Margarethe (Maggie) and family pet, about 1892 at age four in Chicago.
Margarethe (Maggie) Petersen, from a confirmation or graduation portrait, Milwaukee 1903, shortly before her death.
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 history, 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 teenage angst or a
secret romance gone wrong? Whatever the reason, her death absolutely devastated her family.
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 left 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 is buried next to her.