Robert Smith Peterson, born in Decatur, Indiana, on November 11, 1873, grew up in Adams County with his parents, Sylvester Wesley and Elizabeth Jane (Blossom) Peterson. Robert and his brothers, Henry, Frank and Charles enlisted in the 16th Indiana Volunteer Infantry.
Robert enlisted on September 16, 1898, in Indianapolis, and after being in several camps until January 1899, he then went to Matanzas, Cuba. It was a very short-lived event as the group was sent back to the U.S. on March 16, basically seeing no action.
When Robert returned home, he married Lillian L. Noll in 1899, and they had six children: Harry Noll, George John, Robert Paul, Gertrude Blossom, Ruby M. and Gladys.
Robert managed a baseball team, the Rosenthals, for a while. Two of his brothers played on the team.
Robert, manager, in the back; brother Charles in the third row, far left; and brother Frank in the third row, second from the left. The baby in the front is Charles' son, Cal.
When Robert was hired by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, he moved to Sherwood, Ohio, where he raised his family. However, by the 1930 Federal Census, the family had moved to Fort Wayne. His wife, Lillian, passed away on March 21, 1956, and Robert on April 8, 1958. Both were buried in Sherwood Cemetery with their son, Sylvester Wesley, who died in 1916 of tuberculosis.
Lillian's obituary appeared in the Sherwood Chronicle in 1956:
"FUNERAL RITES HELD FOR MRS. PETERSON.
Mrs. Lillian Peterson, 77, wife of Robert Peterson of Fort Wayne, former resident of Sherwood, died Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. in Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne. She had been a patient five weeks and in failing health for some time.
The funeral was conducted at 1:00 p.m. Saturday in Klaehn Funeral Home, Fort Wayne, with gravesite rites at the Sherwood Cemetery at 2:30 - 3:00 on Sunday.
Besides her husband, Mrs. Peterson leaves three sons: Harry, Cincinnati; John, Toledo; Paul, Rockport, N.Y. and three daughters; Mrs. Gertrude Jergens, Roanoke, Ind,; Mrs. Ruby Collins, Toledo; and Mrs. Gladys Schultz, Fort Wayne; two brothers: William Noll, Paradise Mills, Ind. and T.R. Noll, Decatur, Ind. and two sisters: Mrs. Clarice Garard, Fort Wayne and Mrs. Roy Miller, Sherwood, O.
Mrs. Peterson was a native of Pleasant Mills, Indiana.
Robert's obituary appeared on Wednesday, April 9, 1958, in the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette:
"Robert Peterson, 83, a retired railroader, died at 8:30 a.m. yesterday in a local nursing home, where he had been a patient two years. He was a veteran of the Spanish-American War.
Surviving are three sons, Harry, Cincinnati; George, Toledo; and Paul, Lockport, N.Y.; three daughters, Mrs. Erwin Juergens, Roanoake; Mrs. Gustav Schultz, Fort Wayne; and Mrs. Ruby Collins, Toledo; 12 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, a brother, Frank, Decatur, and a sister, Mrs. Loretta Whitman, Monroe.
Services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Thursday in the Klaehn Funeral Home where friends may call after 3 p.m. today. The Rev. George Brittenham will officiate and burial will be in Sherwood, Ohio.
Dan Hasch, Researcher
