Sewell A. Peterson was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician.

Born in Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, he settled in Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 in 1861. He lived in Menomonie, Wisconsin

Menomonie, Wisconsin

Two other spellings of the name appear elsewhere, see Menomonee and Menominee. For the town, see Menomonie .Menomonie is a city in and the county seat of Dunn County in the western part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The city's population was 16,264 as of the 2010 census...

, where he was a merchant. During that time, Peterson served on the Menomonie Common Council. Then he moved to Rice Lake, Wisconsin

Rice Lake, Wisconsin

Rice Lake is a city in Barron County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 8,320. The city is located mostly within the Town of Rice Lake.-Geography:Rice Lake is located at ....

, where he served as city clerk, city treasurer, and mayor. In 1893, he served in the Wisconsin State Assembly

Wisconsin State Assembly

The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin....

. In 1895–1899, he served as the Wisconsin State Treasurer.