The Isle of Bornholm

I have been dabbling in the Petersen side of the family, and I find their story, while likely common among early Saints, remarkable.  My great-great grandfather, Niels Rasmus Petersen, was baptized into the church on March 26, 1874, in Denmark when he was 23.  Just over a year after he was baptized, he was called to serve a mission on the Island of Bornholm (this island fascinates me and I want to go there someday).

While he was there, he taught and baptized Jensine Caroline Hanson, who, after both of them moved to Manti at different times, he would marry.  They had a son, Niels C. Petersen, who had a son, Ralph Petersen, who had a daughter, Julie Petersen, who is my mother.

I find it incredible that well over one-hundred years ago, my ancestors met on a tiny island with less than 50,000 people on it (less than the city I grew up in) and 1/5 the size of Rhode Island and, that because of these two people, I now have an incredible wealth of blessings that I could not have imagined.  It is much too personal to me to feel random or happenstance.  I am so grateful for open-minded Danes who felt the Spirit and followed the Spirit into the Church.

Here is the obituary where I gleaned a lot of this information:

And here are a couple of pictures of Bornholm.  Want to go with me?

Interview Parental Units

My Mother and Father have fantastic stories.  One of my biggest regrets is that we never recorded an interview with my Grandpa and Grandma Bean before they died.  However, we did does so with my Petersen Grandparents and that recording is like gold.

Let's face it, my parents aren't getting any younger, but their minds are still sharp and they remember a great deal about their youth and growing up.  This information needs to be recorded and transcribed soon so that it can be preserved for generations to come.

Project:

1) Interview Lee and Julie Bean (for question ideas click here)
2) Make sure you record the interview (this can be easily done with nearly any phone)
3) If you have time, transcribe the interview (or pass that project on to someone else!)

COMPLETED: Sally Petersen - Remembering the Dead

Stephanie took on this challenge and found the obituary! Here it is:

 

Here is the link to the obituary. I was surprised that the obituary was so small, but I couldn't help but wonder how this family coped with the loss.  I would love to talk to my mother about this.

PRIOR PROJECT

 

 

Sally Petersen was my mother's sister who died early in life.  Surprisingly, however, I have almost no documents relating to her or her life, which is unfortunate!  Any documents on Sally would be appreciated, but I am particularly interested in her obituary, as I have seen that document referenced in multiple places.  I think she died in May 1, 1971, Orem, but I am not even sure about that.

Project #1:

1) Call Julie Bean and ask her for more information regarding the time and place of death
2) Locate Sally Peterson's obituary
3) Capture an image of the obituary

Possible Resources:

1) Julie Bean
2) Online archives of newspapers

Project #2:

1) Collect all documents relating to Sally Petersen

Possible Resources:

1) Don Carr, her husband prior to her death
2) Julie Bean
3) DeAnn Wilson