The Proeger Family · Generation 6 — Kristin's 3rd-great-grandparents

Sophia Herman

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

Sophia Herman

Confirmed

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

Born
about 1843
Married
John Peters
Children
Benjamin Peters, Louis Peters, Frank Peters, Sarah Peters
Sources
10

Research status

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

Life in the order the records give it

Death1843
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
Record1884
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
Census1885
🆕 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.
Census1880
🆕 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.

Family parents, marriages, children, siblings

Children1881
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
Parents1884
🆕 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
Children1896
🆕 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.
Children1866
🆕 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
Children1902
🆕 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

Open questions what is probable, weak or missing — confirm or correct it

Probable
🆕 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

In the record Generation 6 — Kristin's 3rd-great-grandparents

Sophia Herman · Sources

Citations

Sources cited on this card

10 of the record's sources are cited here. The numbering is the record's own; the full list, with where else each is cited, is at Sources.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.

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Compiled for the Proeger family

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