California Biographies Mendocino and Lake Counties, California Transcribed by Peggy Hooper This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm Source: History of Mendocino and Lake Counties, California With Biographical Sketches History by Aurelius O. Carpenter And Percy H. Millberry Illustrated, Complete In One Volume Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1914 PETER SWENSEN.� From a very early age Mr. Swensen was de- pendent upon his own efforts for a livelihood. That he has become a property owner in Mendocino county and that he has built up an excellent trade in his chosen line of business, may be attributed to his own patient perseverance rather than to any extraneous assistance in securing a start in the world. As the only child of his parents, robbed by death of a mother's care when he was only two years of age. he became inured to hardships and loneliness at an age when most boys are care-free. His father, Nicholas, a native of Denmark, drifted to the new world and settled in St. Louis in 1870, after which he fol- lowed his trade of miller, dying in that city in 1888. Meanwhile the son, Peter, whose birth had occurred in Viborg, Jutland. Denmark, November 16, 1862, had been apprenticed to the trade of baker at the age of fifteen, serving his time in Hadersleben, Schleswig, Germany, and then joining his father in St. Louis during 1881. Different towns in Missouri afforded him work at his trade and later he was similarly engaged in Kansas and Colorado. Coming to the Pacific coast in 1891 and passing through Washington, he found work at Everett for some months. Thence he came to California in 1892 and worked in a bakery at San Francisco. From 1893 to 1895 he conducted a bakery in Angel's Camp, after which he spent two years in Sonora, Tuolumne county, and then went to Nevada to operate a bakery business at Carson City. In addition to having traveled through so many states Mr. Swensen spent 1898 in Manila and gained a comprehensive knowledge of the Philippines. The trade not being profitable there, he returned to San Francisco and found employment there as well as in other California towns, including Stockton. During 1902 he came to Ukiah and bought the bakery owned by Frank Deyoe, continuing the business on School street. Having bought a lot on State street in 1905, the following year he built a substantial bakery, 50x80 feet in dimensions. This he has equipped with modern improvements, including a first-class oven. The Ukiah bakery has an output of seven hundred loaves in the dullest seasons, while in busy times it is possible to turn out fifteen hundred loaves if needed. In addition to the making of bread, Mr. Swensen bakes confections of various kinds and during the summer months manufac- tures ice cream in large quantities. The quality of his product is superior, which ensures its popularity with customers and gives him a substantial position among the master bakers of Northern California. Indicative of his interest in the advancement of Ukiah is his active membership in the Cham- ber of Commerce. Fraternally he is allied with the Eagles. In politics he supports the Republican party. His creed in life has been the Golden Rule. In all business transactions and in all the associations of everyday affairs he has aimed to treat others honestly and fairly. In the truest sense of the word he is a self-made man, having risen by his own exertions to his present posi- tion in the business circles of Ukiah.