Separated but Not Forgotten: A Sister’s Search for Family

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Nancy Peterson Harper: The Daughter Who Searched for Answers

Nancy Jane Peterson was born on January 29, 1881, in Astoria, Illinois, to John Robert Peterson and Julia Ann Perkins. As the eldest child, she lived a very different life from her younger half-brothers. By the time tragedy struck in 1897, Nancy was already living away from her father and his new family, working in Rich Hill, Missouri.

She wasn’t there when John and Mary lost everything at Stinking Creek or when pneumonia took their lives in Nevada, Missouri. She wasn’t there when her brothers—George, Robert, and newborn Roy—were left alone, orphaned, and separated into different homes. But she didn’t forget them.

At some point, Nancy learned the truth about what happened, and unlike her younger brothers—who were too small to remember—she carried the weight of that loss. But she didn’t let it end there.

In 1910 and 1911, Nancy took action. She placed newspaper ads, searching for her lost brothers. She wanted to know where they had gone, what had happened to them. And she succeeded—she found out what happened to at least two of them.

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Nancy eventually built a life for herself in Los Angeles, California, where she married Martin E. Harper around 1906. Her married life was not perfect—by 1930, Martin was institutionalized for medical reasons, and Nancy was supporting herself as a janitress—but she persevered. She lived independently for decades, relying on her strength and resilience.

She never moved back east, never returned to Missouri. Whether it was for health, opportunity, or simply because California became home, she remained there for the rest of her life.

Nancy passed away on June 13, 1952, at the age of 71, from a heart attack. She was cremated, and her final resting place is unknown.

Her life was one of survival, separation, and determination, but also one of hope. She didn’t just lose her family—she searched for them. And while she may not have been able to reunite with them all, she found answers, something few orphans of her time could say.

Her story is not just one of loss—it’s one of endurance, strength, and never giving up.

Sources:

Robert Peterson’s Biography (Unpublished family account, 20th century)

Nevada Daily Mail (Nevada, MO), February–June 1897

U.S. Census: 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940 (Los Angeles, CA)

Nancy Jane Peterson Harper’s Death Certificate (1952, Los Angeles, CA)

Pierce Brothers Mortuary Records (Los Angeles, CA)

Social Security Applications and Claims Index

Fort Scott Monitor (Fort Scott, KS), December 7, 1910

La Plata Home Press (La Plata, MO), May 11, 1911

Macon Times-Democrat (Macon, MO), May 18, 1911