Maggie Petersen
Margaret Petersen (Margaretha Christina), called Maggie, was born on April 18, 1888 in Hebron, Nebraska, the eldest surviving daughter of Hans and Catharina Petersen. Two older sisters (Eliese Christina and Eliese Margaretha) had died in infancy in Nebraska.
Maggie was named for her grandmothers and, according to family recollections, was slightly deaf. Nevertheless she was able to attend school in Chicago. Older brothers included Louis (1880) and Peter (1884), both born in Nebraska.
Maggie's younger brothers, Alfred (1894) and George (1897), and a younger sister Marie (1899) were all born after the Petersen's relocation to Chicago. Brother Clarence was born in Wisconsin.
The Petersens moved to Wisconsin around 1900, first to the remote farming area of Juneau County in a town called Mauston, then south of Milwaukee, presumably to be closer to Catharina's brother Andrew and his family, who lived in Kenosha.
Maggie came to a tragic end when, at the age of fifteen, she committed suicide on August 26, 1903. The sad story is told in the West Bend Pilot, September 2, 1903 and was first-page news in the community.
Was it the result of a disagreement with her mother, typical teenage angst, or a secret romance gone wrong? Whatever the reason, her death devastated her family. The German-American community in and around Milwaukee and West Bend kindly reached out to the family in their grief.
A copy of the news story reporting Maggie's disappearance and death has been provided by Wisconsin genealogist John Von Haden at Wisconsin Ancestors, who specializes in southeastern Wisconsin history. Click the links at right to read part 1 and part 2 of the newspaper article.
Maggie is buried at Pilgrim's Rest Cemetery in Brookfield, Wisconsin, just outside of Milwaukee. Her father Hans, who died two years later, is buried next to her.
