Tellef (Teller) Johan Israelsen

(Torløv Johan Israelsen)

1826–97

Residence: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 16 May 1881

Missionary labors: Christiania Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 15 June 1883

Name of departure ship: Pacific (Milo)

Birth date: 18 February 1826

Birthplace: Harbakken, Trondenes, Troms, Norway

Father: Torlevsen, Israel

Mother: Zachariasdatter, Anne Kirstina

Spouse: Marcussen, Maren Dorthea

Marriage date: 25 October 1855

Death date: 11 December 1897

Burial place: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

Andrew Israelsen wrote of his father’s quest to find religious truth: “My father . . . wondered why there were not apostles, prophets, etc., in the Church as there were in the primitive Church. . . . He dreamed that a personage appeared to him and said, ‘In four years from now you shall understand.’” In precisely four years, Tellef met the first Mormon missionary called to serve in Kasfjord (Trondenes): “Father was converted to Mormonism that first evening. This created quite a stir in the community but none besides father had any faith in this new religion” (Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 3:653).

Tellef was baptized on 3 January 1861 by Niels J. Hartvigsen. He was reported to be the fifth man beyond the Arctic Circle to be baptized. He and his family immigrated to Utah in April 1864. On 5 April 1864, they boarded the steamer Kung-Carl, meaning “King Charles.” Once the steamer reached Liverpool, they crossed the Atlantic aboard the Monarch of the Sea. After arriving in America, they crossed the plains in Captain Soren Christoffersen’s freight train (see Esshom, Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, 958).

The family settled in Hyrum, Cache County, Utah (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 3:653). In that community, Tellef planted sugar beets, corn, and potatoes. He also worked on the railroad by hauling ties down Ogden Canyon to help construct the Union Pacific Railroad (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 3:653).

Tellef interrupted his occupational pursuits to accept a mission call to Scandinavia in 1881. He arrived in Copenhagen on 16 May 1881 and was assigned to labor in the Christiania Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 15 June 1883. Aboard ship, there were 503 emigrating Latter-day Saints and eighteen returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 269). Tellef died in 1897 in Hyrum at age seventy-one.

Ferdinand Jacobsen

1833–1920

Residence: Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 8 November 1887

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 17 October 1889

Name of departure ship: Cameo

Birth date: 23 June 1833

Birthplace: Frederiks Hospital–Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Father: Jacobsen, Niels Peder

Mother: Thiesen, Julie Henriette

Spouse: Lund, Caroline Amalia

Marriage date: 24 (23) October 1857

Marriage place: Logan, Cache, Utah

Death date: 18 January 1920

Death place: Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Burial place: Logan Cemetery, Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Ferdinand moved with his parents to Fredericia when he was six years old. He was wounded in the war of 1848 by German bombardment and sent to the island of Fyn to recuperate. He was well enough to return to Fredericia and his family after the war (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 125).

In the 1850s, he visited various religious meetings and heard the gospel preached. His widowed mother joined the Mormon Church. Ferdinand followed her example and was baptized on 23 February 1853 by Rasmus Nielsen. He was ordained a deacon and a priest before being called on a mission in 1854 to Vejle, Fredericia, and Kolding, cities in Vejle County, Denmark (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 125). Although he traveled without purse or scrip, he “only slept on a haystack once” (Ferdinand Jacobsen Autobiography, 1833–1869; Bitton, Guide to Mormon Diaries and Autobiographies, 173).

Ferdinand was ordained an elder on 11 September 1854 and sent to Langeland (Svendborg County) on a mission. He presided over the branches on that island for two years. He then labored as a traveling elder in the Fyen Conference and presided over branches in Odense (Odense County), Rudkjøbing (Svendborg County), and Slagelse (Sorø County) until 1871 (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 125). In that year, he immigrated to Utah and settled with his family in Logan, Cache County, Utah.

While residing in Logan, Ferdinand accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 8 November 1887 and was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen aboard the steamer Cameo. He arrived in Hull, England, on 20 October 1889 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 310).

From Hull, Ferdinand traveled by rail to Liverpool, where he stayed in the Hotel Svea. He then boarded the steamer Wyoming on 26 October 1889. He was one of 161 aboard ship on that voyage. The Wyoming arrived in New York Harbor on 5 November 1889. Ferdinand then traveled aboard the Wyanoke to Norfolk, Virginia, and then by rail to Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colorado. He finally arrived in Salt Lake City on 13 November 1889 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 310). He died in 1920 in Logan at age eighty-six.

James Jacobsen

(Jöns Jacobsson)

1838–1917

Residence: Fountain Green, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 16 May 1881

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 11 May 1883

Name of departure ship: Bravo

Birth date: 15 August 1838

Birthplace: Tågarpshed, Burlöv, Malmöhus, Sweden

Father: Jönsson, Jacob

Mother: Håkonsdatter, Cissa (Cecilia)

Spouse: Petersen (Larsen), Bodil

Marriage date: before 1866

Marriage place: Denmark

Spouse: Larsen, Bertha Marie

Marriage date: 24 October 1866

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Sorensen (Sorenson), Anna Kjerstine

Marriage date: 17 July 1884

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 17 September 1917

Death place: Fountain Green, Sanpete Co., Utah

Burial place: Fountain Green, Sanpete Co., Utah

At age fourteen, Jens journeyed from Sweden to Denmark. In Denmark he received the gospel and was baptized and confirmed on 2 July 1861 in the Århus Branch. After his baptism he served as a teacher in the Randers Branch. When he moved to Copenhagen, he was called to serve a local mission and was ordained an elder in 1863 by P. C. Jenson. He labored eight months as a traveling elder on the island of Fyen and sixteen months on Falster, Møen, and Bogø isles. During these missionary labors, he baptized twenty-four converts (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 126).

Jens immigrated to Utah in 1866 with the Captain Abner Lowry Company. During his trek across the plains, his wife succumbed to cholera. After her death, Jens settled in Fountain Green, Sanpete County, Utah, where he farmed wheat, oats, and lucerne on 175 acres. During his first years in the community, he rented blacksmith tools for $3.50 a week. He liked being a blacksmith and would arise at five a.m. to complete all of his work. He is remembered for being a minuteman in the Black Hawk War (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 126; History of Sanpete and Emery Counties, Utah, 525).

While a resident of Fountain Green, he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. At the time of his call he stood 5 feet 11 inches and weighed 210 pounds (see Nelson, “Life Story of Jens [Jons] Jacobson,” 1). He arrived in Copenhagen on 16 May 1881 and was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen aboard the steamer Bravo. The ship traveled to Hull, England. He crossed from Hull to Liverpool by train. In Liverpool, he joined a large company of British, German, and Swiss Latter-day Saints aboard the steamer Nevada on 16 May 1883. The Nevada landed in New York Harbor on 27 May 1883. Jens reached Salt Lake City by rail on 2 June 1883 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 269).

In 1883, upon returning to Fountain Green, he was ordained a seventy by M. Jensen, and a high priest on 6 December 1903 by George Teasdale. On a personal note, Jens enjoyed a big bowl of sweet soup and plenty of bread and butter for a meal. It was reported that “mother kept home made beer on hand for him” (Nelson, “Life Story of Jens [Jons] Jacobson,” 1). Jens died in 1917 in a ditch on his farm at age seventy-nine.

Martin Jacobsen

1834–1907

Residence: St. Charles, Bear Lake Co., Idaho

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 14 September 1880

Missionary labors: Skåne Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 16 June 1882

Name of departure ship: Bravo

Birth date: 11 April 1834

Birthplace: Bjällerup, Malmöhus, Sweden

Father: Mårtensson, Jacob

Mother: Knutsdotter, Anna

Spouse: Knutson, Anna

Marriage date: 21 September 1856

Marriage place: Södervidinge, Malmöhus, Sweden

Spouse: Anderson, Botilda

Marriage date: 28 November 1884

Marriage place: Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Death date: 21 March 1907

Death place: St. Charles, Bear Lake Co., Idaho

Burial place: St. Charles, Bear Lake Co., Idaho

Martin embraced the gospel in Västra Karup (Kristianstad County), Skåne and was baptized on 27 June 1861 by Nils C. Flygare. He was ordained a teacher in December 1861 and an elder on 29 May 1863. He departed from Sweden aboard the John J. Boyd on 20 April 1863. After docking in New York Harbor, he journeyed across the plains to reach the Salt Lake Valley on 29 September 1863. Two years after entering the valley, he was ordained a high priest by James H. Hart (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 126).

Martin settled in Cache Valley before moving to Bear Lake County, Idaho, in 1869 (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 126). He is credited with building the first flour mill in St. Charles in the Bear Lake Valley. He was one of the proprietors and operators of the mill (see Carter, Our Pioneer Heritage, 14:492). An entry appeared in the Bear Lake Democrat announcing the manufacture of oatmeal. Martin was commended for his enterprise because “oatmeal is a very healthy and nourishing food and is greatly sought after in this valley” (Bear Lake Democrat, 1 December 1883, 6).

He accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1880. He arrived in Copenhagen on 14 September 1880 and was assigned to be a traveling elder in the Skåne Conference before being called to preside over the Lund Branch (Malmöhus County) and later over the conference (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 126). During this mission he attended the funeral of missionary Niels Wilhelmsen on 7 August 1881. He departed from Scandinavia aboard the steamer Bravo with 125 emigrating Latter-day Saints and six other returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 257, 265).

Martin was convicted of unlawful cohabitation and served four months in the Boise penitentiary and was fined one hundred dollars. The sentencing took place in Blackfoot, Bingham County, Idaho (see Deseret Evening News, 20 December 1888). Martin died of stomach cancer on 21 March 1907 in St. Charles.

Amel Burnett Jensen

1868–1938

Residence: Richfield, Sevier Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 6 June 1892

Missionary labors: Stockholm Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 19 July 1894

Name of departure ship: Rona

Birth date: 5 May 1868

Birthplace: Fairview, Sanpete Co., Utah

Father: Olson (Jensen), Ole

Mother: Olson, Maria

Spouse: Johnson, Matilda Erosina

Marriage date: 19 June 1895

Marriage place: Richfield, Sevier Co., Utah

Death date: 12 December 1938

Death place: Salina, Sevier Co., Utah

Burial place: Eastside Cemetery, Salina, Sevier Co., Utah

Amel was baptized in 1876. He became a pioneer resident of Salina, Sevier County, Utah, before receiving his endowment on 16 October 1890.

He was residing in Richfield, Sevier County, when he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 6 June 1892. In the summer of 1893, Amel was assigned to labor in northern Sweden. He was particularly successful across the Torneå River in the Russian-Finland area. He sold books in nearly every house and was well received. Of this experience it was said, “He hit the right moment to go over and did it innocently, as he did not know that he was doing anything unlawful; he acknowledged the hand of the Lord in the incident.” He departed from Copenhagen aboard the steamer Rona in 1894 with forty-four emigrating Latter-day Saints and other missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 331).

Returning to the States, Amel served for eight years on the high council of the Sevier Stake (see Warnock, Memories of Sevier Stake, 90). He suffered from stomach cancer for four months prior to his death at age seventy. He died at the home of his son, Earlin (see “Amel B. Jensen,” Salt Lake Tribune, 14 December 1938).

Andrew Jensen

(Anders Jensen)

1844–1924

Residence: Gunnison, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 19 September 1891

Missionary labors: Ålborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 27 April 1893

Birth date: 14 July 1844

Birthplace: Horsens, Ålborg, Denmark

Father: Andersen, Jens

Mother: Rasmusdatter, Johanna Marie

Spouse: Pedersdatter, Ane

Marriage date: 31 May 1872

Marriage place: Nørre Tranders-Ålborg, Ålborg, Denmark

Spouse: Scharer, Anna Elizabeth

Marriage date: 14 July 1915

Marriage place: Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah

Death date: 7 February 1924

Death place: Centerfield, Sanpete Co., Utah

Burial place: Centerfield, Sanpete Co., Utah

Andrew accepted the gospel in Denmark and was baptized on 21 February 1871 by J. E. Christensen. By 1878, Andrew, his wife Ane, and their three children were able to emigrate. They left Copenhagen on 7 September 1878 aboard the Bravo. The family arrived in Hull, England, on September 10, and on September 11 they traveled by train to Liverpool. Together with 213 Scandinavian Saints, 321 British Saints, and 57 Saints, Swiss and German, they embarked on the larger vessel Wyoming to travel the Atlantic Ocean to America. Three days of stormy weather caused a great deal of seasickness but they arrived safely in New York on September 25 (see Anderson and others, Passport to Paradise: The Copenhagen “Mormon” Passenger Lists, 1872–1887, 1:233, 238).

Andrew and his family lived in Redmond, Sevier County, Utah, and then Levan, Juab County, Utah. While living in Levan, he was ordained to the office of seventy on 26 January 1884. In November 1884, they moved to Gunnison, Sanpete County, Utah.

Andrew was residing in Gunnison when accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1891. He arrived in Copenhagen on 19 September 1891 and was assigned to labor in the Ålborg Conference. After completing this mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 27 April 1893 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 320–21, 332).

Sometime after returning from his mission, Andrew moved to Centerfield, Sanpete County, Utah. He died of stomach cancer there in 1924, a few months short of his eightieth birthday. He had been a resident for forty years or more, and during that time he worked as a farmer. Funeral services were held at the Centerfield meetinghouse. He was survived by his second wife, three children, and one adopted son (see “Pay High Tribute to Andrew Jensen,” Gunnison Valley News, 15 February 1924).

Charles Jensen

(Carl Christensen)

1855–1913

Residence: Redmond, Sevier Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 6 November 1882

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 17 October 1884

Name of departure ship: Bravo

Birth date: 10 March 1855

Birthplace: Spørring, Århus, Denmark

Father: Jensen, Christen

Mother: Jensdatter, Barbara

Spouse: Rasmussen, Annie

Marriage date: 2 June 1876

Marriage place: Ephraim, Sanpete Co., Utah

Spouse: Johnson, Brighamine

Marriage date: 2 June 1886

Marriage place: St. George Temple, St. George, Washington Co., Utah

Death date: 28 September 1913

Death place: Redmond, Sevier Co., Utah

Burial place: Redmond, Sevier Co., Utah

Charles came to America with his parents in 1863 and resided in Gunnison, Sanpete County, Utah, before moving to Fort Ephraim in 1870 (see Warnock, Memories of Sevier Stake, 464). In 1875, a group of Scandinavian immigrants in Ephraim journeyed to southern Utah in search of a new location to build a community. Charles joined the group and was appointed to buy land in what became known as Redmond. He is credited with filing the original claim for this community in Sevier County (see Carter, Our Pioneer Heritage, 2:195; 16:353). As an early settler, he freighted goods to mines in Nevada (see Warnock, Our Own Sevier, 364).

Charles accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1882. He arrived in Copenhagen on 6 November 1882 and was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference. After completing this mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 17 October 1884 aboard the steamer Bravo. When Charles left Copenhagen, the weather was stormy. A contrary wind blew from the north and delayed the voyage. The steamer Bravo arrived in Hull, England, on 20 October 1884 in the evening. The next day, Charles continued his journey by rail to Liverpool. On 23 October 1884 at Liverpool, he boarded the steamer City of Berlin with eighty-four other emigrating Latter-day Saints. The storm caused returning missionaries to unite in prayer to ask God to quiet the elements. Their prayers were answered. The ship arrived safely in New York Harbor on 2 November 1884 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 280).

That evening, Charles left by train for Salt Lake City. He arrived in Ogden, Weber County, Utah, on 9 November 1884. According to Andreas Peterson, a returning missionary on the same train, Charles was “all happy and well” (Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 280).

In 1886, he was ordained a high priest by John Henry Smith (see Warnock, Memories of Sevier Stake, 464). From 1886 to 1890, he served as bishop of the Koosharem Ward in Sevier County (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 2:407). In the winter of 1887–88, he journeyed with his investment partners to New Mexico to purchase three thousand head of sheep. The sheep were transported to Redmond in Sevier County (see Warnock, Our Own Sevier, 364).

Charles was a member of the Sevier Stake high council and president of the Redmond YMMIA before being sentenced on Tuesday, 24 September 1889, to a five month prison term and a two hundred dollar fine for “alleged adultery” (Jenson, Church Chronology, 24 September 1889). On Saturday, 1 March 1890, he was set at liberty from the penitentiary (see Jenson, LDS Church Chronology, 1 March 1890). The day he was released, his mother died (see Warnock, Our Own Sevier, 364).

In 1902, he journeyed to Canada and purchased three thousand acres in Alberta. He moved to Magrath, Alberta, Canada, and established the Jensen Brothers Mercantile business in 1904. From 1906 to 1909 he fulfilled a second mission to Scandinavia and presided over the Århus Conference. Upon returning to Canada, he assumed the management of his ranch. He and his family resided in Magrath for two more years until Charles contracted cancer. He left the area in 1912 (see Warnock, Memories of Sevier Stake, 464).

Returning to Redmond did not ease his suffering from cancer. His biographer wrote, “He was a natural leader among men, possessed liberal views, was a wise counselor, a kind husband and father, and highly respected by all who knew him” (Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 2:648). Charles died in 1913 in Redmond at age fifty-eight.

Christen Jensen

(Christen Pedersen)

1848–1932

Residence: Moroni, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 30 September 1879

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 29 August 1881

Name of departure ship: Pacific

Birth date: 28 October 1848

Birthplace: Farre, Sporup, Skanderborg, Denmark

Father: Jensen, Peder

Mother: Andersdatter, Kirsten

Spouse: Andersen, Mary Sophia

Marriage date: 8 February 1868

Spouse: Bengtson, Anna Christina

Marriage date: 6 December 1875

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Rundqvist, Helene Sophia

Marriage date: 15 December 1881

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Petersen, Carry

Death date: 31 October 1932

Death place: Manassa, Conejos Co., Colorado

Burial place: Manassa, Conejos Co., Colorado

Christen received a six-year education in the common school in Denmark. When he was ten years old, Christen’s family converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1862, he immigrated with his parents to Moroni, Sanpete County, Utah. He learned the farming, milling, and banking businesses. He established the Jensen Milling Company in Moroni and freighted flour between Salt Lake City and St. George (see “Christian Jensen,” Deseret News, 8 November 1932).

Christen accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1879. He arrived in Copenhagen on 30 September 1879 and was assigned to the Århus Branch. Later he was assigned to be the president of the Århus Conference. During his mission he helped carry the coffin of President Niels Wilhelmsen on 7 August 1881. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 29 August 1881 aboard the steamer Pacific with 270 emigrating Latter-day Saints and four other returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 257–58).

Returning to Moroni, he again commenced working in the mill. His success with the mill led directly to his becoming president of the Moroni bank and co-op. As part of the colonization efforts in Colorado, Christen moved part of his family to Sanford, Conejos County, Colorado. In 1890, he was asked to help settle Eastdale in Costilla County, Colorado. He was the first to build a house and dig a well there. In 1897, he was ordained as the bishop of the Eastdale Ward. He later moved his family to Manassa, Conejos County, Colorado. He served as bishop of the Manassa Ward and as a stake patriarch. At the time of his death he was president of the Colonial State Bank. He died in 1932 at Manassa at age eighty-four (see “Christian Jensen,” Deseret News, 8 November 1932).

Christian Jensen

1825–1916

Residence: Mount Pleasant, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 24 September 1878

Missionary labors: Copenhagen Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 5 July 1880

Name of departure ship: Leo (Cato)

Birth date: 7 June 1825

Birthplace: Soesmarke, Majbølle, Maribo, Denmark

Father: Hansen, Jens

Mother: Hansdatter, Birthe Marie

Spouse: Pedersen (Jorgensen, Petersen), Karen Marie

Marriage date: 8 October 1856

Marriage place: Spanish Fork, Utah Co., Utah

Spouse: Fredricksen, Anna Kjirstine

Marriage date: 16 April 1902

Death date: 3 August 1916

Death place: Mount Pleasant, Sanpete Co., Utah

Burial place: Mount Pleasant, Sanpete Co., Utah

When Christian was twenty years old, he went to Copenhagen, and for the next eleven years he worked in the palace of King Frederick VII. At that time, he weighed ninety-two pounds and had black curly hair. He courted Karen Marie, a young woman in charge of the palace linens (see History of Sanpete and Emery Counties, Utah, 244).

Karen joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 28 October 1854. Christian was baptized one week later on 5 November 1854. Christian’s family was upset with his decision to become a Mormon and had a farewell party for him. The following song was composed for Christian at the farewell:

Now it’s time to say goodbye, the clock is striking

You go away and your fate awaits you.

You have told me that your faith so bids,

But Alas! What folly! A fool’s imagination!

Why? I ask, do you go in blindness?

Why leave fatherland and home where you were born

Where faith was given you and

Where love and charity led you onward.

Farewell! Farewell! For the last time you hear the sound

Of your brother who has warned you.

Goodbye! To foreign lands your faith leads you

Farewell from the place where you were raised.

Good luck! Good luck! That is the desire of my heart.

Good luck! May you always eat your bread in peace.

To God I send my hidden thoughts

And think of you now as if you were dead.

Christian left Copenhagen on 29 November 1855. The king was so fond of him and Karen Marie that he gave them one thousand dollars to help defray the expense of immigrating to America. It took Christian and Karen Marie almost ten months to journey from Denmark to the Salt Lake Valley. They crossed the plains in the ox train company of Canute Peterson (see History of Sanpete and Emery Counties, Utah, 244). They arrived the evening of Saturday, 20 September 1856, in the Salt Lake Valley.

Christian married Karen Marie on 8 October 1856 in Spanish Fork, Utah County, Utah. They remained in Spanish Fork for three years before moving to Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, in 1859. In Mount Pleasant, Christian assisted in building a fort. He and his family lived in the fort until February 1860. It was in this area that he acquired 140 acres and became a prosperous farmer. He was a stockholder in the first co-op store and tannery in Mount Pleasant. He took an active part in the Black Hawk War and fought in the Saline Canyon Battle. For his defense of Latter-day Saints, he was awarded a medal (see Barney, “History of Christian Jensen and His Wife, Karen Marie Petersen,” 1).

On 21 November 1862, he was ordained a seventy and selected as a president of the Sixty-sixth Quorum of the Seventy. He is credited with assisting immigrants to Utah and with being a builder of the St. George Temple (see Barney, “History of Christian Jensen and His Wife, Karen Marie Petersen,” 1).

He was set apart for a mission to Scandinavia on 2 September 1878 by President Joseph F. Smith. On 24 September 1878, he arrived in Copenhagen and was assigned to labor in the Copenhagen Conference. After completing this assignment, he departed from Copenhagen on 5 July 1880 aboard the steamer Cato with 346 emigrating Latter-day Saints (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 244).

Returning to Mount Pleasant, he enjoyed planting tulips and poppies. Reputedly he was the first to bring these flowers to the community. He served in the community as a ward teacher and in 1895 as a member of the city council. He remained very active and agile most of his years. At age ninety-one, he was still able to stand on his head. At one point, he was the oldest citizen residing in Mount Pleasant. When the Pioneer Association hosted its annual ball, although he was ninety years old, he led the grand march. He died in 1916 at Brigham City at age ninety-one (see Barney, “History of Christian Jensen and His Wife, Karen Marie Petersen,” 1).

Christian Mads Jensen

1855–1929

Residence: Mantua, Box Elder Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 30 April 1889

Missionary labors: Ålborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 2 April 1891

Name of departure ship: Volo

Birth date: 3 November 1855

Birthplace: Ogden, Weber Co., Utah

Father: Jensen, Mads Christian

Mother: Pederson (Petersen), Gertrude Marie

Spouse: Larsen, Annie Sophia

Marriage date: 28 March 1878

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 5 March 1929

Death place: Mantua, Box Elder Co., Utah

Burial place: Mantua Cemetery, Mantua, Box Elder Co., Utah

As a young man, Christian worked in the fields and canyons for his father. When not working, he attended school in Brigham City, Box Elder County, Utah. At age eighteen, he moved to Mantua, Box Elder County. Christian was ordained an elder on 17 October 1875 and a seventy on 10 February 1884 (see “Ancestry and Descendents of Mads Christian Jensen,” 218).

While residing in Mantua, he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1889. He left behind his wife and five-month-old son to serve this mission. He arrived in Copenhagen on 30 April 1889 and was assigned to labor in the Ålborg Conference. During the last year of his mission, he served as president of the conference. After completing an honorable mission, Christian departed from Copenhagen on 2 April 1891 aboard the steamer Volo with forty-three emigrating Latter-day Saints and other missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 310, 312, 318).

After returning to Mantua, he served home missions in the western part of Box Elder County and southern Idaho. He was ordained a high priest on 9 December 1899 and set apart as first counselor to Michael Schow, bishop of the Mantua Ward (see “Ancestry and Descendents of Mads Christian Jensen,” 218).

Christian served a second mission to Scandinavia from 1910 to 1912. From 1911 to 1912, he was president of the Bergen Conference and president of the Ålborg Conference from 1912 to 1913 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 431, 496, 508). He returned from this mission to Mantua. He was serving as a member of the Box Elder Stake high council at the time of his death at age seventy-three. He died in his home from pneumonia (see “Ancestry and Descendants of Mads Christian Jensen,” 218).

Henry Christopher Jensen

(Henrik Christophersen Jensen)

1841–1931

Residence: Brigham City, Box Elder Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 7 December 1881

Missionary labors: Copenhagen and Christiania conferences

Departure date from Copenhagen: 24 August 1883

Name of departure ship: Bravo

Birth date: 23 September 1841

Birthplace: Reersnæs, Bandholm, Maribo, Denmark

Father: Christophersen, Jens

Mother: Henriksdatter, Ane

Spouse: Graehl, Mary Adeline

Marriage date: 8 November 1870

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 19 June 1931

Death place: Brigham City, Box Elder Co., Utah

Burial place: Brigham City, Box Elder Co., Utah

Henrick grew to manhood in Denmark and served in the military in the Danish war against Germany. He was wounded several times in the line of duty. He was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1860s. He immigrated to America in 1865 and settled in Farmington, Davis County, Utah, before moving to Brigham City, Box Elder County. He worked as a farmer but was most noted for his Church activity. He served as a counselor to Bishop A. A. Janson of the Brigham City Third Ward (see “Death Claims Aged Pioneer,” Box Elder News, 23 June 1931).

He accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 7 December 1881 and was assigned to labor first in the Copenhagen Conference and later the Christiania Conference. When he departed from Scandinavia aboard the steamer Bravo, he was one of 284 emigrating Latter-day Saints and several returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 270).

His biographer wrote that he was “known for his honesty, integrity and kind consideration of neighbors and friends.” He died in 1931 at his home in Brigham City at age eighty-nine. His funeral services were held in the Brigham City Third Ward chapel (see “Death Claims Aged Pioneer,” Box Elder News, 23 June 1931).

Henry Peter Jensen

(Hinrich Peter Jensen)

1828–1903

Residence: Provo, Utah Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 14 June 1887

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 9 August 1889

Name of departure ship: [author: is this information available?]

Birth date: 2 March 1828

Birthplace: Osterhever, Eiderstedt Schleswig-Holstein, Preußen, Germany

Father: Jens, Peter

Mother: Johansen, Anna Catharina

Spouse: Peterson, Johanna Marie

Marriage date: 17 December 1854

Marriage place: Denmark

Spouse: Pedersen, Bodel

Marriage date: 20 November 1878

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 25 October 1903

Death place: Provo, Utah Co., Utah

Burial place: Provo City Cemetery, Provo, Utah Co., Utah

Henry was baptized on 2 February 1861 in Fredericia (Vejle County), Denmark. He immigrated to America in 1874 and settled in Brigham City, Box Elder County, Utah. He moved to Provo, Utah County, in 1878 (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 133).

He accepted a mission call to Europe in 1887. On 5 July 1887, he arrived in Copenhagen and was assigned to labor in the Copenhagen Conference. He also served in Hamburg, Germany. After completing an honorable mission, he began his journey to the States with twelve other missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 309).

Upon returning to the States, he resided in the Pleasant View Ward in Provo, where he was known as a faithful member of the Church and a good citizen (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 133). He died of general debility in 1903 in Provo at age seventy-five. The funeral services were held in the Pleasant View meetinghouse. It was said that he was an industrious and unassuming man and was generally respected (see “Funeral of Henry P. Jensen,” Deseret Evening News, 27 October 1903).

Jacob Hans Jensen

(Jacob Hansen)

1845–1934

Residence: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Arrival dates in Copenhagen: 10 July 1869; 29 November 1879

Missionary labors: Ålborg and Copenhagen conferences

Departure date from Copenhagen: 12 June 1872; 20 June 1881

Name of departure ship: Cato (Hero)

Birth date: 6 December 1845

Birthplace: Haugerup, Pedersborg, Sorø, Denmark

Father: Jensen, Hans

Mother: Jacobsdatter, Sidse Marie

Spouse: Andersen, Juliana Marie

Marriage date: 16 September 1872

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 11 March 1934

Death place: Huntsville, Weber Co., Utah

Burial place: Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

At age eleven, Jacob was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by O. Larsen. On 18 April 1857, he and his family journeyed aboard the Westmoreland to America. Jacob arrived in the Salt Lake Valley with the Christian Christiansen handcart company on 13 September 1857 (see Goodworth, “Jacob Hans Jensen,” 1–2).

In the valley, he and his family settled in the Salt Lake Tenth Ward. In that area, Jacob worked as a water boy for the railroad. He saved much of his money, which eventually enabled him to go on a mission when called in 1869. He arrived in Copenhagen on 10 July 1869. He served in the Copenhagen Conference before becoming president of the Ålborg Conference. While laboring in Agersted (Hjørring County) he contracted smallpox. He departed from Copenhagen on 21 June 1872 and arrived in Salt Lake City in July of that year (see Goodworth, “Jacob Hans Jensen,” 2–3; Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 204, 211).

Shortly after arriving home, he married Juliana Andersen, whom he had met while working in the mission office in Copenhagen. They lived in the Salt Lake City, Holladay area, where Jacob worked in the fruit industry. He also worked on railroad construction in Weber Canyon. He crossed the plains to the Missouri River seven times to help immigrants (see Goodworth, “Jacob Hans Jensen,” 3).

Jacob was ordained a high priest on 26 May 1912 by John Halls. By 1927, he was viewed as the oldest living missionary who had labored in Scandinavia. His son Hyrum wrote of him: “Father trusted everyone. He gave away more than he ever kept.” His granddaughter remembered him as generous, kind, upright, and polite. He died in 1934 in Huntsville, Weber County, Utah, at age eighty-eight (see Goodworth, “Jacob Hans Jensen,” 4).

Jacob Johann Heidemann Jensen

(Jacob Johan Heidemann Madsen)

1853–1917

Residence: Mount Pleasant, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 12 September 1882

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 9 June 1884

Name of departure ship: Milo

Birth date: 1 May 1853

Birthplace: Berring, Kolt, Århus, Denmark

Father: Jensen, Mads

Mother: Jacobsdatter (Heidemann), Maren

Spouse: Hansen, Annie Elizabeth

Marriage date: 1 December 1876

Marriage place: Spring City, Sanpete Co., Utah

Death date: 8 April 1917

Death place: Mount Pleasant, Sanpete Co., Utah

Burial place: Fountain Green Cemetery, Fountain Green, Sanpete Co., Utah

Jacob’s parents joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1853, and he immigrated with them to America aboard the Westmoreland from Liverpool in 1857. They landed in Philadelphia, where they boarded a train to Iowa. They crossed the plains in the Christian Christiansen handcart company. Although Jacob was four years old at the time, he always claimed that he was the “teamster of their little cart.” The family entered the Salt Lake Valley on 13 September 1857 and settled in Goshen, Utah County, where they lived in a mud fort (see “Jacob Johann Heidemann Jensen,” 1).

Four years later, they moved to Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, where Jacob grew to manhood (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 134). He was baptized on 16 October 1864 by Jens Jorgensen. Ten years later, on 22 September 1874, he was issued his United States Citizenship certificate (see “Jacob Johann Heidemann Jensen,” 1).

While residing in Mount Pleasant, Jacob received a mission call to serve in Scandinavia. He accepted the call and was set apart for this mission by Joseph F. Smith in Salt Lake City. After voyaging across the Atlantic aboard the steamer Abbissing, in which he was confined to his bed with seasickness, he arrived in Copenhagen on 12 September 1882 and was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference as a traveling elder. He preached the gospel “to relatives and others with whom he would obtain a hearing” (“Jacob Johann Heidemann Jensen,” 2). Upon completing his mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 9 June 1884 aboard the steamer Milo. After reaching Hull, England, he traveled by train to Liverpool, where he and twenty-five other returning missionaries embarked on the Arizona bound for the United States (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 279).

After reporting his mission to Church leaders in Salt Lake City, Jacob returned to Mount Pleasant. He was ordained a seventy in August 1884. After the ordination, he and his wife moved to Fountain Green, Sanpete County, to be with his wife’s mother, who was a widow. In that community, he engaged in farming and sheep herding. He also labored as a home missionary in the Sanpete Stake (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 134). He worked on both the St. George and Manti Temples (see “Jacob Johann Heidemann Jensen,” 2).

In 1907, Jacob served in the Danish-Norwegian Mission. He was set apart for this mission by John Henry Smith in the Salt Lake Temple. He arrived in Copenhagen on 21 December 1907 and was again assigned to labor in the Århus Conference. He was released from his duties on 2 August 1909 and soon returned to Utah. It was a “happy reunion with his wife and family” (“Jacob Johann Heidemann Jensen,” 3).

In March 1917, while building a barn, a slab of wood slipped and he got a sliver in the thumb of his left hand. This led to blood poisoning, causing his arm to swell and be extremely painful. The medical attention he received did not help. After suffering for three weeks from intense pain, he died at age sixty-three (see “Jacob Johann Heidemann Jensen,” 3).

James Christian Jensen

(Jens Christian Olsen)

1848–1912

Residence: Salina, Sevier Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 13 November 1880

Missionary labors: Christiania and Copenhagen conferences

Departure date from Copenhagen: 14 October 1881

Name of departure ship: Milo

Birth date: 6 March 1848

Birthplace: Lilla Råsig, Elling, Hjørring, Denmark

Father: Jensen, Ole Christian

Mother: Jensdatter, Anne Helvig

Spouse: Smith (Schmidt), Sofia Matilda

Marriage date: 16 April 1867

Marriage place: Mount Pleasant, Sanpete Co., Utah

Death date: 12 October 1912

Death place: Elsinore, Sevier Co., Utah

Burial place: Elsinore, Sevier Co., Utah

James immigrated to Utah in 1861. The U.S. Censuses listed his occupation as a farmer. He was one of the first settlers of Elsinore, Sevier County, Utah.

James served two missions to Scandinavia. In 1863, he served a local mission as president of the Fredericia Conference until his departure from Copenhagen on 13 April 1864. He accepted a second mission call in 1880. He arrived in Copenhagen on 13 November 1880 and was assigned to labor in the Christiania and Copenhagen conferences. After serving an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 14 October 1881 aboard the steamer Milo (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 181, 250, 252).

James was on a threshing crew that was moving the outfit from one job to another. The engine and separator had crossed the state canal and were descending the grade when the separator crashed into the engine. He was caught on the step of the engine and was crushed to death. The accident occurred on 12 October 1912 (see “Crushed to Death on Traction Engine,” Deseret News, 14 October 1912).

James “S” Jensen

(Jens Jensen Christensen)

1851–1920

Residence: Redmond, Sevier Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 24 December 1880

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 16 June 1881

Name of departure ship: Albano

Birth date: 2 October 1851

Birthplace: Spørring, Århus, Denmark

Father: Jensen, Christen

Mother: Jensdatter, Barbara

Spouse: Pedersen, Martine

Marriage date: 27 November 1877

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Beinholt, Nel Sene Christensen

Marriage date: 27 December 1877

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 1 February 1920

Death place: Salina, Sevier Co., Utah

Burial place: Salina, Sevier Co., Utah

In Denmark, James’s father owned and operated a blacksmith shop. As a young boy, James did odd jobs in the shop. He was baptized in November 1862 by H. Jorgensen and was ordained a deacon at age twelve. He immigrated to Utah with his parents in 1863 aboard the steamer John J. Boyd under the leadership of William W. Cluff. James crossed the plains in an independent company under the direction of John R. Young and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 12 September 1863 (see Jensen, “History of James ‘S’ Jensen, Pioneer of 1863,” 1).

James and his family made their first home in Scipio, Millard County, but due to Indian troubles moved to Gunnison, Sanpete County. After a few years, they moved to Ephraim, Sanpete County, where James worked in farming and freight. In 1875, a group of Scandinavian emigrants from Ephraim went south seeking land. James was part of the group and was appointed to purchase land in the area. At that time, he and his brother Charles Jensen filed a claim to a quarter section of land near a spring. James built the first log house in Redmond (see Jensen, “History of James ‘S’ Jensen, Pioneer of 1863,” 2).

While residing in Redmond, James accepted a mission call to Wisconsin. He stayed there only a short time due to poor heath. When President John Taylor learned of his condition he sent him to Scandinavia to complete his mission (see Jensen, “History of James ‘S’ Jensen, Pioneer of 1863,” 2). He arrived in Copenhagen on 24 December 1880 and was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference. He served as president of the Randers Branch. After completing his mission, James departed from Copenhagen on 16 June 1881 aboard the steamer Albano (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 250, 252, 265).

He returned to Utah and in 1886 he was called to be bishop of the Salina Ward in Sevier County (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 130). He held this position for seventeen years (see Jensen, “History of James ‘S’ Jensen, Pioneer of 1863,” 3). During these years, he was instrumental in surveying and building the Rocky Ford canal. He also served as president of the town and did much to improve and beautify Salina. He was elected the first mayor of Salina and served as a member of the school board of trustees. Later he served as county treasurer, county commissioner, and member of the territorial legislature for two terms. Apostle George Teasdale honorably released James as bishop of the Salina Ward (see Jenson, LDS Church Chronology, 18 January 1904). His biographer wrote of him, “He had a burning testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints and he lived according to its principles” (Jensen, “History of James ‘S’ Jensen, Pioneer of 1863,” 4). James died after a long and severe illness in 1920 at age seventy-eight.

Jens Jensen

1830–1903

Residence: Salina, Sevier Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 24 February 1889

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 13 September 1890

Birth date: 18 April 1830

Birthplace: Niim, Skanderborg, Denmark

Father: Pedersen, Jens

Mother: Jensen, Anne

Spouse: Christensen, Mary Sophie

Marriage date: 9 (22) January 1857

Marriage place: Denmark

Spouse: Christensen, Maryanna

Marriage date: 24 May 1877

Marriage place: St. George, Washington Co., Utah

Spouse: Cook, Mary Elizabeth

Marriage date: 28 January 1885

Marriage place: St. George, Washington Co., Utah

Death date: 21 October 1903

Death place: Colonia Pacheco, Chihuahua, Mexico

Burial place: Colonia Pacheco, Chihuahua, Mexico

Jens was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1852. He and his wife immigrated to the Salt Lake Valley on 17 September 1857. He was called to the Dixie Mission in its early days. Afterward, he moved to Salina, Sevier County, Utah. In the 1880 U.S. Census, his occupation is listed as contractor.

He served as a bishop of the Salina Ward. While he was a resident of Salina, he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1889. He arrived in Copenhagen on 24 February 1889 and was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference. He returned from Copenhagen on 13 September 1890. This was the fourth company of emigrating Saints from the Scandinavian Mission, consisting of 135 souls, two of which were returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 310–11, 315, 497).

In 1890 or 1891, Jens moved to Old Mexico in Pacheco and resided in the Cave Valley Branch of the Pacheco Ward of the Juarez Stake. Jens died on 21 October 1903 of heart disease and dropsy. He left a large family to mourn his death.

Jens Iver Jensen

(Jens Iver Thomsen)

1846–1936

Residence: Elsinore, Sevier Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 4 May 1880

Missionary labors: Århus and Ålborg conferences

Departure date from Copenhagen: 16 June 1881

Name of departure ship: Albano

Birth date: 8 August 1846

Birthplace: Jerslev, Hjørring, Denmark

Father: Jensen, Thomas Christian

Mother: Iversdatter, Karen Marie

Spouse: Sondergaard, Inger Nielsen

Marriage date: 24 May 1867

Marriage place: Ålborg, Ålborg, Denmark

Spouse: Christiansen, Inger Anna

Marriage date: 24 October 1883

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 1 January 1936

Death place: Elsinore, Sevier Co., Utah

Burial place: Elsinore, Sevier Co., Utah

Jens wrote an autobiography that covers the years 1846–1911. In his writings, he tells of belonging to the Lutheran Church and being sprinkled by Pastor Riber when he was six days old. His house in Jerslev, Hjørring, Denmark, was close to the Lutheran church building. Jens learned to cast and polish brass in his father’s shop and became proficient in the brazier’s art. He remembered going door-to-door selling brass buttons that he carried in a small, white bag. He wore wooden shoes since leather shoes were only for wealthy children. It was not until he was ten years old that he was given leather shoes (see “Biographical Sketch of the Life of Jens Iver Jensen,” 1–2).

In 1853, his family moved to the small city of Sæby, Hjørring. In this town, Jens attended school. He recalled being ill treated and beaten by a teacher named Petersen. In 1858, a fire destroyed the family home. Due to the tragedy, Jens left school to help his father in his trade. Of this situation, he wrote, “[I] shed many bitter tears. Not having been taught to pray, it is strange to relate in my distress I thought of asking God to help” (“Biographical Sketch of the Life of Jens Iver Jensen,” 3).

It was not long before Jens talked to missionary Niels M. Petersen. “I sought the Lord in humble and earnest prayers and a burning desire entered my soul to be baptized,” he wrote. He was baptized in the evening of 5 June 1861 by Niels M. Petersen. “I came out of that water, a feeling of peace and joy came over me in a degree I was unable to describe. I felt indeed like a great burden was taken from me and that my sins were forgiven,” he penned (“Biographical Sketch of the Life of Jens Iver Jensen,” 5).

Eventually his extended family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jens served as a missionary on Sundays and in the evenings. In 1863, he was ordained a teacher, and on 24 April 1864, he was ordained an elder and called to preside over 140 members of the Dronninglund Branch in the Vendsyssel Conference (Hjørring County). At the time, he was nineteen years old. “I was very calm and composed, having a firm testimony that the work of the Lord and that His protection would be over me,” he wrote. He continued his missionary labors as president of the branch until May 1867, when he was honorably released to emigrate (see “Biographical Sketch of the Life of Jens Iver Jensen,” 5–7).

Jens sailed from Copenhagen aboard the steamer Waldemar to Hull, England. He traveled by train to Liverpool, where he boarded the steamer Manhattan bound for New York Harbor. After arriving in New York, he crossed the plains, reaching the Salt Lake Valley on 5 October 1867 with the Leonard G. Rice ox team company (see “Biographical Sketch of the Life of Jens Iver Jensen,” 7–8).

Jens settled in Ephraim, Sanpete County, before moving to Richfield, Sevier County. He later became one of the first settlers of Elsinore, Sevier County. He worked in his father’s brass shop and with a construction crew on the Union Pacific Railroad in Echo Canyon. He later worked as superintendent of the Elsinore co-operative store. From 1878 to 1883, he was employed as the town postmaster (see Flake, Portrait, Genealogical and Biographical Record of Utah, 324).

In 1880, Jens left Utah to serve another mission in Denmark (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 136). He had the distinction of being the first elder to leave Elsinore for missionary work. Jens labored in the Ålborg Conference before being called as president of the Århus Conference in 1881. He presided over the Sæby and Frederickshaven branches (Hjørring County) until departing from Copenhagen aboard the steamer Albano with 573 emigrating Latter-day Saints and fourteen returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 265, 498).

In November 1887, he presided as bishop over the Elsinore Ward of the Sevier Stake, having been ordained by Elder Moses Thatcher (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 136). He was ordained a patriarch by Joseph F. Smith in 1911. Towards the end of his life, he operated one of the leading hostelries in Elsinore, “the favorite stopping place of the traveling men” (Flake, Portrait, Genealogical and Biographical Record of Utah, 324). In 1908, he retired from the hotel business.

At age eighty-eight, he wrote to his children, saying, “I desire to express my praise and thanks to my heavenly Father for his care and protection through many vicissitudes and dangers on my life’s journey. . . . I do enjoy peace and joy in my soul” (“Biographical Sketch of the Life of Jens Iver Jensen,” 18). He died in 1936 in Elsinore at age eighty-nine.

Jens Peter Jensen

(Jens Peter Hansen)

1845–1928

Residence: Ephraim, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 6 November 1882

Missionary labors: Copenhagen Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 6 June 1884

Name of departure ship: Panther

Birth date: 12 December 1845

Birthplace: Hønsinge, Vig, Holbæk, Denmark

Father: Jensen, Hans

Mother: Hansdatter, Ane Kirstine

Spouse: Gregersdatter, Dorothea

Marriage date: 23 October 1866

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 14 September 1928

Death place: Ephraim, Sanpete Co., Utah

Burial place: Park Cemetery, Ephraim, Sanpete Co., Utah

Jens was baptized on 2 November 1856 in Denmark by H. P. Lund. On 22 October 1866, he arrived in the Salt Lake Valley with the Abner Lowry Company. The next day he was married to Dorothea Gregersdatter by Edwin D. Wooley. The young couple resided in Ephraim, Sanpete County, where they acquired seventy-five acres of farmland. Jens served as a traveling elder for two years in the community (see History of Sanpete and Emery Counties, Utah, 317).

He accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1882. He arrived in Copenhagen on 6 November 1882 and was assigned to labor in the Ålborg Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 6 June 1884 aboard the steamer Panther (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 279).

Jens accepted a second mission call to Scandinavia in 1894. He was released early from this mission on account of illness. He departed from Copenhagen on 25 July 1895 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 340, 345).

After returning to the States, he served as a high councilor, Sunday School superintendent, and president of the South Sanpete Stake. Civically, he was a member of the city council and a school trustee for thirteen years. He worked as a farmer and stock raiser (see Esshom, Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, 963). He died in 1928 in Ephraim at age eighty-two.

Jens Peter Jensen

1831–89

Residence: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 16 May 1881

Missionary labors: Ålborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 6 April 1883

Name of departure ship: Panther

Birth date: 4 September 1831

Birthplace: Elling, Hjørring, Denmark

Father: Andersen, Jens

Mother: Jensdatter, Hannah Marie

Spouse: Christensen, Ann Brigithe

Marriage date: Before 1855

Marriage place: Denmark

Spouse: Nielsen, Mette Catherine

Marriage date: 1855/1856

Spouse: Nielsen, Inger Hanna

Marriage date: 22 October 1861

Marriage place: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

Spouse: Hansen (Rasmussen), Ann Margaretta

Marriage date: 11 February 1865

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Godferson, Anna Margaretta

Marriage date: After 1870

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 20 January 1889

Death place: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

Burial place: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

Jens Peter was the fifth child born to Jens Andersen and Hannah Marie Jensdatter. He received a good education in his youth and was well acquainted with the Bible. On 14 December 1851, he accepted the message of the gospel and was baptized. Desiring to worship the Lord in a land of freedom, he sailed for America on 24 November 1855. At this time, Jens Peter was a widower. His first wife, Ann Brigithe Christensen, had died of cancer (see Watterson, “Jens Peter Jensen,” 1–2).

Jens Peter worked for a time in New Orleans to earn money to complete the journey to Utah. He met Mette Catherine Nielsen, whom he married, and they crossed the plains as husband and wife. Mette’s little daughter, Marie, died during the journey (see Watterson, “Jens Peter Jensen,” 2).

In the spring of 1860, Jens Peter and other Danes were asked to settle in Willow Valley, which was later known as Cache Valley. The area that they settled eventually became the town of Hyrum. Life was difficult, and Jens Peter’s wife died, leaving him with a thirteen-month-old son. He met and married Inger Hanna Nielsen (see Watterson, “Jens Peter Jensen,” 3, 6–7).

In 1880, Jens Peter received a call to serve a mission in Denmark. He arrived in Copenhagen on 16 May 1881. He was reunited with his mother, who was now in her nineties, and other family members. He departed on 6 April 1883 (see Watterson, “Jens Peter Jensen,” 13).

Not long after he returned to Hyrum, illness overtook him. He died in January 1889 at age fifty-eight. He was known as a farmer and stockraiser in Cache Valley. He took an active part in city government and was instrumental in helping settlers obtain legal deeds to their property. He was known to be even-tempered, honest, and fair (see Watterson, “Jens Peter Jensen,” 14).

Jens Weaver Pedersen Jensen

(Jens Pedersen)

1839–1901

Residence: Moroni, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 29 April 1885

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 30 May 1887

Name of departure ship: Argo

Birth date: 4 January 1839

Birthplace: Farre, Sporup, Skanderborg, Denmark

Father: Jensen, Peder

Mother: Andersdatter, Kirsten

Spouse: Andersen, Ane Thomsen (Thomasen)

Marriage date: 5 May 1866

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Hansen (Sorensen), Kirsten (Kjersten) Marie

Marriage date: 20 July 1867

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Andersen, Sophia Maria

Marriage date: 30 October 1879

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 7 February 1901

Death place: Moroni, Sanpete Co., Utah

Burial place: Moroni, Sanpete Co., Utah

Jens was baptized on 11 March 1861 by Lars C. Geertsen. In 1862, he immigrated with his parents to America and crossed the plains in Captain Madsen’s company. The family located in Moroni, Sanpete County, Utah, where James secured a small farm and learned the trade of a weaver. He received his endowment on 5 May 1866 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City (see FamilySearch). He was a veteran of the Black Hawk War.

In 1884, he and his brothers, Andreas and Christian, built a flour mill two miles east of town. He left the mill to accept a mission call to Scandinavia in 1885. He arrived in Copenhagen on 29 April 1885 and was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference. Within that conference he served as president of the Vejle Branch. While serving in this capacity, police officers attempted to have him banished from the country. Because of this, Jens was reassigned to the Randers Branch (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 138). When he completed his missionary assignments, he departed from Copenhagen on 30 May 1887 aboard the steamer Argo with nine other returning missionaries and 138 emigrating Latter-day Saints (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 302).

Returning to Manti, James served the community as the city treasurer for fourteen years. At the same time, he worked as a sheep raiser and director of the local co-op store. In 1888, he moved to the San Luis Valley in Colorado. While there, his four-year-old son strayed from home. Before he was found, the son had frozen to death. Jens returned to Moroni in 1896. He died in that community in 1901 at age sixty-two.

John P. Jensen

(Johan Jensen)

1874–1933

Residence: Richfield, Sevier Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 6 June 1892

Missionary labors: Stockholm and Skåne conferences

Departure date from Copenhagen: 14 December 1893

Birth date: 3 October 1874

Birthplace: St. Charles, Bear Lake Co., Idaho

Father: Jensen, Peter

Mother: Svensdotter (Neilson), Cecilia

Spouse: Anderson, Anna Charlotta

Marriage date: 8 November 1905

Marriage place: Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Death date: 11 January 1933

Death place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., California

Burial place: St. Charles, Bear Lake Co., Idaho

John was residing in Richfield, Sevier County, Utah, when he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1892. He arrived in Copenhagen on 6 June 1892 and was assigned to labor in the Stockholm and Skåne conferences. Upon completing the mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 14 December 1893 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 381–83).

After returning to America, he established his residence in St. Charles, Bear Lake County, Idaho. On 28 October 1900, he returned to Copenhagen to serve another mission. He was assigned to labor in the Christiania Conference (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 381–83). While serving this mission, John received word that his father had died. Before his death, his father requested that John “stay and complete the mission, which he did” (correspondence from Marjorie Davis Dewey, 19 May 1999). John died in 1933 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, at age fifty-eight.

Lars Peter Jensen

(Lars Peter Olsen)

1844–1911

Residence: Mayfield, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 4 May 1883

Missionary labors: Ålborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 2 April 1885

Name of departure ship: Milo

Birth date: 28 March 1844

Birthplace: Sandhuset, Sæby, Holbæk, Denmark

Father: Jensen, Ole

Mother: Rasmusdatter, (Ane) Marie

Spouse: Jensen, Mette Katherine

Marriage date: 22 January 1870

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 29 March 1911

Death place: Richfield, Sevier Co., Utah

Burial place: Richfield, Sevier Co., Utah

Lars was baptized on 11 January 1866. He fulfilled a local mission in Denmark under the leadership of President Knud Peterson. When it appeared that he would be drafted into the military, President Peterson released him from the mission and advised him to immigrate to America. In 1866, Lars followed his advice and immigrated to the United States. He settled in Draper, Salt Lake County, Utah. He struggled to learn the English language (see Baker, “The History of Lars Peter and Mette Cathrine Jensen,” 1).

After his marriage to Mette Jensen, who had emigrated from Denmark in 1870, Lars and his bride settled in Parowan, Iron County. There he worked on a farm until 1881, when he and his family were called to settle in San Juan County. In their efforts to reach San Juan, they crossed the Escalante River twenty-seven times. They settled in the fort at Bluff City, San Juan County. Indians often visited the fort and they formed a friendship with Lars (see Baker, “The History of Lars Peter and Mette Cathrine Jensen,” 1).

Lars was residing in Mayfield, Sanpete County, when he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1883. He arrived in Copenhagen on 4 May 1883 and was assigned to labor in the Ålborg Conference. Upon completion of the mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 2 April 1885 aboard the steamer Milo (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 273, 275, 289).

After returning to Utah, he and his family resided for many years in Richfield, Sevier County. In that community, Lars served as the water superintendent on the local canal and is credited with helping lay the first cement sidewalks (see Baker, “The History of Lars Peter and Mette Cathrine Jensen,” 2).

He accepted a second mission call to Scandinavia in 1903. On 19 August 1903, he arrived in Copenhagen and was assigned to labor in the Copenhagen Conference (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 397, 399). After completing this mission, he returned to Richfield, where he died in 1911 at age sixty-seven.

Niels M. Hansen Jensen

(Niels Hansen)

1845–1906

Residence: Mount Pleasant, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 20 April 1885

Missionary labors: Christiania Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 7 April 1887

Name of departure ship: Panther

Birth date: 30 June 1845

Birthplace: Ravnsnæsse, Birkerød, Frederiksborg, Denmark

Father: Jensen, Hans

Mother: Rasmusdatter, Ane Kirstine

Spouse: Rolfsdatter, Nicolena

Marriage date: 14 November 1868

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Fechser, Sarah Maria

Marriage date: 6 May 1884

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 25 December 1906

Death place: Murray, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Burial place: Mount Pleasant, Sanpete Co., Utah

Niels was baptized on 18 April 1865 in Denmark. Descendants claim that he served a mission to avoid polygamist hunters. Niels accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1885. He arrived in Copenhagen on 20 April 1885 and was assigned to serve in the Christiania Conference. On the mission he wrote a diary. After completing the mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 7 April 1887 aboard the steamer Panther with 108 emigrating Latter-day Saints and eight other returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 302).

Niels died on Christmas morning 1906 in Murray, Salt Lake County, from a complication of diseases. It was said of him, “He was known to give others praise when it was due himself” (“Niels M. Jensen Dead,” Deseret News, 29 December 1906). He was also known for liking a good joke.

Peter Christian Jensen

1830–1900

Residence: Ephraim, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 4 May 1885

Missionary labors: Ålborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 7 April 1887

Name of departure ship: Panther

Birth date: 24 April 1830

Birthplace: Kjølbye, Farstrup, Ålborg, Denmark

Father: Jensen Sondrup, Jens

Mother: Pettersdatter, Kirsten

Spouse: Christiansen, Maren Kirstine

Marriage date: 1861

Death date: 6 April 1900

Death place: Ephraim, Sanpete Co., Utah

Burial place: Ephraim, Sanpete Co., Utah

Peter was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the fall of 1860 by A. C. Pedersen. He and his wife immigrated to Utah in 1862 and settled in Ephraim, Sanpete County, before settling in Circleville, Piute County. In Circleville, Peter lost everything he had due to an Indian uprising. In 1865, he returned to Ephraim (see “Death of P. C. Jensen,” Deseret News, 9 April 1900).

Twenty years later, he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 4 May 1885 and was assigned to labor in the Ålborg Conference. After completing this mission, he boarded the steamer Panther on 7 April 1887 with 108 emigrating Latter-day Saints and eight other returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 293, 295, 302).

He returned to Ephraim, but it was not long before he moved to Bear River City, Box Elder County, Utah. On 30 January 1894, he returned to Copenhagen to serve another mission. He labored in Copenhagen, serving part of the time as president of the Copenhagen Conference. On 5 March 1896, Peter left Scandinavia to return to Utah (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 338, 340, 352).

In Utah, he was known as an active member of the Forty-seventh Quorum of the Seventy. Upon his deathbed, at age sixty-nine, Peter was ordained a high priest on 5 March 1900 by Francis M. Lyman and Anthon H. Lund. A biographer wrote of him, “[Peter] was a man much respected and beloved by all who knew him” (Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 139). He died in 1900 in Ephraim at age sixty-nine. His funeral was held in the Ephraim Tabernacle.

Peter Michael Jensen

1868–1950

Residence: Huntsville, Weber Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 29 April 1892

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 3 May 1894

Name of departure ship: Milo

Birth date: 22 January 1868

Birthplace: Huntsville, Weber Co., Utah

Father: Jensen, Christian

Mother: Pedersdatter, Karen

Spouse: Bronson, Elizabeth

Marriage date: 20 June 1889

Marriage place: Logan Temple, Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Death date: 10 March 1950

Death place: Ogden, Weber Co., Utah

Burial place: Huntsville, Weber Co., Utah

Peter was born three months after his parents arrived in the Salt Lake Valley (see Carter, Our Pioneer Heritage, 11:46). His father died when he was seven years old. He wrote of his difficulties growing up in Huntsville, Weber County, Utah. The community was divided into three sections—English, Swedish, and Danish—and he recalled the English attempting to “war” against the Danish in the community. At age fourteen, he began taking care of the family farm and spent much time cutting hay and hauling lumber (see “Autobiography of Peter Michael Jensen,” 1–4).

He joined the first combined deacon-teacher choir in Huntsville before accepting a mission call to Scandinavia in 1892. He wrote to the president of the Scandinavian Mission and “explained [his] circumstances having borrowed money and bought sheep and just starting out in life nothing to draw from.” The message he received back was to “sell the sheep; . . . they would like to have [you] go.” He arrived in Copenhagen on 29 April 1892 after reporting himself to be “a very poor sailor. I lost my appetite the first day out [and] never regained [it] until I set feet on land again” (“Autobiography of Peter Michael Jensen,” 8). He was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference, in the same region his parents had once resided in. After completing this mission, Peter departed from Copenhagen on 3 May 1894 aboard the steamer Milo (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 328, 337, 391, 394).

Returning to Huntsville, he immediately went to work on his farm incorporating a dairy business. He purchased a share in a local lumber company. Of his various business ventures, the lumber mill was the most time consuming (see “Autobiography of Peter Michael Jensen,” 8–10).

In 1902, Peter received a second mission call to Scandinavia. At the time, he had six children. He was set apart for the mission by John Henry Smith. He arrived in Copenhagen on 5 May 1902 and was assigned to labor in the Copenhagen Conference in the city of Roskilde. He reported that there was no church in the area and the people were friendly but indifferent about religion (Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 394). He also reported: “Nothing very striking happened during my mission. Spent the time tracting, holding meetings, and visiting investigators” (“Autobiography of Peter Michael Jensen,” 26). Joining him in departing from Copenhagen were fifteen emigrating Latter-day Saints (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 394).

He returned home to work on the farm and in the lumber mill. Of this he wrote: “I always managed to have money to pay my men, never remember having to say you will have to wait when they came for their pay. . . . I never had quite as good a record with the family. I always felt that if anyone would have to wait a little it should be the family” (“Autobiography of Peter Michael Jensen,” 25).

By 1919, Peter had moved from Huntsville to Ogden, Weber County. His years in Ogden proved difficult: “I never missed a payment on the farm loan and in 1936 I paid off the loan in full so that eased the financial struggle somewhat” (“Autobiography of Peter Michael Jensen,” 32).

From 1930 to 1944, he and his wife spent most winters in California. He concluded: “When I look back over these years I can see many mistakes which I have made. My intentions were right but failed in my judgment.” In his later years, he was hard of hearing (see “Autobiography of Peter Michael Jensen,” 33).

In summarizing his Church activities, Peter said, “I spent 53 years as a ward teacher.” He also labored in the genealogical association and served as a counselor to Bishop Peterson (see “Autobiography of Peter Michael Jensen,” 33). He died in 1950 in Ogden at age eighty-two.

Peter Simon Jensen

1872–96

Residence: Preston, Franklin Co., Idaho

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 15 March 1892

Missionary labors: Göteborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 3 May 1894

Name of departure ship: Milo

Birth date: 3 July 1872

Birthplace: Preston, Franklin Co., Idaho

Father: Jensen, David

Mother: Pedersen, Julia Konstance

Death date: 5 November 1896

Death place: Preston, Franklin Co., Idaho

Burial place: Preston, Franklin Co., Idaho

Peter, a resident of Preston, Franklin County, Idaho, was called to the Scandinavian Mission in 1892. Just before leaving for Scandinavia, he received his endowment on 10 February 1892. He arrived in Copenhagen on 15 March 1892 and was assigned to labor in the Göteborg Conference. On this mission, he visited with extended family members, including a grandfather, Peter Simon (see “Peter Simon Jensen,” 1). His grandfather was happy to see him but requested that he “never mention anything about religion.” After completing his mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 3 May 1894 aboard the steamer Milo with other returning missionaries and twenty-four emigrating Latter-day Saints (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 328, 337).

After returning to Idaho, he was employed to shear sheep. Peter earned enough money from this to purchase a black pony that eventually birthed a bay-colored colt. The colt was known as “Peter’s Golden Calf” (“Peter Simon Jensen,” 1). By the time of his death, he had not married. He died from typhoid in 1896 at age twenty-four (see “Peter Simon Jensen,” 1). After learning of his death, a relative in Norway wrote, “He has been the one that has taken the lead in the family in regard to spiritual matters. . . . He leaves a record here in the Scandinavian Mission that will not be forgotten” (“Letter of H. D. Jensen to Father and Family,” 26 November 1896, Bergan, Norway).

Søren Jensen

1838–1917

Residence: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 3 June 1876

Missionary labors: Copenhagen and Århus conferences

Departure date from Copenhagen: 17 May 1878

Name of departure ship: Cato

Birth date: 14 June 1838

Birthplace: Hvirring, Skanderborg, Denmark

Father: Sørensen, Jens Peter

Mother: Jensdatter, Ane Kjerstine

Spouse: Peterson, Elna

Marriage date: About 1860

Marriage place: crossing the plains (Omaha, Douglas Co., Nebraska)

Spouse: Rasmussen, Kjerstine

Marriage date: 9 March 1867

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Juliusen, Karen (Caroline)

Marriage date: 8 April 1868

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Jensen, Ana Johanna Katrine

Marriage date: 12 September 1878

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Hansen, Petrea Cathrina

Marriage date: 21 February 1884

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 27 April 1917

Death place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Burial place: Wasatch Lawn Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

The parents of Søren attempted to keep him from attending Latter-day Saint meetings (see correspondence from Mona R. Douglas, 10 July 1999). Their attempts failed. Søren was baptized on 12 October 1857 by Jens Hansen. He was ordained a teacher on 1 November 1857. Afterward, he labored as a local missionary in southern and central Jylland and Schleswig from 1857 to 1860 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 232).

He immigrated to Utah in 1860, crossing the Atlantic aboard the William Tapscott. He was in the last handcart company that crossed the plains under the direction of Captain Oscar O. Stoddard. On the journey, he married Elna Peterson. They located in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 3:128).

While in the Salt Lake area, Søren was employed as a carpenter on the tabernacle. He is credited with joining together the arch supporting the roof at both ends of the building (see Esshom, Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, 965). He also performed additional carpentry labors for Brigham Young and George Q. Cannon. According to family tradition, Brigham Young wanted him to buy a corner lot in Salt Lake City for an investment. Søren replied, “He didn’t want to earn money that way. He believed that people should earn their living by the sweat of their brow” (Hancock, “Søren Jensen, 1838–1917,” 1).

He was ordained a seventy on 17 February 1861 by W. S. Brundage and became a member of the Sixty-first Quorum of the Seventy (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 3:128). He accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1876. He was assigned to labor in the Copenhagen Conference before being called to preside over the Århus Conference in 1877. He later labored on the island of Bornholm. On that island, he held forty-four meetings in six weeks. During that short sojourn, twenty-three persons were baptized. When he left Copenhagen aboard the Cato in 1878, he was one of two returning missionaries in charge of sixty-six emigrating Latter-day Saints (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 226, 232, 498).

Upon returning to Utah, he worked as a carpenter in Salt Lake City until 1884. He then left Salt Lake to accept a settling mission call to St. Johns, Apache County, Arizona. Of his arrival in St. Johns he wrote, “Found many warm-hearted Saints.” He stayed in Arizona for two years and during that time built a tithing office and a Relief Society hall. Of his work he wrote, “I done almost the entire carpenter and joiner work without any assistance” (“From the Journal of Søren Jensen of Farmers Ward, Salt Lake City, Utah,” 3).

He did not like Arizona because of the “lack of water and obtained Brigham Young’s permission to move from there to Colorado.” He located in the San Juan Stake in Mancos, Montezuma County, Colorado. He purchased 160 acres of farmland for two thousand six hundred dollars. He spent the next twenty-two years in Mancos, helping make the settlement prosperous. During those years, he was known to have preached that a “man could go to the Celestial Kingdom with one wife. He was taken before the High Council for preaching false doctrine” (Hancock, “Søren Jensen, 1838–1917,” 3–4). Later, he was exonerated.

From Colorado, he moved to Salt Lake County. He resided in the Forest Dale Ward just before his death (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 3:128). Søren died in 1917 in Salt Lake City at age seventy-eight.

Andrew Jenson

(Andreas Christiansen)

1850–1941

Residence: Pleasant Grove, Utah Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 30 May 1873

Missionary labors: Ålborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 25 June 1875

Name of departure ship: Pacific (Cato)

Birth date: 11 December 1850

Birthplace: Sønder Damgren, Torslev, Hjørring, Denmark

Father: Jensen (Jacobsen), Christian

Mother: Andersdatter, Kirsten

Spouse: Pedersen (Sorensen), Kirsten Marie

Marriage date: 30 August 1875

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Howell, Emma

Marriage date: 10 December 1885

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Howell, Bertha

Marriage date: 28 July 1888

Death date: 18 November 1941

Death place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Burial place: Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Andrew was born twelve days before his father returned home from the Danish War. He was christened in a Lutheran parish church and was named Andreas, the Danish equivalent of Andrew. His parents joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he was four years old. He was baptized on 2 February 1859 by Carl W. J. Hecker (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 128).

Prior to leaving Denmark, he received the rudiments of an education from his father. He had a studious disposition and learned quickly. Andrew immigrated to the Salt Lake Valley with his parents in 1866, crossing the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Kenilworth and the plains in the Andrew H. Scott wagon train. On the pioneer journey, he walked nearly all the way.

He located with his parents in Pleasant Grove, Utah County, in 1867. By 1870, he had purchased sixteen acres in Pleasant Grove for seventy-five dollars. In 1873, Andrew became an American citizen, an elder, and a seventy. For many years, he served as a president in the Third Quorum of the Seventy (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:727).

He served a mission to Denmark from 1873 to 1875. By the time he returned to Utah, he had traveled 19,616 miles—5,472 on foot. Soon after his mission experience, he wrote President Daniel H. Wells expressing a desire to write a history of Joseph Smith in the Danish language. Together with John A. Bruun, he published a history of the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Danish-Norwegian language in 1877 (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:727).

Andrew is remembered for his many missions and his writings. He fulfilled nine missions for the Church—1873–75, 1879–81, 1888, 1891–93, 1895–97, 1902–3, 1904–5, 1909–12—as president of the Scandinavian Mission. In 1921, he served in Mexico and in 1923, in South America (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 221–22, 238, 241, 243, 251, 258, 387, 389, 391, 403, 406–7, 422–25, 429, 431–34, 442, 453, 456). His writings include Historical Record, 9 volumes; LDS Church Chronology; Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia; and History of the Scandinavian Mission (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:727).

In 1891, he began his employment with the historical staff of the Church and was paid one hundred dollars a month. He was sustained as assistant Church historian in 1898 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 215). As a new century dawned, Andrew “bent every effort to bring the general history of the Church as well as the histories of the Stakes and missions up to December 31, 1900” (Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:727).

In 1913, he organized those who had circumnavigated the globe into a group called “Round the World Club.” He was elected temporary president. On 30 March 1919, he was ordained a high priest by George Albert Smith. In 1935, he returned to Denmark and was granted an audience with King Christian X (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:727).

When the Church celebrated the anniversary of its organization in 1930, Andrew formally presented his private library to the Church. It was comprised of two thousand bound volumes, three thousand titled pamphlets, and one thousand, five hundred manuscript biographies. He died in 1941 at his home in Salt Lake City at age ninety. Before his death, he erected his own monument in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. It had a globe on the top with lines marking his many travels (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:727).

Jens Jenson

(Jöns Jönsson)

1829–1900

Residence: Monroe, Sevier Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 6 November 1880

Missionary labors: Göteborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 13 October 1882

Name of departure ship: Cato

Birth date: 12 February 1829

Birthplace: Felestad, Malmöhus, Sweden

Father: Knutsson, Jöns

Mother: Hansdotter, Ingar

Spouse: Anderson, Cecilia (Sissa)

Marriage date: 1862

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Anderson, Karna Olson

Marriage date: 1888

Death date: 2 July 1900

Death place: Monroe, Sevier Co., Utah

Burial place: Monroe, Sevier Co., Utah

Jens was fatherless by age four and motherless by age ten. As he and his siblings begged for life’s necessities when they could not earn enough to sustain themselves, they were aided by their deceased father’s good reputation. This hard life made Jens a little rough. When Latter-day Saint missionaries held a meeting in his hometown, Jens initially planned with friends to break up the meeting. However, he recognized the truths of the gospel and never carried out his plans. Instead, he became a serious investigator and was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 7 January 1859 by Paul Dehlin.

Jens immigrated to America in 1860. He sailed from Liverpool on 11 May 1860 on the William Tapscott, serving part time as a cook on the voyage. In Florence, Nebraska, he obtained a handcart and traveled with Captain Oscar O. Stoddard’s ox team wagon and handcart company. It was the last company of the year, arriving in Salt Lake City on 24 September 1860.

Jens’s future marital state was sealed when his bride-to-be spied him walking along the street in Salt Lake City in wooden shoes. She called a friend to see this man because he was the type of husband she wanted.

Jens was ordained a seventy on 17 February 1861. He first found employment on the Church farm. After marrying, he spent a few years in Round Valley in Morgan County, Utah. Here he worked on the farm of Joseph Henry Felt. He also worked on the tunnels that allowed the railroad to run between Round Valley and Devil’s Slide. In the 1870 U.S. Census, he was listed in the Santaquin Precinct, Utah County, Utah as a laborer. In that same year, it is recorded that he was received in the Monroe Ward from the Santaquin Ward. Monroe, Sevier County, Utah, became the family’s permanent residence.

In 1880, Jens accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 6 November 1880 and was assigned to labor in the Göteborg Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 13 October 1882 aboard the steamer Cato (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 199, 206).

Jens was a faithful Latter-day Saint and was respected for his honesty, plainness, keen perception of spiritual matters, and for being an excellent scriptorian. Jens had a humorous side too. He was known as “Funny” Jensen because he was so comical. When he was called on to talk in Church, he would tell such funny stories about Sweden that would make all the people laugh (see “Death of a Handcart Veteran, Jens Jenson,” Deseret News, 6 July 1900).

On the Sunday before his death, he was at fast meeting and bore a faithful testimony to the work of God. Early on Monday morning, he complained of a pain in his breast and at 8:00 a.m. he passed from friends and earthly toil. His death was attributed to rheumatism of the heart. A wife, one son, and two daughters were left to revere his memory (see “Death of a Handcart Veteran, Jens Jenson,” Deseret News, 6 July 1900).

Peter Jenson

(Per Jönsson)

1835–1916

Residence: West Jordan, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 11 October 1892

Missionary labors: Skåne Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 16 August 1894

Name of departure ship: Rona

Birth date: 3 November 1835

Birthplace: #10 Önnerup, Flädre, Malmöhus, Sweden

Father: Persson, Jöns

Mother: Persdotter, Anna

Spouse: Nilson, Botilda

Marriage date: November 1862

Death date: 17 June 1916

Burial place: Midvale City Cemetery, Midvale, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Peter learned the trade of a brickmason and became the foreman of a brick kiln in Sweden. While working as a foreman, he listened to Mormon missionaries. He accepted their gospel message and was baptized on 9 February 1868 by P. T. Nystrom. He was ordained a teacher in 1868 and an elder the same year. He was called to preside over the Lund Branch, which assignment he fulfilled for three and a half years (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 2:305).

In 1877, he immigrated to Utah and settled in West Jordan, Salt Lake County. He engaged in smelting work and farming in the Salt Lake Valley. His daughter records, “My father . . . was very fond of flowers and trees” (An Enduring Legacy, 2:154). He also continued his activity in the Church, as is evidenced by his ordination as a seventy on 20 March 1887 by Edwin D. Holt (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 2:305).

While residing in West Jordan, Peter was called to serve in the Scandinavian Mission in 1892. He arrived in Copenhagen on 11 October 1892 and was assigned to labor in the Skåne Conference. On this mission, he presided over the Blekinge Branch for one year. After completing the mission, Peter departed from Copenhagen on 16 August 1894 aboard the steamer Rona (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 328–29, 336).

After returning to Utah, he was ordained a high priest by Bishop Elijah F. Sheets on 25 March 1899. It is noted that he was an active ward teacher for twenty-eight years. During these years, he was also a school trustee (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 2:305). He is credited with building a schoolroom at the back of his home located at 6957 South State Street in Salt Lake County (see An Enduring Legacy, 5:349). He died in 1916 in Midvale at age eighty-one.

Søren Peter Jenson

(Søren Pedersen)

1843–1936

Residence: Ephraim, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 30 April 1889

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 2 October 1890

Birth date: 17 August 1843

Birthplace: Farre, Sporup, Skanderborg, Denmark

Father: Jensen, Peder

Mother: Andersdatter, Kirsten

Spouse: Christensen, Maren (Mary)

Marriage date: 9 (8) November 1867 (1866)

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Folkersen (Volqvartsen), Dorothea

Marriage date: 19 September 1888

Marriage place: Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah

Spouse: Nielsen, Ane Marie

Marriage date: 28 February 1889

Marriage place: Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah

Spouse: Ring, Martine Lavering

Marriage date: 8 September 1897

Marriage place: Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah

Spouse: Nielsen, Martha Kjersten Westergaard

Marriage date: 17 February 1911

Marriage place: Ephraim, Sanpete Co., Utah

Spouse: Rasmussen, Clara Henriksen

Marriage date: 17 October 1918

Death date: 28 February 1936

Death place: Ephraim, Sanpete Co., Utah

Burial place: Ephraim, Sanpete Co., Utah

When Søren was six years old, he saved his brother Christian from drowning. At age ten or eleven, he was hired to tend stock. At age seventeen, he began investigating The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was baptized one year later (see Larsen, “Narrative of Søren Jensen,” 3).

Søren emigrated from Scandinavia to America with extended family members. He remembered helping the “sailors whenever I could” aboard ship. He and his family were nine weeks on the ocean before docking at Castle Garden, New York. They then ferried to New Jersey, where they boarded a train bound for St. Louis. Søren wrote of seeing soldiers: “Many of the soldiers of the Civil War were there, it was quite a sight to see them lying around under the trees” (Larsen, “Narrative of Søren Jensen,” 4).

He took passage on a boat to Omaha and stayed for a time in Winter Quarters, Douglas County, Nebraska, before crossing the plains with the C. A. Madsen company in 1862 to reach the Salt Lake Valley. While crossing the plains, he helped drive the cattle and wrote descriptive accounts of his exploits and many heroic acts (see Larsen, “Narrative of Søren Jensen,” 4–5).

Søren settled in Ephraim, Sanpete County, and was employed as a threshing machine operator. With his earnings from that employ, “I turned over what money I had to my parents to help [them] build a home.” In 1866, he left Ephraim, after fighting in the Black Hawk War, to rescue Latter-day Saint emigrants who had arrived at the Missouri River. Before he left, he and other young men were promised by Orson Hyde, “In the name of Jesus Christ if you boys are true to your Captain and commit no sins, you will all return safely.” Of this rescue mission, Søren wrote of digging a grave for a young woman who had died when she reached the summit of Parley’s Canyon, and of having nothing to eat for three days (see Larsen, “Narrative of Søren Jensen,” 5).

After fulfilling this arduous task, Søren was invited to be a guard for Brigham Young. He was with Brigham when the prophet dedicated the ground on which the Manti Temple was built (see Larsen, “Narrative of Søren Jensen,” 6).

In 1889, he was called to missionary labors in Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 30 April 1889 and was assigned to serve in the Århus Conference. On this mission, he blessed a sick woman and her baby and saw them fully recover (see Larsen, “Narrative of Søren Jensen,” 6). After completing an honorable mission, Søren departed from Copenhagen on 2 October 1890 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 310–11).

Upon returning to Ephraim, he was called to serve in the Sunday School of the Ephraim South Ward. He faithfully fulfilled this calling for twenty-seven years. During the diphtheria epidemic, his service was needed to help members lay out the bodies of the dead. He never caught any of the prevailing diseases. However, he did break his leg three times and suffered intensely after the last break until his death (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 140). Søren died in 1936 in Ephraim at age ninety-two.

Rasmus Nielsen Jeppesen

(Rasmus Nielsen)

1820–96

Residence: Mantua, Box Elder Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 17 November 1875

Missionary labors: Copenhagen Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 22 June 1876

Name of departure ship: Otto

Birth date: 28 June 1820

Birthplace: Sigersted, Sorø, Denmark

Father: Jeppesen, Niels

Mother: Rasmusdatter, Marie

Spouse: Ottesen, Maren Christina Nielsen

Marriage date: 4 March 1856,Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Hansen, Anne

Marriage date: 14 December 1844

Marriage place: Sigersted, Sorø, Denmark

Spouse: Bravandt, Emma Emilie

Marriage date: 18 January 1857

Spouse: Ottesen, Ellen Catherine

Marriage date: 19 June 1859

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Pedersen, Inger Larsen

Marriage date: 5 January 1867

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Alexander, Margretha Christina

Marriage date: 31 July 1876

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 9 June 1896

Death place: Mantua, Box Elder Co., Utah

Burial place: Mantua, Box Elder Co., Utah

Rasmus and his wife, Anne Hansen, were converted to the Mormon faith by Erastus Snow. They were baptized in 1853 and immigrated with their two sons to America in 1854 aboard the ship Cimbria. In Liverpool, they boarded the James Nesmith with 440 Scandinavian Latter-day Saints (see Jensen, “Rasmus Nielsen Jeppesen, 1820–1896,” 1).

After arriving safely in America, they traveled across the states to Utah. Rasmus buried a son on the banks of the Missouri River. He and his remaining family members arrived in Salt Lake City on 7 September 1855 (see Jensen, “Rasmus Nielsen Jeppesen, 1820–1896,” 1).

He and his family were one of the first twelve families to move to Mantua, Box Elder County. In Mantua, he worked as a brickmason. He is credited with making bricks for the Box Elder Court House located in Brigham City (see Jensen, “Rasmus Nielsen Jeppesen, 1820–1896,” 2). He is also credited with being a First Lieutenant in the Box Elder Territorial Militia (see Bott, “Rasmus Nielsen Jeppsen,” 4). From 1863 to 1877, he served in the branch presidency of the Mantua Branch (see Lee, “Life Sketch of Rasmus Nielsen Jeppesen and Peder Nielsen Jeppesen,” 7).

While a resident of Mantua, Rasmus was called to serve a mission in Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 17 November 1875 and was assigned to labor as a traveling elder in the Copenhagen Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he boarded the steamer Otto with 405 emigrating Latter-day Saints (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 223, 225).

After returning to Mantua, he was called to be a counselor to Bishop Peter C. Jensen (see Lee, “Life Sketch of Rasmus Nielsen Jeppesen and Peder Nielsen Jeppesen,” 7). For a time, he also served in the Fifty-eighth Quorum of the Seventy (see Bott, “Rasmus Nielsen Jeppsen,” 5). In 1883, he supervised the building of a ditch that began the construction of Teton Island Canal. The canal was eight feet wide and was completed in 1885 near Rexburg, Madison County, Idaho (see Carter, Our Pioneer Heritage, 4:260).

Prominent in Mantua, he was not exempt from arrest for cohabitation. He attempted to hide from federal marshals in a haystack on the family farm but was captured, fined, and sentenced on 27 May 1889 by the First District Court of Ogden (see Jenson, LDS Church Chronology, 27 May 1889). He died in 1896 in Mantua at age seventy-six (see Bott, “Rasmus Nielsen Jeppsen,” 6).

Jeppa Hanson Jeppson

(Jeppa Hansson)

1832–1916

Residence: Brigham City, Box Elder Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 2 November 1884

Missionary labors: Skåne Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 8 April 1886

Name of departure ship: Bravo

Birth date: 13 November 1832

Birthplace: Trelleborg, Malmöhus, Sweden

Father: Jeppsson, Hans

Mother: Hansdotter, Maria

Spouse: Hendrickson, Gunnell Marie Hansen

Marriage date: 11 October 1854

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Olsen, Mary

Marriage date: 16 November 1856

Spouse: Olsen, Nicoline

Marriage date: 5 November 1857

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Peterson, Christina Nilsson Torkelson

Marriage date: 27 January 1865

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 12 August 1916

Death place: Brigham City, Box Elder Co., Utah

Burial place: Brigham City Cemetery, Brigham City, Box Elder Co., Utah

Jeppa, named for his grandfather, grew up in the rugged seaport town of Trelleborg, Sweden. He learned the trade of cabinetmaking after completing his studies (see Spilker, “Jeppa Hans Jeppson,” 1).

When Jeppa was thirteen, his father died. To support himself, Jeppa worked in a tavern (see Burgoyne, “The Family of Jeppa Hanson Jeppson of Brigham City, Utah,” 1). He said of his employ, “I was very happy, many people came to the tavern.” Among those who came were Latter-day Saint elders—”these men seemed to be good and quiet, so I let them stay for the night” (Jeppson, “Life Sketch of Jeppa Jeppson,” 2). His first encounter with missionaries led to other encounters and also to discussions about religion.

Although he expressed interest in the new religion, he did not join. Jeppa was drafted into the king’s army in Sweden. This was not to his liking, so he left the country and journeyed to Norway, then to Germany, and finally to Denmark. It was in Copenhagen, Denmark, that he became a convert to the teaching of Mormonism. He was baptized on 21 April 1853 by an Elder Olsen. He served a local mission in Denmark and then in Sweden. Of his missionary labors, he wrote, “I would walk from ten to thirty miles a day through the country with little success” (Jeppson, “Life Sketch of Jeppa Jeppson,” 3–4).

In 1854, he immigrated to America and served as an interpreter aboard the Eideren under the direction of Hans Peter Olsen. He boarded the Benjamin Adams in Liverpool and continued his interpreting responsibilities. He crossed the plains in the H. P. Olsen company and reached Salt Lake City on 4 October 1854 (see Jeppson, “Life Sketch of Jeppa Jeppson,” 4–5).

By spring 1855, he had married fellow emigrant and sweetheart Gunnell Hendrickson. They lived with Lorenzo Snow after their marriage. Elder Snow employed Jeppa until he received a settling mission call to Brigham City, Box Elder County (see Jeppson, “Life Sketch of Jeppa Jeppson,” 5).

In Brigham City, Jeppa was a cabinetmaker and worked on a small farm. He was selected to be the road supervisor and water master of the community, positions he held for thirty years. He built roads and bridges and opened irrigation ditches. In the process, he established close ties with Lorenzo Snow who had responsibilities in Brigham City. He also served as commissioner of the public buildings and supervised the construction of the Box Elder Stake Tabernacle. The carved and rounded stairs on both sides of the pulpit are a lasting testimony of his craftsmanship (see Jeppson, “Life Sketch of Jeppa Jeppson,” 7).

Jeppa also served as the custodian of the local courthouse for about twenty years. The cost of his janitorial service to the county was two dollars a month, which earnings he gave to a widow. He also served as chief-of-police for a time and was an active member of the Democratic party. He owned shares in the Brigham City co-op store, grist mill, woolen mill, and sheep ranch (see Jeppson, “Life Sketch of Jeppa Jeppson,” 6–7).

He was the presiding elder of the Brigham Second Ward. He was also a ward teacher, first counselor to Ola W. Stohl in the Scandinavian organization, and a member of the Box Elder Stake high council (see Jeppson, “Life Sketch of Jeppa Jeppson,” 6).

He accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1884. He arrived in Copenhagen on 2 November 1884 and was assigned to labor in the Skåne Conference. After completing an honorable mission, on 8 April 1886 he departed from Copenhagen aboard the Bravo with sixty-nine emigrating Latter-day Saints and four returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 296).

In 1888, Jeppa was arrested for polygamy and sentenced to six months in prison and fined. He was released early on account of good behavior. In 1896, he was called to fulfill a home mission, visiting the wards in Bear River and Malad Valley (see Jeppson, “Life Sketch of Jeppa Jeppson,” 8–9).

While never a wealthy man, Jeppa “accumulated sufficient of this world’s goods to allow himself and wife to spend their declining days in comfort” (Portrait, Genealogical and Biographical Record of the State of Utah, 209). His wife Gunnell said of him, “He has been such a fine, good man. I love him more than all else and that will be forever, in eternity” (Jeppson, “Life Sketch of Jeppa Jeppson,” 10).

After breakfast one morning, he went for a walk and struck his head on the pavement. He never regained consciousness. He died a few days later at his home in 1916 at age eighty-three (see Spilker, “The Family of Jeppa Hans Jeppson,” 1).

Andreas (Andrew) Jepsen

1841–1929

Residence: Mink Creek, Franklin Co., Idaho

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 1 November 1891

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 30 March 1893

Birth date: 13 November 1841

Birthplace: Seest, Ribe, Denmark

Father: Thomsen, Jeppe

Mother: Sørensdatter, Mette Marie

Spouse: Hagelund, Kirstine

Marriage date: about 1876

Marriage place: Denmark

Spouse: Thomsen, Dorothea Amalia

Marriage date: 8 July 1885

Marriage place: Logan Temple, Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Death date: 8 June 1929

Death place: Mink Creek, Franklin Co., Idaho

Burial place: Mink Creek Cemetery, Mink Creek, Franklin Co., Idaho

Andreas’s parents were well-to-do. A fish peddler told the family about the gospel. Andreas was baptized on 15 March 1880 by Elder Madsen. He was the only one in his family to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was ordained a deacon on 24 June 1880 by Christian Jensen. He and his wife, Kirstine Hagelund, migrated to Zion in 1881 and settled in Hyrum, Cache County, Utah (see Jepsen, “Life Story of Andreas Jepsen,” 1).

While a resident of Mink Creek, Franklin County, Idaho, Andreas accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He was ordained a seventy on 9 October 1891 by Abraham H. Cannon and Seymour Young before leaving the States (see Jepsen, “Life Story of Andreas Jepsen,” 1). He arrived in Copenhagen on 1 November 1891 and was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference. After completing this mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 30 March 1893 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 326, 333).

He was ordained a high priest on 3 September 1904 by Solomon H. Hale. After this ordination, he financially assisted others to emigrate from Denmark to Zion. “Many never paid him back,” family members recalled. One of his favorite sayings was, “Always respect the Priesthood of any man, if you can’t respect the man himself” (Jepsen, “Life Story of Andreas Jepsen,” 1–2). Andreas died in 1928 at Mink Creek at age eighty-seven.

John Johnsen, Sr.

(Jørgen “S” Jørgensen)

1820–1900

Residence: Ovid, Bear Lake Co., Idaho

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 16 May 1881

Missionary labors: Copenhagen Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 29 August 1881

Name of departure ship: Pacific

Birth date: 18 November 1820

Birthplace: Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Father: Jensen, Jørgen

Mother: Larsen, Johanne Severine

Spouse: Thogerson, Sidse

Marriage date: 2 July 1843

Marriage place: Kildebronde, Copenhagen, Denmark

Spouse: Petersen, Maren (Andersen)

Marriage date: 14 June 1869

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: May 1900

Death place: Goshen, Bingham Co., Idaho

Burial place: Ovid, Bear Lake Co., Idaho

John and his family to converted to Mormonism in 1856. They immigrated to America on 17 April 1858. The voyage across the ocean was hard, and the baby boy, Hans, died and was buried at sea. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 1 October 1862. Being poor, the boys hired out to work. The family moved to Brigham City, Box Elder County, Utah, and then to Bear Lake County in Idaho. They spent their first winter in Paris, Bear Lake County, Idaho, and the following spring they moved to Ovid, Bear Lake County, Idaho.

He was residing in Ovid, Bear Lake County, Idaho, when he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. There were only twenty-eight families living in the community of Ovid, but they raised $140 to help him on his mission. He arrived in Copenhagen on 16 May 1881 and was assigned to labor in the Copenhagen Conference. He remained only a brief time in Copenhagen due to illness. He departed aboard the steamer Pacific on 29 August 1881 with 270 emigrating Latter-day Saints and other returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 258).

John served as the second superintendent of the Ovid Sunday School and as first counselor to the first bishop of the Ovid Ward, Bishop Peter Jensen. He was the first miller of the gristmill in Bear Lake County that was owned by Charles C. Rich.

John moved to Goshen, Bingham County, Idaho, in July 1897. He died in May 1900, and his body was taken back to Ovid to be buried.

Anders Gustave Johnson

(Anders Gustaf Johansson)

1843–1910

Residence: Grantsville, Tooele Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 4 May 1880

Missionary labors: Göteborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 1 September 1882

Name of departure ship: Volo

Birth date: 17 November 1843

Birthplace: Backstughjon, Mofalla, Skaraborg, Sweden

Father: Jonsson, Johan

Mother: Andersdotter, Cajsa Lisa

Spouse: Bjork, Anna Sophia

Marriage date: 8 October 1863

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Anderson, Charlotte Christine

Marriage date: 1868

Death date: 3 March 1910

Death place: Grantsville, Tooele Co., Utah

Anders’s grandfather was the first person to open his house to a Latter-day Saint elder for preaching in the Brevik Parish (see Johnson, “A History of Anders Gustave Johnson of Grantsville, Utah,” 1). Soon his grandfather was baptized, as were Anders’s parents in 1854 (see “Journal of A. G. Johnson, Grantsville, Utah, Father of Mrs. Sam. Johnson,” 1).

Anders remembered growing up in Kyrkefalla and then moving to Jubberud, Kyrkefalla (Tibero), where his father farmed for a few years. When he was ten years old, he and his parents resided in Tåbod, Brevik Parish, before moving to Copenhagen in 1858. In Copenhagen, he recalled, “We had to suffer a good deal of persecution where we were because we were Mormons . . . [also] because we were Swedes” (“Journal of A. G. Johnson, Grantsville, Utah, Father of Mrs. Sam. Johnson,” 1). While waiting in Copenhagen to immigrate to America, Anders worked in a cigar factory, breaking up the tobacco leaves to the proper length for a cigar. He later worked in a saloon, washing bottles and filling them with beer. He then worked at a ropewalk making ropes and cables for the navy (see Johnson, “A History of Anders Gustave Johnson of Grantsville, Utah,” 1).

He finally immigrated to America in the spring of 1861. He journeyed from Copenhagen to Kiel, then to Hamburg and Grimsby, and from there to Liverpool. In Liverpool, he boarded the sailing ship Monarch of the Sea with other Scandinavian emigrants. After docking in New York Harbor, he made his way to Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and from there by wagon with Captain John R. Murdock to Salt Lake City, where he arrived on 12 September 1861, having “neither money nor clothes, as I had wore my clothes out in crossing the plains” (“Journal of A. G. Johnson, Grantsville, Utah, Father of Mrs. Sam. Johnson,” 2–3).

Anders settled in Grantsville, Tooele County. In that community, he learned “there [are] many men that will make very fair promises but never intend to fulfill them. . . . It was quite a hard trial to me, for we had been taught, that in Zion we would find everything good and true.” He served as a teacher in the Grantsville Ward and received his endowment on 18 March 1865 (see “Journal of A. G. Johnson, Grantsville, Utah, Father of Mrs. Sam. Johnson,” 3–4).

In 1878, he moved to Pleasant Grove, Utah County. Two years later, he had returned to Grantsville. While residing in that community, he accepted a mission call from President John Taylor to serve in Scandinavia in 1880. He arrived in Copenhagen on 4 May 1880 and was assigned to labor in the Göteborg Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 1 September 1892 aboard the steamer Volo (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 250, 265, 285). He wrote of his mission, “I can say that I derived more satisfaction and benefit from those two and one half years work than anything I have tried either before or since” (“Journal of A. G. Johnson, Grantsville, Utah, Father of Mrs. Sam. Johnson,” 5).

After returning to Utah, he again resided in Pleasant Grove. On 3 September 1890, he was set apart to serve a mission in Sweden and was assigned to the Stockholm Conference, where he labored in the Sundsvall Branch (Västernorrland County). Becoming ill with pneumonia during the winter months, he was reassigned to the Göteborg Conference and labored in the Trollhättan Branch. In this branch, he baptized fifteen persons before his release on 1 September 1892. He accompanied emigrating Latter-day Saints to Utah (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 250, 265, 285).

In Utah, Anders was ordained a high priest by Franklin D. Richards and was called to serve on the local stake high council. He also served as a home missionary and stake superintendent of the Sunday School. He was released from these callings on account of poor health (see “Journal of A. G. Johnson, Grantsville, Utah, Father of Mrs. Sam. Johnson,” 5).

Civically, Anders served as a city recorder, alderman, mayor of Grantsville for three terms, justice of the peace, and a member of the school board. He was also an assessor, a tax collector, and county commissioner for two terms (see “Journal of A. G. Johnson, Grantsville, Utah, Father of Mrs. Sam. Johnson,” 5; “History of Anders Gustaf Johnson of Grantsville, Utah,” 5). He died in 1910 in Grantsville at age sixty-six.

Andrew Johnson

(Anders Jönsson)

1846–1903

Residence: Union, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 30 April 1889

Missionary labors: Skåne Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 2 October 1890

Birth date: 5 January 1845

Birthplace: Vetabeck, Röddinge, Malmöhus, Sweden

Father: Andersson, Jöns

Mother: Hinriksdotter, Malena

Spouse: Jensen, Carna (Carrie)

Marriage date: 28 April 1886

Marriage place: Logan Temple, Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Death date: 9 March 1903

Death place: Union, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Burial place: South Cottonwood Cemetery, Murray, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Andrew was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was rebaptized on 21 October 1877 by M. H. Braidy. On 10 December 1877, he was ordained a teacher by Bishop S. Phillips. He received his patriarchal blessing on 19 January 1880 from William McBride at Union, Salt Lake County, Utah (see Patriarch Blessings Index, 363:157).

Andrew was a resident of Union when he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1889. He arrived in Copenhagen on 30 April 1889 and was assigned to labor in the Skåne Conference. He departed from Copenhagen on 2 October 1890 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 310, 312).

He returned to the Salt Lake area, where he worked as a farmer. He was known among his friends as a faithful Latter-day Saint. In 1903, he died of acute consumption in Union at age fifty-seven (see “Andrew Johnson,” Deseret News, 13 March 1903).

Andrew Johnson

(Anders Jørgensen)

1850–1909

Residence: Ovid, Bear Lake Co., Idaho

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 12 September 1882

Missionary labors: Göteborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 19 October 1883

Name of departure ship: Milo

Birth date: 4 May 1850

Birthplace: Tostrup Valdby, Høje-Tåstrup, Copenhagen, Denmark

Father: Jørgensen, Jørgen (Johnson, John Sr.)

Mother: Pedersdatter, Sidse

Spouse: Hansen, Mette Kirstine (Christine)

Marriage date: 18 September 1871

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 25 November 1909

Death place: Ovid, Bear Lake Co., Idaho

Burial place: Ovid, Bear Lake Co., Idaho

Anders immigrated to America with his parents and three brothers in the late 1850s. They first settled in Mantua, Box Elder County, Utah, then Paris, Bear Lake County, Idaho, and finally in Ovid, Bear Lake County. He was baptized on 16 September 1860 by his father. He married Mette Hansen, who bore sixteen children. They lived in a log home that had two large rooms and an attic where their sons slept. He supported his large family as a farmer (see “Andrew and Mette Kirstine Hansen Johnson,” 1).

Anders was a large man, weighing about two hundred pounds. He had the reputation of being a powerful fighter. He entered many fighting contests, and it was not unusual for his opponents to back down when they learned that they would be fighting him. He was also noted for being an outstanding “axe-man.” His biographer reported that he could chop a tree down faster with an axe than two men with a crosscut saw (see “Andrew and Mette Kirstine Hansen Johnson,” 1–2).

In 1882, while residing in Ovid, Bear Lake County, Idaho, Anders accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. At that time, he was the father of fourteen children. His acceptance of this call caused a great hardship to his family (see “Andrew and Mette Kirstine Hansen Johnson,” 4). His wife washed clothes for neighbors and railroad personnel to provide for the family. Anders arrived in Copenhagen on 12 September 1882 and was assigned to labor in the Göteborg Conference. During the mission, he served in the Nordstjernan office. He departed from Copenhagen on 19 October 1883 aboard the steamer Milo (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 229).

He accepted a second mission call to Scandinavia in 1897. On 26 April 1897, he arrived in Copenhagen. He was appointed to labor in the Skåne and Stockholm conferences. On 18 May 1899, he departed from Copenhagen (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 361, 364, 371).

He returned to his family in Idaho, where he developed a freighting business from St. Charles to Brigham City, Box Elder County, Utah. He transported potatoes and cheese to Brigham City and then brought back a load of fruit. Each round trip took from seven to ten days (see “Andrew and Mette Kirstine Hansen Johnson,” 5).

Nils accepted a third mission call to Scandinavia in 1903. On 25 May 1903, he arrived in Copenhagen and was appointed to labor in the Sundsvall Conference (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 399).

He died from blood poisoning, or what descendants described as an uncontrolled infection, in 1909 in Ovid at age fifty-nine (see “Andrew and Mette Kirstine Hansen Johnson,” 2).

Bengt Johnson Jr.

(Bengt Bengtsson or Jönsson)

1850–1921

Residence: Provo, Utah Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 6 June 1888

Missionary labors: Skåne Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 30 May 1889

Name of departure ship: Milo

Birth date: 13 June 1850

Birthplace: #5 Södervidinge, Södervidinge, Malmöhus, Sweden

Father: Jönsson (Johnson), Bengt

Mother: Bengtsdotter (Benson), Gunilla

Spouse: Christopherson, Betsy Nilson

Marriage date: 6 March 1871

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Hanson, Hilda Johanna

Marriage date: 7 January 1914

Death date: 29 June 1921

Death place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Burial place: Provo, Utah Co., Utah

Bengt’s parents converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1854 and immigrated to America in 1862 aboard the Antonio. They crossed the plains in Captain Joseph Horne’s church train when Bengt was twelve years old. The family resided in Provo, Utah County, where his father worked as a farmer and his mother made cloth on a hand loom. Bengt worked on the farm with his father and helped his mother with the loom (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 2:6).

He was baptized on 27 November 1861 by Nils Elison. In 1867, he hauled rock for the construction of the Salt Lake Temple. In 1868, he went to Laramie County, Wyoming, as a Church teamster to meet and assist incoming emigrants. He was ordained a priest soon afterward and an elder on 13 June 1868 by Alonzo H. Raleigh. In 1875, he bought a farm in Provo and became a successful farmer as well as a section foreman on the Utah Southern, Utah Central, and Union Pacific railroads. In 1875, he was ordained a seventy by Edward Peay and served in the Thirty-fourth Quorum of the Seventy. He was ordained a high priest on 16 January 1898 by John Henry Smith (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 2:6).

In 1888, Bengt accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 6 June 1888 and was assigned to labor in the Skåne Conference. He was released from this mission in 1889 “on account of sickness” (Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 307, 309).

In 1898, he was called by John Henry Smith to be an alternate member of the high council of the Utah Stake of Zion. On 31 July 1903, he was set apart as a regular member of that body (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 2:6).

On 4 June 1910, he again arrived in the Swedish Mission, this time to serve as president of the Skåne Conference from 1910 to 1913 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 456, 483).

Bengt died in 1921 in Salt Lake City at age seventy-one. A biographer wrote that he was “commanding the highest esteem of all with whom he is associated” (Flake, Portrait, Genealogical and Biographical Record of Utah, 338).

George William Johnson

1873–1943

Residence: West Bountiful, Davis Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 30 April 1892

Missionary labors: Skåne Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 5 April 1894

Name of departure ship: Bravo

Birth date: 13 June 1873

Birthplace: St. George, Washington Co., Utah

Father: Johnson, Joseph Ellis

Mother: Saunders, Eliza Perkins

Death date: 11 January 1943

Death place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Burial place: Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

George spent his boyhood days in St. George, Washington County, Utah. In his youth, he moved with his parents to Silver Reef, Washington County, and then to Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona. He was residing in West Bountiful, Davis County, Utah, when he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1892. He arrived in Copenhagen on 30 April 1892 and was assigned to labor in the Skåne Conference. After completing this mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 5 April 1894 aboard the steamer Bravo with fellow missionaries and thirteen emigrating Latter-day Saints (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 328–29, 336).

After the mission, he resided in Salt Lake City and Bennion, Salt Lake County, Utah. He became a permanent resident of Salt Lake City in 1936. George never married. He supported himself as a pharmacist. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Salt Lake City at age sixty-nine (see “George W. Johnson,” Deseret News, 12 January 1943).

John Johnson

(John Joensen)

1849–1936

Residence: Provo, Utah Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 29 October 1889

Missionary labors: Christiania Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 29 October 1891

Name of departure ship: Volo

Birth date: 7 June 1849

Birthplace: Østre Sveen, Løiten, Hedmark, Norway

Father: Joensen, Joen (Johnson, John)

Mother: Larsdatter, Bergitta (Bergeti)

Spouse: Sward (Akesson), Ingrid

Marriage date: 13 June 1870

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 10 June 1936

Death place: Provo, Utah Co., Utah

Burial place: Provo City Cemetery, Provo, Utah Co., Utah

John’s father, a carpenter by trade, died a few months before his birth. His mother, left with meager means with which to support a family, was able to offer only limited schooling to John. At school, he learned from his teacher that there were Mormons in the neighborhood. He was told that they “lurked around the edge of the timber and dared not to come out where it was thickly settled.” He was surprised to return to his home and find that the missionaries were talking to his family. He was thirteen years old at the time. His mother and stepfather, Hans Knudsen, were baptized. The missionary who performed the baptism, Jens Pederson, was confined to prison for thirteen days, living on bread and water as a punishment for the baptism. “Our friends and relations were very much against us associating ourselves with them degraded Mormons and when us children went to school they would call us Mormons thinking thereby to insult us but we did not care,” wrote John (see “History of John Johnson, As Written by Himself,” 2).

John emigrated from Norway to Copenhagen and then to Hamburg, Germany. Aboard ship to Hamburg, the vessel was shot at three times before the Swedish flag was hoisted. The vessel then passed unmolested. John sailed aboard the Monarch of the Sea to America. Although he was only fifteen years old, he was ordered to stand guard on ship. Aboard ship, sixty-seven died and “were dumped into the sea” (“History of John Johnson, As Written by Himself,” 3).

After landing in New York Harbor, John journeyed to Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and then crossed the plains in the John Smith pioneer company. In that company, he worked as a teamster until arriving in Salt Lake City on 21 October 1864 (see “History of John Johnson, As Written by Himself,” 3).

John settled in Provo, Utah County, where he devoted much of his time to commercial fishing (see Warrum, Utah since Statehood, 3:298). He was baptized on 7 April 1865 by Peter Madsen (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:495). He was endowed on 13 June 1868 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City.

From Provo, he was called by Brigham Young to cross the plains and assist emigrating Latter-day Saints. On this assignment, he met his future wife, who was crossing the plains at that time (see Jeppesen, History of Lakeview Ward, 1855–1951, 79–80).

John worked on the railroad lines in Echo Canyon and later at Promontory Point. After completing these labors, he returned to Provo, where he was active in the local ward. In 1877, when the Lakeview Ward was organized, he was called to be the presiding teacher (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:495). He also served in the Forty-fifth Quorum of the Seventy (see Esshom, Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, 970).

John accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1889. He arrived in Copenhagen on 29 October 1889 and was assigned to labor in Norway. He served in Frederikshald (Østfold County), Eidsvold (Akershus County), and Christiania. On the mission, he visited traditional family sites in Sweden (see Taylor, “History of Pioneer John Johnson,” 1). After completing an honorable mission, John departed from Copenhagen on 29 October 1891 aboard the steamer Volo (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 311–12, 319).

Upon returning to Provo, he was ordained a bishop by Joseph F. Smith and was assigned to the Lakeview Ward on 14 February 1892 (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 142). He served as bishop of this ward for twenty-four years. His biographer penned of him, “He was a good executive and his leadership was outstanding as a Church man and plain citizen.” He also served as president of the Scandinavian organization in 1916 (see Jeppesen, History of Lakeview Ward, 1855–1951, 80).

John owned 150 acres of land in Lakeview and was a stockholder in the Provo Implement Company, a peace officer, and an agriculturist for the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company (see Esshom, Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, 970). He was sent by the company to Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona, to give instructions for raising beets in that vicinity. He was a member of the Republican Party and was recognized as a leader in political circles but never sought political office (see Warrum, Utah Since Statehood, 3:299).

John died in 1936 in Provo at age eighty-seven. At his funeral, he was eulogized as a “lifelong resident of Lake View and Provo” (Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:495).

John James Johnson

(Jørgen Jensen Jørgensen)

1841–1902

Residence: Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 18 November 1884

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 7 October 1886

Name of departure ship: Milo

Birth date: 24 May 1841

Birthplace: Lysebjerg, Brylle, Odense, Denmark

Father: Jørgensen, Jens

Mother: Rasmusdatter, Dorthe Kistine [author: check spelling of middle name]

Spouse: Lawson, Eva Christine

Marriage date: 25 September 1864

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Mortensen, Inger Catherine

Marriage date: 11 July 1870

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 14 August 1902

Death place: Rexburg, Madison Co., Idaho

Burial place: Burton Cemetery, Madison Co., Idaho

John was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 10 June 1860 by Elder Ferdinand Jacobsen. He immigrated to America with his parents and located in Logan, Cache County, Utah. His mother died when he was seven years of age. He remained on the paternal homestead until he was twenty-four years old. He then remained in Logan for two years, where he worked as a merchant and a tailor (see Progressive Men, 626–27).

He accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1884. He arrived in Copenhagen on 18 November 1884 and was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference. After completing this mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 7 October 1886 aboard the steamer Milo with 103 emigrating Latter-day Saints and other returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 282–83, 298).

In 1888, he obtained 160 acres of land in what was then Bannock County, Idaho. He improved and cultivated that land (see Hawley, History of Idaho, The Gem of the Mountains, 2:559).

He served as bishop of the Burton Ward located near Rexburg, Madison County, Idaho (see Hawley, History of Idaho: The Gem of the Mountains, 2:559). He served in that position for eleven years. In 1902, he was ordained as a patriarch. He died on 14 August 1902 after a brief illness. He was sixty-one years old.

John Olof Johnson

(Johan Elof Andersson or Johansson)

1858–1921

Residence: Tooele, Tooele Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 30 April 1889

Missionary labors: Göteborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 11 June 1891

Name of departure ship: Volo

Birth date: 4 April 1858

Birthplace: #1 Blixtorp, Årstad, Halland, Sweden

Father: Johansson, Anders Johan

Mother: Nilsdotter, Elna Pernilla

Spouse: Dudley, Amelia

Spouse: Hedelius, Hulda Josephine

Death date: 20 June 1921

Burial place: Tooele, Tooele Co., Utah

John immigrated to Utah with his parents in 1859. He rode on a handcart all the way across the plains. The family arrived in Tooele, Tooele County, Utah, in 1861.

John, a resident of Tooele, accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1889. He arrived in Copenhagen on 30 April 1889 and was assigned to labor in the Göteborg Conference. After completing a successful mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 11 June 1891 aboard the steamer Volo with forty-two emigrating Latter-day Saints and other returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 319).

His children remembered that “when [he was] asking a blessing [on the food, he] would pray for what seemed an eternity to the younger children” (Carter, Our Pioneer Heritage, 12:190).

He died in 1921 in Tooele at age sixty-three.

John Lewis Johnson

1863–1928

Residence: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 20 June 1892

Missionary labors: Christiania Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 19 July 1894

Name of departure ship: Rona

Birth date: 18 June 1863

Birthplace: Christiania (Oslo), Oslo, Norway

Father: Johansen, Johan (Julius)

Mother: Thoresdatter, Inger Kirstine

Spouse: Pollard, Alice

Marriage date: 2 February 1888

Marriage place: Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Death date: 25 June 1928

Death place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Burial place: Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Because John’s parents had both joined the Church in 1852 in Frederikstad, Norway, his birth in 1863 is not recorded in the Lutheran parish registers of Christiania (Oslo).

John immigrated to the United States with his mother and two of his sisters in May of 1866, when he was three years old. He was a member of the Salt Lake Fifteenth Ward and served in the bishopric for about sixteen years. He also served as a president of a Quorum of the Seventy and Sunday School superintendent (see “John L. Johnson Dies in Arms of Son En Route to Hospital,” Deseret News, 26 June 1928).

He accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1892. He arrived in Copenhagen on 20 June 1892 and was assigned to labor in the Christiania Conference. He is credited with reopening the missionary work in Aalesund, Norway, on 24 December 1891 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 323, 328, 330, 337). Four days later, he attended a Lutheran meeting. It was not long before the residents found that John and his companion were Latter-day Saints. A newspaper article warned residents against the Latter-day Saints, who were forbidden by the police to preach. At one point, the home in which he and his companion were living was pelted with rocks. Then a mob of about fifty men and boys rushed into the home. John and his companion addressed the mob on the principles of Christianity, which did not include violence. Their “mild influence overcame the wrath.” John departed from Copenhagen on 19 July 1894 aboard the steamer Rona with fifty-four Latter-day Saints and other returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 323, 337).

John was a blacksmith by trade. He died on 25 June 1928 when he was struck by a heavy derrick, which crushed the upper part of his body. He was in the yards of the Davis & Howe Company when a cable broke. He died en route to a Salt Lake hospital. He was survived by his wife, three sons, and one daughter (see “John L. Johnson Dies in Arms of Son En Route to Hospital,” Deseret News, 26 June 1928).

Lars Christian Johnson

(Lars Christian Johannsen)

1843–1919

Residence: Richmond, Cache Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 26 March 1889

Missionary labors: Copenhagen and Ålborg conferences

Departure date from Copenhagen: 13 September 1890

Birth date: 12 August 1843

Birthplace: Wildmosehuset, Gudum, Ålborg, Denmark

Father: Johannsen, Johann Peter

Mother: Jensdatter, Hedvig Sophia

Spouse: Arbon, Rachel

Marriage date: 28 December 1865

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Mickelsen, Wilhelmine Elizabeth Christensen

Marriage date: 5 April 1881

Marriage place: Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Spouse: Knudsen, Matilda Madsen

Marriage date: 24 August 1882

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 20 November 1919

Death place: Richmond, Cache Co., Utah

Burial place: Richmond Cemetery, Richmond, Cache Co., Utah

At age twelve, Lars was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Elder Nielsen. His father, who was baptized on 26 December 1854, was often away from home serving missions. On these missions, he endured much persecution but never wavered in his testimony (see Wistisen, “History of Lars Christian Johnson,” 29).

In 1858, Lars contracted scarlet fever. He survived the illness but witnessed two of his brothers succumb to the disease. With the loss of his brothers, Lars was required to work as a carpenter while attending school. In school, he learned to become a proficient tailor (see Wistisen, “History of Lars Christian Johnson,” 29).

In 1862, he migrated with his parents and other family members to America aboard the Franklin from Hamburg, Germany, with 413 Scandinavian Latter-day Saints under the leadership of Christian A. Madsen. After arriving in America, he journeyed with the John Murdock ox team company to the Salt Lake Valley, arriving on 27 September 1862 (see Wistisen, “History of Lars Christian Johnson,” 29).

Lars resided in Salt Lake City before moving to Richmond, Cache County, Utah. In Richmond, standing six feet tall and weighing 180 pounds, Lars was considered an expert jack-of-all-trades—a tailor by profession and a carpenter and bricklayer by necessity. Often, he was called upon to make burial clothes for the dead. He also made coffins and grave markers, many of which are still visible in the Richmond Cemetery. His biographer stated, “He was very jovial and could always see the funny and sunny side of life” (Wistisen, “History of Lars Christian Johnson,” 29).

In 1889, Lars accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He was set apart by Elder John W. Taylor. He arrived in Copenhagen on 26 March 1889 and was assigned to labor first in the Copenhagen Conference and later the Ålborg Conference. It was said of him, “He could stand on the street corners and was heard two blocks away” (Wistisen, “History of Lars Christian Johnson,” 29). He was one of the leaders aboard the ship leaving Copenhagen on 13 September 1890 with 133 emigrating Latter-day Saints (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 313, 315).

When he returned home, Lars was called upon many times to administer to the sick. It was said that he possessed the gift of healing. He was never a wealthy man, but he was a hardworking man. He did much to assist those who were less fortunate (see Wistisen, “History of Lars Christian Johnson,” 30). He died in 1919 in Richmond at age seventy-six.

Lars Peter Johnson

1840–1912

Residence: Hooper City, Weber Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 3 October 1882

Missionary labors: Göteborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 15 June 1883

Name of departure ship: Pacific (Milo)

Birth date: 25 June 1840

Birthplace: Martorp, Husaby, Skaraborg, Sweden

Father: Jönsson, Johannes

Mother: Johannesdotter, Greta

Spouse: Danielson, Anna Brita

Marriage date: 30 October 1879

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Lofbom, Magdalina Maria

Marriage date: 30 October 1879

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 6 July 1912

Death place: Hooper, Weber Co., Utah

Burial place: Hooper Cemetery, Hooper, Weber Co., Utah

When Lars was fourteen years old, his father died. After the death of his father, he became responsible for the farm and his mother. By 1864, he and his mother had immigrated to the United States and had arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. For a time, they resided in Slaterville, Weber County, then Huntsville, Weber County, and some years later in Hooper City, Weber County. In Hooper City, Lars bought a sixty-acre farm, where he raised hay, grain, fruits, and vegetables. He also helped build a canning factory in the community. He became known for his thrift and is remembered as the only missionary called to Sweden from Hooper who paid his own way (see “Lars Peter Johnson, 1840,” 1).

He accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1882 and arrived in Copenhagen on 3 October 1882. He was assigned to labor in the Göteborg Conference. After completing this mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 15 June 1883 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 267–69).

Returning to Hooper, he continued to evidence a life of thrift, although he was known for his generosity. His biographer said of him, “He helped many young married couples to start homes, also helped many older people to acquire land for homes and farms. Some people paid him back, but some never did” (“Lars Peter Johnson, 1840,” 1).

On 31 January 1893, a case against Lars Johnson before the Fourth District Court of Ogden for transgression of the Edmunds Law was dismissed on recommendation of U.S. attorney Charles S. Varian (see Jenson, LDS Church Chronology, 31 January 1893). He died in 1912 in Hooper at age seventy-two.

Michael Johnson

1855–1942

Residence: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 28 September 1890

Missionary labors: Christiania Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 18 August 1892

Birth date: 11 April 1855

Birthplace: on a bank of the Mississippi River, near Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

Father: Johannesen, Hans Jorgen

Mother: Nielsen, Inger Christine

Spouse: Hansen, Annie Sofia

Marriage date: 1 January 1877

Marriage place: Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Spouse: Pedersen, Helga Josephine

Marriage date: 5 November 1919

Marriage place: Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Death date: 9 September 1942

Death place: Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Burial place: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

Michael was born as his parents were immigrating to the Salt Lake Valley. He arrived with his parents in Salt Lake City on 7 September 1855. For seven years, his family resided in South Weber before moving to Hyrum in Cache Valley. Michael recalled tending sheep, warding off Indians, building a canal, catching fish, and helping his father with the family farm and dairy (see Johnson, “Michael Johnson, Sr., 1855–1942,” 1).

As he grew to manhood, Michael cut timber in the Blacksmith Fork Canyon. He later journeyed to Montana, where he worked on the Great Northern Railroad (see Johnson, “Michael Johnson, Sr., 1855–1942,” 2). His favorite youthful experience was playing with the Hyrum Martial Band that was organized in 1870 by I. C. Thoreson (see correspondence from Elinor Stewart, 7 and 31 July 1999).

Michael accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1890. He left behind his wife, Annie, and their eight children. The family endured much poverty while he served the mission. “There were times when there was not even a crust of bread in the house” (Johnson, “Michael Johnson, Sr., 1855–1942,” 2). Michael arrived in Copenhagen on 28 September 1890 and was assigned to labor in the Christiania Conference. After completing this mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 18 August 1892 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 316–17, 327, 372, 375). Upon entering New York Harbor, he wrote, “One of the most beautiful days I have ever witnessed” (Johnson, “Michael Johnson, Sr., 1855–1942,” 2).

After returning to his family, Michael moved his household to College Ward, Cache County. Eight years later, he received another mission call to Norway. “Just recovering from paying the costs of the first mission, this second one proved to be quite an expensive mission and it took practically all the family had outside of the home and the farmland to pay for this mission” (Johnson, “Michael Johnson, Sr., 1855–1942,” 2).

This time, when he returned to the States, he moved his family back to Hyrum, where once again he joined the martial band. When the band was reorganized in 1924 under the direction of H. F. Liljenquist, the name of the band was changed to the Silver Greys. Five members of the old marital band joined the Silver Greys. One of the members was Michael Johnson (see correspondence from Elinor Stewart, 7 and 31 July 1999).

Michael served on the stake high council for seventeen years. During those years, it was said of him, “He had the gift of oratory and was known for his preaching” (Johnson, “Michael Johnson, Sr., 1855–1942,” 4). He moved to Logan, Cache County, Utah. The last three years of his life, he suffered from illness. He died in 1942 in Logan at age eighty-seven.

Nils Eskelsson Johnson

(Nils Eskilsson or Pehrsson)

1855–1946

Residence: Santaquin, Utah Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 12 September 1882

Missionary labors: Stockholm Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 6 June 1884

Name of departure ship: Panther

Birth date: 16 January 1855

Birthplace: Nr. 3 Annelöf, Annelöv, Malmöhus, Sweden

Father: Pehrsson, Eskil

Mother: Larsdotter, Hanna

Spouse: Openshaw, Levinah

Marriage date: 27 October 1881

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 11 March 1946

Death place: Santaquin, Utah Co., Utah

Burial place: Santaquin, Utah Co., Utah

As a baby, Nils was baptized a member of the Lutheran Church. He attended public school and was taught lessons from a book entitled Catechism. While he was receiving an education, his family learned of Mormonism and joined the new faith. Nils immigrated with family members to America in 1863 aboard the John Boyd. He crossed the plains, walking most of the way, to reach the Salt Lake Valley. Upon arriving in the valley, he and his family camped out before settling in the Mill Creek area. After spending about six months in Mill Creek, they moved to Provo, Utah County, in the spring of 1864. Nils was baptized in April 1864 (see Broadhead, “Biography of Nils Johnson,” 1).

By 1865, Nils and his family were residing in Santaquin, Utah County. As he grew older, he accepted work in a mine in Cottonwood Canyon. He was again living in Santaquin when he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1882. He arrived in Copenhagen on 12 September 1882 and was assigned to labor in the Stockholm Conference. On this mission, Nils baptized twelve converts (see Broadhead, “Biography of Nils Johnson,” 1–2). After serving for two years in Scandinavia, he boarded the steamer Panther with seventy-one emigrating Latter-day Saints and a few elders in June 1884 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 267–68, 279).

He returned to the United States, where he became a citizen on 25 February 1885. To support his family, he worked in a smelter for three years and as a farmer. He served as a member of the town board of Santaquin and as president of the Summit Creek Irrigation Company and Canal Company Board. He spent much time trying to better community life by developing a better irrigation system (see Santaquin through the Years, 1856–1956: Santaquin Centennial History,
142).

In 1928, he served a short mission to Arizona. Later, he was called to be a home missionary in Spanish Fork, Utah County. After the death of his wife, Nils lived with his sons. He enjoyed good health until the last year of his life (see Broadhead, “Biography of Nils Johnson,” 2). He died in 1946 in Santaquin at age ninety-one.

Hans Jorgensen

(Hans Jørgensen Lengsted)

1845–1915

Residence: Pleasant Grove, Utah Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 16 May 1881

Missionary labors: island of Fyen; translator in mission office

Departure date from Copenhagen: 19 October 1883

Name of departure ship: Milo

Birth date: 25 September 1845

Birthplace: Uggerslev, Hjadstrup, Odense, Denmark

Father: Hansen, Jorgen

Mother: Neilsdatter, Maren

Spouse: Jacobsen, Wilhemenia Marie

Marriage date: 4 March 1872

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 19 December 1915

Death place: Pleasant Grove, Utah Co., Utah

Burial place: Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Pleasant Grove, Utah Co., Utah

When Hans was born, his parents were employed in exchange for their room and board. Thus, Hans was placed in the care of Anders Hansen and his wife in Emmelev Village in Hjadstrup, Denmark, for a number of years before being able to join his parents. During those years, he attended school in Hjadstrup and worked for Anders Hansen for his board and room (see Jorgenson, “Biography of Hans Jörgenson, Part I,” 3–4; Bitton, Guide to Mormon Diaries and Autobiographies, 187).

After his indenture, he worked for other farmers. While working for C. Hall in North Jylland, he became acquainted with Mormon missionaries. Hans was baptized on 21 January 1863 and was ordained an elder on 9 October 1864 by Lars Larsen. He served a local mission from 1864 to 1868 (see Jorgenson, “Biography of Hans Jörgenson, Part I,” 5–7; Bitton, Guide to Mormon Diaries and Autobiographies, 187).

After completing this four-year mission, Hans immigrated to America aboard the Emerald Isle. Of his treatment aboard ship, he wrote that he could think of the deadly Emerald Isle with only the greatest disgust. He journeyed to the Salt Lake Valley with the John Holman ox-team company, arriving on 22 September 1868 (see Jorgenson, “Biography of Hans Jörgenson, Part I,” 78–84; Bitton, Guide to Mormon Diaries and Autobiographies, 187).

He accepted many odd jobs in the valley to sustain himself including digging ditches and working on the railroad. He eventually married and settled in Pleasant Grove, Utah County, where he acquired many acres of land. In trying to cultivate the land, he became severely ill and nearly died (see Jorgenson, “Biography of Hans Jörgenson, Part I,” 87–94; Bitton, Guide to Mormon Diaries and Autobiographies, 187).

His health was restored by the time he received a mission call to Scandinavia in 1881. He left behind his wife and five young children to accept the call. He arrived in Copenhagen on 16 May 1881 and was assigned to labor on the island of Fyn and later as a translator in the mission office. He endured many hardships and disappointments on this mission (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 262).

After completing what others claimed was a successful mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 19 October 1883 aboard the steamer Milo. Aboard ship, he was in charge of a company of 122 emigrating Latter-day Saints and six returning missionaries. After a stormy voyage across the North Sea, the steamer arrived late in the evening of 22 October 1883 in Hull, England (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 270).

Returning to Utah, Hans found his family in good health. They had been cared for by friends during his absence. During his lifetime, Hans held many positions of trust, including Sunday School superintendent of the Manila Ward and city recorder of Pleasant Grove. He died of Bright’s disease on 19 December 1915 at Pleasant Grove at age seventy (see Lambert, “Daybook Hans Jorgensen (1845–1915), vol. II—Second mission (1881–1883)”; Bitton, Guide to Mormon Diaries and Autobiographies, 187).

Hans Peter Christian Jorgensen

(Hans Peter Nielsen)

1856–1937

Residence: Fountain Green, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 6 June 1892

Missionary labors: Copenhagen and Ålborg conferences

Departure date from Copenhagen: 19 July 1894

Name of departure ship: Rona

Birth date: 11 September 1856

Birthplace: Espe, Svendborg, Denmark

Father: Jørgensen, Niels Christian

Mother: Eriksdatter, Kirsten (Kjeistina)

Spouse: Christensen, Celia Maria

Marriage date: 26 February 1880

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Olsen, Marie Ane Kirstine

Marriage date: 28 November 1894

Marriage place: Manti Temple, Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah

Death date: 3 March 1937

Death place: Mount Pleasant, Sanpete Co., Utah

Burial place: Mount Pleasant, Sanpete Co., Utah

Hans and his twin sister and other family members joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Denmark. He and his two brothers voyaged to America aboard the Minnesota from Liverpool to New York City. They then traveled by train to Salt Lake City, arriving on 9 October 1872. At that time, Hans was sixteen years old. His parents did not arrive in the city until 1873 (see Dahl, “A History of Hans Peter Jorgensen and Ane Marie Kirstine Olsen Jorgensen,” 1).

While waiting for his parents to arrive, Hans lived in Huntsville, Weber County, then Richfield, Cache County, and finally Fountain Green, Sanpete County. He married Celia Christensen in 1880. Unfortunately, this marriage ended in divorce. Hans remained in Fountain Green after the divorce. He was granted citizenship on 22 September 1883 (see Dahl, “A History of Hans Peter Jorgensen and Ane Marie Kirstine Olsen Jorgensen,” 1).

In Fountain Green, he served as president of the YMMIA. He also served in the Thirty-seventh Quorum of the Seventy (see Dahl, “A History of Hans Peter Jorgensen and Ane Marie Kirstine Olsen Jorgensen,” 1).

Hans accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1892. He was set apart for the mission by John Henry Smith. He arrived in Copenhagen on 6 June 1892 and was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference and later in the Copenhagen Conference. After completing this mission, he departed from Copenhagen aboard the steamer Rona with other returning missionaries and forty-four emigrating Latter-day Saints (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 329, 337).

Back in the States, he married again and settled in Fountain Green. By 1899, he and his new wife were living in Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County. Hans supported his wife by doing a variety of jobs, including working on the railroad, sheering sheep, cutting cedar posts, and working at Clark’s Furniture Store. He also worked in a fertilizer plant in Marysville for nearly five years. Even though he was a shoemaker by trade, he did not practice that trade in Utah (see Dahl, “A History of Hans Peter Jorgensen and Ane Marie Kirstine Olsen Jorgensen,” 2).

His posterity remembers that he enjoyed dancing with his wife at Scandinavian parties. They also recall that he was a high priest and was very active in temple work in the Manti Temple during his final years (see Dahl, “A History of Hans Peter Jorgensen and Ane Marie Kirstine Olsen Jorgensen,” 2). Hans died in 1937 in his home in Mount Pleasant at age eighty.

Mads Jorgensen

(Mads Jørgensen)

1827–1905

Residence: Provo, Utah Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 14 June 1887

Missionary labors: Ålborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 8 August 1889

Name of departure ship: Bravo

Birth date: 7 March 1827

Birthplace: Erritsø, Vejle, Denmark

Father: Jeppesen, Jørgen

Mother: Madsdatter, Ane Johanne Katrine

Spouse: Sanderstrom (Soderstrom), Eva

Marriage date: 1853

Marriage place: Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Spouse: Knudsen, Ane Jensen

Marriage date: 17 April 1859

Marriage place: aboard William Tapscott

Spouse: Hansen, Anna Catherine Pedersen (Andersen)

Marriage date: 28 February 1863

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Hansen, Elvina Marie

Marriage date: 20 December 1869

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 24 April 1905

Death place: Lakeview (Provo), Utah Co., Utah

Burial place: Provo City Cemetery, Provo, Utah Co., Utah

Mads was orphaned at age seven. He attended school for only nine days in his youth, because he was a “chore boy and had to earn [his] board and keep” (Poulson and Christensen, “A History of Mads Jorgensen,” 1). He was raised by Jørgen Jensen and his wife (see Littlefield, “Life History of Mads Jorgensen,” 1).

As he grew to manhood, Mads earned his living as a coachman in Copenhagen (see Jeppesen, History of Lakeview Ward, 1855–1951, 86). In Copenhagen, he was baptized on 28 June 1853 by Anders Schouby. Unfortunately, his baptism led to a separation from his wife (see Littlefield, “Life History of Mads Jorgensen,” 1). The separation did not stop his conviction of the truthfulness of Mormonism. He was ordained a priest on 6 October 1853 and was called to labor as a local missionary in 1854 (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 146). He was recognized in the mission field as a forceful speaker in both English and Danish. From 1857 to 1858, he served as president of the Lolland Conference (Maribo County), succeeding Elder Jens Jensen. The conference consisted of nine branches and three traveling elders (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 118, 131).

Mads emigrated from Copenhagen to England in 1859 aboard the steamer LN Hvidt. He journeyed from Liverpool to America aboard the steamer William Tapscott. His wife did not follow him to America nor did his son Edward. Aboard ship, Mads married Ane Knudsen. He and his new wife arrived in Salt Lake City on 15 September 1859. They settled in Lakeview, Utah County. It was in that community that Mads learned of his son’s desire to emigrate (see Carter, Our Pioneer Heritage, 19:382).

Before his son arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, Mads was ordained a seventy on 31 January 1860 and called to serve in the Forty-fifth Quorum of the Seventy. He received his patriarchal blessing on 19 March 1861 from John Young (see Poulson and Christensen, “A History of Mads Jorgensen,” 11). He received his endowment on 21 February 1863 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Then, in 1870, father and son were reunited.

They resided in Provo and became partners in a farming business (see Carter, Our Pioneer Heritage, 19:383–84). In June 1877, Mads was ordained a high priest by Abraham O. Smoot and selected as the first counselor in the bishopric of the Lakeview Ward, serving with bishop Peter Madsen and later bishop John Johnson (see Poulson and Christensen, “A History of Mads Jorgensen,” 16).

In 1878, he left Lakeview to fulfill a mission to the northwestern states for nine months. He was released from the mission due to poor health. He returned to Lakeview where he was reinstated in the bishopric and was appointed to be superintendent of the local Sunday School (see Poulson and Christensen, “A History of Mads Jorgensen,” 16).

In 1887, Mads accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. While traveling aboard ship to this northern clime, he wrote, “I preached the gospel in the evening to a large assembly and after that had a long conversation.” On 14 June 1887, he arrived in Copenhagen. From 1887 to 1889, he served as the thirty-first president of the Ålborg Conference (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 496). During his presidency, he gave many blessings of a healing nature—one was to a small, crippled child who regained the use of her legs. Of his labors he wrote, “We baptized five one evening and expect to have more before long. We preach all we can stand and hope to see more fruits from our work.” He also wrote, “The courts have taken many elders into court and put them in prison.” Yet he penned, “There is great joy for God gives unto me His spirit to teach in plainness” (see Poulson and Christensen, “A History of Mads Jorgensen,” 22–43).

In 1889, Mads departed from Copenhagen aboard the steamer Bravo with 150 emigrating Latter-day Saints. On the voyage to Hull, England, he served as an assistant to Jens C. A. Weibye (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 309). He voyaged from Liverpool, England, to America aboard the steamer Wyoming and then rode a train to Utah. He reached Provo, Utah County, about midnight on 2 September 1889. After returning home, he wrote, “Everything in my home looks some out of order. Much has been destroyed and going to ruin. There are thousands of things to tend to. I hope that my Father and God will assist me in setting my house in order” (Poulson and Christensen, “A History of Mads Jorgensen,” 43).

This was a difficult time for many men who were living in plural marriages. On 25 March 1890, Mads was sentenced in the First District Court in Provo to six months’ imprisonment for unlawful cohabitation (see Jenson, LDS Church Chronology, 25 March 1890). In part, the sentence was based on his refusal to “promise [that] I would live apart from my plural wife from that time on.” He was taken to Salt Lake City on the Denver and Rio Grande railroads. He was then loaded onto a lumber wagon headed to the penitentiary. He spent his prison term in a cell that was five feet by seven feet. He described being measured for his prison outfit of stripes and said, “All we lack is the stars. . . . O, how is it thou banner of liberty that thou imprison the best and noblest of thine sons? Hast thou fallen and apostatized from the principals for which our fathers fought and bled? . . . O, Father, may the day come that thy people may be free” (Poulson and Christensen, “A History of Mads Jorgensen,” 48–49). He was discharged from the penitentiary on 25 August 1890 at age sixty-three (see Jenson, LDS Church Chronology, 25 August 1890).

After his release, he returned to Lakeview and resumed farming. In 1901, he served as acting bishop of the Lakeview Ward. In this capacity, he secured land and made plans to build a ward chapel (see Jeppesen, History of Lakeview Ward, 1855–1951, 87). The chapel was dedicated on 8 May 1904 by Elder Francis M. Lyman (see Poulson and Christensen, “A History of Mads Jorgensen,” 56).

Toward the end of his life, Mads wrote, “I am well and busy. My old bones age a little but nothing to hinder my work.” Of his life, he wrote, “Most of the time I have been here [meaning Utah] I have labored among the Scandinavians” (Poulson and Christensen, “A History of Mads Jorgensen,” 59). He attended general conference in the Salt Lake Tabernacle in 1905. Upon returning home, he felt ill. He died in his home a few days later at age seventy-eight.

Rasmus Christensen Jorgensen

(Rasmus Christensen)

1825–86

Residence: Bear River City, Box Elder Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 9 June 1876

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 24 June 1878

Name of departure ship: Cameo

Birth date: 6 March 1825

Birthplace: Damstedet, Vigerslev, Odense, Denmark

Father: Jørgensen, Christen

Mother: Rasmusdatter, Maren

Spouse: Pedersen (Petersen), Anna Maria Ane

Marriage date: 10 May 1850

Marriage place: Hasmark, Norup, Odense, Denmark

Spouse: Olsen, Mette Marie

Marriage date: 21 October 1872

Marriage place: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Spouse: Petersen, Bertha Christina

Marriage date: 4 October 1883

Marriage place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Death date: 23 June 1886

Death place: Bear River City, Box Elder Co., Utah

Burial place: Bear River City Cemetery, Bear River City, Box Elder Co., Utah

In 1864, elders shared the gospel with Rasmus and his family. His father was convinced of the truth, but his mother was bitterly opposed to it. Rasmus was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 11 March 1869 at Damstad, Odense, Denmark, by his father. His baptism proved difficult because he enjoyed the traditional Danish beer (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 2:68–69; Johnsen, “Rasmus Christensen Jorgensen,” 4).

In 1870, Rasmus left his homeland bound for America. He traveled with his uncle to Salt Lake City. One year later he was joined by his father, sister, and brother. His mother never joined the Church. She remained in Denmark (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 2:68–69).

While residing in Bear River City, Box Elder County, Utah, Rasmus accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1876. He arrived in Copenhagen on 9 June 1876 and was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference. After serving an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 24 June 1878 aboard the steamer Cameo with 446 emigrating Latter-day Saints and six other returning missionaries (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 226–27, 232).

Rasmus returned to Bear River City, where he became a very successful farmer. He is remembered for paying the passage of fifteen Danish natives to America. In 1885, one year before his death, he was ordained a high priest. He died from spotted fever at age sixty-one (see Johnsen, “Rasmus Christensen Jorgensen,” 5, 8).