Frain Family Tree - Illinois Branch

Broten and Peterson Families

Information on this page includes:

P. M. Petersen - The Peterson Patriarch
Thorwald and Julia Peterson Broten Family
Peterson Family by Harold W. Peterson
Others in the Parsonage Family by Harold W. Peterson
Ralph Henry Peterson
Albert Teldning Peterson
Norman Thomas Peterson
John Richard Peterson
Julia Margaret Peterson
Evelyn Peterson
Harold Winslow Peterson
Wrap-up

This section of my daughter Laura Suzanne Frain's genealogy presents her Scandinavian ancestry on her mother Linda Margaret Broten's side.

The following was provided by interviews with Nor Peterson and his sister Julia Peterson Broten, as well as, other family records.

Thorwald John Broten was born July 23, 1911 in Evanston, Illinois.   He died 10 Aug. 1984 in Sun City, CA.  Julia Margaret Peterson was born November 28, 1911 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  She died June 28, 2005 in Sun City, CA.   Julia and Thor were married August 31. 1936 in Evanston.

Thor's father, Edward T. Broten was born in Brotein Island, Norway which was an island that most likely was bearing the family name. Thor's mother, Anna Espeland, was also born in Norway.  Besides Thor, Edward and Anna had 2 other sons, Edward Thurston and Marshall.  It is apparent from Thor's birthdate they were married before 1911 and were born prior to 1890.  Thorwald's daughter, my wife, Linda, told me Marshall was Thorwald's half brother.

The Broten family are enumerated on the 1920 Census in Evanston, IL.

Edward is HH, 27 years old, from Norway and a carpenter.
Anna is Wife, 34 years old, from Norway
Thorwald is Son, 8 years old, from Illinois
Marshall is Son, 16 years old, from Illinois

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P. M. Petersen - The Peterson Patriarch

Julia's father, Peter Martin Peterson, was a Methodist minister. He was born February 26, 1872 in Soro, Denmark. There was a name change at some point, since his father's name was Thomas Carl Pedersen. His mother's name was Margarethe Frederiksen. Both were born in Denmark and remained there as did his brother, Hans and sister Johnna.  Julia's mother was Julia Teldning. She was born 15 Sep 1876 in Tysdedahl, Norway and died 10 Apr 1913 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.   She died when Julia was about 3 years old. Peter Martin then married Bertina Anna Kristina Neilson. Together they raised Julia, her 5 brothers Ralph H., Albert T., Norman T., John R. and Harold W., and her sister Evelyn. They had no children of their own.

P.M., as his family and congregations called him wrote 'The Awakening of Jens Lynne' and is considered a story of his life.  It was published 19 May 1914 and is in the Library of Congress No Class A XXc No 373503.  He also wrote 'Troubled Waters' and 'Give God a Chance'.

In his role as minister, Peter Martin moved around to different congregations. For Julia that meant being born in Minneapolis, then moving to Racine, Wisconsin, then to Evanston, Illinois, then to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, back to Evanston, and back to Perth Amboy. After moving to Evanston for the third time, she married Thor and raised a family in Evanston.  She had previously met Thor in Evanston when she was about 10 years old.

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Thorwald and Julia Peterson Broten Family

Julia and Thor had 2 daughters, Patricia Evelyn and Linda Margaret. Patricia was born October 8, 1937 in Evanston and Linda was born October 7, 1942 in Evanston. Thor worked for Northern Illinois Gas for many years allowing him and Julia to stay in Evanston and raise their family.

Patricia became an elementary school teacher and moved to West Covina, California. She met and married Buddy Fier. They had a daughter named Shannan K. Unfortunately, the marriage did not work out and they were divorced while Shannan was still an infant. Patricia remained a school teacher and raised Shannan on her own with no help from the ex-husband.

Linda met and married Joe Frain (tis himself) while visiting Patricia on one summer vacation. Click on the link in the left column  'Joseph Richard Frain and Linda Margaret Broten' for more.

After Thor retired, he and Julia moved to Lombard, Illinois for a short time. After Linda married Joe, and Thor and Julia found that both daughters were going to stay in California, they purchased a home in Sun City, California about 1967 or so.

Thor died on August 10, 1984 in Sun City. He was cremated.

Julia remained in Sun City where she was active in card clubs and lawn bowling. Her brother, Norman T., lived there as well. Her sister Evelyn moved to Sun City and stayed with her a short time. From there, Evelyn moved to a very nice home for the elderly, nearby.  Evelyn died Aug. 29, 1997.

Julia died on June 28, 2005 in Sun City.  She was cremated.

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Peterson Family by Harold W. Peterson

More on the Peterson family is provided by a book written by Harold W. Peterson, 'MY LIFE IN THE METHODIST PARSONAGE', published June, 1993. Much of the following is quoted verbatim from his book since he wrote it so well. I recommend that the book be read by younger members of the family since it describes a way of life being lost in these modern times. Copies have been distributed to family members and to his Methodist conference library. Our family copy will be saved and treasured and will be handed down to our daughter, Laura, along with this history of all her ancestors. Other books written by Harold are 'ROSES, THISTLES AND GEMS IN MY MINISTRY' published in 1983 and 'THE PULPIT AND THE WORD' published in 1989.

Harold's recollections of his father, Reverend P. M. Peterson, mother and family life....

I was born in the parsonage at Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was the youngest of five boys, with two sisters who are younger. I have no recollection of this home, as my mother died when I was four years of age. My mother was born in Tistedal, Norway, in 1876. As a young lady she came to America to Concord, Massachusetts, and later married my father. She was Julie Teldning.

My father was nearing the prime of his life as a pastor and by his talent and ability was moving from one strong church to another. I have wished often that I had known my mother better but have been glad my brothers have contributed to my knowledge of her. She died of tuberculosis on Good Friday in 1914.

Further recollections of Harold about his father and step-mother...

My father had come to America at the age of eighteen; made a difficult adjustment to life in the United States; got away from his Christian roots and returned again through a Wesleyan warm-hearted experience of conversion in a little church in Concord, Massachusetts.

Soon he answered the call to the ministry and prepared for this by attendance at our Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. It was not long before he was a district superintendent, a position he held twice. He was a fine preacher, writer, editor of our conference newspaper, and professor at our Seminary which I later attended. He graduated in 1900. He was elected a delegate to the General Conference. I have spoken in detail of his life in my two books.

My new mother, Bertina Neilsen, also came across the sea from Denmark. She studied at Des Moines, Iowa, to be a deaconess in the church and became one. After Father married her, she came into our home and mothered us seven children in a wonderful way. She was our mother until she died in 1960.

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Others in the Parsonage Family by Harold W. Peterson

Much of Harold's book is about his father's ministry and his recollections on how his life was so positively influenced. Another major section of his book, 'OTHERS IN THE PARSONAGE FAMILY' describes his brothers and sisters. Rather than doing a bad job of recapping his writing, I will transcribe it verbatim. Besides providing a good description of his siblings, his writing allows the reader to see what a good heart and spirit he had.

Any story of parsonage life becomes a family story. To complete this saga, it is good that I speak of my four brothers and my two sisters, who, with my parents, brought much to my life of which I am appreciative. We are all alive today, with the exception of Albert Teldning who died in Denver in 1967. I was glad I could visit him for four days before he passed away, and could go again to Denver for his memorial service at the First Congregational Church. My brother Norman was also there.

Let me make a thumbnail sketch of these family members.

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Ralph Henry Peterson

Ralph Henry was born in 1901. Now at 92 he has always been the irrepressible optimist, with an exuberant spirit toward life. Today, in spite of two bad knees and a crutch, he has not curtailed his many activities or interests. He drives his car. He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

He has always been interested in his church and is hurting at the direction he sees the church is taking, and he has written two books about his concern. One was Did Jesus Know What He Was Talking About? The second was Put To Sleep by Giants. (The real reason for the decline of the church.)

Ralph spent all of his working life as an accountant at Northwestern University, starting at the Department of Buildings and Grounds. He soon moved into the office of the Vice President of Northwestern University. While there he was instrumental in getting the staff members, who were excluded from Social Security, into the system. There were exclusions in the system due to programs the schools, maids and railroad workers already had. But staff members had no inclusion. There was a long fight that would make it possible for staff to get Social Security, and Ralph took on that fight. After much maneuvering between Social Security and these staff members, Social Security became an option for the staff members of the University by a large vote. There were 2400 staff members who would not be on Social Security. Ralph was in that group. All were glad for Ralph's hard and tedious work in achieving the goal. Space does not allow me to write of other such battles won by Ralph going up against bureaucracy, ineptness on the part of leadership, and wrongs that were being quietly accepted until challenged.

His fight to call the church to a new way of operating that is close to the model Jesus envisioned will not cease. I will write of my affiliation with him in spirit on this task confronting a shrinking church when I close this little book.

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Albert Teldning Peterson

Albert Teldning was born in 1903 and died in 1967. He graduated from Northwestern University in the School of Music and here developed a great appreciation for music. He said his religious experiences came to him through great music that moved his spirit. Albert was quiet and contemplative and filled with a loving spirit and kindness to all. He played the piano by ear and could beautifully play almost any piece set before him. He entered the field of education for just a few years when he taught music and art appreciation at Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois. Then he turned to national social agencies for the remainder of his life.

He was interested in the social aspects of the gospel and in time wrote the lyrics to "Hymn for the Space Age." Let me quote two verses:

"The wonders of Thy matchless universe

Are greater, far, than finite man can know.

But we accept Thy sacrifice of love,

And strive to follow Thee, come weal or woe.

We know not what the distant future holds,

Nor what of change tomorrow's morning brings.

Content are we to leave to Thy design

The ordering of our lives, O King of Kings"

We all loved Albert for all he brought to our lives.

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Norman Thomas Peterson

Norman Thomas was born in 1905. Norman succeeded in working all his life for the Northern Illinois Gas Company in management and traveling for the company. He had a beautiful home in Des Plaines, Illinois, and later built a home in our beloved Door County, Wisconsin, at Sister Bay.

He was a happy wanderer in retirement and loved to drive from his home in Sun City, California, to visit his sons in northern Illinois and Northfield, Minnesota. On these trips he would visit us at Moline. These trips were five days in length, and he enjoyed every mile of the way.

He had a sense of humor. He was asked by a fellow retiree, "how long did it take you, Pete, to adjust to retirement?" He quickly answered, "About twenty minutes." Being in good health, he once said, when the subject of medicines came up, that he had to take an aspirin once in awhile. What a fellow! I have mentioned in earlier pages the wonderful day we spent visiting Minneapolis from his son's home in Northfield.

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John Richard Peterson

John Richard was born in 1906. He was a lifetime employee in the offices of the Western Electric Company in Chicago. He lived in Evanston and commuted each day to his work. This took an hour and a half each way. For one like myself who never punched a clock, I have tried to understand how tedious this must have been for John. But he took it in stride.

John was tenderhearted and appreciative of my calling to service, and I always felt he was proud of me. He and I were close in age and had some humorous moments in growing up. It seemed the three older brothers formed a natural group. Then came John and me, really another natural grouping by age. But John had a dear friend he ran with as kids. I remember being the one left out of their friendship and trying to break into it. Once I ran into them and thought I would make it a threesome. But they offered me a quarter to run and errand, and when I came back they were gone. It really didn't bother me, as I had the quarter and had learned the hard lesson that age differences count for much. I need not have worked so hard a s a kid for this comradeship with my older brother because it came naturally in time, and we have hit it off beautifully all these years.

John now lives in his home at Sun City, Arizona. As with others of my family, the telephone keeps us close.

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Julia Margaret Peterson

Julia Margaret was born in 1911. Being next in age down the scale of years, we have had much in common and now find ourselves sharing our lives via the telephone and by visits back and forth from her home in Sun City, California, and our home in Moline. I would say Julia is much like me in personality, is frank and outspoken, and, as we say, "Tells it like it is." It is always good having two like us around. One did not need wonder where we stood.

Julia worked at Marshall Fields in the Evanston store for awhile and then spent years at the offices of the United Methodist Board of Hospitals and Homes in Evanston. Here she made friendships that lasted for life.

Her husband, Thor, was a member of Rotary and was highly honored by his Sun City club and the state organization when he was chosen Governor, giving him opportunity to travel to all the clubs in his area. Some of these meetings were held out of state in exotic places, and he and Julia enjoyed them, living in class. Julia went often on these visits to clubs.

At one such meeting, which I believe was at Palm Springs, President Gerald Ford and golfer Arnold Palmer were present and in the free moments from meetings stopped to pose with Thor for a photo. Roma and I were pleasantly surprised to see these lovely pictures on the wall when we made a visit out there. Unlike me, Julia was not one to make this happening a big deal.

On a sadder note I must say that Thor passed away suddenly in 1984. We all loved and respected Thor for all he meant to us.

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Evelyn Peterson

Evelyn was born in 1912 and is the youngest. Being the baby of the family, Mother often affectionately called ;her "Lamet Lena", means "Little Lamb". Father said she looked most like her mother.

Evelyn married later in life when she met Roma's brother, Rudolph, in New Hampshire. We climbed Mt. Washington with them then. They were married for thirty years before Rudy died in 1984.

Evelyn worked for a book publishing house in Evanston and then worked for the Nielson TV Rating Company for awhile. She also became a nurse at the Cradle in Evanston. This was a rather famous infant children's home from which adoptions were made, some by the wealthy and famous. Evelyn was chosen to deliver one such child to a celebrity in California and spent a week doing it.

Evelyn is now in a assisted living home where her every need is provided, and where she is near enough to Sun City for visits with her family members.

With Rudy joining our family circle through marriage, Roma and I enjoyed several fine winter vacations in their home at Largo, Florida. They were happy times for all of us. After a few days in the home, they helped arrange for accommodations at Clearwater Beach before we headed back to Illinois and the cold.

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Harold Winslow Peterson

The preceding gives good insight into Harold's family, however, he did not include a recap of himself. The following is extracted from his book and condensed into a couple of paragraphs to highlight Harold's life. Some details were obtained from his brother and sister Norman and Julia and some from his obituary.

Harold Winslow was born in Feb. 9, 1910 in his father's parsonage in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was the youngest of five boys and had two younger sisters. He grew up in parsonages around the country. Besides Minneapolis, there were Cambridge, Wisconsin; Evanston, Illinois; Racine, Wisconsin; Perth Amboy, New Jersey; Berlin, New Hampshire, and others. You need to read Harold's books to hear in his own words about his happy family life and Christian upbringing.

Harold was a 1937 graduate of Northwestern University and received his divinity degree from Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, in 1941. His father had attended Garret and graduated in 1900 and was a professor at the time Harold attended. Of course, he had to do as good as or better than the other students so that it was certain he did not get preferential treatment.

Harold followed in his father's footsteps. He served as a Methodist minister in several parsonages around the country. At his retirement he was minister at the First United Methodist Church in Moline, Illinois. He remained in the area and served as minister of visitation in the church after his retirement. For twenty years he was associated with a group that calls itself the "Senior Fellowship" both as a staff member and in retirement.

During the Truman Administration he served as guest chaplain of the United States House of Representatives on the day the Rev. Dr. Peter Marshall died.

He was an ordained elder in the Central Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church for 40 years and retired in 1973.

Harold married Roma Christiansen in Our Saviour's Church in Evanston, Illinois on 14 June 1937. They adopted 2 children, Julia B. on 23 December 1942 and David B. on 2 September 1965.

Harold died in August, 1993. The following was taken from a REMEMBRANCE CARD:

IN LOVING MEMORY

THE REVEREND

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Wrap-up

This is typical of my wife Linda's family.  Many of them seem to live into their 90.s while retaining an active life style and having a real zest for life.  This is her uncle Nor (Norman), her mother's brother.  At the time this was inserted, her mother was 89.  Nor's wife, Marna, and his pool room buddies prepared this surprise birthday party.  From all indications, he was surprised and everyone had a great time.  Click on the thumbnail to read about the news coverage.

Nor died in 2003 in Sun City, CA.

This is my wife Linda's sister Pat on the left and her mother (89 years young!!) on the right.  Picture was taken in Riverside, CA in March, 2002. 

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