Peters, William (1818-1896)

PETERS

Posted By: Joyce Hickman (email)
Date: 4/2/2008 at 22:32:58

William Peters
Mar 15, 1818 - Jan 12, 1896

(From the 1883 History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, by J. H. Keatley, p.80, Boomer Twp.)
William Peters, Sr., farming, Council Bluffs, was born near Berlin, Prussia, in 1817. He left Prussia in 1849, and went to England, and in 1850 came to America by way of New Orleans, and then to St. Louis. Mr. Peters was in the army nearly nine years, and was in the King's body guard. he had to leave on account of taking part in the Revolution, and came to this country. Mr. Peters and his brother left together, and lost all their property by the Government confiscating it; they had $33,000 each in the bank. After coming to America he did any kind of work he could get to do, till he had money enough to buy a little farm near St. Louis, Mo.; but on account of health he sold that out, and went to California in 1854, and went to mining, went to Utah from California, and was married there March 20, 1858, to Miss Maggie Armstrong; she was born in Scotland, but came to America when young. During the civil war, he acted as scout on the plains; was with Gen. Corner. Mr. Peters has been all through the West; was in the employ of the Government, hauling provisions, etc., from utah to California. In 1866, he came to Council Bluffs, and has been in Pottawattamie County ever since; lived in Council Bluffs for three years, and then came to his farm in 1869, and has been on it since. His farm now consists of 200 acres, about eighty-five in cultivation, the remainder in meadow and pasture land. His farming is raising stock and corn. He has had thirteen children, eleven still living, six boys and five girls. One son and two daughters are married; is a member of the M. P. society; he is Republican in politics. The brother, who came to America he does not know anything about now, and the last he knew of his other two brothers they were in the Prussian Army. Mr. Peters' life has been one of unusual interest. In crossing from New Orleans to Cuba, the vessel he was one was struck on a reef and was wrecked. Mr. Peters was the only one saved. Other incidents, of his engagements with the Indians, would be interesting, but space forbids the enumerating.

(From the 1891 Biographical History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, p.290)
WILLIAM PETERS, a citizen of Boomer Township, was born in Prussia, March 15, 1818, a son of Nicholas and Hannah (BARRENT) PETERS, natives also of that country. Mr. Nicholas PETERS was a farmer by occupation, was aid-de-camp for General BLUCHER in the Napoleon army during the Prussian War. There were nine sons from one family in this war, of whom five were killed. A maternal grandfather came to America and fought in the Revolutionary War under General Washington and lived afterward to the advanced age of 104 years. He was in the employ of the Government, in connection with farming, and accumulated a large fortune. On his death, he left a wife and five children. The children were: Catharine, now Mrs. FREDERICK, residing in Prussia; Christoph, deceased; William, our subject; and Lewie, residing in Prussia. Frederick and Lewie are officers in the army. Their grandfather served thirty-six years under Frederick the Great and the generations following have ranked high in the esteem of the royal families.
Mr. William PETERS was reared at home until he was twenty-four yers of age, when he also entered the army as Orderly, and served eight years at Berlin and Potsdam. At the age of forty years, he married Margaret ARMSTRONG, a native of Scotland and a daughter of William and Catharine ARMSTRONG, natives of England. Mr. ARMSTRONG was a chemist by profession in England, but on coming to America, he located at Utah, where he now lives, at the age of eighty-eight years. His first wife died early after her marriage, and by his second wife, there are the following eight children: John, Joseph, Wilhelm, James, residing in Utah; Mary, wife of Lewis STUERSBAUGH in Utah; Margaret, the next in order of birth, is the wife of Mr. PETERS; Jane, now Mrs. John WILLIAMS of Utah; and Kate, the wife of Mr. CHADWICK, in Utah. Mrs. PETERS was born in England, November 3, 1843, received a good education and came to America with her parents. In November 1849, Mr. PETERS sailed from London, England, to New Orleans, went up the river to St. Louis, but in a short time, finding business dull there on account of Asiatic cholera, he returned to the ocean and was a sailor along the Atlantic coast of the Americas, until he obtained money enough to go to California. He went to the gold fields, followed mining about five years, and then was one of the first to enter Colorado as a miner and was there three years mining and freighting. Then he spent two years in similar occupations in Montana; next he was employed for over two years freighting with provisions wagons under General ___, of the California Volunteers. He helped to build Fort Douglas in Utah. While he was in Salt Lake, President Lincoln was assassinated, and while operating in Utah, he suffered many hardships and privations. He came thence to Council Bluffs, and four years afterward, namely in 1870, he located upon his present farm, buying forty acres of unbroken prairie land. He built a frame house, broke and fenced the land, planted a fine orchard of one and a half acres, set out shade and ornamental trees, etc. and has made a comfortable residence. His orchard is one of the best in the township and every feature of the premises gives evidence of good taste as well as of much labor. Mr. PETERS deals in a fine grade of cattle and horses, taking special interest in the improvement of livestock. He has added to his first purchase of land until he now has 240 acres of land of first-rate order. He has also upon his premises three running streams of water. In fact, he has one of the finest farms in the county and in it takes great pride.
Politically, Mr. PETERS is a well settled Republican, taking an active interest in the principles of his party. He is a member of the Farmers’ Alliance and of the M.P.S. He has had fifteen children, namely: William and Louis, farmers in Boomer Township; Fred, Nicholas, Bernhart, James and Charles, at home; Maggie, wife of Samuel BATEMAN in Nebraska; Mary Ann who married Mr. BURBRIDGE and resides in Boomer; Jane, wife of LaFayette HATCHER, is a resident of Harrison County; Caroline, Kate and Tilda at home; Dora May, the next, is deceased, as is also Isaac, the youngest son.