George and Mary Peterson on the 1880 Census -Calhoun County, Georgia
To date, the earliest records on hand of the Peterson family are found in the 1870 and 1890 US Federal Census. Before discovering this documentation, Henry and Molly Peterson were as far back as we knew. Fittingly, it was information provided by Henry and Molly in the 1900 Census that provided the necessary clues to trace the Peterson family back to George and Martha and George's second wife, Mary.
When George Peterson Sr. appeared on the 1870 Census he was married to Martha. Now, the 1880 Census lists him as being married to Mary. It appears that in the intervening years, Martha Peterson had died and that Henry had remarried.
When George Sr. and Mary Peterson were interviewed for the 1880 US Federal Census ("the Census"), they were 45 and 17 years old, respectively. Four of Henry's five children from his marriage to Martha were living with them. Mau????, Henry's oldest daughter, was not living with them. Based on the age of the youngest child, Moses, we can speculate that Martha died soon after he was born. Although Moses did not appear in the 1870 census, it is unlikely that 17 year Mary could be his birth mother. According to the Census, George Sr. was a farmer and everyone else in the family were farm laborers.