Life
He was born as Matz Peters to a certain Peter Johnen (1595-1643) on Christmas Eve of 1632; his two older brothers were Jens (1627-1697) and Peter (1629-1678). He also had a younger brother John (or Jon) (1641-1691) and two younger sisters Thur and Jong Thur. As was the custom on the Frisian islands at the time, Peters left his home as a young boy of about 12 years to participate in the newly flourishing whaling business in the Netherlands and also took lessons in navigation. In the course of his travels he also changed his name to Matthias Petersen.
Known as "Glücklicher Matthias", "Matthias der Glückliche" or "Mathis der Glückliche", all of which translate to "Lucky Mathew", he became eventually famous by catching a total of 373 whales within five decades and for gathering great riches thereby. And that was, as his tomb in the graveyard of St. Lawrence's church in Süderende testifies, the reason why he "with everybody's approbation accepted the surname of Lucky".
The exploit of 373 caught whales was only possible since Petersen still participated in the so-called "bay fishery". At the time, the whalers would encounter great numbers of whales in the bays of Spitsbergen, so the catch for a successful return could quickly be made. Petersen also acquired his legendary catches due to his long experience as a navigator. Aged only 20, he had been made commander of a whaling vessel and for fifty years in total he would keep that occupation. As a result he also made a financial fortune. During 19 voyages as a commander, Petersen acquired a total income of € 577,800 converted, which was a valuable asset given the circumstances of the time.
In 1677, Petersen and his brother donated two great brass chandeliers to the St. Laurentii parish which are still in use today in the church of St. Lawrence.
At the beginning of the Spanish War of Succession in 1701 Petersen's eldest son Matz, who was a commander as well, was abducted to St. Malo by a French privateer but was later released for ransom. On his last voyage in 1702 Petersen himself was caught when his ship was seized by a French privateer. He and his crew were only released after paying a ransom of 8,000 Reichsthalers. In the same year, his sons Ock and John would fall in battle with a French pirate.
Matthias Petersen died in 1706 on his native island Föhr. His tombstone displays a vita in Latin and a coat of arms with the goddess of fortune and a whale.
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