Peter Espe (1888-1978) (born Peder Espe), son of Lorntz and Berit Espe, was born on June 13, 1888, in Stjørdal, Nord-Trondelag, Norway, at this approximate location. He was baptized on July 22, 1888, in the Værnes Church at Stjordal. His father emigrated to America, probably in 1889. Peter emigrated from Norway in 1890 with his mother, two older siblings, Ingeborg and Evan, and his 17 year old “spinster” aunt, Marit Espe. They are included in the Passenger List of the SS Alaska, an immigrant ship which sailed between Liverpool, England and New York City. They departed on June 13, Peter’s 2nd birthday, and landed in New York, New York on July 02, 1890.
The 1895 Minnesota State Census lists Peter with his parents and siblings living at 50th and Aldrich in Ward 10 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. This was in the Camden area, northwest of downtown. This writer drove Peter to visit a man who lived in Camden and had been a first grade classmate and friend in about 1895. During the visit, this man shared that he had never lived away from the Camden area of Minneapolis.
In 1897 the Lorntz Espe family had moved to Faribault County in southern Minnesota and, except for Belle who had married in 1901, are listed in Seely Township in the United States Census in 1900. The family now included five children; Ingebord (aka Belle), Evan, Peter, Mary, and Bessie. They lived in a rental property in Seely Township, near Bricelyn, according to the 1905 Minnesota State Census.
In 1909–1910 Peter was a streetcar conductor for Twin City Lines at the East Side Station in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was a job he held for just a few months, before being discharged (see employment record below). He was, apparently, not the best employee, according to his employment document, below. That document also lists his address as 1613 2nd Street North in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In 1915 Peter purchased 160 acres of land (one quarter section) in Minnesota, according to this document. He apparently purchased the land from his father, as it describes the same property that his father Lorentz Espe had purchased in 1910.
On September 17, 1916 Peter married Thilda Dahlgren, daughter of Ole and Lena Dahlgren, at the home of her parents at rural Malung, Roseau County, Minnesota.
Peter’s story continues with Thilda on THIS PAGE.
