The Chicago Genealogical Society recently coordinated a visit to the Oak Park River Forest Museum.

This was a wonderful opportunity for me to finally meet other CGS members with whom I’d been virtually chatting for many months over Zoom. And the OPRFM has a plethora of materials one might use for genealogical research.

Amtrak brought me to Union Station and I took the Blue Line to a beautiful Airbnb. The weather on Saturday was fabulous so I walked everywhere; to breakfast, shops, a park, and then the museum. Twenty-nine of us gathered for an informative tour of well-designed exhibits about the history of Oak Park and River Forest. I don’t have family from either community but I very much enjoyed the tour and encourage anyone in the area to stop in for a visit.

During our visit, the Operations Manager Rachel Berlinski, gave us an overview of the research materials available for use by “homeowners interested in their house history, middle school and high school students undertaking research projects, genealogists, journalists, government officials, college and graduate students, authors, local business owners, and other researchers and interested residents”.

Afterward, I had the opportunity to meet with Rachel who offered valuable suggestions about where I might find information about the Peterson mentioned here:

I had been working with the theory that “Peterson” was Johan Gustav Peterson, the younger brother of Elizabeth (Peterson) Forsberg. Both are siblings of my 2nd great-grandmother Maria Fredrika (Peterson) Thompson. Johan hasn’t been easy to find in records either, so I thought I might solve two mysteries for the price of one. That was not the case.

Since the classified ad was printed in 1915, Rachel started me with Oak Park city directories for that year and a few years before and after. The reverse city directory, one that lists house addresses in alphabetical order in one column and the name of the homeowner in the next column created the first question mark.

Rather than the J. G. Peterson I expected, the listing was for C. A. Peterson.

From other city directories I learned C. A. stood for Charles August, who with his wife Augusta were the heads of household at 1041 S Euclid Avenue in Oak Park. Also living at that address were Raymond W. and Ina Peterson.

Who are these people and why were they looking for Elizabeth Forsberg?

After a bit of research, I learned that Charles/Carl August Peterson was born about 1865 in Gothenburg Sweden. He and 35 year old Augusta Johanson, who was born in Dalarna Sweden, were married in Chicago in 1893 ~ the same year, according to the 1910 census, that they immigrated. Also in 1893, their son Rudolph Walter was born.

At the time of the 1910 census, the family lived on Mozart in Chicago and Carl August worked as a mechanic. For a time, according to the city directories at the museum, he owned a tire shop. Also according to the city directory, the family lived in Maywood Illinois at one point.

Then in 1920, the US federal census recorded the Peterson family in Seattle Washington. My Johan lived on Wentworth Avenue in Chicago at that point and had begun using the surname Holm.

It’s possible the men had known each other through work somehow. Johan Gustav was a carpenter and Charles August was a mechanic for the railroad. Maybe Johan also worked for the railroad? I haven’t found any records to support that theory yet, but the night is young.

Johan immigrated in 1895, so they hadn’t met on a ship coming to America. Maybe at church? I found information on FamilySearch for Carl and Augusta’s marriage certificate. It would be worth a stop at an affiliate library to see if they were married in a church, and if so, which one. I’ll also get Raymond’s birth certificate in case it offers a clue or two.

Oh, and did I mention the address on Raymond’s World War I draft registration is 1041 S Euclid Ave?

Maybe I’ll learn it’s just a coincidence. Maybe my Petersons simply knew another family with the same surname. Maybe John asked his Peterson friends if he could use their address for a classified ad. Or maybe he was just staying with the family at the time.

But gosh, I’d really like to know for sure.