 31, 1941. He was buried in the Lake Hanska Cemetery just a mile or so from his farm. At that point, my father, age 24, became the owner of the farm and caregiver for his aging mother.

Note that death year is erroneous--should be 1941