Background
Carlson was born at Hjortsberga, in the parish of Alvesta, in Kronoberg, Sweden. He was the son of to Carl Andersson and Anna Isaksdotter of Småland.
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Peter Carlson
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His life in Sweden was marked by poverty and lack of education. Peter married Christina (Stina Kajsa) Andersdotter when he was 25. They moved to the parish of Aneboda near the city of Växjö, Sweden.
In May 1854 at the age of 32, he immigrated to the United States with his family and settled in Saint Charles, Illinois before moving to Geneva.
He was mentored by Pastor Erland Carlsson and began his ministry that November. Carlson left the Carver congregation in August 1879 to serve as a missionary in the Pacific Northwest.
Following his work on the West Coast, he returned to Moscow, Idaho, where he served the Cordelia and Zion congregations from 1886-1892 while continuing his missionary work. Over his lifetime he established 18 Lutheran churches throughout the Midwest and West.
He died from a stroke in Omaha, Nebraska.
Both Peter and Christina Carlson were buried at the Moscow Cemetery in Latah County, Idaho. Bethsaida Church - LaConner, Washington (1881) Coos Bay Church - Oregon (1884) Zion Swedish Evangelical Church - Moscow, Idaho (1884).
