Ole and Marie's Graves

Franklin, Idaho Cemetery

The Franklin Cemetery is a very pretty, well maintained, active cemetery. There is even a spreadsheet of the graves posted on the Internet.

Image from Franklin Cemetery website:http://franklinidaho.org/Cemetery.htm

Marie & Ole came to America in 1876. Marie's health had not been very well for many years. They had lived under some pretty rough conditions. When they first got to Oslo, in the late 1860's, food was scarce and Marie went without many times. I am pretty sure the conditions in Idaho were not much better when they arrived. I have conflicting information on the exact year of her death. I have that she died 24 Jan 1879 but the grave marker says 1878. I will have to do some more research and see if I can find the correct date. She died from consumption or what is known today as tuberculosis.
Ole and Marie were so poor that they couldn't afford to purchase burials plots.The story goes that Hans Olsen and his wife, Nettie, gave the family two plots. At the time they only put up wooden markers to show the grave locations. I am sure these rotted many years ago. Ole died in 1885. The cemetery records burned in a house fire, so the exact location of the unmarked graves in unknown. Lucille Petterborg Perkins showed some family members who attended her sister, Ruby's, funeral the location of the graves, as best you could remember them. She had been shown the location by Nettie Olsen. The Olsen family is no relation to Ole.

R.P. made the following drawing to show the actual location of Ole and Marie.He was with Lucille the day she showed the spot.

Lee Arnold Petterborg's family are the ones who had the marker placed as a memorial to Ole and Marie. Lee is Emil's oldest child with his wife, Annie Dobson. The marker is not on the exact location of the graves. Thank you for your kindness!