Peter Augus Alsin

ALSIN, STEPHENSON, HULT, PAULSDOTTER

Posted By: County Coordinator (email)
Date: 4/8/2014 at 02:51:32

Peter August Alsin was born Feb 27, 1827, in Ostergotland, Sweden. His parents were C J Alsin,born April 4, 1792 and Eva Christiana (Hult) Alsin, born May 5, 1800. The parents were married in 1822.Mr Alsin learned the trade of cabinetmaker under his father.
Mr Alsin left Sweden and arrived in America in 1852. He settled in Burlington, Iowa and opened a cabinet shop In 1854, he left for the gold fields of California. He traveled on barge to New Orleans, then by sailing ship to Panama. He walked across the Isthmus of Panama, and then took a ship to San Francisco. From here, he walked to Hangtown (later Placerville), where he opened a shop making wheelbarrows for the miners. He did some prospecting, and made his claim pay, but sold it after about a year and a half, and returned to Fairfield, Iowa.
On April 28, 1857, he married Anna Carolina Stephenson, who was born June 24, 1840, in Kalmar, Sweden. Her parents were Stephen Stephenson, born Aug 15, 1807, and Christana Catharine Paulsdotter, born Feb 6, 1804. The parents were married July 5, 1832.
The Stephenson family, which included eight children left Sweden May 1849. They sailed on the freight ship “Charles Tattle” and endured many hardships on the crossing until they arrived at new York the latter part of June 1849.
The family left New York by boat up the Hudson River to Albany, then over the Erie Canal to Buffalo, and on Lake Erie to Toledo. From Toledo, they went overland to Chicago, then by the Illinois ship canal to Anderson, and then overland to New Sweden, Iowa, which had been founded in 1845 by a friend, Mr Cassel.
Mr and Mrs Alsin set up housekeeping and stated farming near Fairfield. In 1862, Mr Alsin again got “gold fever” and traveled by prairie schooner to Nevada City, Idaho. Here he tried placer mining, but found the he could not stand to be in the cold water for ling, so he began making wheelbarrows for the miners. In Nov 1864, he arrived back in Fairfield and returned to farming.
In 1866, the Alsin’s sold their farm and moved to a farm of 300 acres, two miles east of Swede Point. They lived on their farm until 1892, when they retired and moved to Madrid. The Alsin’s had seven children: Frank, Mary and Christina (twins, Anna Mathilda, Charles P, Joseph, and Susannah Caroline.
Mr and Mrs Alsin were members of St John’s Lutheran Church and were active in all phases of religion.
Mr Alsin died in 1911 at the age of 84 and Mrs Alsin died in 1930 at the age of 90.