August Pettersson
August Pettersson was born on 20 Mar 1862 as the second child of Petter Johansson and Johanna Andersdotter in Rakåsa Mellomgården, Fölene, Älvsborgs lån, Västergötland, Sweden. He had five siblings, namely: Johannes, Svante, Lars John, Herman, and Carl Albert. He died on 19 Aug 1958 in the hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota. When he was 46, he married Albertina Sandahl on 09 Aug 1908 in Rapid City. When he was 67, he married Alice Hensall Putnam on 20 Jun 1929 in Pennington Colorado.
August Pettersson emigrated in 1881. In 1884 he came from Minnesota to Dakota Territory by train as far as Pierre (there the railroad ended) and the last 175 miles he walked. After spending a brief time in Rapid City, in 1885 he homesteaded in the Folsom area before the area was surveyed. August was a charter member of the Folsom Baptist Church – established in 1908. He and brother Lars John helped build both the first church in 1910 and a new church in 1917 after the first was struck by lightning and burned. August sold his ranch and cattle in 1929 and retired to Rapid City where he lived until his death in 1958 at the age of 96. His younger brother, John Lars, had died 28 hours before at the age of 89. He was buried on 22 Aug 1958 in Mountain View Cemetery, Rapid City, South Dakota.
Albertina (Sandahl) Pettersson
Albertina Sandahl was born in 1852 in Sweden. She died on 05 Feb 1928. When she was 56, she married August Pettersson, son of Petter Johansson and Johanna Andersdotter, on 09 Aug 1908 in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Albertina Sandahl emigrated in 1885. She was buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Rapid City, South Dakota.
Alice Hensall (Putnam) Pettersson
Alice Hensall Putnam was born on 20 Oct 1876. She died on 09 Feb 1962. When she was 52, she married August Pettersson, son of Petter Johansson and Johanna Andersdotter, on 20 Jun 1929 in Pennington, Colorado.
August Pettersson and Albertina Sandahl had no children.
August Pettersson and Alice Hensall Putnam had no children.
The following is from Eillen Peterson in South Dakota:
August Pettersson was born in Folene, Rakåsa Mellomgården, Sweden, 20 March 1862, and came to the United States in 1881. He settled in Minnesota and lived there for three years near relatives in the Cologne area. In 1884 he came to the Dakota Territory by train as far as Pierre (there the railroad ended) and the last 175 miles by foot. After spending a brief time in Rapid City, in 1885 he homesteaded in the Folsom area before the area was surveyed. He also worked as a cowboy on some of the larger ranches in the area to earn money to expand his own land holding and to purchase cattle.
August helped build the dam for Sylvan Lake in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The lake is still used for boating, fishing, swimming and other recreation activities. August also helped build the railroad line into Rapid City from the south in 1885-1886. August and his hired men build an irrigation system on his land by hand digging and using horses and plows. It was the first irrigation system in the area.
In 1890 there was a Sioux (Lakota) Indian uprising in the Folsom area and a troop from Fort Meade was stationed at the Stanton Ranch. Women and children were taken to Rapid City for safety but about 70 men and soldiers stayed at the Stanton Ranch and August Peterson was the camp cook. Local ranchers enlisted for a 60-day enlistment for $2.80 a day.
August eventually built his ranch up to about 2,000 acres (about 800 hectares) and about 800 head of cattle. He went on cattle buying trips to Nebraska and Kansas and carried cash in a satchel to purchase the cattle. When asked if he was not afraid to carry that much cash he said: “no, I am not afraid of being robbed. I have John with me, and he always carries his pistol!”
One time someone threw a rock at August (story told does not say why). John was with him and stepped between August and the rock thrower and put his hand inside this coat. The rock thrower asked, “do you have a gun in there John?” John told him “Throw another rock and you will find out!”
August had a good set of corrals on his land, and many neighbors used them to corral horses when it was time to brand and cut horses. The corrals were used once to store stolen cattle during a community feud. August had nothing to do with it and turned the cattle loose because he did NOT want to be part of the feud.
August built one of the first stock dams (around 1920) in the area and it was used for many years by neighbors for fishing, known as Gus’s Dam.
August was a charter member of the Folsom Baptist Church – established in 1908. He and brother Lars John helped build both the first church in 1910 and a new church in 1917 after the first was struck by lightning and burned.
On 9 August 1908 married Albertina Sandahl-Sneve (she was 52 and August was 46), a divorced women with several children.
She died 5 February 1928. On 20 January 1929 he married Alice Hensall-Putman. She died in 1962. August had no children of his own.