4,770 documented Peterson ancestors, drawn from public records such as death indexes and county histories. Every name below is a real person in the public record.
Patronymic — 'son of Peter'; common in both England and Scandinavia.
Where the records place them: Iowa (100%), out of 4,758 Peterson records with a known place.
The most common first names among them: John, Mary, Carl, Robert and William.
Of the 4,748 with both a birth and a death year, the median lifespan was 79 years.
The earliest recorded birth is James H. Peterson, born 1830 in Canada.
Documented Peterson families on this page come from History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota (1916), A History of Johnson County, Illinois (1925) and Biographical Record of Summit County, Ohio.
Real Peterson family groups pieced together from the public record — parents, spouse, and children, each with the source that proves it. Recognize your line? Tap a family and we’ll start your documented tree from it.
+1 more documented Peterson families in the record. Find yours →
Deceased Peterson ancestors, earliest first. Living family members are deliberately omitted.
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Patronymic — 'son of Peter'; common in both England and Scandinavia.
The documented line here reaches back to 1830. Most Peterson lines can be traced to the end of the surviving public record.
No. Deceased ancestors only, from public records. Living people are excluded for privacy.
If a name here matches your family, it may well be. A full documented build confirms exactly how your line connects.
Part of a network of documented family histories: