Ludwig (Louis) Petersen
Ludwig, later Louis, and his twin brother Andreas (Andrew) were the last children born to Peter Hansen Petersen and Elise Momsen. The twins were born on Jaruary 21, 1867 in Leckfeld, a district of Leck near the Danish/Schleswig border. The church where the babies were baptized is very old, going back to 1100 AD.
Parents and children made the big move to the USA in November 1878 in preparation for the marriage of their only daughter, Catharina. Ludwig was eleven when he made the crossing with them on the ship Hansa, bound for Liverpool, and then on the ship Egypt into New York City. Somehow, during the passage, Ludwig's name was mis-transcribed on the arrival manifest as "Ludorinetti Petersen". Perhaps the young man had a sense of humor!
After landing at Castle Garden (the predecessor of Ellis Island) the family made their way by rail to the small town of Belle Prairie, Nebraska, where Ludwig's uncle (his father's brother) Lorenz Peter Petersen and family had already established a farm. Ludwig's older sister Catherine married their cousin Hans Petersen in Belle Prairie five days after landing in the New World, and Ludwig and his family settled into life as laborers and farmers nearby.
Ludwig's twin brother Andreas went north to Ilinois and Wisconsin but Ludwig stayed with his parents in the town of Hebron, Thayer County, Nebraska. By 1890 Ludwig was in Omaha for his marriage to a young lady called Marie. Their only child, Elizabeth (named after Elise, her paternal grandmother) was born in 1891.
The 1900 census shows Ludwig, wife Marie, and daughter Elizabeth living at 2420 Indiana Street. Ludwig was a bartender. He was still listed as a saloonkeeper in 1910 and for a time took in his nephew Walter, son of his twin Andrew, as an apprentice bartender.
Prohibition put a dent into that kind of career, but Louis (as he was then known) was adaptable. In the 1920 census he's listed as a confectioner. He and his family, including daughter Elizabeth, are still listed together in the 1930 census. Undoubtedly he was in touch with his older brother Peter Edlef (known as Alfred by this time), who also lived in Omaha, and another brother Peter Hansen, who was in Custer County, Nebraska. But we know nothing about Louis and his family after 1930. If you have any information about them we'd be most happy to hear from you.
