Officer Peterson was a member of the OQUW, the Scandinavian Benevolent Society and the Degree of Honor. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church. He was buried in Oakwood cemetery.
The City of Red Wing employed Officer Peterson for many years. In 1893, he was appointed to the police force and served continuously for 14 years as a patrolman.
During his last hours, he suffered a great deal of pain, but was conscious to the last. He felt that his end was near, although he hoped that life might be spared. He was brave and calm and at his bedside as he conversed with his sons and other members of the family. He was cheerful and bade them to be of good courage whatever the result might be. While he faced death cheerfully, he would have been glad of life, for he had much to live for. For those who knew the family and the relation of its different members, the one to the other, know that it was home where the bonds of mutual sympathy and love were particularly strong. It was one of those homes whose harmony made it earth’s choicest resting place, the very gate of Heaven.
(Extracted from the Red Wing Daily Republican Eagle)