Anders J. Peterson Went to PA and Vanished!

[Victoria Anderson]

It is said that ANDERS J. PETERSON (or a variation of that spelling) left Sweden and went to Pennsylvania. He was never heard from again. He is the father of:
 
Peter E. Anderson b: April 15, 1871 d: May 26, 1947
 
Peter Married (February 02, 1895) Anna-Maria Theresa Soderstrom b. March 10, 1875 d. January 23, 1913 we think she is from the Gotland area.
 
The name we have for Anders' wife is incomplete; Severena E. ___dotter. I know that this last name is incomplete but it was all that could be made out from the certificate of marriage.
 
It is believed that Peter was an only child, at least we don't know of any siblings For him. Severena had at least two brothers and one sister; their names are unknown.
 
She remained in Sweden and eventually lived with her sister. It is not known what happened to her or the rest of her family but we would like very much to know.
 
We do not have any dates for Anders or Severena, but it is believed that she was from Goteborg.
 
There seems to be confusion as to where Peter was born, some folks say Visby, and someone else said they thought he was from Halland.  
 
On his marriage certificate he list his place of birth as Visby.  On the Summit County, Ohio 1900 Census, he put that he had been in the US for 8 years, that would mean that he arrived sometime in late 1881 or early 1882.  Peter and Anna had four children:
Alma, Jennie Marie, Carl Edward, and Harry.
 
These relatives are vital members of our family tree, if you have any information about them, it would be deeply appreciated. My husband is Anders and Serverna's 2nd great-grandson.  
 
Thank you for your help.

[Anders Andersson]

If Peter indicated in 1900 that he had been in the US for eight years, then I suppose you mean that he arrived in 1891 or 1892? If he travelled alone, then it seems unlikely that he was only ten years old, so the year 1881-82 is probably the incorrect one. Please confirm this assumption.
 
It sounds strange to me when you explain that Peter's father left Sweden for Pennsylvania and was never heard from again.  Was it Peter (in America) who didn't hear from him (in America), or was it some member of the family back in Sweden? Who emigrated first, Peter or his father?
 
I'm not sitting anywhere near the required sources, but since you have exact dates I would suggest looking for Peter (and maybe also Anna-Maria Theresa) in the Visby sfs or Visby lfs birth record extracts, which are available on microfiche.
 
As for Severena, her last name is a patronymic, and there aren't too many common male names beginning with the letter E. My guess is that her name was Severena Eriksdotter (or Ersdotter, a variant form of the same name). However, no need to interpret that guess as fact until you have verified it.