Ole Christian Tellefsen

1836–85

Residence: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 4 May 1880

Missionary labors: Christiania Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 16 June 1882

Name of departure ship: Albano (Bravo)

Birth date: 25 December 1836

Birthplace: Kristiansand, Vest-Adger, Norway

Father: Aanensen, Tellef

Mother: Tolvsdatter, Ane Helvig

Spouse: Iversen, Ingeborg

Marriage date: 20 January 1866

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

Spouse: Larsen, Ida Christina

Marriage date: 9 April 1880

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

Death date: 11 September 1885

Death place: Montpelier, Bear Lake Co., Idaho

Burial place: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

Ole’s father was a cripple, and his mother was hospitalized for many years. Ole was apprenticed to a master baker to help support his family. After his father died in 1856, Ole gained employment aboard a ship bound for Scotland. After several voyages, he returned to the bakery business. It was in the bakery that he first learned of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized on 30 December 1860 by Hans Thoresen. He was disappointed that his sweetheart, Trine Marie Gundersdatter, who also worked in the bakery, would not accept his religious beliefs. He left her, family members, and friends to join with Latter-day Saints in America (see Clayton, “Onward Christian’s Soldiers,” 1).

On 5 April 1864, he boarded the steamer Christiana bound for the United States. After crossing the plains, he reached the Salt Lake Valley on 6 October 1864. He settled in Cache County, and soon married a young woman he had also known in the bakery in Norway, Ingeborg Iversen (see Clayton, “Onward Christian’s Soldiers,” 1).

While a resident of Hyrum, Cache County, Ole accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1880. He arrived in Copenhagen on 4 May 1880 and was assigned to labor in the Christiania Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 16 June 1882 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 250, 262, 265).

Returning to Utah proved difficult for Ole. Because of laws against plural marriage, he fled from Hyrum through Blacksmith Fork Canyon to Idaho to avoid arrest. He tried to find work in Montpelier, Bear Lake County but could not due to illness. His wife Ingeborg traveled through the mountains wanting to come to his aid but learned he had died when she met a man who had Ole’s body in the back of his wagon. Ole died in 1885 of cholera in Montpelier at age forty-eight.

James Thomsen

(Jens Thomsen)

1844–1915

Residence: Brigham City, Box Elder 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: 30 January 1844

Birthplace: Over Tange, Ugilt, Hjørring, Denmark

Father: Olesen, Thomas

Mother: Andersdatter, Christiane

Spouse: Petersen, Karen Christine (Cara)

Marriage date: 9 May 1868

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

Spouse: Sorensen, Anna Sophia

Marriage date: 1869

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

Spouse: Larsen, Christine

Marriage date: 9 October 1879

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

Spouse: Bertha

Death date: 6 November 1915

Death place: Gridley, Sacramento Co., California

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

James was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 13 October 1860 when he was fourteen years old. At the age of eighteen years, he came to America and settled in Brigham City, Box Elder County, Utah. He was a member of the old brass band for many years and worked as a carpenter and builder (see “James Thompson Dies at Gridley,” Box Elder News, 11 November 1915).

James was a resident of Brigham City when he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1887. He arrived in Copenhagen on 14 June 1887 and was assigned to labor in the Ålborg Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 8 August 1889 aboard the steamer Bravo (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 304–5, 309).

James moved to Gridley, Sacramento County, California, in 1905. He died suddenly at home in 1915 at age seventy-one. He had been ailing for quite a long time with rheumatism and stomach trouble. Doctors said he died of “acute indigestion.” The body was transported back to Brigham City, where funeral services were held in the Third Ward chapel (see “James Thompson Dies at Gridley,” Box Elder News, 11 November 1915).

Soren Thomsen

(Søren Thomsen)

1837–1916

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

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 4 May 1885

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 7 April 1887

Name of departure ship: Panther

Birth date: 11 June 1837

Birthplace: Endelave, Skanderborg, Denmark

Father: Thomsen, Jørgen Christian

Mother: Sorensdatter, Ana Catrine

Spouse: Svensdotter, Anna Marie

Marriage date: 19 April 1869

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

Death date: 20 October 1916

Death place: Tremonton, Box Elder Co., Utah

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

Soren was the only member of his family to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized in May 1862 by S. H. Christensen. He migrated to America and arrived in New York Harbor in February 1862, having spent all his money on the journey. He worked in New York until earning the needed funds to continue his journey to the Salt Lake Valley. In October 1864, he arrived in the valley with the Soren Christophersen company (see “Life History of Soren Thompson,” 3).

He was a farm laborer. He picked carrots and cut wild hay before acquiring enough money to move to Bear River City, Box Elder County, with his bride, Anna Marie Svensdotter. For a time, the young couple lived in a thatched adobe house in the fort. Soren sold eggs and butter and prospered in this business enterprise. Eventually, he was able to purchase a 140-acre farm in Elwood, Box Elder County. On the farm, he planted raspberries and strawberries. In 1867, he received his inheritance from Denmark. With the additional funds, he helped poor Latter-day Saints immigrate to Zion (see “Life History of Soren Thompson,” 3–5).

In 1885, Soren accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 4 May 1885 and was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference. At the close of an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 7 April 1887 aboard the steamer Panther (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 293, 295, 302).

His first evening back in Bear River City, Primary children surprised him by singing and giving recitations (see “Life History of Soren Thompson,” 6). Although he was pleased with his farm in Elwood, after twenty-five years of living in the vicinity and serving as a ward teacher, he determined to move (see Esshom, Pioneers and Prominent Men, 1211).

In 1912, he moved from Elwood to Tremonton, Box Elder County. At that time, he stood five feet six inches and weighed 185 pounds. In Tremonton, Soren died from the effects of a farming accident and pneumonia at age seventy-nine. His biographer wrote that his life was “one of service, kindness and fair dealing to his fellow men,” as well as “one of thrift and industry devoted to the material and spiritual welfare of himself and his family” (“Life History of Soren Thompson,” 6–7).

Ingvald Conrad Thoresen

1852–1938

Residence: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 17 October 1876

Missionary labors: Göteborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 7 September 1878

Name of departure ship: Bravo

Birth date: 2 May 1852

Birthplace: Pilestrædet, Domkirken-Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Father: Thoresen, Hans

Mother: Andersdatter, Karen

Spouse: Nielsen, Margrethe Christine

Marriage date: 14 April 1873

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

Death date: 15 April 1938

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

Ingvald learned the trade of cabinetmaking in Norway. In 1855, his parents joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “against strong opposition and persecution.” His father was imprisoned several times for baptizing, which was illegal at that time in Norway. During his incarceration, Ingvald suffered from hunger and other privations in his father’s absence. In spite of these difficulties, he chose to be baptized in 1861 (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:430).

In 1863, he immigrated with his parents to America. They crossed the plains in the Peter Nebeker company, arriving on 25 September 1863 in the Salt Lake Valley. They settled in Hyrum, Cache County, Utah. By age sixteen, Ingvald had worked on the railroad, on farms, and in the mines in the Hyrum area. He had also attended school at the Cache County Academy (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:430).

In 1876, he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 17 October 1876 and was assigned to labor in the Göteborg Conference. He served as the financial manager and bookkeeper in the Danish Mission Office. In April 1878, he and his companion went to Vingåker, where they baptized several people, including a young girl whose father had not given permission for her baptism. The father lodged a complaint with the authorities, who brought the missionaries to trial. Although they were forbidden to preach at the trial, they ignored the injunction. The court ruled that they were forbidden to hold public meetings in the county. If they did hold meetings, they would be fined up to three hundred kronor. They did not hold public meetings but would “sit and talk and sing with the people” (Thoresen, Autobiography of Ingvald Thoresen, 29).

On 13 June 1877, they were ordered to appear before the county court “to answer a charge of violation of the orders of the church council.” They were each fined three hundred kronor. Despite the opposition, within a year over two hundred converts had been baptized, including those they had healed of affliction–a little girl “covered with sores, on her mother’s lap crying with pain,” a woman who had pain in her eyes, and a man who had a badly marred hand (“Excerpts from Missionary Journal of Ingvald Conrad Thoresen of Hyrum,” 28–29).

Near the end of this mission, President Flygare asked Ingvald to preside over the mission in Norway. Due to financial difficulties and because his two years were nearly finished, the position was refused. Ingvald departed from Copenhagen on 7 September 1878 aboard the steamer Bravo (see Thoresen, “Autobiography of Ingvald Thoresen,” 30).

Returning to Utah, he served in a number of civic and Church positions in Hyrum. He was president of the YMMIA, principal of the Hyrum Academy, a county attorney, and surveyor. He served as the town mayor and as a delegate to the Utah Constitutional Convention. In 1897, he was elected to the state legislature. Four years later, he was appointed counselor to the Hyrum Stake president (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:431).

In 1904, Ingvald moved to Logan, Cache County. By 1905, he was supervising a sugar cane and beet farm in Mexico. In 1911, he moved to Salt Lake City. From 1913 to 1921, he served as the United States Surveyor General, having been appointed by President Woodrow Wilson (see correspondence from Joanne Udy, 9 August 1999). Ingvald died in 1938 in Salt Lake City at age eighty-six.

Herman Frederick Ferdinand Thorup

(Hermann Frederik Ferdinand Thorup)

1849–1929

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

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 29 November 1879

Missionary labors: Copenhagen Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 20 June 1881

Name of departure ship: Cato (Hero)

Birth date: 19 April 1849

Birthplace: Dronningensgade #214, Vor Frelsers-Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Father: Thorup, Hermann August

Mother: Christiansdatter, Maren Kirstine

Spouse: Johnson, Gustava Sofia

Marriage date: 28 May 1872

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

Spouse: Andersdatter, Anna Christine

Marriage date: 29 September 1881

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

Spouse: Jensen, Jensine

Marriage date: 21 December 1882

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

Death date: 9 September 1929

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

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

On 25 August 1861, Herman was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by C. E. Henriksen (see Copenhagen Branch Records FHL #0040998). After his baptism, he served a local mission on the island of Sjælland. In 1868, he immigrated with his parents to America. They resided in Chicago for one year before traveling on the Union Pacific to Utah in 1869. Herman and his parents resided in Provo, Utah County, until 1874, when they moved to the Salt Lake First Ward (see “A Bit of History,” 1).

In 1879, he was ordained a seventy and was called on a mission to Scandinavia. His brother John received a mission call to Scandinavia at the same time. They arrived in Copenhagen on 29 November 1879. Herman was assigned to labor in the Copenhagen Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 20 June 1881 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 238–39, 255).

He returned to Salt Lake City, where he served as a home missionary for nearly four years in the Liberty Stake before becoming a president of the 138th Quorum of the Seventy. During his presidency, he was imprisoned then released for unlawful cohabitation (“A Bit of History,” 1).

In April 1901, he began his second mission to Scandinavia. At that time, he had fourteen members in his family. During the mission, he served in the Århus Conference. After the mission, he returned to Salt Lake City, where he worked as a florist (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 373, 375, 396).

From 1902 to 1922, he served as a missionary on Temple Square. During those years, it was estimated that four million people walked through the Square. In his lifetime of missionary service, he baptized a hundred converts (see “A Bit of History,” 1). For four years, Herman served as secretary of the Liberty Stake Genealogical Library. He is credited as being chairman of the first genealogy class held in Salt Lake City. He served as proxy for over 1,500 of his ancestors in the Salt Lake Temple (see “A Bit of History,” 1). In 1921, he was ordained a high priest. Herman died in 1929 in Salt Lake City at age eighty. His funeral was held in the Salt Lake First Ward (see “A Bit of History,” 1).

John Theobald Charles Thorup

(Johannes Theobald Charles Thorup)

1856–1918

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

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 29 November 1879

Missionary labors: Århus and Ålborg Conferences

Departure date from Copenhagen: 20 June 1881

Name of departure ship: Cato (Hero)

Birth date: 25 May 1856

Birthplace: Vor Fru-Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Father: Thorup, Hermann August

Mother: Christiansdatter, Marie Kirstine

Spouse: Ostermann, Johanna Caroline

Marriage date: 24 August 1882

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

Spouse: Berg, Hansine Engeline Andrea

Marriage date: 11 April 1887

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

Death date: 18 December 1918

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

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

Searches of Vor Fru and all other parishes in Copenhagen City could not provide the date of John’s birth. It is possible his father didn’t register him since they had joined the Church three years earlier.

On 3 August 1866, John was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by his father. He immigrated with his parents to America in 1868. They resided for one year in Chicago before journeying to Utah on the Union Pacific Railroad. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 6 August 1869. For a time, he and his family resided in Provo, Utah County. During his Provo years, John attended the Brigham Young Academy until his graduation in 1872. The next year, his family moved to the Salt Lake First Ward (see Thorup, “A Short Sketch of the Life of Johannes Theobald Charles Thorup,” 1).

John became a citizen of the United States on 4 September 1879. One week later, he received his endowment in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City.

He and his brother Herman arrived in Copenhagen on 20 November 1879. John was assigned to labor in the Århus and Ålborg conferences. Much of his mission was spent laboring in the Hjørring Branch. For three months, he was in charge of the Frederikshavn and Sæby districts. On this mission, he baptized forty-nine converts before departing from Copenhagen on 20 June 1881 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 238–40, 255).

Returning to Utah, John was assigned to be a block teacher and president of the YMMIA. He was ordained a seventy and served in the Sixteenth Quorum of the Seventy. On 23 January 1887, he was ordained a high priest and set apart as second counselor in the Salt Lake First Ward. During these years of service, he supported his family as vice president of the Freeze Mercantile Company. He also worked as a carpenter, builder, and manager of a small grocery store (see Thorup, “A Short Sketch of the Life of Johannes Theobald Charles Thorup,” 2).

Ten years later, he was set apart as first counselor in the Salt Lake First Ward. By 1910, he was serving on the high council of the Liberty Stake. His service ended in 1917, when it was discovered that he was suffering from high blood pressure. He died in 1918 from high blood pressure and Bright’s disease in Salt Lake City at age sixty-two. His biographer said of him, “His greatest desire was to have his children grow up and be good Latter-day Saints” (Thorup, “A Short Sketch of the Life of Johannes Theobald Charles Thorup,” 2).

Charles August Tietjen

(Carl August Tietjen)

1851–1936

Residence: Santaquin, Utah Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 12 September 1882

Missionary labors: Skåne Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 25 August 1884

Name of departure ship: Panther

Birth date: 12 March 1851

Birthplace: Kingelstad, Ottarp, Malmöhus, Sweden

Father: Tietjen, Johann August Heinrich

Mother: Krueger, Dorothea Hanna Friedericka (Ida)

Spouse: Holladay, Henrietta Ann

Marriage date: 10 April 1879

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

Death date: 24 September 1936

Charles’s father worked as a steward on the Baron Von Mallen estate before leaving for America in 1859 with his wife and five children. In their migrating company were thirty Latter-day Saints that were financially helped by his father (see “A Life Sketch of Eda Fredreka Kruger Tietjen,” 1–2).

Charles and his family located in Goshen, Utah County, where he was baptized in 1861. He attended school taught by a Mr. Williams in Goshen before moving to Santaquin, Utah County, in 1866. At the age of fourteen, he gave his services during the Black Hawk War. He attended the Brigham Young Academy in Provo prior to his mission call to strengthen stakes in Arizona (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 232; Santaquin Through the Years, 17).

He labored as a home missionary before fulfilling a mission to Sweden in 1882. He arrived in Copenhagen on 12 September 1882 and was assigned to be president of the Skåne Conference. On this mission, he wrote a letter that was printed in the Millennial Star on 30 April 1884. A portion of the letter reads: “I can say, I feel first-rate in preaching the Gospel to my fellow-men, and I rejoice to have the honor of being a Mormon missionary.” He departed from Copenhagen on 25 August 1884 aboard the steamer Panther (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 267, 269, 279, 483). His wife taught school and took in sewing to finance his mission.

After returning home, Charles was ordained a seventy and a high priest. He served as second counselor to Bishop John Holliday in Santaquin. He also served as a school trustee and taught a theological class in his local Sunday School for twenty-five years.

He managed and operated sheep shearing plants and was a successful farmer and the leading merchant in Santaquin for many years. In 1890, he was sent as a representative from Utah County to the State Legislature. Charles died on 24 September 1936 at age eighty-five from infirmities incident to old age. His health had been failing for the past eight months (“Charles A. Tietjen,” Payson Chronicle, 25 September 1936).

Albert Nephi Tollestrup

1865–1943

Residence: Gunnison, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 28 September 1886

Missionary labors: Århus Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 27 September 1888

Birth date: 9 June 1865

Birthplace: Gunnison, Sanpete, Utah

Father: Tollestrup, Niels Christian Christensen

Mother: Christensen, Karen

Spouse: Higham, Drusilla Ann

Marriage date: 23 October 1889

Marriage place: Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah

Death date: 4 July 1943

Death place: Cedar City, Iron Co., Utah

Burial place: Cedar City, Iron Co., Utah

Albert received his elementary school education in Gunnison. He began his teaching career at the age of seventeen. Albert accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1886 (see “State Educator Dies at Home Following Illness of a Year,” Gunnison Valley News, 22 July 1943). He arrived in Copenhagen on 28 September 1886 and was assigned to labor in the Århus Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 27 September 1888 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 299–300, 306).

After his mission, Albert attended Brigham Young University. Upon his graduation, he was sent to Morgan, Summit County, Utah, where he taught for three years. He was then called to Ogden, Weber County, Utah, as head of Weber College. After two years, he returned to Gunnison and then went to Fountain Green, Sanpete County in 1902. In 1904, he went to Cedar City to take charge of the Music Department of the Branch Normal School and remained in that position for fifteen years. He became the leading musician. He bought the first grand piano in that city (see “State Educator Dies at Home Following Illness of a Year,” Gunnison Valley News, 22 July 1943).

Albert died on 4 July 1943 at his home in Cedar City at age seventy-eight. He had been ill for about a year. His biographer said of him, “He was a large man, a well-trained musician, with a good ear and the reputation of being somewhat droll . . . Under his leadership, Cedar City was never without a good band.” He played the violin and organ and gave private music lessons in his home. Though he also taught singing, he did not sing much himself (Carter, Our Pioneer Heritage, 4:179).

Lars Toolson

(Lars Persson)

1836–1894

Residence: Smithfield, Cache Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 18 November 1884

Missionary labors: Skåne Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 21 June 1886

Name of departure ship: Otto

Birth date: 7 February 1836

Birthplace: Kvittinge #24, Gryt, Kristianstad, Sweden

Father: Toolson, Per

Mother: Waldemarson, Nilla

Spouse: Johnsson (Tufvesson), Ingra

Marriage date: 24 November 1862

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

Death date: 24 December 1894

Death place: Smithfield, Cache Co., Utah

Burial place: Smithfield, Cache Co., Utah

Lars was baptized in his hometown of Gryt, Sweden, on 30 April 1854, a little more than a month after his father, Per, and his mother, Nilla, accepted the gospel. The family worked toward gathering funds to immigrate to America from that time forward. The branch records of Gryt indicate that Lars moved to Copenhagen on 2 May 1855. This could have been to serve a mission there or to emigrate. It is recorded that Lars, his parents, and perhaps other siblings emigrated on 18 February 1857. Lars’s father didn’t survive the journey and was buried at sea on 18 June 1857.

While a resident of Smithfield, Cache County, Utah, Lars accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. Just before leaving for the mission field, he broke his leg. After conferring with his wife, Lars concluded that it was the Lord’s will that he serve the mission in spite of his physical problems (see correspondence from Maxine T. Bell). He arrived in Copenhagen on 18 November 1884 and was assigned to labor in the Skåne Conference. After completing this mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 21 June 1886 aboard the steamer Otto (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 282–83, 297).

He returned to Smithfield, where he resided the remainder of his life. He died in 1894 in Smithfield at age fifty-eight (Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:415).

Even Torgersen

1819–84

Residence: Tooele, Tooele Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 30 May 1873

Missionary labors: Norway

Departure date from Copenhagen: 9 September 1875

Name of departure ship: Hero

Birth date: 4 August 1819

Birthplace: Sjøliholt, Sigdal, Buskerud, Norway

Father: Evensen, Torger

Mother: Andersdatter, Gunild

Spouse: Reiersen, Oline (Olina)

Marriage date: 10 January 1842

Marriage place: Sigdal, Buskerud, Norway

Spouse: Oluffsen, Mateah (Mothea)

Marriage date: 11 October 1875

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

Death date: 4 August 1884

Death place: Koosharem, Sevier Co., Utah

Burial place: Koosharem, Sevier Co., Utah

Little is known of Even’s early years, except that he grew up in a Norwegian home that was surrounded by large trees. Soon after marrying Oline Reiersen, he gained employment in a small cobalt-mining town (see “History of Even Torgersen or Evensen,” 1).

On 17 February 1855, he was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Norway. Even was ordained an elder on 1 February 1858 in Drammen. For several years, he served as a local missionary, administering the sacrament and performing baptisms. Such missionary actions led to his arrest. He was imprisoned and given nothing to eat but bread and water. After his release, he moved to Hurum, Norway. From there, he sailed to America on 23 May 1863. After reaching New York Harbor, he and his family journeyed to Iowa. Although his brothers, who resided in Iowa, desired Even to remain in the vicinity and work their farms, Even crossed the plains. He arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 25 September 1863 (see “History of Even Torgersen or Evensen,” 2–4).

He and his family settled in Lehi, Utah County, before moving to Ephraim, Sanpete County, in December 1863. In Ephraim, Even worked as a carpenter before moving to Koosharem, Sevier County, and then Tooele, Tooele County (see “History of Even Torgersen or Evensen,” 4). In Tooele, he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 30 May 1873 and was assigned to labor in Norway. Once again, he experienced persecution but did not deny the faith. After completing this mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 9 September 1875 aboard the steamer Hero (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 214–15, 222).

He returned to Koosharem, where he died on his birthday at age sixty-five (see “History of Even Torgersen or Evensen,” 4).

Axel Tullgren

1827–1924

Residence: Spring City, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 3 June 1876

Missionary labors: Finland and Stockholm conferences

Departure date from Copenhagen: 7 September 1878

Name of departure ship: Bravo

Birth date: 10 March 1827

Birthplace: Engeltofta, Hasslöv, Halland, Sweden

Father: Tullgren, Petter

Mother: Johnson, Bengta

Spouse: Nilson, Ellen Cecilia

Marriage date: 1853

Marriage place: Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Death date: 7 February 1924

Death place: Spring City, Sanpete Co., Utah

Burial place: Spring City, Sanpete Co., Utah

Axel was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1850 by Elder John C. Forsgren. He arrived in Utah in the Captain J. Secrist company on 7 September 1855. He was ordained a seventy in 1856 by Elder Durta. He was a carpenter by trade and a veteran of the Utah Indian War.

In 1876, Axel, a resident of Spring City, Sanpete County, Utah, accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 3 June 1876 and was assigned to labor first in Finland and then in the Stockholm Conference. After completing his labors, he departed from Copenhagen on 7 September 1878 aboard the steamer Bravo (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 226–27, 233).

He returned to Spring City and died there in 1924 at age ninety-seven. The cause of death listed in the Spring City Ward records was arteriosclerosis.

Andrew John Wahlquist

(Anders Johan Johannesson)

1858–1942

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

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 27 May 1892

Missionary labors: Göteborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 3 May 1894

Name of departure ship: Milo

Birth date: 8 October 1858

Birthplace: Voxtorp, Jonköping, Sweden

Father: Andersson, Johannes

Mother: Danielsdotter, Ann Lisa

Spouse: Sandahl, Anna Mathilda

Marriage date: 23 April 1890

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

Spouse: Dahl, Matilda Kristina

Marriage date: 15 December 1910

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

Death date: 24 September 1942

Death place: Ballard, Uintah Co., Utah

Burial place: Roosevelt, Duchesne Co., Utah

Andrew began his schooling at age seven and ended his formal education at age twelve. On 8 December 1883, he was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Sven (Samuel) P. Nelson. From May 1884 to September 1888 he labored as a local missionary in the Stockholm Conference. He immigrated to Utah in 1888 and located in Salt Lake City (see Wilkerson, From Then until Now: 75 Years in Central Uintah Basin, 1905–1980, 892).

It was while a resident of Salt Lake City that he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. After being ordained a seventy on 29 April 1892 by George Reynolds, he left the city (see correspondence from Brent Wahlquist, 3 August 1999). He arrived in Copenhagen on 27 May 1892 and was assigned to labor in the Göteborg Conference. The last year of his mission, he presided over that conference. Writing to Nordstjarnan from Göteborg under the date of 10 January 1894, he says:

On Christmas Eve the Relief Society held their last meeting for the year and gave their report, which testified of the power of good possessed by that organization in this branch. At 7 o’clock the following morning the hall was filled with attentive listeners and a refreshing time enjoyed in singing hymns and speaking on the subject for the day. At noon we visited the grave of Elder Quist, decorating it with new wreaths as a mute token of the estimation in which those who give their lives for the gospel’s sake are held by the Saints. We offered a short prayer to our Father in Heaven, sang that hymn so familiar and so full of feeling: “O my Father, thou that dwellest,” and left the place, our hearts filled with holy desires. On New Year’s Day the Yong Ladies’ Association held their meeting. We have organized a Young Men’s Association. The Saints here are willing to show their work by their faith. (Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, An Enduring Legacy, 12:162–63)

On 3 May 1894, he departed from Copenhagen aboard the steamer Milo (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 328–30, 337).

Returning to the United States, he became a citizen on 11 September 1894. At that time, he stood nearly five feet six inches and weighed 155 pounds. He then moved his family to Murray, Salt Lake County. In that community, he worked as a carpenter, builder, contractor, and farmer (see Wilkerson, From Then until Now: 75 Years in Central Uintah Basin, 1905–1980, 892; correspondence from Brent Wahlquist, 3 August 1999).

He was ordained a bishop on 24 February 1907 by President Joseph F. Smith. He served as bishop of the Grant Ward for many years. His other Church service included being a Sunday School teacher, a ward teacher, and first counselor in a bishopric (see correspondence from Brent Wahlquist, 3 August 1999). In 1906, Andrew was elected a city councilman of Murray. He served in that capacity until 1912. In May 1918, he moved to the Uintah Basin, where he served as bishop of the Alterre Ward in the Roosevelt Utah Stake. He was released due to poor health (see Wilkerson, From Then until Now: 75 Years in Central Uintah Basin, 1905–1980, 892; correspondence from Brent Wahlquist, 3 August 1999). He died in 1942 in Ballard, Uintah County, at age eighty-three.

Charles John Wahlquist

(Karl Johan Wahlquist)

1866–1923

Residence: Charleston, Wasatch Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 29 August 1892

Missionary labors: Stockholm Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 20 September 1894

Name of departure ship: Thorsa

Birth date: 5 February 1866

Birthplace: Olofstorp, Östra Ryd, Östergotland, Sweden

Father: Wahlquist, Anders Fredric

Mother: Olofsdotter, Anna Catrina

Spouse: Campbell, Elizabeth

Marriage date: 28 August 1895

Marriage place: Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah

Death date: 25 April 1923

Death place: Myton, Duchesne Co., Utah

Burial place: Heber, Wasatch Co., Utah

Charles was raised on a farm in Sweden. On 3 June 1876, he was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Eric G. Johnson. He immigrated with his parents to Utah in 1877. They settled in Heber, Wasatch County, where Charles grew to manhood. He served as president of the YMMIA and as an assistant superintendent of the Sunday School in Heber before accepting a mission call to Scandinavia in 1892 (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 3:275).

He arrived in Copenhagen on 29 August 1892 and was assigned to labor in the Stockholm Conference. In January 1893, he was appointed to be the assistant editor and translator of the Nordstjernan. During this assignment, he wrote a letter each week to the local newspaper. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 20 September 1894 aboard the steamer Thorsa (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 229, 328, 337).

Returning to Utah, he married Elizabeth Campbell. They resided with Elizabeth’s mother and brother near Daniel’s Creek in Heber Valley. For a time, Charles attended the Brigham Young Academy. Upon completing his education, he taught school in Center Creek, Wasatch County, and Charleston, Wasatch County, before he and his family moved to Buysville, Wasatch County. In Buysville, Charles was ordained a bishop on 12 November 1898 by Francis M. Lyman. He presided over his ward until it combined with the Daniel Ward in the 1900s. He was then invited to serve on the high council and to supervise classes for parents (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 3:275).

During these years, he also served as the postmaster of the community and as a precinct roads supervisor. From 1902 to 1904, he was the county attorney for Wasatch County. From 1906 to 1910, he was the county clerk and recorder for the county. On 11 October 1910, he was admitted to the Utah Bar and began to practice law. In 1911, he was appointed judge of the Juvenile Court of the Fourth Judicial District. In 1914, he was elected county attorney for Wasatch County (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 3:275). Charles died in 1923 of a heart attack in Myton, Duchesne County, at age fifty-seven.

Swen August Wanberg

1839–1928

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

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 1 November 1884

Missionary labors: Göteborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 21 June 1886

Name of departure ship: Otto

Birth date: 25 February 1839

Birthplace: Lillebäcken, Gladhammar, Kalmar, Sweden

Father: Wahnberg, Sven August

Mother: Johansdotter, Anna Maja

Spouse: Helstrom, Matilda Charlotte

Marriage date: 7 May 1869

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

Spouse: Peterson, Josephina Christina

Marriage date: 7 July 1881

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

Death date: 24 January 1928

Death place: Midvale, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Burial place: Midvale, Salt Lake Co., Utah

Swen was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 14 September 1856. He immigrated to America in September of 1866. His occupations were listed as miner, farmer, wood turner, and day laborer.

While residing in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, Swen accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 1 November 1884 and was assigned to labor in the Göteborg Conference. He remained in the mission field until 21 June 1886, when he boarded the steamer Otto to begin his journey home (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 282–83, 297).

He returned to the Salt Lake Valley. Swen died in 1928 at the home of his son in Midvale, Salt Lake County, at age eighty-eight following a stroke of paralysis (see “Utah Pioneer of 1866 Dies at Home of Son,” Deseret News, 26 January 1928). He was survived by three sons.

Charles Peter Warnick

(Carl Petter Warnick)

1850–1931

Residence: Pleasant Grove, Utah Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 4 May 1880

Missionary labors: Malmö Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 16 June 1882

Name of departure ship: Albano (Bravo)

Birth date: 5 April 1850

Birthplace: Forsby, Skaraborg, Sweden

Father: Warnicke, Anders Peter

Mother: Andersdotter, Anna Helena

Spouse: Larsen, Christine Marie

Marriage date: 14 March 1874

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

Death date: 20 February 1931

Death place: Pleasant Grove, Utah Co., Utah

Burial place: Pleasant Grove, Utah Co., Utah

In 1866, Carl was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and immigrated to America. He and his family journeyed across the plains with the Captain John Lowry pioneer company and arrived on 22 October 1866 in the Salt Lake Valley. Out of his family of seven who emigrated, only four survived the journey (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:514).

Carl settled in Pleasant Grove, Utah County. While a resident in that community, he received a mission call to Scandinavia. “I did not have any means on hand and my wife was in a very delicate condition,” he penned. Yet he made the decision to accept the call. He was set apart as a missionary by Wilford Woodruff. On that occasion, he was told that he was the first man from Pleasant Grove in the past fifteen years to serve a mission (see Warnick, “Personal History of Carl Peter Warnick,” 6).

On the ocean crossing, Carl became ill. After arriving in Copenhagen on 4 May 1880, he was assigned to labor in the Malmö Conference. His first duty was to organize a relief society. In so doing, he reported, “We lived with the saints, slept and ate wherever people would take us in. Hospitality is a natural characteristic of the people.” He presided over the Helsingborg Branch (Malmöhus County) for nineteen months, before being transferred to the Christiania, Norway Branch. “During these two years of missionary work, it was my happy privilege to lead 30 honest people down in the waters of baptism” before departing from Copenhagen on 16 June 1882. On his return journey to America, Carl again suffered from seasickness. Yet he arrived in Utah in good health (see Warnick, “Personal History of Carl Peter Warnick,” 6; Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 250, 257, 265).

“When our train pulled into Ogden, I was met by my beloved wife and three small sons. It was surely a happy meeting. I’m sure there could be none happier,” he wrote (Warnick, “Personal History of Carl Peter Warnick,” 6).

Carl served on the city council, as a counselor in the YMMIA, as a ward teacher, and as president of the Scandinavian meetings. He also served in the bishopric of the Pleasant Grove First Ward before moving to Manila, Daggett County, in 1895. He was ordained a bishop and served in the Manila Ward for several years (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:514).

His biographer wrote of him, “His every thought is for the interest of his people and the building up of the Church of Christ” (Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:514). Carl died in 1931 in Pleasant Grove at age eighty.

Jens Christian Andersen Weibye

1824–1891

Residence: Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 30 September 1887

Missionary labors: Copenhagen Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 8 August 1889

Name of departure ship: Bravo

Birth date: 26 September 1824

Birthplace: Vejby, Hjørring, Denmark

Father: Pedersen, Anders

Mother: Nielsdatter, Maren

Spouse: Pedersen, Sisilie Marie

Marriage date: 16 April 1860

Marriage place: Hjørring, Denmark

Spouse: Jensen, Maren Kirstin

Marriage date: 5 April 1869

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

Spouse: Twede, Thora Henriette Nielsen

Marriage date: 9 April 1880

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

Spouse: Walker, Isabella

Marriage date: 10 June 1886

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

Death date: 25 February 1891

Death place: Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah

Burial place: Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah

Jens was trained as a tailor before serving as a soldier in the Danish Army. When military personnel discovered that he was a trained tailor, he spent most of his military service repairing clothing (see Weibye, “History of Jens Christian Anderson Weibye,” 2).

On 16 April 1854, he was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Jens Peter Jensen. For the next seven years, he served as a local missionary in the Vendsyssel Conference (Hjørring County), the last three years as president of that conference. He baptized ninety-two converts before immigrating to America in 1862 (see Weibye, “History of Jens Christian Anderson Weibye,” 4–5).

After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he was ordained a seventy on 16 November 1862. Nine years later, he received his first mission call to Scandinavia. He accepted the call and labored in Denmark and Norway as a traveling elder. He was imprisoned in Norway for preaching. Before his mission ended, he served as president of the Christiania Conference. Jens departed from Copenhagen on 29 August 1873 aboard the steamer Pacific (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 145, 153, 163–64, 166–67, 207–09, 214–17).

After returning to Manti, Sanpete County, Utah, he wrote a personal journal and gathered photographs of Apostles, which are now on file at the historian’s office in Salt Lake City. He also became the director of the Manti United Order. From his journal, we learn something of his wealth. He paid $1,380 in tithing, donated $550 toward the construction of the Manti Temple, and donated $257 toward the building of the Manti Tabernacle (see ye, “History of Jens Christian Anderson Weibye,” 6–18).

From 1887 to 1889, he served as the tithing clerk in Manti. He interrupted this service to accept another mission call to Scandinavia. He labored in Ålborg and presided over the Copenhagen Conference. He departed from Copenhagen on 8 August 1889 aboard the steamer Bravo, having responsibility for 191 emigrating Latter-day Saints (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 163, 304, 309).

Returning to Manti, he was again called to serve as the tithing clerk. His service ended in 1890 when he was found guilty of cohabitation and imprisoned. Family members believe that his premature death was a direct result of hardship and exposure in prison. The coroner wrote that the cause of death was typhoid fever (see Weibye, “History of Jens Christian Anderson Weibye,” 15–18). He died in 1891 at his home in Manti at age sixty-six.

August F. Westerberg

(August Andersson or Eriksson)

1849–1902

Residence: Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 28 September 1886

Missionary labors: Göteborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 23 August 1888

Birth date: 3 April 1849

Birthplace: Vesterhenstorp, Hova, Skaraborg, Sweden

Father: Eriksson, Anders

Mother: Carlsdotter, Stina Greta

Spouse: Johnson, Emma

Marriage date: 25 April 1878

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

Spouse: Westerly Ellen S.

Marriage date: 1895

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

Death date: 20 April 1902

Burial place: Rexburg, Madison Co., Idaho

On 24 October 1875, August was baptized a member of Yhe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Gothenburg (Göteborg), Sweden. Soon after his baptism, he was ordained a teacher and appointed president of the Gothenburg Branch and clerk of the Gothenburg Conference. He immigrated to America in 1876 and located in Logan, Cache County, Utah. He labored on the Logan Temple for four years before accepting a mission call to Scandinavia (see Lund, Scandinavian Jubilee Album, 235).

He arrived in Copenhagen on 28 September 1886 and was assigned to labor in the Göteborg Conference. On this mission, he served as president of the Vingåker Branch and as a traveling elder in the Halmstad Branch for six months. He departed from Copenhagen on 23 August 1888 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 299–300, 305).

August returned to Scandinavia on 18 September 1891 to fulfill a second mission. Again, he was assigned to labor in the Göteborg Conference. On this mission, he served for ten months without purse or script. Under these extreme circumstances, he met with much success. He departed from Copenhagen on 30 March 1893 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 319, 321, 333).

August moved from Logan to Rexburg, Madison County, Idaho, on 10 November 1899. He died there on 20 April 1902.

Christoffer Syversen Winger

(Christoffer Sigvarth Winge) (Vinge) (Christopher Syvertsen)

1835–1915

Residence: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 15 November 1873

Missionary labors: Ålborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 27 August 1874

Name of departure ship: Cato

Birth date: 11 February 1836

Birthplace: Vinnseie, Eiker, Buskerud, Norway

Father: Tronsen, Syvert

Mother: Christophersdatter, Kirsti

Spouse: Salvesen, Ane Marie Fredrikke

Marriage date: 7 May 1863

Marriage place: aboard BS Kimball

Spouse: Christensen, Juliana Marie

Marriage date: 7 November 1868

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

Spouse: Anderson, Karen

Marriage date: 14 December 1874

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

Death date: 15 (12) November 1915

Death place: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

Burial place: Hyrum, Cache Co., Utah

His parents were very poor, and his father was sickly for many years. At age eleven, Christoffer began working in a cotton factory to support his family. Eventually, he learned the shoemaker’s trade.

Then in 1856, financial circumstances dramatically changed. He was sent to medical school with the intention of training to become a surgeon (see Clawson, “Christoffer Sigvarth Winger,” 1).

While attending medical school, he was taught the gospel by C. C. A. Christensen and Elder Dorius. He said of these missionaries, “These two young men preached with great power and frankness.” He was baptized on 17 August 1858. Following his baptism, he served a local mission. He was mobbed, persecuted, and taken to jail during this mission. Although his mother expressed bitterness over his missionary service, he did not stop preaching. In 1861, Christoffer was released from the Norwegian Mission and told to labor for two years as a traveling elder in the Århus Conference. Upon leaving Norway, he stated, “Farewell fatherland. I am a refugee” (Clawson, “Christoffer Sigvarth Winger,” 1)

In 1863, he immigrated to the United States with his sweetheart aboard the BS Kimball. They were married aboard ship. After their marriage, a grand ball was held. They journeyed by ox team to the Salt Lake Valley and arrived in September 1863 (see Clawson, “Christoffer Sigvarth Winger,” 1).

He supported his wife as a shoemaker in Hyrum, Cache County, Utah. Within a few years, he was asked to return to Scandinavia. He served as president of the Ålborg Conference from 1873 to 1874, when an unexpected case of rheumatism led to his early release. He departed from Copenhagen on 27 August 1874 aboard the steamer Cato (see Lee, “My Father and Mother,” 1; Clawson, “Christoffer Sigvarth Winger,” 1).

From 1877 to 1878, he served a mission in Minnesota. After returning to Utah, he was selected to be president of the local Scandinavian organization. He served in this position for thirty years. The last years of his life, he suffered greatly from rheumatism. He died in 1915 at his home in Hyrum at age eighty. His biographer said of him, “He was a prince of peace and born to preach of Christ” (Nelson, “Christoffer Sigvarth and Ane Marie Fredrikke Salvesen Winger: Our Norwegian Legacy,” 1).

John Wink

(Johan Ernst Martin Winck)

1820–95

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

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 5 June 1883

Missionary labors: Stockholm Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 19 October 1883

Name of departure ship: Milo

Birth date: 24 October 1820

Birthplace: Jesuskirche-Riga, Livonia, Russia (now Riga, Latvia)

Father: Winck, Johan Jacob

Mother: Andersdotter, Anna Margaretha

Spouse: Anderson, Anna Helena

Marriage date: 17 April 1885

Marriage place: Logan, Cache Co., Utah

Death date: 10 February 1895

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

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

The Jesuskirchen-Riga Lutheran parish registers show that John Winck and perhaps his parents “registered out” of that parish on 2 December 1833. At this time, they may have moved back to Sweden, where John found the gospel. John was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 23 September 1862 in Karlstad, Sweden. The Karlstad (Värmland County) Branch records list his emigration year as 1873.

John, a resident of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 5 June 1883 and was assigned to labor in the Stockholm Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 19 October 1883 aboard the steamer Milo (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 270, 274).

After his mission, John worked as a tailor for the firm of Bernen & Van Hoften (see Salt Lake City Directories 1885–1893, FHL #1377410–412). He resided in the Salt Lake Thirteenth Ward (Salt Lake 13th Ward, FHL #0215445), where he was rebaptized on 3 November 1886 by Alonzo Young. John died on 10 February 1895 in Salt Lake City at age seventy-four.

John Wilhelm Winterrose

(Johan Wilhelm Svensson or Carlsson)

1857–1935

Residence: Heber City, Wasatch Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 5 November 1892

Missionary labors: Göteborg Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 16 August 1894

Name of departure ship: Rona

Birth date: 21 March 1857

Birthplace: Ekerum, Högsrum, Kalmar, Sweden

Father: Carlsson, Sven Gustaf

Mother: Svensdotter, Kaisa Lisa

Spouse: Zitting, Effruezenia Wilhelmina

Marriage date: 19 April 1889

Marriage place: Heber City, Wasatch Co., Utah

Death date: 25 October 1935

Death place: Heber City, Wasatch Co., Utah

Burial place: Heber City, Wasatch Co., Utah

In 1866, Johan was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He came to America when he was twenty years of age and settled in Heber City, Wasatch County, Utah.

He received his endowment on 24 August 1892. Three months later, he accepted a mission call to Scandinavia. He arrived in Copenhagen on 5 November 1892 and was assigned to labor in the Göteborg Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 16 August 1894 aboard the steamer Rona (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 328–29, 337).

He died at his home in Heber City on 25 October 1935. He suffered from lingering heart disease. He was in the undertaking business for twenty-five years. He was survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters. Funeral services were held in the Wasatch Stake (see “John W. Winterrose,” Wasatch Wave, 1 November 1935).

James Yorgason

(Jöns Sörensson or Göransson)

1847–1917

Residence: Moroni, Sanpete Co., Utah

Arrival date in Copenhagen: 1 September 1881

Missionary labors: Skåne Conference

Departure date from Copenhagen: 15 June 1883

Name of departure ship: Milo

Birth date: 17 May 1847

Birthplace: Hässleberga, Lyngby, Malmöhus, Sweden

Father: Göransson, Soren

Mother: Nilsdotter, Karna

Spouse: Johnson, Kjersta Christena

Marriage date: 8 December 1867

Marriage place: Moroni, Sanpete Co., Utah

Spouse: Tilby, Frances Margaret

Marriage date: 2 August 1875 (divorced)

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

Spouse: Yergensen, Emma Christina

Marriage date: 8 August 1878

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

Spouse: Peterson, Maria Lovisa

Marriage date: 28 October 1880

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

Spouse: Olsen, Hanna Nilson

Marriage date: 8 November 1883 (divorced)

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

Spouse: Olsen, Catherine

Marriage date: 20 December 1883

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

Spouse: Svederus, Anna Louisa

Marriage date: about 1892

Marriage place: Fountain Green, Sanpete Co., Utah

Death date: 16 May 1917

Death place: Fountain Green, Sanpete Co., Utah

Burial place: Fountain Green, Sanpete Co., Utah

James remembered standing guard while family members listened to missionaries in 1854. These family members joined the Church and James immigrated with them to America. They crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard the John J. Boyd and traveled westward by rail to Iowa, where James was baptized on 30 May 1856 by Lars Nils Larson. In 1857, he and his family began their journey to the Salt Lake Valley in the Mathias Cowley Company (see “History of James Yorgason, 18 May 1847–16 May 1917, 1–2).

After arriving in the valley, they settled in Spanish Fork, Utah County, before moving to Moroni, Sanpete County. In that community, James played the drums in a local band. His father played the fiddle. Together they shared their musical talents at local dances. When the Black Hawk War raged, James served as a minute man with instructions to keep a horse saddled and ready to ride at all times. He also was given the responsibility to build a fort in Moroni (see “History of James Yorgason, 18 May 1847–16 May 1917,” 2–3).

It was said that he owned four homes beside his farm in Moroni. His biographer wrote, “He could get on a horse and ride to Fountain Green and never get off his property.” Another wrote, “He could sit on a fence and make more money than most people could working all day.” Yet, he was generous with his means and often helped Latter-day Saints to immigrate to Zion (“History of James Yorgason, 18 May 1847–16 May 1917,” 3).

James accepted a mission call to Scandinavia in 1881. He traveled by train from Ogden to New York City and then boarded a ship to reach Copenhagen on 1 September 1881. He composed the following song aboard ship:

Dear friends, wives and children,

I bid you adieu.

I’ve gone to preach the gospel,

For I know it is true.

(Yorgason, Tall Timber: The Struggles of James Yorgason, a Mormon Polygamist, 75).

He served as president of the Lund and Trelleborg (Malmöhus County) branches before being called to preside over the Skåne Conference. After completing an honorable mission, he departed from Copenhagen on 15 June 1883 aboard the steamer Milo with 17 other missionaries and 503 Latter-day Saint emigrants (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 262, 264, 269).

Upon returning to Utah, he rejoiced to discover that his wives had given birth to three babies in his absence. He moved his families to Fountain Green, Sanpete County, where he enjoyed farming and sheep raising (see Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 3:432). He served as bishop of the Fountain Green Ward from 1883 to 1891. While he was bishop, he erected a brick meetinghouse sixty-five by forty-five feet at a cost of four thousand dollars (see Carter, Our Pioneer Heritage, 4:174).

After the building was completed, he accepted another mission call to Scandinavia. He served as president of the Stockholm Conference from 1886 to 1888 (see Jenson, History of the Scandinavian Mission, 293, 295, 302).

Upon his release, he returned to Fountain Green and continued his duties as bishop until 1891. He then moved to Los Angeles County, California, where he resided for nearly twenty-five years. None of his wives moved with him. He operated a pigeon ranch in California and supplied restaurants in Los Angeles with the delicacy of young squabs. Unfortunately, he lost his ranch in a flood. He was left a lonely, broken man. A son came to California when he heard that his father was ill and took him to Fountain Green (see “History of James Yorgason, 18 May 1847–16 May 1917,” 3). James died in 1917 visiting family members in Fountain Green at age seventy (see Yorgason, “The Impact of Polygamy upon the Life of James Yorgason: A Nineteenth Century Mormon Bishop,” 1; Yorgason, Tall Timber: The Struggles of James Yorgason, a Mormon Polygamist, 75).