The Peterson (also spelled Pettersson) Erikson (also spelled Ericsson) journey to Prince George, BC, Canada

David Pettersson Born: November 22, 1882, Floda, Sweden,

Died: April 11, 1964, Prince George, BC, Canada

Married to: Sigrid Charlotta Erickson (Ericsson)

Born: April 4, 1889 in Lunda, Sweden

Married: March 15. 1915, in USA

Died: May 1972 in Kelowna, BC, Canada

It was in the year 1902 that David Peterson decided to leave that farm near Bettna, Sweden where he was working and immigrate to the USA. David was 20 years old.

In 1902 Sigrid was only 13 years old and we do not know whether she knew David then or not but our guess is that she did. While David was establishing a new life in the USA Sigrid experienced more than her share of love and broken hearts. We do not know the story of why 2 relationships ended the way they did, Her first love was with Mr. Strom and together they had a daughter…. Sigrid Margareta(Greta) Strom, born January 31, 1908 at Stigtomta, Sweden.

Sigrid was only 19 years old when she had her daughter, Greta. Greta only remembers meeting her father once in her life. Greta's home was with her mother and they lived with her mother's parents in Stigtomta, Sweden.

As time went on…… Sigrid met Gustav Edvard Lindahl and they had a son, Artur Edvard Lindahl born June 19, 1911 at Bjorkvik, Sweden. This relationship did not work out either and Sigrid, now 22 years old, decided to leave Sweden and start a new life in the USA. She left Artur with Gustav's parents and she left Greta with her parents and Sigrid moved to Boston, Mass. to live with an Aunt and to go to nursing school.

We only have the notes from Sigrid's brother's journal (Arvid Ericsson) that tells of how David and Sigrid met: Arvid writes: "Two boys, Emanuel and David Petterson, came home from Canada. Their parents had lived at Lovlund. They came to Sweden because of the World Expo 1912 in Stockholm. Of course, they met Sigrid as they lived at the shoemakers house close to her place of work at the tailors house. Then they went back but they went to Florida. Sigrid went to her Aunt Klara in Boston, Massachusetts, USA in 1913. She worked in a hospital in Boston. David Petterson wrote a letter to her place and proposed marriage. Then Sigrid went to Florida."

By this time David had a homestead in Fellsmere, Florida and they lived there until my father was born: Harry David Peterson, April 13, 1916. Sometime within that year they decided to move to Wainwright, Alberta, Canada, where David's sister, Matilda and husband Emil Wilhelm and David's brother, Emmanuel, had begun farming.

David and Sigrid had 2 more son's while living in Wainwright: Martin Emmanuel Peterson born January 11, 1918 and Grant Gusta Peterson born November 3, 1919.

In 1920 David got a job with the railroad and moved his family to Isle Pierre, BC, which is west of Prince George, BC, Canada. About 1922 to they moved to Toefield Street in Prince George, BC and lived there until c.1967.

Email me: Barbara

Barbara (nee: Peterson) Vance