Peter Anthon Nielsen was born on May 12, 1854, in Odense, Denmark. He converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at age seventeen and served as a missionary in Denmark for two years. In 1865 he sailed to America on the B.S. Kimball with 556 other church members bound for Utah, and on the last segment of the journey across the plains by wagon train they faced food shortages, snow, and Indians. When they arrived in Salt Lake City, President Brigham Young said, "This bunch of emigrants may not amount to much but their children and their children's children will." On November 15, 1865, Peter married Olivia Jensen and soon moved to Draper, where he lived for forty-one years; they had seven children. On July 26, 1883, he married Anne Maria Nielsen, with whom he had three more children. A mason by trade, he used his skill in building many early Draper homes. He was also a rancher, businessman, postmaster for nine years, chairman of the school board for nine years, and a justice of the peace. He served three additional church missions, two in Denmark and one in California. He was one of the presidents of the seventy for the 72nd Quorum in Draper and presided over Draper's Scandinavian meetings for thirty-two years. Known for generosity in helping others, he also sponsored an annual reception for Draper's widows and widowers for more than thirty years on the anniversary of Olivia's birthday. He died on February 18, 1933, and was buried in the Draper Cemetery.