Gilbert Peterson was an American contractor

General contractor

A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...

 from Lockport, New York

Lockport (city), New York

Lockport is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 21,165 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a set of Erie canal locks within the city. Lockport is the county seat of Niagara County and is surrounded by the town of Lockport...

. He was the founder and President of Peterson & Sons, which he ran with his two sons, Charles Gilbert Peterson

Charles Gilbert Peterson

Charles Gilbert Peterson , was an American contractor from Lockport, New York. He was an associate in Peterson & Sons with his father, Gilbert Peterson and brother, Jesse Peterson. The company executed such contracts as the waterworks of Toledo, Ohio and Grand Rapids, Michigan along with a...

 and Jesse Peterson

Jesse Peterson

Jesse Peterson , was an American industrialist from Lockport, New York. He was the President of the United Indurated Fibre Company, President of the Buffalo Warehouse & Distributing Company, Owner of the Cascade Pulp Mills, Director and Vice President of the Lockport Water & Electric Company and an...

. The company executed contracts building the waterworks of Toledo, Ohio

Toledo, Ohio

Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...

; Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...

; Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

; part of the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad

Genesee Valley Canal Railroad

The Genesee Valley Canal Railroad was a part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system in central New York. It was built on the former Genesee Valley Canal alignment.-Genesee Valley Canal: 1836-1878:...

 and worked on multiple reservoirs in the Washington, DC area. Previously he was a partner at Hunt, Peterson & Kinsley, responsible for enlarging Erie Canal between Middleport, New York

Middleport, New York

Middleport is a village in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 1,917 at the 2000 census. The mail ZIP code is 14105. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area....

 and Gasport, New York

Gasport, New York

Gasport is a hamlet located in the Town of Royalton in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 1,248 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from observed natural gas and the historic Erie Canal port at that location...

 in 1855, and canal repairs in Albany, New York

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

, Frankfort, New York and Kilburn Hill, New York. Peterson was Superintendent of both the eastern and western divisions of the Erie Canal

Erie Canal

The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...

 and in 1867-1868, he was Alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

 of the 2nd Ward of Lockport, New York

Lockport (city), New York

Lockport is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 21,165 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a set of Erie canal locks within the city. Lockport is the county seat of Niagara County and is surrounded by the town of Lockport...

.

He is the great grandfather of Charles Sterling Bunnell

Charles Sterling Bunnell

Charles Sterling Bunnell , was an American banker. Following graduation from Yale University in 1924, Bunnell began his career at the First National City Bank of New York where he held the positions of Senior VP and Chairman of the Credit Policy Committee...

.