Kittle Peterson. The
results of industry and unflagging perseverance are shown
in the life of this gentleman, who owns and occupies one
of the valuable farms of Clayton County. His property is
situated in Marion Township and consists of two hundred
and five acres of fertile land, which under his skillful
management yields abundant harvests. He has made all the
improvements, which are of substantial order. His strict
honesty and unswerving integrity are as well known as his
name, and he enjoys an enviable reputation for his great
hospitality and charitable spirit.
Some of the best citizens of the United States are
natives of Sweden and have emigrated to this country,
bringing with them habits of industry, probity and
perseverance. Such a one is the subject of this sketch,
who was born in that portion of Scandinavia known as
Norway, his natal day being January 15, 1829. His parents
also natives of that country, bore the names of Peter and
Maggie (Ehling) Peterson, and lived and died in the land
of their birth.
During the year 1853 Kittle Peterson, then a young man of
twenty-four years crossed the Atlantic in a sailing
vessel, and landing in the United States, remained for a
short time in New York. He then proceeded westward, and
arriving in Wisconsin was there employed on a farm for
six months.
The year 1854 marked his arrival in Clayton County, Iowa,
where for three years he was engaged in operating a
rented property in Marion Township. Meanwhile, by
exercising frugality and good management, he was enabled
at the expiration of the three years to purchase one
hundred and sixty acres of land. The property was
unimproved, and before cultivating the soil he built a
house for his family. He then began the improvement of
the property, and gradually succeeded in bringing the
soil under good cultivation. From time to time, as able,
he added to his original purchase and now owns two
hundred and five acres of well improved land.
Mr. And Mrs. Peterson are the parents of six children,
whose names are Annie, Kennallie, Ollie, Henry, Petrina
and Mary. The children are receiving the best educational
advantages the district affords, and will be prepared for
honorable and useful positions in the world.
In his religious connections Mr. Peterson is identified
with the Lutheran Church, the religion of his
forefathers. He has never been actively identified with
party affairs, but nevertheless is a firm supporter of
Republican principles, which he always supports at the
polls. He is a pleasant, companionable gentleman, kind to
those in need and accommodating as a friend and neighbor,
and it is safe to say that there are few who stand as
high as he in the estimation of the people.
~source: Portrait and Biographical Record
of Dubuque, Jones and Clayton Counties; Chicago: Chapman
Pub. Co., 1894; pg 507-508
~transcribed by Suzanne Terrell
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