In 1964, Bobby Vinton sang “My Heart Belongs To Only You”. We have all grown up with that notion that our heart belongs to the one we truly love. I wonder if he and/or the songwriters were ever inspired Thomas & Mary Peterson. I'd like to take you on a journey, back in time and introduce you to a romance for the ages.

Our journey begins in Philadelphia, in the year 1847. If you were to pick up a newspaper, you may see stories about Pittsburgh having the first singing of “Oh! Susanna” by composer Stephen Foster; Major General Zachary Taylor leading troops during the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican American War; A new senator appointed for the state of Mississippi named Jefferson Davis; The first photograph of lightning by Thomas Martin Easterly in St. Louis; New York and Boston being linked for the first time by telegraph wires; and Frederick Douglass printing his first newspaper called “North Star”.

In local news, The American Medical Association is founded in Philadelphia; While trying to swim from Greenwich Point to Gloucester Point, New Jersey, two elephants drown in the Delaware River.

This is the world around us as our story begins.

Thomas Howard Peterson is born on Tuesday, September 14, 1847. He is the son of Charles Jacobs Peterson and Sarah Howard. Charles Jacobs Peterson is a publisher by trade. He is an owner and partner of “The Saturday Evening Post”. Like his father, Thomas Howard Peterson has become a publisher and editor. They work at a publication house on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia.

On Wednesday, February 8, 1871, Thomas Howard Peterson marries Mary Cannell. The ceremony is conducted by Rev. Frederick Williamson Beasley (1808-1878) and held at All Saints Church in Lower Dublin (now the Torresdale section of Philadelphia). The groom is 25, the bride is 22. They live at 1525 Walnut Street.

While still enjoying the bliss of marriage, the newlywed Petersons are blessed on February 22, 1872 with a baby boy named Howard Cannell Peterson. Unfortunately, the joy is short lived. At five months old, Howard C. Peterson dies on August 21, 1872. He is buried in the Peterson family plot at Laurel Hill Cemetery.

The Petersons are delighted again on March 28, 1874 as they welcome their first daughter Grace Howard Peterson (1874-1960) and again on July 31, 1876 with the birth of their second daughter, Mary Howard Peterson (1876-1947).

By 1880, Thomas and Mary move their family to Berks County. Sometime in 1880, Mary has become ill and is now an “invalid”. She is ordered by her doctor to go to the sea. The fresh saltwater air is thought to have healing powers and is a common prescription for many illnesses at this time. Mary is now staying in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

In February 1881, Thomas decides to go and visit his wife. He, accompanied by his sister-in-law, Virginia Cannell Whelen (1850-1920) board the train to Atlantic City. Thomas has a life-long habit of going on long walks alone. The following day, February 6th, Thomas decides to take one of his long afternoon walks, but he never returns. He is last seen around the Inlet pier. His disappearance creates a sensation at the time. A very thorough search effort is made to find this important Philadelphia publisher, but to no avail. It seems as though Thomas disappears off the face of the earth.

On June 18, 1881, a boy named John Jenkins is walking along Tatham's Beach (known today as Seven Mile Island) 32 Miles south of Atlantic City. As he is walking, he discovers a body that had washed up on shore the night before.

Based on the clothing and the items found with the body, Theophilus Beasley Peterson (1821-1890) identified it as his missing nephew Thomas Howard Peterson. Upon receiving the news, Thomas' father, Charles J. Peterson takes a train from Newport, RI, where he had taken his family for a summer vacation. Mary Peterson, the now widowed wife, is in New York at the time and also boards the next train to the Jersey coast.

At the time, his mysterious disappearance gained a lot of attention. With conflicting stories circulating and the puzzling circumstances, rumors began to spread. None of Thomas's family had ever given any of the the rumors a second thought. When Thomas's body is found, there is no evidence that any of the rumors had any truth to them.

Being that Thomas is last seen February 6th on one of his long unattended ventures, walking near the Inlet pier, the family concludes that he must have slipped on the “ice covered timers” and fell into the cold Atlantic Ocean. Cape May County Coroner, Dr. Issac Downs (1841-1903) examines the remains an determines that Thomas's cause of death is drowning. His body is placed on the two o'clock train and sent back to Philadelphia. Thomas Howard Peterson is laid to rest in the Peterson family plot in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Under normal circumstances, this is where our story ends. However, these are not normal circumstances. I found a hidden gem within this story. I wanted to know what ever happens to Thomas's wife, Mary.

The last report of her living situation is reported in the 1880 Census, before Thomas's accident. She is living in Berks County, Pa., with her husband Thomas and their two daughters, Grace and Mary. After the death of Thomas, she never shows up in another Census. The final record for Mary is her death certificate. By 1912, she is residing in Manhattan, NY. On December 5, 1912 Mary Cannell Peterson dies of pneumonia. She is laid to rest with her parents in All Saints' Episcopal Church Yard.

Although she is buried with her family, her heart will always be with the love of her life, her husband Thomas. You see, Mary's final wishes are that her heart be interred with her husband. Before being buried with her parents, her heart is removed from her body and is placed in the Peterson family plot at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Section G Plot 160 S ½. Mary's heart truly belonged to Thomas.

So I ask you, Who does YOUR heart belong to?