Anders Petersen

Early years

Anders Petersen was born in Bjæverskov, a town in Køge Municipality, as the youngest of four children of farmer Peter Nicolaisen and wife Marie Nilsdatter Bech. Since rural deacons were often school teachers as well, this may partly explain why he later became a teacher.

In 1842 he was confirmed as first in his class.

In May 1845 Anders Petersen had completed his apprenticeship. During the following years he worked as a weaver in various nearby villages except for November 1846, where he lived in Copenhagen. In November 1849 he returned to his parents in Bjæverskov. he may have moved back to support his parents.

In 1850 he volunteered for the army and soon became a non-commissioned officer in the artillery. on a stipend from Count Brockenhus Schack of Giesegaard to become a teacher and in 1855 he graduated.

In 1890 he had been awarded the silver medal of merit

The Danish National Archives has preserved some of his mail correspondence.

In 1991 a group of Danish historians led by J. Ingemann Pedersen raised the funds to reprint Anders Petersens book Sjællands Stifts Degnehistorie, which is very useful to genealogists but which had become very rare.

Bibliography (selected)