Peters & Hermann

Peters & Hermann

Mecklenburg → Iowa, on the ship Electric · reaches generation 7

Mecklenburg→Iowa, on the ship Electric

1. G6 · 4th-great-grandparents Gottlieb Johann Christian Peters  ⚭  Catharina Dorothea Henriette Schumacher 13 Jul 1800 – 6 Dec 1854, Kirch Grubenhagen, Mecklenburg · she Feb 1801 Moltzow – 23 Nov 1863. Both villages are real places in the Müritz district, which is what makes this testimony checkable. Family testimony
2. 5 generations between — show them

   1. G6 · the other side of the same generation John Hermann  ⚭  Maria Neuendorf 16 Nov 1816 Baden-Württemberg – 28 Mar 1891 Franklin Co., Iowa · she 7 May 1817 Prussia – 17 Oct 1890. One generation further the tree gives only "Mary Herman" — a name with nothing behind it, carried because a labelled name is more than a blank. Family testimony
   2. G5 · 3rd-great-grandparents John Peters  ⚭  Sophia Hermann The records read name him only as John Peters (his son's 1903 marriage return and 1957 death certificate); the fuller name “John Charles Johann Jochiam” and the dates 26 Oct 1834 Müritz, Mecklenburg – 30 Jan 1902 Alexander, Franklin Co., Iowa come from a family tree and no record read yet supports them · she Jul 1843 Mecklenburg – c.1900 Alexander. Both crossed on the ship Electric in 1861 — he alone at line 24, she with her family at lines 60–63 of the same manifest. The manifests are documents; the family's note beside them ("they must have planned to come together") is not. That they are Benjamin's parents is on the 1903 marriage return, which names the groom's parents John Peters and Sophia Hermann; in 1900 Benjamin lived with his brother Louis, born March 1874, whom the tree also gives to John and Sophia S660. Their own dates and Mecklenburg birthplaces are still the tree's. Confirmed (transcript)
   3. G6 · above them on the Orsborn side · new, 30 September 2026 Stephen Osborn  ⚭  Martha J. Heron Named as his father and his mother’s maiden name on John W. Orsborn’s own 1921 Indiana marriage-licence application, read from the image S1075; the 1850 census has John, 2, with Stephen, 27, and Martha, 20, at Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio S1053. He b. about 1822 Ohio; she b. about 1830 Ohio; neither death read. Confirmed
   4. G5 · and on the Orsborn side John W. Orsborn  ⚭  Armenia Howard Named as the bride's parents on the 1 April 1903 Iowa marriage return — the same record that names John Peters and Sophia Hermann as the groom's. One document, two sets of ancestors. ⚠️ It spells the surname Orsborn; the tree spells it Osborn. Unresolved. 🆕 The return's image has now been read and gives the same names S791. Confirmed
   5. G4 · 2nd-great-grandparents Benjamin Peters  ⚭  Edna B. Orsborn 12 Dec 1881 Cedar Falls, Iowa – 19 Jan 1957 Sioux Rapids, Iowa · she 7 May 1884 Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 17 Jul 1942 Spencer, Iowa; both buried in Marathon Cemetery S784S785 · m. 1 Apr 1903, Alexander, Franklin County, Iowa. The 1910 census of Vernon, Kay County, Oklahoma has them with Benjamin L. A., son, 4 S659 — LaRoy — so the link down is now on a record. His birth: the 1900 census has “Bennie”, born December 1881, with his brother Louis in Scott Township, Franklin County S660, and the marriage return also says 1881; the tree's 12 Dec 1882 at Cedar Falls has the year wrong. 🆕 His own 1942 draft card settles it: born 12 December 1881 at Cedar Falls, then of Spencer, with Edna Blanche Peters as his contact S786. His 1957 death certificate, which says 1882, names his parents John Peters and Sophia Herman S785. Edna died on 17 July 1942 at Spencer S784. 🆕 The image of the 1903 marriage return is now read and agrees: Benjamin, 22, born Cedar Falls, married Edna B. Orsborn, 19, at Alexander on 1 April 1903 S791. In 1920 Ben was renting a farm in Florida Township, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota S792; in 1930 he and Edna were in Poland Township, Buena Vista County, Iowa, with their son Russell, 10, born in South Dakota S793. Confirmed
   6. G3 · great-grandparents Benjamin LaRoy "Pete" Peters Sr  ⚭  Gertie Selma Selland 12 Oct 1905 Alexander, Iowa – 9 Apr 1993 Schertz, Texas · m. 16 Nov 1925, Deuel County, South Dakota S71S41. Confirmed
3. G2 · grandmother Dorothy LaVonne Peters 12 Feb 1926 Chicago – 13 Aug 2022 Round Rock, Texas S40. Confirmed

The one line where the emigration itself is in hand. Two 1861 passenger manifests are held as images; what makes them this family rather than another Peters is the 1903 Iowa marriage return, not the surname. Peters appears on both sides of the source tree and the wrong branch was genuinely available to take.

Lines this chain touches

Benjamin LaRoy "Pete" Peters Sr.

IowaConfirmed

Dorothy's father · 1905–1993

• Research status: CONFIRMED — named as father of Dorothy LaVonne Peters in her obituary S36; also S40S41
• Born 12 October 1905, Franklin County, Iowa; died 9 April 1993, Schertz, Guadalupe County, Texas S38S41S42
• His Social Security NUMIDENT entry gives the birth date, the death date and a death ZIP of 78154 — Schertz, Texas, near San Antonio, where his daughter Shirley lived. His SSN was issued in South Dakota S38
• Buried Lakeview Cemetery, Clear Lake, Deuel County, South Dakota, plot Block C Lot 16 Grave E2 — returned to his wife's birthplace for burial S41
• The SSA death date and the headstone agree exactly S38S41
• He worked in a railway yard. His son's obituary: "As a teenager he would visit the train yard where his dad worked and even operate one of the engines sometimes" S40
• His fuller given name "Benjamin La Roy B Peters" and a birthplace of Scott, Franklin County, Iowa rest on an online tree alone Probable S42
• 🆕 His parents are now on records. In 1910, aged 4 and entered as Benjamin L. A., he was the son in the household of Benjamine Peters, 28, a farmer born in Iowa of German-born parents, and Edna B., 26, born Indiana, married seven years, at Vernon township, Kay County, Oklahoma, with his sister Eva M. and brother Clifford L. S659. With the 1903 Franklin County marriage of Benjamin Peters and Edna B. Orsborn, that confirms both. added 26 September 2026.
• 🆕 His grandparents now have their own cards. His father Benjamin's parents were John Peters and Sophia Hermann, and his mother Edna's were John W. Orsborn and Armenia Howard, all four named on his parents' 1903 Franklin County marriage return S791; his father's 1957 death certificate names John Peters and Sophia Herman again S785. added 28 September 2026.
• 🆕 In 1950 he was 44, a stationary fireman at the railway roundhouse, living at 1032 Duluth, Sioux Falls, with Selma and their children LeRoy, Marlene, Betty and Eileen Confirmed S953. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 His own 1940 draft card gives his birthplace as Alexander, Iowa, in Franklin County, and his employer as John Morrell & Co., the Sioux Falls meatpackers; he was 35, at 1810 E. 5th Street, and named his wife, Mrs. Selma Gertrude Peters Confirmed S962. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 In his own hand, on his 1952 Railroad Retirement Board card, he named his father Ben Peters, still living, and his mother, by her name before marriage, Edna Osborn, who had died. He was 46, at 1032 No. Duluth Ave., Sioux Falls, and had just become a carman for the Omaha Road Confirmed S965. His parents' card links stay Probable for now; this is a second original naming them, beside the 1910 census. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 In January 1920, 14 and entered as La Roy B., he was the son in his mother Edna B.’s household in Florida Township, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, with his sisters Eva M., 16, and Hazel F., 9 (born Oklahoma), and his brothers Clifford L., 12, and Russell R., 3 months (born South Dakota) Confirmed S1052. His father heads the household on the previous sheet, which has not been read. added 29 September 2026

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Gertie Selma Selland

South DakotaConfirmed

Dorothy's mother · 1903–1991 · the Norwegian line

• Research status: CONFIRMED — named as mother of Dorothy LaVonne Peters in her obituary S36; also S40S41
• SELLAND is the maiden name, and it is Norwegian. Two independently published obituaries, eight years apart, from funeral homes in two different states, both spell it Selland S40
• Her father Mons came from Røldal, Hordaland, on the parish's own record — baptised there 21 June 1868, entered in the out-migration register for "Dakota, Amerika" in 1889 S74S75. See the Selland chain in the deep lines.
• 🆕 The church's own marriage register for her wedding on 16 November 1925 names her parents as M. T. Selland & Julia, and the groom's as Benj. Peters & Edna; Tillie Selland and Hazel and Mildred Peters stood witness S774. It is the first record written at the time that ties her to Mons Thorson Selland and Julia Lone; until now that link rested on family testimony and the Røldal registers. added 26 September 2026.
• 🆕 A second record written at the time: her confirmation on 21 July 1918, entry 9 on p. 112 of a Lutheran confirmation register, gives her birth as 1 October 1903 and her parents as “Mons og Julia Selland”; her brother Andreas, entry 6 on the same page, has the same parents S813. The page does not name the congregation. Added 28 September 2026.
• 🆕 Her parents now have their own cards: Mons Selland and Julia (Lone) Selland. FamilySearch's South Dakota birth index gives her birth as 1 October 1903 in Deuel County, parents Mons Selland and Julia Lone S819, the first entry found that gives her mother's maiden name (an index row, so Probable confirm or correct →); a Lutheran baptism index has her baptised on 15 November 1903 in Deuel County S820, and in 1910 she was in her parents' household at Brandt, Deuel County S821. added 28 September 2026.
• 🆕 The 1910 census image, read in full, shows the whole family at Brandt Township: Mons, 41, who came from Norway in 1889 and owned his farm free; Julia, 39, mother of five children, all living; and Ida, 10, Andrew, 8, Selma, 6, Tilla, 4, and Oscar, 1 Confirmed S951. In January 1920 she was Selma G., 16, working on the home farm, with Andrew, Tilda, Oscar and two younger siblings, George, 7, and Myrtle, 2 Confirmed S952. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 In 1950 she was at 1032 Duluth, Sioux Falls, keeping house, with Benjamin, a stationary fireman at the railway roundhouse, and their children LeRoy, Marlene, Betty and Eileen Confirmed S953. added 29 September 2026

More · 5 further facts

• Married Benjamin LaRoy Peters on 16 November 1925 at Brandt, Deuel County, South Dakota — state marriage record, certificate 109784 S71
• Born 1 October 1903, Clear Lake, Deuel County, South Dakota; died 8 December 1991, Schertz, Texas S41S42
• Buried Lakeview Cemetery, Clear Lake, plot Block C Lot 16 Grave E1 — the grave adjacent to her husband's S41
• The obituary of her son LaRoy names "Benjamin and Selma (Selland) Peters"; the obituary of her daughter Betty names "Benjamin, Sr. and Selma (Selland) Peters" and lists "Dorothy Walker of Fort Worth, TX" among the siblings — which is what proves this is the same family and not a same-name collision S40
• Her fuller given name "Gertie" is written on both 1925 marriage records, the state return and the church register S71S774; it was first taken from an online tree S42

The Norway trips in Dorothy's obituary are the tell. She and her sister Shirley visited the "homeland of their maternal grandparents" — a sentence written before anyone knew the maternal grandparents were called Selland, and which turned out to name the right branch S36.

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Dorothy La Vonne Peters

IllinoisConfirmed

Kristin's maternal grandmother · 1926–2022

• Research status: parents CONFIRMED — Benjamin LaRoy Peters and Gertie Selma Selland Confirmed S36S40S41
• Her maiden name is PETERS. Walker was her married name. The Texas Birth Index names her as "Dorothy La Vonne Peters" on her own daughter's 1947 birth record — a state vital record, not an obituary S39
• Born 12 February 1926, Chicago, Illinois; raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for her first eighteen years S36

More · 6 further facts

• Died 13 August 2022, aged 96, at Round Rock, Williamson County, Texas — the funeral home's own dateline, which is a statement of residence at death, not of burial city S36
• Buried Mount Olivet Cemetery, Fort Worth, beside her husband; graveside service 22 August 2022 S36
• A longtime resident of Fort Worth — "they moved to Ft. Worth where she lived for over 70 years" S36
• Daughter of Benjamin LaRoy "Pete" Peters Sr. and Gertie Selma Selland S36S40S41
• She and her sister Shirley made several trips to Norway, "homeland of their maternal grandparents" — the obituary predicting the Selland surname before it was found S36. Family testimony Graded as what it is. This is a sentence a family wrote for a funeral programme, not a record. It is a lead on the Selland line — it points at a Norwegian parish and a generation, and it has already been half-borne-out by the Røldal out-migration entry S75 — but no document has yet been read that says which grandparents, or from where. It is not Confirmed and is not written here as though it were.
• Five siblings of her own, named in the same obituary: LaRoy Peters, Betty Sanders, Shirley Peltier, Marlene Jacobs and Eileen Blacketer S36. Their own lines are not worked here.

There was never a collision risk here, and that is unusual. "Dorothy Walker" is a common name, and the research brief warned against attaching one on name alone. No inference was needed: her obituary names the client household outright — her granddaughter Kristin and Earl […], and their three children by name S36. The subject was identified by her own family, in print.

⚠️ The "died in Austin" discrepancy, resolved. The family's account was that she died in Austin; FindAGrave's copy of the obituary gives no place at all. The original publisher's copy carries the dateline "ROUND ROCK" — twenty miles north of downtown Austin, in the same metro. The family's account is right; "Austin" is Round Rock S36. The memory-care facility itself is Not found in any document and was not searched for — private medical detail about a recently deceased person, adding nothing to the genealogy.

Who her obituary names as surviving her. It is a family-written survivor list and it is the reason several people on this page can be tied to each other at all. Her three daughters, in its own words: "LaVonne Danielson […], Marilyn (Phillip) McGovern of Nashville, TN, and C.J. (Ed) Farris of Arlington, TX" — and her sisters Shirley Peltier, Marlene Jacobs and Eileen Blacketer, with a brother-in-law, Romie Sanders. Her four grandchildren, in the obituary's own sentence: "Brad Caffey (Erin) of Round Rock, TX, Jessica (Martin) Carrier of McKinney, TX, Kristin (Earl) Proeger […] and David (Marci) Peters of Nashville, TN." That sentence is what welds this record's two halves together from the published side — Brad and Kristin as grandchildren of one woman, in print, not inferred from a surname S36.

The obituary is published here in full, as a page image, and unredacted. It names seven of the next generation — Ava and Grant Peters; Preston and Scarlett Caffey; and Earl's own Maia, Evelyn and Axel — alongside the family's towns. Some of them are minors. This record's rule publishes a minor's name and nothing else; this page image is Earl's explicit per-item exception to that rule, made on 25 September 2026, and it covers this one document only S36.

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John Peters

Confirmed

Grandfather of Benjamin LaRoy “Pete” Peters Sr · father of Benjamin Peters (1881–1957)

• Research status: CONFIRMED as Benjamin Peters's father — Benjamin's 1903 Franklin County, Iowa return of marriages, read from the image, names the groom's parents as John Peters and Sophia Hermann S791, and Benjamin's 1957 Iowa death certificate, also read from the image, names his father John Peters and his mother Sophia Herman S785
• Father of Benjamin Peters (born at Cedar Falls, Iowa, on 12 December 1881; he died at Sioux Rapids on 19 January 1957), who married Edna B. Orsborn at Alexander, Franklin County, Iowa, on 1 April 1903 S791; and so grandfather of Benjamin LaRoy “Pete” Peters Sr.. Husband of Sophia Hermann. See the Peters–Hermann line
• Born and died: not on any record read. The fuller name “John Charles (Schumacher) Peters”, a birth on 26 October 1834 in Mecklenburg and a death on 30 January 1902 come from the family tree. The 1834 date belongs to a Mecklenburg baptism of Karl Johann Joachim Christian Friedrich Peters that no record read ties to this man, and the death date has no source. None of them is published here as fact
• FamilySearch agrees: its index of the same county marriage register, and a birth index entry for one of Benjamin's brothers or sisters, name the father John Peters S816. FamilySearch has nothing tying him to the 1834 Mecklenburg baptism
• 🆕 Probably him: in 1900 Johan Peters, 65, born in Germany in October 1834, owned his house in Scott Township, Franklin County, Iowa, with his wife Sophia, 56; both came in 1861 and had been married 38 years. John, 22, Saraha, 23, and a grandson, Wesley, 2, were with them Probable confirm or correct → S985. Evidence: the name pair, the German births and Franklin County, where Benjamin married in 1903 S791. Weak: Benjamin is not in this household, and the census does not name him. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 In March 1884 he was farming in Fairfield Township, Grundy County, Iowa, where his wife Sophia, née Herman(n), 41, had their fifth child, an unnamed son born on 12 March; both parents were born in Germany Confirmed S998. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 In the 1885 Iowa census of Grundy County, read from the image, John Peters, 50, and Sophia, 41, both natives of Germany, head a household with eight children: William, 20, and Frank, 19, natives of New York; Charlie, 16, of Black Hawk County; Fred, 12; Louie, 10; Sarah, 8; John, 6; and Ben, 3, of Grundy County Confirmed S1010. Two New York-born sons put the family in America by 1865.
• 🆕 Father of Louis Peters: Louis's 1896 Franklin County marriage return, read from the image, gives him as 23, a farmer of Alexander, a native of Cedar Falls, Iowa, and names his parents as John Peters and Sophie Herman. He married Carrie Augusta Latham at Alexander on 22 October 1896 Confirmed S1008.
• 🆕 Father of Frank Peters (12 October 1866, New York – 2 September 1931, Alexander), husband of Addie and a farmer at Alexander for 25 years: Frank's death certificate, read from the image, names his father John Peters, a native of Germany Confirmed S1009. added 29 September 2026

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John W. Orsborn

Confirmed

Grandfather of Benjamin LaRoy “Pete” Peters Sr · father of Edna B. Orsborn

• Research status: CONFIRMED as Edna B. Orsborn's father — her own 1903 Franklin County, Iowa return of marriages, read from the image, names the bride's father as John W. Orsborn and her mother's maiden name as Armenia Howard S791
• Father of Edna B. Orsborn, 19, born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, who married Benjamin Peters at Alexander, Franklin County, Iowa, on 1 April 1903 S791; and so grandfather of Benjamin LaRoy “Pete” Peters Sr.. Husband of Armenia Howard. See the Peters–Hermann line
• 🆕 His parents are Confirmed: his own marriage-licence application, sworn at Dearborn County, Indiana, on 9 August 1921 for his third marriage, to Nannie Johnson, and read from the image, gives his birth as 1 June 1848 at Cleves, Ohio, and names his father Stephen Osborn, born Ohio, and his mother’s maiden name as Martha J. Heron Confirmed S1075. Both now have cards: Stephen Osborn and Martha J. Heron. added 30 September 2026
• The return spells the surname Orsborn; the family tree spells it Osborn
• Born in June 1848 in Ohio, by the 1900 census S974. His death has not been read from a record; the tree's death in 1938 has no source and is not published here as fact
• FamilySearch agrees: its Iowa county marriages index gives Edna B. Orsborn, born 1884 at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, with parents John W. Orsborn and Armenia Howard S817, and the marriage of Stephen Wood Orsborn, born 1870 in Hamilton County, Ohio, names his parents as John Orsborn and Armenia Howard S818
• 🆕 In 1900 John Orsborn, born in June 1848 in Ohio, lived in Yates Township, McLean County, Illinois, with his wife Minnie, born April 1848 in Indiana; they had been married 30 years Confirmed S974. His son Stephen Wood Orsborne's 1925 Iowa death certificate names his parents as John Wood Orsborne, born Ohio, and Armenia Howard; the middle name Wood is on that certificate alone, given by Stephen's wife Confirmed S973. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 In 1880 Jno. W. Osborn, 32, a laborer born in Ohio, lived at Greendale, Dearborn County, Indiana, with his wife Minnie, 32, born Indiana, and their son Stephen, 9, born Ohio Confirmed S980. In 1870 a John Osborn, 22, laborer, born Ohio, was in Miller Township, Dearborn County, with Minnie, 22, and Charles, five months old, born in January 1870 Probable confirm or correct → S981. Evidence: the names, ages, birthplaces and county fit 1880. Weak: the 1870 census states no relationships. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 The same family in 1860, probably: a John, 12, born Ohio, was in the household of Stephen Osborn, 38, farmer, and Jane, 31, in Whitewater Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, with a brother Stephen A., 1 Probable confirm or correct → S1048. Evidence: name, age, birthplace, and a township next to Dearborn County, Indiana. Weak: one census, no relationships stated, and the wife is Jane, not Martha. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 Earlier still: in August 1850 a John, 2, was in the Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, household of Stephen Osborn, 27, and Martha, 20, with a sister Mary, 4 months; an older John and Eliza Osborn, both 58, lived next door Confirmed S1053. That household is his parents’: the 1921 application names them S1075. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 Probably remarried: in April 1910 a John Osborn, 61, born Ohio, was at Lawrenceburg Township, Dearborn County, with a wife Margaret, 56, who had borne no children, and a son Charles, 15, born Illinois to an Indiana-born mother Probable confirm or correct → S1054. Evidence: name, age, Ohio birth and Lawrenceburg, Edna’s birthplace. Weak: the faint marital column is the only sign of a second marriage, and no record gives Armenia’s death. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026

Full record →

Armenia Howard

Confirmed

Grandmother of Benjamin LaRoy “Pete” Peters Sr · mother of Edna B. Orsborn

• Research status: CONFIRMED as Edna B. Orsborn's mother — her daughter's 1903 Franklin County, Iowa return of marriages, read from the image, gives the bride's mother's maiden name as Armenia Howard S791
• Mother of Edna B. Orsborn, born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, who married Benjamin Peters at Alexander, Iowa, on 1 April 1903 S791; and so grandmother of Benjamin LaRoy “Pete” Peters Sr.. Wife of John W. Orsborn. See the Peters–Hermann line
• Born about 1848, probably in Indiana, if she is the “Minnie” of the 1870, 1880 and 1900 censuses (below). Her death has not been read from a record. The family tree's middle initial “J.” comes only from an Illinois marriage index that has not been read
• FamilySearch agrees: Edna's Iowa county marriage index entry names her mother Armenia Howard S817, and so does the marriage of her son Stephen Wood Orsborn, born 1870 in Hamilton County, Ohio S818
• 🆕 Her son Stephen Wood Orsborne, born 16 February 1871 in Ohio, died at Hampton, Iowa, on 9 January 1925; his death certificate names his parents as John Wood Orsborne and Armenia Howard Confirmed S973. It gives her birthplace as Ohio; the census below says Indiana. In 1900 John Orsborn's wife in Yates Township, McLean County, Illinois, was Minnie, born in April 1848 in Indiana, married 30 years, mother of eight children, six living Probable confirm or correct → S974. Evidence: her husband's name, the 1848 ages, the 1870 marriage and the Orsborn spelling fit. Weak: the census never gives her full name, and no record read names her both Minnie and Armenia. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 In 1880 Jno. W. Osborn's wife at Greendale, Dearborn County, Indiana, was Minnie, 32, born Indiana, with their son Stephen, 9, born Ohio Probable confirm or correct → S980; in 1870 John Osborn, 22, and Minnie, 22, born Indiana, were in Miller Township, Dearborn County, with Charles, five months old, born in January 1870, who is not in the 1880 household and probably died young Probable confirm or correct → S981. Evidence: John W., the son Stephen and Lawrenceburg, Edna's birthplace, tie the 1880 household to her. Weak: no record read names her both Minnie and Armenia. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 She had probably died by 1910: that April a John Osborn, 61, born Ohio, at Lawrenceburg Township, Dearborn County, had a second wife, Margaret, 56, who had borne no children, and a son Charles, 15, born Illinois to an Indiana-born mother Probable confirm or correct → S1054. Evidence: John’s name, age and birthplace and the Lawrenceburg address. Weak: nothing names Armenia or gives a death date or place, so her death stays unrecorded. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 Probably her in 1860: Arimena Howard, 12, born Indiana, in the household of J.(?) W. Howard, 38, a boatman, and Margaret, 39, at Randolph Township, Ohio County, Indiana (P.O. Rising Sun), with seven brothers and sisters Probable confirm or correct → S1069. Evidence: the rare name, an age that fits her birth about 1848, and Ohio County next to Dearborn County, where Edna was born. Weak: the census states no relationships, and nothing on the page links her to John W. Orsborn, so J. W. and Margaret are only probably her parents. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026

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Mons Selland

Confirmed

Father of Gertie Selma Selland · born 1868, Røldal, Norway

• Research status: CONFIRMED as Gertie Selma Selland's father — her confirmation entry of 21 July 1918, read from the image, gives her parents as “Mons og Julia Selland” S813, and the church register of her 1925 marriage names them “M. T. Selland & Julia” S774
• Father of Gertie Selma Selland and of her brother Andreas Selland, confirmed on the same register page S813. Husband of Julia (Lone) Selland
• Born 9 May 1868 and baptised 21 June 1868 at Røldal, Hordaland, Norway, son of Thore Thoresen (Tore Toreson) Selland and Ingeborg Ivarsdatter, who now have cards of their own S74; entered in the Røldal out-migration register in 1889 as “Mons Thorsen Selland, 1868”, bound for “Dakota, Amerika” S75
• Died: not on any record read. The family tree's 10 November 1964 has no source and is not published here as fact
• FamilySearch agrees: the South Dakota birth index gives Gertie Selland, born 1 October 1903 in Deuel County, parents Mons Selland and Julia Lone S819; a Lutheran baptism index has Gerty Selma baptised 15 November 1903 in Deuel County, parents Mons and Julie Selland S820; and the 1910 census index for Brandt, Deuel County, has Selma in the household of Mons and Julia Selland S821
• 🆕 The 1910 census at Brandt Township gives his immigration year 1889, the year of his Røldal out-migration entry, and shows him married 11 years, farming land he owned free of mortgage, with Julia and five children Confirmed S951. By 1920 there were two more children, George and Myrtle S952. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 The later censuses at Brandt Township: in 1920, 51, owning his farm with a mortgage, immigrated 1889, naturalized 1914, with Julia and their daughter Ida C., 19 Confirmed S989; in 1930, 61, first married at 32, with Julia, Oscar, George, Myrtle and the widowed Ida Gustavson and her three small daughters S990; in 1940, as Monse, 71, on a farm worth $800 with Oscar and George S991; and in April 1950, as Mons T., 82, still farming with Julia, 80, and Oscar, 41 S992. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 In the 1875 Norwegian census he is Mons Thorsen, born 1868, at home in Røldal with his parents Thore Thorsen and Engeborg Iversdatter, a brother Anders and two sisters named Engeborg Confirmed S1100
• 🆕 In the 1900 census at Brandt Township he is 32, born May 1868 in Norway, married one year, immigrated 1889 and already naturalized, farming his own mortgaged farm, with Julia, 30, and their daughter Ida C., born April 1900 Confirmed S1128. The 1920 census’s naturalization year of 1914 does not fit this.

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Julia (Lone) Selland

Confirmed

Mother of Gertie Selma Selland

• Research status: CONFIRMED as Gertie Selma Selland's mother — her confirmation entry of 21 July 1918, read from the image, gives her parents as “Mons og Julia Selland” S813, and the church register of her 1925 marriage names them “M. T. Selland & Julia” S774
• Mother of Gertie Selma Selland and of her brother Andreas Selland S813. Wife of Mons Selland
• Her maiden name, Lone Probable confirm or correct →: the South Dakota birth index on FamilySearch names Gertie's mother Julia Lone S819. What is weak: that is an index row; no register image read gives the name. A “Gyri …sdatter Lone”, born 1870, left Røldal in the same 1889 party as Mons, and has not been shown to be her
• Born and died: not on any record read. The family tree's “Gjori Olsdatter Lono”, born 22 January 1870, died 27 November 1955, has no source and is not published here as fact
• FamilySearch also has Gertie's 1903 baptism in Deuel County with her mother as “Julie” S820, and the 1910 census index for Brandt, Deuel County, with Julia and Mons Selland and their daughter Selma S821
• 🆕 The censuses of 1920 and 1930 give her arrival as 1889, the year Mons left Røldal, and in 1920 her naturalization as 1914 Confirmed S989S990. In 1930 she was 60 and had first married at 30 S990; in 1940 she was 70 S991; and she was living in April 1950, 80, on the Brandt Township farm with Mons and their son Oscar S992. Her ages across the censuses point to a birth about 1870. The children now known from the censuses are Ida C., Andrew, Selma (Gertie), Tilda, Oscar, George and Myrtle S989S952. added 29 September 2026

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Sophia Herman

Confirmed

Grandmother of Benjamin LaRoy “Pete” Peters Sr · mother of Benjamin Peters (1881–1957)

• Research status: CONFIRMED as Benjamin Peters's mother — Benjamin's 1957 Iowa death certificate, read from the image, gives his mother's maiden name as Sophia Herman S785, and his 1903 Franklin County, Iowa return of marriages, also read from the image, names the groom's parents as John Peters and Sophia Hermann S791. Confirmed 28 September 2026
• Mother of Benjamin Peters (born at Cedar Falls, Iowa, on 12 December 1881; he died at Sioux Rapids on 19 January 1957), who married Edna B. Orsborn at Alexander on 1 April 1903 S791; and so grandmother of Benjamin LaRoy “Pete” Peters Sr.. Wife of John Peters. See the Peters–Hermann line
• The death certificate spells her surname Herman, the marriage return Hermann. Born about 1843, in Germany, by her age, 41, on the 1884 birth return S998; her death is not on any record read. The family tree's birth in July 1843 and death about 1900 have no source, and neither is published here as fact
• FamilySearch agrees: its index of the Franklin County marriage register names Benjamin's parents as John Peters and Sophia Hermann, and a birth index entry for one of Benjamin's brothers or sisters, born 1884, names the parents John Peters and Sophia Herman Peters S816. These are index entries, not images
• 🆕 Probably her: in 1900 Sophia Peters, 56, born July 1843 in Germany, was the wife of Johan Peters in Scott Township, Franklin County, Iowa. Both came to the United States in 1861, they had been married 38 years, and she was the mother of 14 children, 7 living Probable confirm or correct → S985. Evidence: the name pair, the German births and Franklin County, where her son Benjamin married in 1903 S791. Weak: Benjamin is not in this household, and the census does not name him. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 The Grundy County, Iowa, return of births for 1884 records the birth of an unnamed son, her fifth child, on 12 March 1884 in Fairfield Township; the mother is Sophia Peters, née Herman(n), 41, born Germany, and the father John Peters, farmer, born Germany Confirmed S998. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 In the 1885 Iowa census of Grundy County, read from the image, John Peters, 50, and Sophia, 41, both natives of Germany, head a household with eight children, among them Frank, 19, Louie, 10, and Ben, 3 Confirmed S1010. Her age of 41 agrees with the 1900 census's July 1843 S985.
• 🆕 Mother of Louis Peters: his 1896 Franklin County marriage return, read from the image, names his parents as John Peters and Sophie Herman; he married Carrie Augusta Latham at Alexander on 22 October 1896 Confirmed S1008.
• 🆕 Mother of Frank Peters (1866–1931): he is Frank, 19, a native of New York, in her 1885 household S1010. His death certificate gives his mother's maiden name only as “Not Known”, a native of Germany S1009. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 Her daughter Sarah Peters, 28, born at Cedar Falls, married Albert L. Ward at Hampton, Franklin County, on 15 October 1902; the return names her parents John Peters and Sophia Hermann Confirmed S1041. added 29 September 2026
• 🆕 In 1880 the family was at Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County: Sophia, 36, born Prussia, with William, 16, Frank, 14, Mary, 12, Charles, 11, Fredrick, 6, Louis, 5, Sarah, 4, John, 2, and a baby girl born in May Confirmed S1130. The census writes her husband as Charles Peters, 40, a farmer born in Prussia, not John.

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Stephen Osborn

Confirmed

Father of John W. Orsborn · born about 1822, Ohio

• Research status: CONFIRMED as the father of John W. Orsborn. John’s own marriage-licence application, sworn at Dearborn County, Indiana, on 9 August 1921 and read from the image, gives his birth as 1 June 1848 at Cleves, Ohio, the full name of his father as Stephen Osborn, born Ohio, deceased, and the full maiden name of his mother as Martha J. Heron S1075. In August 1850 Stephen, 27, and Martha, 20, had John, 2, and Mary, 4 months, with them in Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio S1053
• Husband of Martha J. Heron. Father of John W. Orsborn, and so a great-great-grandfather of Benjamin LaRoy “Pete” Peters Sr.
• Born about 1822 in Ohio, by his age of 27 in the 1850 census S1053. In 1860 a Stephen Osborn, 38, farmer, with Jane, 31, and John, 12, was in Whitewater Township, Hamilton County; whether Jane is Martha under another name, or a second wife, is not settled S1048
• His death is not on any record read for this page; the 1921 application says he was dead by then, and the county directories list Martha as his widow by 1907 S1085S1086. The birth of 19 October 1822 and death of 26 June 1886 that circulate online rest on Find a Grave and are not used
• 🆕 He was alive and at Elizabethtown in June 1863, when S. W. Osborn, 42, a farmer born Ohio, registered there for the Civil War draft S1083. In 1860 he farmed 90 acres in Whitewater Township, 80 of them improved, worth $7,200, with 277 bushels of wheat and 3,000 of corn S1084. His widow is listed at Elizabethtown in 1907 and, as “Martha J wid Stephen W”, in 1909–10, so he died before 1907 S1085S1086
• 🆕 He married Martha Jane Hearn in Hamilton County on 31 March 1847, with the consent of her father, James H. Hearn, given at Cincinnati Confirmed S1137.
• 🆕 In July 1870 Stephen, 48, was farming in Whitewater Township with Jane, 40, and Emma, Josephine, Douglass and Laura Confirmed S1148. In June 1880 Stephen W. Osborn, 58, was a justice of the peace there, with his wife Jane, 50, and their daughter Laura, 18; his father was born in New York and his mother in New Jersey Confirmed S1149.

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Martha J. Heron

Confirmed

Mother of John W. Orsborn · born about 1830, Ohio

• Research status: CONFIRMED as the mother of John W. Orsborn. His 1921 Dearborn County, Indiana marriage-licence application, read from the image, gives the full maiden name of his mother as Martha J. Heron, deceased S1075. She is the Martha, 20, in the 1850 household of Stephen Osborn, 27, at Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, with John, 2 S1053
• Wife of Stephen Osborn. Mother of John W. Orsborn
• Born about 1830 in Ohio, by her age in the 1850 census S1053. The 1860 household names a Jane, 31, in her place S1048; one woman or two is not settled
• Her death is not on any record read for this page. An Ohio death index entry for a Martha J. Osborn of Hamilton County, dated 3 July 1913, is a lead that has not been read from the image, and the English death at Reading that some online trees attach to her belongs to another Jane Hearn
• 🆕 She outlived Stephen: the Hamilton County directories list her as a widow at Elizabethtown, Whitewater Township, in 1907, beside John W. S1085, and as “Orsborn Martha J wid Stephen W” in 1909–10 S1086
• 🆕 She married Stephen W. Osborn as Martha Jane Hearn in Hamilton County on 31 March 1847. Her father, James H. Hearn, gave his written consent at Cincinnati on 26 March, and the affidavit gives her age as over seventeen Confirmed S1137. Her middle name makes it likely that the Jane, 31, of 1860 is the same woman.
• 🆕 Stephen’s wife is Jane, 40, in 1870 Confirmed S1148 and Jane, 50, his wife, in 1880 S1149. Her ages run cleanly from the 1847 marriage (over seventeen) and 20 in 1850, which strengthens the case that Martha Jane and Jane are one woman. The 1880 census gives her father’s birthplace as North Carolina and her mother’s as Ohio, a lead on James H. Hearn’s origin.

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Notes on this line

1. S36Obituary of Dorothy LaVonne Peters Walker (12 February 1926 – 13 August 2022), Greenwood Funeral Home, Fort Worth — greenwoodfuneralhomes.com; the same text transcribed on FindAGrave memorial 242876604, Mount Olivet Cemetery, Fort Worth. Family-written. It names her husband "Melvin Walker," her parents "Benjamin 'Pete' and Selma Peters," her three daughters, her Chicago birth and Sioux Falls upbringing, the Norway trips, and — decisively — "Kristin (Earl) Proeger […]" among her grandchildren. ⚠️ Only the funeral home's own copy carries the "ROUND ROCK" dateline; the FindAGrave transcription drops it. The funeral home's page is published in full in the Documents grid (Earl's per-item exception, 25 Sep 2026).
2. S38US Social Security NUMIDENT — Walker and Peters entries, republished verbatim at SortedByName.com — walker/index_707 and peters/index_123. A government record; parent fields come from the person's own SS-5 application. Gives "WALKER, CLARENCE MELVIN … born 5 November 1920 in LOLITA, Texas, son of DANIEL J WALKER and NETTIE CLEVLAND … died 23 July 1991," and "PETERS, BENJAMIN L … born 12 October 1905 … died 9 April 1993, while residing in Zip Code 78154" (Schertz, Guadalupe County, Texas). Both sets of dates match the headstones exactly and independently.
3. S39Texas Birth Index 1903–1997 and the 1950 US Census, Tarrant County, via FamilySearch in a signed-in session. "Clare La Vonne Walker — Birth [date withheld], Tarrant, Texas — Parents Clarence Melvin Walker, Dorothy La Vonne Peters," with her sisters Marilyn Dorothy and Carolyn Jane indexed to the same couple; and the 1950 census household at White Settlement, Tarrant County. The state vital record that supplies Dorothy's maiden name, independently of any obituary. ⚠️ All three daughters are living, so the birth dates on these index rows are redacted here — the citation is reproduced as it was read, minus the dates the privacy rule withholds.
4. S40Obituaries of Dorothy's siblings — LaRoy J. "Pete" Peters (d. 25 January 2021), Miller Funeral Home, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, millerfh.com; and Betty Jane Sanders (d. 10 September 2013), Pitts Chapel, Bolivar, Missouri, via Legacy.com. A third, Shirley Darlene Peltier's (May 2026), names the same parents. Two funeral homes, two states, eight years apart, both spelling the mother's maiden name Selland. Betty's names "Dorothy Walker of Fort Worth, TX" as a sibling, which is what proves it is this family and not a same-name collision.
5. S41FindAGrave memorials 70460076 and 70460158 — Benjamin L. Peters (1905–1993), plot Block C Lot 16 Grave E2, and Selma Selland Peters (1903–1991), Grave E1, the adjacent plot — Lakeview Cemetery, Clear Lake, Deuel County, South Dakota. Headstone transcriptions. Benjamin's SSA death date and the stone agree exactly. Family links on FindAGrave are contributor-asserted and are corroboration only; the obituaries at S40 carry the finding on their own.
6. S42Toni Walker Family Tree, hosted by Ontario Ancestors — ontariofamilyhistory.org. A user-submitted tree, not a record. Everything drawn from it is tagged Probable and nothing else on this page depends on it: the fuller given names "Benjamin La Roy B" and "Gertie," the 16 November 1925 Deuel County marriage, and the four names in the generation above Benjamin and Selma. The tree's own dates and places are confirmed, but by S38 and S41, not by it. Last modified 22 January 2025; it still lists Dorothy as living.
7. S71Benjamin Leroy Peters and Gertie Selma Selland — South Dakota marriage record, 16 November 1925. South Dakota State Board of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, certificate 109784, registered no. 250, Deuel County; South Dakota, U.S., Marriages, 1905–2024 (Ancestry collection 8561). Read on the certificate image 16 September 2026. Solemnised at Brandt; both parties of Clear Lake, Deuel County; groom 20, bride 22. Upgrades a marriage date this page previously carried on a family tree's word to a state vital record. ⚠️ Ancestry's index misreads the bride as "Gertie Selma Sellana"; the certificate itself reads Selland, which is why a search on the correct spelling had been returning nothing. She went by her middle name, Selma. The parents' names sit below the fold of the captured image and have not yet been read.
8. S74Røldal parish register — baptisms, 1868. Entry no. 7: born 9 May 1868, baptised 21 June 1868, child Mons, ægte (in wedlock); father Gbr. (farmer) Thore Thoresen Selland, mother Ingeborg Ivarsdatter. A primary church record, read by eye from the full-resolution scan rather than from an index or an OCR sidecar. Four of the six named witnesses are Lone and Hegerland people, which is what makes the Julia Lone lead worth chasing. Rødal is in Hordaland, at the head of the Hardanger valleys; Selland is the farm, not the family name.
9. S75Røldal parish register — G. Udflyttede (those moved out), folio 203, year 1889. Entry no. 3: Mons Thorsen Selland, birth year 1868, destination "Dakota, Amerika", certificates issued for birth, baptism and confirmation. Read by eye at full resolution. The register names no ship, no port and no sailing date — the Naar udflyttet column carries the bare year. A Norwegian out-migration entry is a clerical hand-off between parishes, not a passenger list, and it should not be expected to yield a crossing. The birth year here and the birth date in S74 are the same man.
10. S6591910 U.S. census — Vernon township, Kay County, Oklahoma, ED 71, sheet 9A, dwelling 187. Ancestry record 169535935. Image examined, read 26 September 2026. Confirmed Benjamine Peters, 28, farmer, born Iowa of German-born parents, married 7 years; Edna B., 26, born Indiana; Eva M., 6; Benjamin L. A., son, 4, born Iowa; Clifford L., 2. With the 1903 Franklin County marriage return this joins LaRoy Peters to both parents on records, not on a tree.
11. S6601900 U.S. census — Scott Township, Franklin County, Iowa, ED 140, sheet 1, dwelling 18. Ancestry record 14339332. Image examined, read 26 September 2026. Probable Louis Peters, born March 1874, Iowa, parents born Germany, with his wife Carrie and his brother “Bennie”, born December 1881, Iowa, a farm labourer. No parents are named on this sheet; that this Bennie is Benjamin Peters rests on the township, the German-born parents and the 1881 year the 1903 marriage return also gives.
12. S774U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records — marriage register (“Egteviede”), 1925 no. 3: Benjamin Leroy Peters and Gertie Selma Selland, 16 November 1925. Ancestry record 7608849. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, September 2026. Confirmed Groom Benjamin Leroy Peters, parents “Benj. Peters & Edna”; bride Gertie Selma Selland, parents “M. T. Selland & Julia”; witnesses Hazel Peters, Tillie Selland and Mildred Peters. Ages and birthplaces left blank. The church's own register, written at the wedding, and the same couple and date as the state return S71. Ancestry indexes the bride's father as “W T Selland”; on the image it is the scribe's capital M, the same letter that opens “May” and “Mildred” on the page. The church name (Highland Lutheran, Brandt) is Ancestry's catalogue entry, not on the page, and the foot of the entry is cut off in the filming.
13. S784Iowa death certificate: Edna Blanch Peters, died Spencer, Clay County, 17 July 1942. Ancestry record 547060. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 26 September 2026. Confirmed Edna Blanch Peters, wife of Ben Peters, born 7 May 1884 at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, died 17 July 1942 at Spencer Hospital; buried 20 July 1942 in Marathon Cemetery. Parents given as John Osburn, born England, and Minnie Howard. Informant: Mrs. Hazel Peterson of Rembrandt. The 1903 marriage return names her mother Armenia Howard; Minnie is read as a short form of Armenia. Collection: Iowa, U.S., Death Records.
14. S785Iowa death certificate 114-57-00227: Benjamin Peters, died Sioux Rapids, 19 January 1957. Ancestry record 750938128. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 26 September 2026. Confirmed Benjamin Peters, a widowed farmer, died 19 January 1957 at Sioux Rapids Hospital, Buena Vista County; buried 21 January in Marathon Cemetery. Father John Peters, mother Sophia Herman. It gives his birth as 12 December 1882; his own draft card (S786), the 1900 census and the marriage return all say 1881. Collection: Iowa, U.S., Death Records.
15. S786U.S. WWII draft registration, 1942, serial U-269, Clay County, Iowa: Ben Peters. Ancestry record 18030135. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 26 September 2026. Confirmed Ben Peters, R.F.D. 1, Spencer, born 12 December 1881 at Cedar Falls, Iowa, aged 60, working for M. E. DeWolf at the DeWolf Turkey Farm; contact Edna Blanche Peters, same address. Signed by him. His own statement of his birth, which settles the 1881/1882 question in favour of 1881 and gives the day. Collection: U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942.
16. S791Franklin County, Iowa, return of marriages 1903, licence 1501: Benjamin Peters and Edna B. Orsborn. Ancestry record 903647093. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 26 September 2026. Confirmed Benjamin Peters, 22, born Cedar Falls, farmer of Alexander, son of John Peters and Sophia Hermann, married Edna B. Orsborn, 19, born Lawrenceburg, Indiana, daughter of John W. Orsborn and Armenia Howard, at Alexander on 1 April 1903, by J. C. Shirk, M.G.; witnesses Ray and Nettie Pence. The site had this marriage from a transcript; this is the image of the return. Collection: Iowa, U.S., Marriage Records, 1880–1950.
17. S7921920 U.S. census, Florida Township, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, ED 201, sheet 7B, line 100: Ben Peters. Ancestry record 48255112. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 26 September 2026. Confirmed Ben Peters, 37, head, renting a farm, born Iowa, both parents born Germany. Only Ben is on this sheet; the household continues on sheet 8A, which has not been read. Places the family in Minnesota in 1920, between Oklahoma (1910) and Iowa (1930). Collection: 1920 United States Federal Census.
18. S7931930 U.S. census, Poland Township, Buena Vista County, Iowa, ED 11-19, sheet 3A, dwelling 57: Benjamin Peters household. Ancestry record 120829961. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 26 September 2026. Confirmed Benjamin, 48, head, farm labourer, renting, first married at 21; Edna B., 45, born Indiana, first married at 18, her father born England; their son Russell R., 10, born South Dakota; and two young granddaughters. The ages at first marriage agree with 1903. The granddaughters are not named on this site. Collection: 1930 United States Federal Census.
19. S813Lutheran confirmation register, 1918, p. 112, entries 6 and 9 — Gertie Selma Selland and Andreas Selland, confirmed 21 July 1918. Ancestry collection 60722, record 151605887 (image 41742_314328-00544). Image examined, read 28 September 2026. Confirmed Entry 9: “Gertie Selma Selland”, born “Okt 1-03”, parents “Mons og Julia Selland”. Entry 6, Andreas Selland, gives the same parents. The congregation's name is not on this page. Collection: U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781–1969.
20. S816FamilySearch index entries naming John Peters as the father of Benjamin Peters. FamilySearch ark:/61903/1:1:KC4H-R3R, ark:/61903/1:1:KCWX-1TF and ark:/61903/1:1:XVCT-Y3J, checked 28 September 2026. Probable FamilySearch's index of the Franklin County, Iowa marriage register (the 1903 marriage of Benjamin Peters and Edna B. Orsborn) and a birth index entry for one of Benjamin's brothers or sisters name the father John Peters. Index entries; the images were not examined here. They agree with the marriage return (S791) and Benjamin's death certificate (S785). Nothing on FamilySearch ties John Peters to the 1834 Mecklenburg baptism in the family tree.
21. S817FamilySearch, Iowa County Marriages — Edna B. Orsborn, 1903. FamilySearch ark:/61903/1:1:KC4H-R3B (and ark:/61903/1:1:KCWX-1TV), checked 28 September 2026. Probable Edna B. Orsborn, born 1884 at Lawrenceburg, Indiana; parents John W. Orsborn and Armenia Howard. Index entry for the same marriage as S791; the image was not examined here. Collection: Iowa, County Marriages.
22. S818Franklin County, Iowa return of marriages, 1902, no. 1437 — Stephen Wood Orsborn and Carrie Cornelia Douglas. Ancestry record 1203454751. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28 September 2026; first cited from FamilySearch ark:/61903/1:1:KC4H-Y58. Confirmed Stephen Wood Orsborn, 32, druggist, of Alexander, born Hamilton County, Ohio, his second marriage; parents John Orsborn and Armenia Howard. He married Carrie Cornelia Douglas, 22, daughter of Frank Douglas and Emma Lukey, at Alexander on 12 November 1902. The index's birth year 1870 is worked from his age; his 1925 death certificate gives 16 February 1871 (S973). His first wife is not known.
23. S819FamilySearch, South Dakota birth index — Gertie Selland, 1 October 1903. FamilySearch ark:/61903/1:1:QKD8-TM6W, checked 28 September 2026. Probable Gertie Selland, born 1 October 1903, Deuel County, South Dakota; parents Mons Selland and Julia Lone. An index row from the South Dakota Department of Health; the image was not examined. The only entry found so far that gives Julia's maiden name.
24. S820FamilySearch, Lutheran church baptism index — Gerty Selma, baptised 15 November 1903, Deuel County, South Dakota. FamilySearch ark:/61903/1:1:QVNT-MT8H, checked 28 September 2026. Probable Gerty Selma, baptised 15 November 1903; parents Mons and Julie Selland. Index entry; the image was not examined. The index gives her birth as 10 October 1903, a variant of the 1 October on every other record. FamilySearch also indexes the 1918 confirmation (S813) as ark:/61903/1:1:QVNT-MKVP.
25. S821FamilySearch, 1910 U.S. census index — Mons Selland household, Brandt, Deuel County, South Dakota. FamilySearch ark:/61903/1:1:MPXP-W49, checked 28 September 2026. Probable Selma in the household of Mons and Julia Selland. Index entry; the census image was not examined here.
26. S9511910 United States Federal Census — Brandt Township, Deuel County, South Dakota, ED 161, sheet 2B, lines 90–96 (19 April 1910). Ancestry record 157278470. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 24–25 September 2026. Confirmed Dwelling 28: Selland, Mons, head, 41, married 11 years, born Norway, immigrated 1889, first papers, farmer, farm owned free of mortgage; Julia, wife, 39, born Norway, mother of 5 children, 5 living; Ida, 10; Andrew, 8; Selma, 6; Tilla, 4; and Oscar, 1 2/12. The children were all born in South Dakota. The index lists six people and drops Oscar on line 96. Selma is Gertie Selma Selland; age 6 fits her birth on 1 October 1903. Mons's 1889 matches the year of his Røldal out-migration entry (S75). Collection: 1910 United States Federal Census.
27. S9521920 United States Federal Census — Brandt Township, Deuel County, South Dakota, ED 125, sheet 11B, lines 51–56 (26–27 January 1920). Ancestry record 99871215. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 24–25 September 2026. Confirmed The end of the Selland family, which begins on sheet 11A: Andrew, son, 18, labourer on the home farm; Selma G., daughter, 16, servant on the home farm; Tilda M., 14; Oscar, 11; George, 7; and Myrtle J., 2. All were born in South Dakota to Norwegian-born parents. The index reads her occupation as "Brevet", which is a misreading of Servant. It also loses Oscar, George and Myrtle across the page break. The index gives the head as "Morris T", but he is on sheet 11A, which was not read, so the site keeps Mons. Collection: 1920 United States Federal Census.
28. S9531950 United States Federal Census — Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, South Dakota, ED 50-76, sheet 80, lines 16–21 (May 1950). Ancestry record 8605848. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 24–25 September 2026. Confirmed Dwelling 92, 1032 Duluth: Peters, Benjamin L., head, 44, born Iowa, stationary fireman at the railway roundhouse; Selma J., wife, 46, born South Dakota, keeping house; LeRoy J., son, 20, born Iowa; Marlene E., 15; Betty J., 13; and Eileen Y., 6. On Selma's sample line both her parents were born in Norway. The "J." is the enumerator's. Every other record gives Gertie Selma, and the site does not add a middle initial. Collection: 1950 United States Federal Census.
29. S962U.S. World War II draft registration card, serial 577, order 2139 — Benjiman Laroy Peters, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (1940). Ancestry record 197723141. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 24 September 2026. Confirmed Benjiman Laroy Peters (so printed, and so signed), 1810 E. 5th Street, Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County; age 35; born 12 October 1905 at Alexander, Iowa; contact his wife, Mrs. Selma Gertrude Peters, same address; employer John Morrell & Co., Sioux Falls. Only the front of the card was read; the registration date and physical description are from the index. The index reads the name "Benginan". Alexander is in Franklin County. Collection: U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947.
30. S965U.S. Railroad Retirement Board employee registration card (Form CER-1) — Benjamin LaRoy Peters, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, signed 26 February 1952. Ancestry record 119371. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 24 September 2026. Confirmed Benjamin LaRoy Peters, signed “B L Peters”, 1032 No. Duluth Ave., Sioux Falls; age 46; born 12 October 1905 at Alexander, Iowa; father Ben Peters, living; mother's name before marriage Edna Osborn, dead. Carman for the C.St.P.M.&O. Ry. Co. (the Omaha Road) at Sioux Falls, entered service February 1952. He was his own informant. His mother's maiden name is spelled Osborn here; her 1903 marriage return reads Orsborn, and the site keeps Orsborn. Social Security number not transcribed. Collection: U.S., Chicago and North Western Railroad Employment Records, 1935–1970 (db 6944, image 42035_520307001_0144-02246).
31. S973Iowa death certificate no. 35-515 — Stephen Wood Orsborne, Hampton, Franklin County, 1925. Ancestry record 750071384. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28 September 2026. Confirmed Stephen Wood Orsborne, born 16 February 1871 in Ohio, died at Hampton, Iowa, on 9 January 1925. Father John Wood Orsborne, born Ohio; mother Armenia Howard, born Ohio. The informant was Mrs. S. W. Orsborne. This is the first record read that gives John's middle name, Wood; it rests on this certificate alone, whose informant was his daughter-in-law. It gives Armenia's birthplace as Ohio; the censuses of the household give Indiana. Image 101784529_00581.
32. S9741900 U.S. census — Yates Township, McLean County, Illinois, ED 123, dwelling 133. Ancestry record 37028834. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28 September 2026. Confirmed John Orsborn, born June 1848 in Ohio, and his wife Minnie, born April 1848 in Indiana, married 30 years; she was the mother of eight children, six living. The census does not give the wife's full name. That “Minnie” is Armenia Howard is inferred, not stated: the ages, birthplaces and the 1870 marriage fit, and the Orsborn spelling matches Edna's 1903 marriage (S791), but no record read gives her both names. Image 4113782_00248.
33. S9801880 U.S. census — Greendale, Lawrenceburgh Township, Dearborn County, Indiana, ED 47, page 3, 16 June 1880. Ancestry record 18949604. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28 September 2026. Confirmed Jno. W. Osborn, 32, laborer, born Ohio; Minnie, 32, his wife, born Indiana; and Stephen, 9, their son, born Ohio. Stephen, 9, born Ohio, fits Stephen Wood Orsborne, born 16 February 1871 in Ohio (S973), and Lawrenceburg is his sister Edna's birthplace (S791). The census does not give the wife's full name; that “Minnie” is Armenia Howard is inferred, not stated. Image 4240580-00296.
34. S9811870 U.S. census — Miller Township, Dearborn County, Indiana, page 22, 9 July 1870, dwelling 133. Ancestry record 19206289. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28 September 2026. Probable John Osborn, 22, laborer, born Ohio; Minnie, 22, born Indiana; and Charles, five months old, born in January 1870 in Indiana. The 1870 census states no relationships. The names, ages, birthplaces and county fit the Orsborn household of 1880 (S980) and 1900 (S974). Charles is not in the 1880 household, so he probably died young; with him the 1900 count of eight children born fits. That is inferred, not recorded.
35. S9851900 U.S. census — Scott Township, Franklin County, Iowa, ED 140, sheet 6B, 11 June 1900, lines 76–80. Ancestry record 14339818. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28 September 2026. Probable Johan Peters, 65, born October 1834 in Germany, and Sophia, his wife, 56, born July 1843 in Germany, both came to the United States in 1861 and had been married 38 years; she was the mother of 14 children, 7 living. They owned their house. With them were John, son, 22, Saraha, daughter, 23, and Wesley, grandson, 2, all born Iowa. The name pair, the German births and Franklin County fit John Peters and Sophia Herman, whose son Benjamin married at Alexander in that county in 1903 (S791). Benjamin, born 1881, is not in this household, and the census does not name him, so the match is probable, not proven. Frank Peters, 33, born New York of a German father, lived two households away; he is not stated to be their son.
36. S9891920 United States Federal Census — Brandt Township, Deuel County, South Dakota, ED 125, sheet 11A, dwelling 169, lines 48–50 (January 1920). Ancestry record 99871212. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28–29 September 2026. Confirmed Selland, Mons T., head, 51, farmer, owning his farm with a mortgage; Julia, wife, 49; Ida C., daughter, 19, servant on the home farm, born South Dakota. Mons and Julia were born in Norway, immigrated 1889, naturalized 1914. The household continues on sheet 11B (S952), with Andrew, Selma G., Tilda M., Oscar, George and Myrtle J. The naturalization is census-stated; no court record has been read.
37. S9901930 United States Federal Census — Brandt Township, Deuel County, South Dakota, ED 20-7, sheet 1B, dwelling 12, lines 52–60 (April 1930). Ancestry record 111076604. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28–29 September 2026. Confirmed Mons Selland, head, 61, and Julia, wife, 60, both born Norway, immigrated 1889, naturalized; age at first marriage: Mons 32, Julia 30. With them Oscar, 21, George, 17, and Myrtle, 12, and their widowed daughter Ida Gustavson, 29, with her daughters Mabel, 6, Eva, 4, and Charlotte, an infant, born in Canada to a Swedish-born father, who came to the United States in 1929. The index lists six people and drops the three granddaughters. Also indexed as Ancestry record 111076620 (the same image, under Mons).
38. S9911940 United States Federal Census — Brandt Township, Deuel County, South Dakota, ED 20-7, sheet 1A, household 1 (16 April 1940). Ancestry record 110552223. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28–29 September 2026. Confirmed Monse Selland, 71, head and informant, owning a farm worth $800, and Julia, 70, both born Norway and naturalized, in the same house as in 1935, with their sons Oscar, 31, and George, 27, both single.
39. S9921950 United States Federal Census — Brandt, Deuel County, South Dakota, ED 20-7, sheet 9, house 77, lines 14–16 (18 April 1950). Ancestry record 8596216. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28–29 September 2026. Confirmed Mons T. Sellan[d], 82, farmer, and Julia, 80, his wife, both born Norway and naturalized, with their son Oscar, 41, never married, a farm helper. The initial T. fits the Røldal register's “Mons Thorsen Selland” (S75). Also indexed as Ancestry record 8596215 (the same image, under Mons).
40. S998Grundy County, Iowa, return of births for the year to 1 October 1884, no. 390. Ancestry record 602503437. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Confirmed An unnamed son, born 12 March 1884 in Fairfield Township, the mother's fifth child. Mother Sophia Peters, née Herman(n), 41, born Germany; father John Peters, farmer, born Germany. Attendant D. M. Wicks(?), M.D., New Hartford. This is the image behind the FamilySearch index entry in S816.
41. S1008Franklin County, Iowa, return of marriages, book 35, page 518, licence 657 (20 October 1896). Ancestry record 1053828428. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Confirmed Louis Peters, 23, farmer of Alexander, born Cedar Falls, Iowa; father John Peters, mother Sophie Herman. Bride Carrie Augusta Latham, 21, born Geneva, Iowa, daughter of Milton Latham and Emily Buss. Married at Alexander, 22 October 1896. The index reads the groom as “Lenis”; the image says Louis.
42. S1009Iowa certificate of death — Franklin County, Scott Township, Alexander, registered no. 28 (1931). Ancestry record 600259568. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Confirmed Frank Peters, farmer, married, husband of Addie; born 12 October 1866, New York; died 2 September 1931 at Alexander; buried at Alexander 5 September 1931. Father John Peters, born Germany; mother's maiden name “Not Known”, born Germany. Informant Addie Peters. The informant did not know his mother's name. The 1885 Iowa census (S1010) has Frank, 19, born New York, in John and Sophia Peters's household.
43. S1010Iowa state census, 1885 — Grundy County, page 239, dwelling 70. Ancestry record 7203660. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Confirmed John Peters, 50, and Sophia, 41, both born Germany, with William, 20, and Frank, 19, born New York; Charlie, 16, born Black Hawk County; Fred, 12; Louie, 10; Sarah, 8; John, 6; and Ben, 3, born Grundy County. A Frank Peters, 20, labourer, born New York, is also listed at dwelling 66, probably the same man counted twice.
44. S1041Iowa, Franklin County, Return of Marriages, 1902, p. 8, licence 1426. Ancestry record 1503454740. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Confirmed Hampton, 15 October 1902: Albert L. Ward, 43, farmer of Rowan, married Sarah Peters, 28, of Alexander, born Cedar Falls, Iowa, daughter of John Peters and Sophia Hermann.
45. S10481860 United States Federal Census — Whitewater Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, page 55, dwelling 394. Ancestry record 42826535. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Probable 13 July 1860: Stephen Osborn, 38, farmer, born Ohio; Jane, 31; John, 12, at school; Mary E., 11; Emma, 8; Joseph, 4; Stephen A., 1; all born Ohio. The 1860 census states no relationships; this is John W. Orsborn’s probable childhood household by name, age and place (Whitewater Township borders Dearborn County, Indiana).
46. S10521920 United States Federal Census — Florida Township, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, E.D. 201, sheet 8A. Ancestry record 48255115. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 24 September 2026. Confirmed 30 January 1920: continuing a Peters household from the previous sheet, Edna B., wife, 35, born Indiana; Eva M., daughter, 16, born Iowa; La Roy B., son, 14, born Iowa, at school; Clifford L., son, 12, born Iowa; Hazel F., daughter, 9, born Oklahoma; Russell R., son, 3 months, born South Dakota; the father of every child born Iowa. The head (indexed as Ben Peters, 37) is on sheet 7B, which has not been read; the surname is carried over from that sheet.
47. S10531850 United States Federal Census — Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, dwelling 196. Ancestry record 15899233. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Probable 30 August 1850: Stephen Osborn, 27, laborer; Martha, 20; John, 2; Mary, 4 months; all born Ohio. Next door, dwelling 197: John Osborn, 58, farmer, born New Jersey, and Eliza, 58, born New York. The 1850 census states no relationships. Stephen’s age and the children John and Mary fit the 1860 Whitewater household (S1048), but the wife is “Martha”, 20, here and “Jane”, 31, in 1860: one woman (Martha Jane?) or a second wife, unresolved.
48. S10541910 United States Federal Census — Lawrenceburg Township, Dearborn County, Indiana, E.D. 46, sheet 11A, dwelling 231. Ancestry record 6295392. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Probable April 1910: John Osborn, 61, head, born Ohio, parents born Ohio, farm laborer, owns his house; Margaret, wife, 56, born Ohio of Irish parents, no children born; Charles, son, 15, born Illinois, father born Ohio, mother born Indiana. The marital column is faint: it seems to read a second marriage of about one year. The tie to John W. Orsborn is by name, age, Ohio birth and Lawrenceburg; nothing on the page names Armenia or states when she died.
49. S10691860 United States Federal Census — Randolph Township, Ohio County, Indiana, P.O. Rising Sun, page 49, dwelling 362, family 364. Ancestry record 8836184. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Probable 18 July 1860: J.(?) W. Howard, 38, boatman, real estate $200, personal estate $40, born Indiana; Margaret, 39; Allmagmirta(?), 14; Arimena, 12; Angelesa, 10; Rabella, 8; Asberry, 6, male; Virginia, 4; Wesley, 2, male; all born Indiana. A rare given name, an age that fits a birth about 1848 in Indiana, and Ohio County next to Dearborn County (Lawrenceburg, Edna’s birthplace). The census states no relationships, and nothing on the page links Arimena to John W. Orsborn.
50. S1075Indiana marriage-licence application (male), Dearborn County, register pp. 448–449 — John W. Osborn and Nannie Johnson, sworn 9 August 1921. FamilySearch Indiana, Marriages, 1811–2019, index 1:1:XXY9-DX6, image 3:1:S3HY-6FH4-V8. Image examined, read 30 September 2026. Confirmed John W. Osborn, of Homestead, Indiana, retired, born June 1st 1848 at Cleves, O.; full name of father Stephen Osborn, white, born Ohio, deceased; full maiden name of mother Martha J. Heron, white, deceased; his third marriage, the previous one dissolved by death in 1918; signed by mark, before James G. McKinney, clerk. The groom is Edna B. Orsborn’s father: the birth month and state match the 1900 census [S974], Dearborn County is where the family was in 1880 [S980], and a son Stephen, named for this grandfather, is in that household. No conflicting parents were found in a FamilySearch search for the same man.
51. S1083U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863–1865 — Schedule II, Class II, 2nd Congressional District, Ohio (Hamilton County), volume 1046, page 89. Ancestry record 3339031. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 1 October 2026. Confirmed Dated 25 June 1863: Elizabethtown, Osborn S. W., 42, white, farmer, born Ohio; no former service. Linked to Stephen Osborn by the initials, the place and the trade: his widow is “Orsborn Martha J wid Stephen W” at Elizabethtown in the 1909–10 county directory (S1086). The age gives a birth about 1821, two years off the 27 of the 1850 census (S1053), within census tolerance.
52. S1084U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850–1880 — 1860 agricultural schedule, Whitewater Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, page 9, line 30. Ancestry record 6097893. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 1 October 2026. Confirmed Stephen Osborn: 80 acres improved and 10 unimproved, farm worth $7,200, implements $450; 2 horses, 4 mules, 3 milch cows, 16 swine; 277 bushels of wheat, 3,000 of Indian corn and 150 of oats. The same township as his 1860 population-schedule household (S1048).
53. S1085U.S., City Directories, 1822–1995 — Hamilton County, Ohio directory (1907 by the index), page 637, “Name, Post Office and Township”. Ancestry record 332684321. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 1 October 2026. Confirmed “Orsborn John W. farm hand, Elizabethtown, Whitewater Tp” and “—Martha J wid. Elizabethtown, Whitewater Tp”. The index places this at the city of Hamilton; the page is the county directory and the entry is Elizabethtown.
54. S1086Ohio and Florida, U.S., City Directories, 1902–1960 — Williams’ Hamilton County Directory (1909–10 by the index), page 82, Elizabethtown section. Ancestry record 1961708. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 1 October 2026. Confirmed “Orsborn John W lab” and “Orsborn Martha J wid Stephen W”, Elizabethtown, Hamilton County, Ohio. The husband’s name and the Orsborn spelling match John W. Orsborn’s 1921 licence application (S1075).
55. S11001875 Norway Census — Røldal, household of Thore Thorsen. Ancestry record 1138042. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 1 October 2026. Confirmed Census of 31 December 1875: Thore Thorsen, head, married, farmer and owner, building carpenter and smith, born 1820 in Røldal; Engeborg Iversdtr, his wife, born 1831 at Søvde, Sands parish; their children Anders Thorsen, 1857, helping his father, Engeborg Thorsdtr, 1865, Mons Thorsen, 1868, and Engeborg Thorsdtr, 1873, all born in Røldal; a servant, two visitors from Suldal, and a lodger household. The farm name is not on this spread. The index reads her birthplace as “Sósde”; the image has Søvde. Two daughters named Engeborg, 1865 and 1873, are both listed.
56. S11281900 U.S. census — Brandt Township, Deuel County, South Dakota, ED 132, sheet 2A, dwelling 23 (4 June 1900). Ancestry record 59725519. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Confirmed Selland, Mons (the end of the given name is hard to read), head, born May 1868 in Norway, 32, married 1 year, immigrated 1889, naturalized, farmer, owning a mortgaged farm; Julia, wife, born April 1870 in Norway, 30, mother of 1 child, 1 living, immigrated 1889; Ida C., daughter, born April 1900 in South Dakota, 1 month. The online index reads the head as “Mor” or “Mory” Selland.
57. S11301880 U.S. census — Cedar Falls Township, Black Hawk County, Iowa, ED 46, p. 3, dwelling 24 (2 June 1880). Ancestry record 23007144. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Confirmed Peters, Charles, 40, farmer, born Prussia; Sophia, wife, 36, born Prussia; sons William, 16, born New York, Frank, 14, Charles, 11, Fredrick, 6, Louis, 5, and John, 2; daughters Mary, 12, Sarah, 4, and an infant born in May. The head is written Charles, not John; the children are the same family as the other records of John and Sophia Peters. The census gives Frank’s birthplace as Iowa; the 1885 state census gives New York.
58. S1137Hamilton County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas marriage record, p. 260, no. 538 — Stephen W. Osborn and Martha Jane Hearn (26–31 March 1847). Ancestry record 900124906. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 30 September 2026. Confirmed Affidavit of Stephen W. Osborn, over 21, no lawful wife living, that Martha Jane Hearn is over seventeen, with no lawful husband living, and resident in Hamilton County, sworn 26 March 1847. In the margin, the consent of James H. Hearn, “father of Martha Jane Hearn”, given at Cincinnati the same day. Return: married 31 March 1847; the officiant’s name is blank. “Seventeen” is written over a struck-out “eighteen”.
59. S11481870 U.S. census, Whitewater Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, dwelling 221 (21 July 1870). Ancestry record 38791830. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 30 September 2026. Confirmed Stephen Osborn, 48, farming, real estate $1,000, personal $600, born Ohio; Jane, 40, keeps house; Emma, 18; Josephine, 14; Douglass, 12; Laura, 8; all born Ohio. Enumerator I. N. Butler. The 1870 schedule states no relationships. The surname is faint.
60. S11491880 U.S. census, White Water Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, ED 107, p. 5, dwelling 38 (2 June 1880). Ancestry record 23411154. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 30 September 2026. Confirmed Stephen W. Osborn, 58, husband, Justice of the Peace, born Ohio, father born New York, mother New Jersey; Jane, 50, wife, keeping house, born Ohio, father born North Carolina, mother Ohio; Laura, 18, daughter. Next door, in the Hayes household, Douglass Osborn, 21, farm labourer. Enumerator I. N. Butler.