This is Niels Peter Hendrickson, my Great-Great-Grandfather on my mother's side. He was born February 7, 1877 at Glenwood, Utah to Hendrick Pederson Hendrickson and Mary Christine Madsen Hendrickson. He was the second of seven children.
Pete as a teenager
Pete's father passed away when he was 12 so he and his siblings had to step up and support the family. His job was to herd the sheep, which he did for many years. He didn't have the opportunity to attend school as most of his time was spent away with the sheep.
Dressed for herding sheep
On April 2, 1899, he married Emma Pearl Bell and they moved into a two-room wood home across the street from her parents. The next year he bought a three-room log house. When he wasn't tending the sheep, he was working on his yard and garden. Each summer, he grew almost enough food to feed his growing family.
Niels Peter and Emma Pearl
Pete was fond of the arts and purchased one of the first Edison phonographs with its large horn. In what little spare time they had, Pete and Pearl participated in the community's Dramatic Club, presenting plays in Glenwood and the surrounding towns.
With a bigger family and increased responsibilities, he sold his sheep and bought a farm in Venice. At the same time, he and Pearl purchased a two-room red adobe house on Main Street in Glenwood. As soon as he could get material, he built two more rooms and a bath onto the home.
He was a hard worker and cultivated crops during the long summer months. After the fall harvest, he would haul wood, work on the road, and do odd jobs to supplement his income. In the spring, he would shear sheep. He did all he could to make sure his eight children were fed, clothed, and educated.
Pete was a devoted husband and cared for the children whenever Pearl needed to be gone for church or other duties. After his mother-in-law was widowed, they moved in and cared for her for five years until her death.
Never one to retire, he was Town Marshall for eight years and a school custodian for 11. Whenever his grandchildren would visit, he would retire to his garden, but in the evening he would come with a cob of popcorn to pop for the family.
Pete passed away December 22, 1953 in Glenwood at 76 years old. He left behind his wife, Pearl, and their eight children—Dwain Carlyle, LaVerda, Verona, Lee H, Daryel N, Maurine, Gail P, and Kenneth P.
