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Hans D. Petterson

Hans D. Petterson was born at Djurrod, Sweden November 26,1832. He was the son Or Per Hansson and Bengta Persson Hansson. (It was the custom of the country at this time for a son to take his father's given name for his surname. Hence, the family name was changed every generation. It was also customary for those who had attained some distinction as learning a trade or profession to be permitted to change their surname according to their choice. The above practice makes it a most difficult task to trace genealogy.)

By the time Hans D. was six years old, he had suffered two great misfortunes; the loss of his father in 1835 and three years later his mother passed away. He did not remember his father very clearly, just that he had been very ill but he always remembered his dear mother and the kindness and love she bestowed upon him. Only two weeks before his own death, he said, "Sixty-eight years ago tonight my Mother died," showing how he clung to her memory,

It was the desire of his parents that he be prepared for the Lutheran Ministry. Money enough had been laid aside to educate him which an uncle and aunt knew about and they encouraged him to be a good student. At school he was given much precedence on account of well prepared lessons. Each day after school he went directly to a blacksmith shop where he worked the bellows and straightened horseshoe nails.

By the time Hans D. was twelve, his older brother Nils had received his share of his father's estate and had married. So now young Hans was home once again in the midst of happy memories of his beloved Mother. He stayed at the old home for two years and then went over to Copenhagen, Denmark and was hired by a German brushmaker. He was soon able to speak the German language while the brushmaker learned from him to speak Danish.

After Hans had been in Denmark six years, he met with Mormon Missionaries whose doctrine was very impressive and he decided to accept it as being true. He went back to Sweden and told his people he had joined the Mormons and had come to sell his property so he could go to America. He not only prepared to come himself but outfitted and brought three others with him and paid their way. They promised to pay him back but he never had the heart to ask them about their debts so he just let it go. Actually, it was shown later, he paid the way of 23 other people besides himself.

Hans D. Petterson arrived in Salt Lake City on September 23, 1852. It was a lovely mellow afternoon and after he had taken care of his oxen, the new arrival registered and purchased some food to appease his hunger. As he ate, he strolled upon the bench east of the little village-like city to get a better view Or his surroundings He viewed it from every direction. Yes, it was a desert but this desert had streams Or water coming from the mountains on the east to feed the Great Salt Lake on the west. It had already been proven that by backing these streams UD to capacity, the water could be forced to run over the land below the dam and cause the desert to blossom as the rose. After much thought he declared to himself, "I shall devote my lire to the redemption Or this desert." The very next day he received his assignment. Brigham Young saw in him an ideal leader in the farming country north Or Salt Lake City for there flowed the snow-fed river known as the Weber. The new settlement to which he was assigned was known as Ogden. Re at first stayed on an area of what is now 25th Street and Adams Avenue, where the U.S. Forest Service building presently stands. Then as Indians became more peaceable he went west of the Weber River to homestead. He studied French, bought himself an accordion and married Mary Ann McFarland. His deep interest in reclaiming the desert continued. He became a real authority on irrigation and was later made a Water Commissioner. He taught for awhile in the Weber County Community School and later became a school trustee and was a most ardent promoter of education. An old pioneer said he never saw a man who could do so much labor in the fields and on canals besides spend so much time and effort for community development, organizing canal companies besides visiting schools and churches. In the spring of 1859 he purchased 20 acres Or land from Captain James Brown for $5.00 an acre. That fall they harvested a small crop of grain from this land. They did not build themselves homes in West Weber, however, until the following year (1860). Before the year closed, West Weber had a population of 12 families.

In 1865 the people of West Weber organized an irrigation company. William McFarland was President and Hans D. Petterson was Secretary.

Hans D. served as the first Sunday School Superintendent Or the West Weber Ward from 1868 to 1872, his assistants were John Martin and Ammon Green Sr. He served as first counselor to Bishop Richard Douglas, who was the second bishop of the ward.

From August 1880 to 1881-again he served as Superintendent Or the Ward Sunday Schools. He was sustained as president of the YMMIA on November 15, 1885 and served two years; his assistants were William G. Hogge and Elisha W. Clayton.

In 1883 he felt the leading of the Lord for him to return on a mission to his home country of Sweden. His experiences were varied and interesting, but his letters to his family in West Weber expressed loneliness for each of them and a longing to return to the life he had made for himself in this area.

He was a gentle man and a real leader in this community. We owe a great deal to his determination and pride and also his dedication to his fellowmen and to the people yet to come to West Weber

 

Submitted by Mr. and Mrs. Wendell K. Petterson.

 

Source:

In The Bend Of The River

History Of West Weber 1859-1976

 

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