James and Christena Christensen ~ Pioneers of the Month ~ July 2010

James and Christena Christensen

  the following is taken from Knudsen Chronicles by Shirley Parkin Porath

James Christian Christensen

Born: 24 Jun 1825 ~ Horbro, Veijle, Denmark

Married Christena Madsen December 1859 in Mt. Pleasant

Died: 23 October 1880 ~ Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah



Christena Madsen Christensen

Born:  27 January 1843 ~ Jyderup Hollsbaek, Denmark

Died:  15 November 1900 ~ Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah



Children                                                                       Born

Hannah Christena                                                         27 Apr 1862

Annie Johanna                                                               7 Nov 1864

Emma                                                                          24 Mar 1867

Dianthe Dorthe                                                             22 Oct 1870

James                                                                             5 Oct 1872

Hans                                                                            26 Oct 1875

Caroline Andrea                                                           29 Mar 1879

Christena's Early Experiences in Utah 

Christena's early life and experiences coming to Utah are chronicled in "Willie Handcart Pioneers," chapter 15.  Saints in Salt Lake City provided food and shelter while the members of the Willie Company rested 

and recuperated from their arduous trek.  Information about Christena's life after she reached Uta is found in a short history written by her daughter, Annie.



"The family lived as best they could, doing whatever they could find to do to keep body and soul together.  When Sanpete County was colonized, Mother and the two older girls, Hannah and Christena, remained in Salt Lake City to work.  In order to live they had to work every day, so they were not able to go to school.  Finally these two girls went to Ephraim to join their mother and their younger sister and brother."



The journey of these two young girls to Fort Ephraim is related in Christena's own words:

"We managed to get to the town of Nephi thinking we would be able to get to Ephraim along with some people who might be going there to live.  After several days of waiting, we found a man who was going to drive a cow to that place.  We persuaded him to take us along.  We had to walk, but we wanted to get where Mother lived.  The weather was cold, and the only shoes we had were moccasins.  He drove the cow, and when we reached the Sanpitch River, he put us astride the cow while he waded and led us to safety.  Arriving at Ephraim at midnight, we went from house to house to find Mother and our younger brother and sister.  We finally located them and found them sleeping on the floor covered only by a quilt.  We cried for joy at beholding them again.  Cold and hungry though we were, we were happy together.  The next day we secured work and went to live with our employers."

Pioneer Settlers in Mt. Pleasant 

Annie continued: "Christena worked for a time at whatever employment she could find.  At Ephraim she met James Christensen Harbro. Christena and James were married in Ephraim in December of 1859.  In the spring of 1860 they moved to Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah, known at that time by the name of Hamilton.  Father and Mother thus became pioneer settlers of Mt. Pleasant.  There the name Harbro was informally added to his name to distinguish him from many other Danes who carried the surname Christensen.

"He helped build the old fort and many bridges and passed through all the hardships of those days, half of which will never be known."  Christena's brother, Andrew, and youngest sister, Anna Marie, lived with Christena and James for many years.  In his younger years, Andrew was known by the name Andrew Harbro instead of Madsen because there were so many other Madsens in Mt. Pleasant."

Hannah was one of the first children born in Mt. Pleasant.  from her biography we learn details about their family:

"Their home was a crude log cabin with a dirt roof.  It contained very meager furniture.  However, this was home sweet home to those faithful, devoted Latter-Day-Saints who came to this country from their native land in order to worship the true and living God and be among the people of Zion."

Family Life

Their daughter's autobiography emphasizes: "The holiest and sweetest thoughts coming to me from those early days are the lessons my parents taught me ~ my Pioneer Parents whom my soul revered.  Kindness, tenderness, and love filled their hearts and home each day."

"At the age of four years while riding to the fields in her father's wagon, Hannah was miraculously saved from death.  The horses became frightened because of a roller which her father had tried to the back of the wagon.  They dashed southward while the wagon box containing the child bounced and bumped over huge rocks and boulders until it fell to the ground.  Hannah crept from the wagon box and found shelter and safety under a fence where she was later found by her father and many others who witnessed the runaway.  They thought she had been killed.  They took her home where Christena wept with joy at seeing her child alive.  She carefully examined the tiny body and found Hannah had suffered only a few light bruises.  However, one horse was killed in this mishap."

Hannah often helped James in the fields and sometimes remained all night with her father while he irrigated their acres of land.

Annie wrote:  "I always helped my father in the fields.  I loved nature and did all kinds of outdoor work.  My father called me "Jim" as I was always on hand to work for him ~~lifting wagon boxes, hay sacks, and other things.  I did man's work in the field.  I rode horses and met with many accidents but was never seriously hurt.  I never gave up work because the boys were too small to help father."

In the fall of 1867, Indian threats increased, and James became a Minute Man during the Black Hawk War.  Many times he stood guard to protect property or rode out to search for and try to retrieve stolen cattle.

Because of their poverty, at times James "hired out" his older daughters to work for others.  Hannah tells mof working for C.N. Lund where she "did all kinds of work as well as their chores."  She also worked in chester for her Uncle Andrew Madsen for fifty cents a wek.  After three weeks of hard labor.."she was able to buy a pair of shoes with copper toes."  She also bought material for her dresses, which were all made at home.

Annie wrote:  "when I was twelve years old my father came to me and said, "I have hired you out to work for J.C. Jensen to care for their baby, a sweet little girl named Hattie."  I sang the baby to sleep and washed dishes and did other household duties for fifty cents a week.  I worked there off and on for years as they needed help.  As I grew older, I was paid seventy-five cents a week.  This helped to buy cloth for my dresses."  She worked all one summer for C. Brotherson.  "I went with him to the fields and helped weed his wheat fields.  He paid me twenty five cents extra for this work.  I lived there and worked all of one summer.

In later years of his life, James made several trips to the mining camps to take loads of grain to sell in order to get money to pay his taxes.  On one of these trips, he contracted a severe cold, but he traveled night and day when he learned of the death of his infant daughter, Caroline Andrea, eleven months old, who died 22 February 1880, while he was away.  When he reached home, he was grief stricken over the loss of his little one and remarked, "I see you are all here but one."

James Passes Away

Again we quote from Annie's autobiography: "In the fall of 1880 when I was fifteen years old, my dear father became very sick with typhgoid fever.  Day and night for three weeks we watched over him.  One day he called me to him and said, "You stay with me.  You are more able than Mother."  (Christena suffered ill health much of the time.)

"I did the best I could.  I sat and held his hand and cried.  He told us what to do with some of the cattle and that he could not remain with us.  On October 22, 1880, at the age of forty-five, he passed away, leaving poor mother with four unmarried children to care for .....Hannah had been married in May.  Emma was thirteen, James was eight and Hans but five when father passed away."

Annie expressed her admiration for both her parents in this poem:

MY PIONEER PARENTS

My mother, Pioneer so loved, so true

Can I sufficient honor show to you?

Shall I not speak your name among the rest

Whose children now arising call them blest?

In looking back, my inner eyes behold

Tear-dimmed what cheerily you told.

How with your parents you left friends and home

Over rough rivers, plains, and hills to roam

To live the Gospel, newley then restored,

And be in fellowshiup with Christ, the Lord.

You heard His messengers His truth expound;

It touched your hearts, you hearkened to the sound,

Obeyed the call, did what it bade you do,

Repented, were baptized, and then you knew

That Christ had now His marvelous work begun:

A boy had seen the Father and the Son.

Converted by the Lord's own perfect laws,

You knew that Joseph Smith His prophet was.

The testimony of the Lord is sure,

His statutes right, His commandments pure.

With honest hearts you did His truth embrace,

Ready all hardships, even death, to face.

Father and Mother, noble Pioneers

Heroic, beautiful your life appears.

Hard, grievous trials in your path were cast,

But you proved brave and faithful to the last.

And now I bless you for the sacred touch

Of faith sublime for which you bore so much,

And which inspires my soul to follow too

And gain the prize, Eternal Life with you..

Christena Passes Away

Annie wrote: "When we celebrated my birthday on November 7th, my mother was with us and was so happy.  My niece, Sina Clark, played a lively tune called 'The Cakewalk' on our organ, and how Mother danced around the table.  Howerver, within the following week she was stricken and suddenly passed away on the 15th of November."

Christena spent much time caring for Emma's daughter, Vida, who at the time was about five years old.  During her illness, Christena worried, "What will my little Vida do without me?"

About her mother, Annie wrote this tribute:  She was kind, generous, and full of faith.  She was loved by all who kenw her.  She knew the want and privation of pioneer life and walked her trail in this life uncomplainingly, with a smile on her lips and joy in her heart.  She taught her children the priceless heritage of the Gospel of the Son of God as she understood it.  If she could now see the faithfulness of her children and grandchildren, she would weep with joy and thank God for them all."

John and Karen Knudsen

This is the story of the lives of  my beloved grandparents, John and Karen Knudsen by Lucille R. Seely; written in approx 1965

John Knudsen was born October 17, 1828.  Karen was born January 28, 1829

Long long ago in the far away country of Denmark, lived a happy family - a father and mother and two small daughters - four and six years old.  The father, John K. was born in Oslo, Norway, but after meeting Karen and she had to become his wife, they settled in Vaile, Denmark.

John was a tailor by trade, and a good one.  He made a good living for his family.  Karen was religiously inclined but wasn't satisfied with her religion.  In the course of time some Mormon missionaries, representing a new religion, Latter Day Saints, visited their home and Karen became very interested.  It was so clear to her that this was what she had been praying for.  The more she investigated, the more positive shw was that it was the truth.  She tried to get her dear John to go with her to the meetings, but he refused by saying, "these missionaries are just trying to break up my family".

Poor Karen, how very sad she was and how she prayed for the Lord to help her and open John's eyes and heart so he too could see this was the true religion.  Her prayers were finally answered as John began to treat the missionaries with more kindness, and soon accompanied Karen and the little girls, Hannah and Marie to the services.  Karen was overjoyed one morning when John very seriously told her he felt in his heart and soul these missionaries were true messengers from God, and when it could be arranged, they would both be baptized.

After their baptisms they could think of nothing except preparing themselves for the long journey across the ocean so they could be in Zion with the body of the saints.  Their friends and family thought they had taken leave of their senses, but they were willing to face anything that might come for the sake of the Gospel.

It must have been hard to leaave their homeland.  Karen spoke often of her beloved Vaile, where lily of the valley and other beautiful flowers grew wild in profusion.  But the decision had been made, so they disposed of their home and belongings and were soon on their way in a sailship.  Karen was pregnant with her third child when she embarked on this perilous journey.

When about midway,  many of the children became ill and little Hannah was one of these, and after a few days she passed away and had to be lowered into the mighty Atlantic.  What a trial this was for poor John and Karen, but they bore it bravely and I have heard my Karen say that when it came her turn to be called to the great beyond, she would try to find her little Hannah.

Days and weeks passed and finally after riding the calm and rough sea for six weeks, they landed in New York.  The next problem was to get transportation.  They came across the plains in 1864.  A son was born enroute.   The following is excerpts taken from the book "Knudsen Chronicles pages: 104- 115:  The son was John Knudsen, Jr..  Records indicate they were at Bitter Creek, Wyoming.  Karen's granddaughter, Lucille reported, "The day her baby was born, Grandmother mixed some bread."  



After about two and half months on the  trail, the wagon trains arrived in Salt Lake City.  The family didn't remain in Salt Lake Valley but soon settled in Provo where Karen and John again made their living as milliner and tailor.  They wanted to stay because they enjoyed city life, but their plans changed when Brigham Young called them to make their way to Mt. Pleasant, a small settlement in Sanpete County, Utah. 



A fort was built in Mt. Pleasant in 1859.  The inside of the thick walls served as the back wall of each of the living quarters, which were all sixteen feet square.  All their doors and wondows faced Pleasant Creek, which ran through the center of the fort.  A bridge crossed the creek about halfway through the fort.  Close to the bridge was the long, earthen-floored, one room schoolhouse run by A.B. Strickland and Mrs. Oscar Winters.  A huge fireplace in the east end of the schoolroom served for both heat and light.  The same building served as chapel, theater, dance hall, and meeting house.



When the John Knudsen family reached Mt. Pleasant, they lived in one of the sixteen-foot square rooms in the fort.  The exact date of their move to Mt. Pleasant is not known, but John's beginning date of service in the infantry of the Home Guard was 1 April 1866.



Their daughter, Johanna, then six years old, died 14 July that year, and was buried in one of the first graves in the  Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.  Boundaries were later surveyed and changed slightly, so the burial place was lost.  This was a source of great sadness to Karen, who wanted to know exactly where her daughter was buried so she could take flowers.  Their third daughter, whom they christened Anna Johanna, was born in Mt. Pleasant on 8 December 1866.



By the time the final peace treaty ending the Black Hawk War was signed in 1872, many settlers had already erected homesteads outside the fort.  The Knudsen family lived in the fort until John Jr. was about six years old in 1870, so the family was among those outside the fort before the final peace treaty was signed.  Karen gave birth to another son, Andrew, on 21 July 1870. 



Family stories indicated that John Sr. traded their feather bed for a city lot with an adobe house which lacked a roof.  This entry in the book Mt. Pleasant confirms that fact:  "about this time John Knudsen Sr. purchased his city lot, giving their choice feather bed in payment."  Their property was located at what is now Third South and Second west, quite a distance from the protection of the fort. 



John Sr. and John Jr. worked together to cut straight willow, weave them together, and plaster them with mud to make a roof. 



Earning a livelihood on the farm was not easy for the tailor and  the milliner, former city dwellers.  Making the transition from lush, green, rain-blessed Denmark to the dry, thirsty fields of Sanpete County must have been very difficult.  John, Sr. never did adjust to farm life in rural Utah.  He continued to carefully stitch articles of clothing, sometimes seated on a table or bench with his legs folded in front of him in what we would call 'indian fashion'. Most often, he made burial clothes for people in Mount Pleasant and nearby communities.



With young John's help, Karen managed the home and fields.  Native bunch grass and sagebrush had to be grubbed out slowly and painfully before crops could be planted.  Planting, weeding, irrigating, and harvesting required long hours of hard physical labor. 



Karen and John were thrilled when their daughter, Annie, who married Magnus G. Rolph, gave birth to a beautiful, dark-eyed baby girl whom they named Etta Althea.  They welcomed a second granddaughter, Ena Lucille, on 8 March 1890.  This blond, blue-eyed baby was born at Karen and John's home.

However, a tragedy occurred when Annie's third daughter, Anna, was born on 27 September 1891.  Annie probably contracted 'childbed fever' caused by lack of cleanliness on the part of the midwife.  During her illnes, Karen helped Annie in every way she could and also took care of the three little girls.



In her lifestory, Lucille wrote. "Mother was very sick, and Grandma and Grandpa Knudsen stayed close by.  Grandma told me lots of times of bringing me to see my mother.  I climbed on the bed and loved her so hard, and Grandma said to Mother, "I better take Lucille away, as it's too hard on you."  My Mother replied, "let her love me, I'm afraid she won't have me  very long."  "She told her mother, 'you take my little girls, and if possible, raise them together', and Grandma did.  "Our dear Mother hung on for about three weeks, and then the reaper came and took her away."



John and Karen became substitute parents to the newborn daughter and her two older sisters. 



Lucille's remembrances of her grandparents: Karen was a good housekeeper After the beds were made, and that was early, nothing could be laid on them; not even a hat. She insisted on everyone wearing an apron. Then she cooked a meal, her cooking utensils were always washed and put away before the meal was served.

Sunday was the girls' day off. All Karen asked of them was that they attend Sunday School and Sacrament Meeting. If they did this they could go to the depot and see the trains come and go. Really a highlight in their young lives.

above is Karen and John (center front) at the 1914 Pioneer Celebration

John and Karen had five children, but only the two sons lived to raise their own families.  The posterity from the three granddaughters they raised: Etta R. Peterson, Lucille R. Seely and Anna R. Gunderson was much greater than that of the sons.

John and Karen were now getting along in years and Karen often said she was so tired and ready to go to meet those who had gone before.  Thirty years after the death of her daughter, Annie, she passed away quietly at the age of ninety three and was laid to rest beside her daughter and her daughter's  husband Magnus Rolph.  She was buried on John's birthday.

John lived five more years with a granddaughter, Anna and her husband, Vern Gunderson.  He was very lonely for Karen after their long life together.  He enjoyed visiting the Manti Temple, which he helped to build.  He was a faithful tithe payer.

In January, 1926, John attended church and within a week he was also taken home to join Karen.  He was buried on January 28th, Karen's birthday.

God bless the memories of these two noble pioneers and all who sacrificed to make this desert blossom as a rose.   ~ Lucille R;.Seely

Postscript:  In 1966, Ruby Knudsen Wiseman, in doing genealogical research, discovered Uncle Andrew Knudsen was the only child sealed to John and Karen.  Arrangements were made to complete the sealings in the Salt Lake Temple.  Chesla S. Patterson would stand for her grandmother, Annie Knudsen Rolph.  Present were Ruby K. Wiseman, her husband and Chesla K. Patterson.

During the sealing ordinance, Chesla felt the pressure of a loving caress on her hand.  She quietly looked to see from whence it came.  It was then she realized who that person was; and for the first time felt the living presence of her grandmother.  Tears of joy fell from her eyes as she whispered a prayer of Thanksgiving to her Heavenly Father for the heritage that is here because of the sacrifices made by her beloved great grandparents, John and Karen Knudsen.



Another spiritual experience by Ruby Knudsen Parken Wiseman

"After I had been working in genealogy for a while, I was having a rather hard time finding leads to

Grandma's family, so I wrote to her granddaughter, Lucille Rolph Seely, who was reared by her.  I asked what information she had to help me in my research.  She wrote back to tell me about a  little black book where Grandmother kept information of the Temple work they had done, but Lucille felt sure the book must have been lost because she hadn't seen it for many years.  Then, in a few weeks, I received a package in the mail containing the little black book!  A lady brought the book to Lucille in a store one day an said, "This must be your Grandmother's."  "This book proved to be a gold mine to me in finding those of Grandma's loved ones who needed their Temple work done.



"Some weeks later, I found myself waking every morning about two or three o'clock with my thoughts on Grandma and Grandpa.  After several nights of this, I wondered why.  Was it possible they were trying to tell me something?  I spent many hours trying to find the answer.  Then the thought came to me that their older children had not been sealed to them!  Uncle Andrew, their last child, was born  after  they themselves were sealed in the  old Endowment House where, at the time, only couples were married and sealed.  He was born under the covenant, but what of their other children?.... I finally  concluded the other children must not have been sealed to them.  Father was the oldest living child and married in the Manti temple after its dedication in 1887.  Anna, the next child was married in the Logan Temple before the Manti Temple was in use.  The two girls who were born in Denmark both died very young; the one was buried in the ocean and the other died shortly after they went to Mt. Pleasant.  My grandparents probably thought their own sealing would automatically take care of the sealing of their children to them.



"When I made out a family group sheet and put it in the library to be processed and checked, I knew they had made me understand what they wanted, and my nights were not disturbed again.  I am so grateful to know that communication can come through from beyond the veil so important missions can be accomplished.  It was a marvelous experience to be part of this reunion at the time the sealing was performed in the Salt Lake Temple.  As I have done endowments and sealings for their nieces and nephews, I have experienced such a joy in this work, and I have felt their presence and help in many ways."

Jacob Hafen

 

THE NIELSON STORY ~ Pioneers of the Month ~ May 2010 by Fern McIntosh Jacobs

The Nielson Story
Compiled from many sources by Fern McIntosh Jacobs 1969
Retyped by Belva Jones McIntosh June 2000

Some parenthetical comments and highlighting done by Beverly McIntosh Brown



This is written as an epitaph to the lives of great, strong, wonderful people who worked very hard that we might enjoy the fruits of their labors. Many people came to America from their homes in the “Old Country” for the sake of religion. May the grandchildren, and great-grandchildren honor the names of these, their progenitors and keep their stories ever alive and vital in their lives that we may appreciate their sacrifices and appreciate what we have. Let us pattern our lives with the ideals and standards of honesty and labor that the world will be a better place for us having lived.

The beginning of the story of Nils and Karna Hanssen Nilsson takes place in the little village of Vallby Kyrkheddinge, Malmohous, Sweden, which is near the large city of Malmo.

The summers in this far off land are very beautiful, with many fertile green fields as well as numerous wooded sections of equal beauty. There are no mountains as here in Utah, but more level country with green rolling hills. The fruits and crops of Sweden are much the same as here.

Valby Kyrkheddinge was the birthplace of both Nils and Karna. Nils was born the 14 day of May 1826. His father was Nils Nilsson, born October 12,1786 in Skivarr, Sweden and his mother was Elsbeth Nilsdatter, born in 1801 in Evelov, Sweden.

Nils and Elsbeth’s family consisted of Peter, who died at the age of seven, Nils, and two older daughters, Ann and Marna (or Karna). They passed away in their twenties within two weeks of their mothers passing, leaving the father, Nils and Nils Junior alone. We do not know the cause of these three sudden deaths, but it seems very tragic.

Nils and Karna were married the 15th of February 1856 in Valby Kyrkheddinge. Karna was born the 28th day of December 1833 and was the daughter of Hans and Kjerstine Larsson Akesson. Hans was said to be the strongest man in that part of Sweden. In this family were two brothers and one sister, Andrew, Ingra, (lovingly called “muster”, which in Swedish means Aunt) and Hans. They were all born in Vallby. Three of them were given the name of Hansson while the youngest, Hans, born soon after his fathers death, was given his fathers name of Hans Akesson. The children all came to America, but the mother stayed in Sweden and remarried and had another family, some of these coming to America later.


While in Sweden, Karna learned the art of weaving fine fabrics. She wove all types of material – linen, wool, linsey, flannel, and heavy wool for suits and coats. Karna was a very nice looking girl in her younger years, being strong, healthy with a wealth of beautiful hair. Her hair was very long, thick and medium brown that she braided into two large thick braids.

At this time there were Latter Day Saint Missionaries coming into Sweden. They found the door of the Nilsson family and they embraced the gospel while in their fatherland.

Nils II and Karna had two children, Hans and Anne, born to them before Grandpa Nils, at the age of 71 years, passed away. He had been called “Rich Nils” and had much land and livestock in Sweden. Nils II was given all the holdings of the family as he was the only surviving member and also, in Sweden it is the custom for the oldest male member to inherit all the inheritance.

Twin girls were born to them in 1860, and were named Benta and Chasta or Kjerstie. They decided to come to America and Utah to join the Saints. There were many converts who wanted to come here too, but many lacked the finances with which to make the journey. Nils wanted to bring his money to America, but this being impossible, he converted all his lands and livestock into cash and loaned it to the converts so that they could come here too. When in America they were to repay the loans. In this he hoped to get his money here with him. The idea was good but it didn’t work. People had no idea how hard it would be to make money here, no matter how hard they worked. So, as a result, Nils did not get the return of his finances to help him get started in the New World, and he and his family had to work very hard to make a living. Karna used to tell the grandchildren that she married Grandpa Nils for his money, as he was rich in Sweden. She had been engaged to be married to another boy in Sweden, but Nils had won her hand. It was her little joke, as has been said, he lost all by coming to Utah. Even in Mt. Pleasant where they settled, he was called “Rich Nils”. He always had an extra team of oxen more than the “regular run” of pioneers of the early days. Karna loved her husband and family and was perfectly happy here in America because all her children were here and soon prospering, even though they all had to work very hard.

The Nilsson family said goodbye to all their friends and loves ones and started on their long trek to Utah. It is not known which boat brought them to America or in which company they crossed the plains. (Let’s find out more and add to this humble beginning of this story). As they progressed on their way, and after their long ocean voyage, they purchased a wagon, a yoke of oxen, a cow and a stove. They had the cow for many years that gave much rich milk for their journey and later too. They made these purchases in Omaha, Nebraska. They brought many copper kettles and pans from the old country.

The Nilsson family arrived in Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah in 1863. They all lived in the old fort there for one year before building a house outside the walls. A few people were still living in the old fort when they arrived. It was remembered that the Madsen family were there at that time. They took the lot on Main Street and Second West on the Northwest corner of the intersection. They had property west of the tracks, one ten-acre field and one 20-acre farm near the H. P. Jensen (called the Pete Sherrif) place. At that time the Asa Coates family lived on “Uncle Hans” corner (across the street south). The family of Bent Hansen lived west of the Nilsson home.

Nils brought many tools with him from Sweden, so he made most of the furniture for their home. He had been a cabinetmaker. They first built a log home, but later it was torn down and an adobe house was built in its place. The one big room and a kitchen were built first and later three more rooms and a hall were added. There were heating stoves in the big room and in “Gustie's Room” as it was called.

They planted many lovely apple and plum trees on the lot in town. The delicious Sweet Bow and Red June trees were in the front yard while Pear, Red Astrican and Early Harvest trees were in the west part of the lot. Wheat, oats, barley, corn and peas were raised on the farms. Sheep were raised and Karna sheered them, washed the wool, carded it, spun and dyed it and wove it into fabric. She could weave it into plaids or stripes as well as plain colors.

They had not been in their new homeland long when Annette Elizabeth and Andrew, twins, were born to them on the 14th of October 1864. This made two sets of twins for them and their son Hans, which made up the family now, as little Annie had died a week before the last set of twins were born. Uncle Hans was so deeply moved when this happened that he prevailed upon the parents to name the little twins after her. Thus, Annette, which is supposed to mean “Anne-Too”, and the boy was christened Andrew, in remembrance of little Annie.

As Karna worked on her loom, she would have the twins play with the empty spools under the loom so she could tend them and do her important work at the same time. She would have certain definite hours to work on the loom and then hurry to do her other tasks and then come back to the weaving regularly so as to accomplish as much as possible in every day.

At one time Grandpa Nils Nielson (as the name was spelled in America) wanted to take a second wife in Polygamy, but Grandma Nielson said to go ahead, but if he did she wouldn’t be there when he brought her home, so he reconsidered.

In the very early days, when the Indians would be a threat to the small community, Grandpa Nielson owned a gun and would take his turn being the guard to watch over the town at night. Grandma would try to talk him into staying near their home instead of making his rounds, but he did his duty to the town.

The new kitchen was built onto the house about the time that Augusta was born on the 27th of August 1868. Niels was born May 11 1871.

The children and mother worked very hard and Nils, the father too, until he became ill and was never well after that. Karna sat at her weaving day after day and worked very hard at it. The children would help pick peas, rake hay with a hand rake, weed, pick potatoes and glean after the threshers.

Karna’s loom was set up in the kitchen in the southeast corner by the door into the big room and by the kitchen window so as to have light to work by. The homemade cupboard was in the southwest corner of the kitchen and in the northeast corner was the washstand with the wash dish. The big stove stood on the north side.

At first there was a pole fence around the lot with the big barrel in the southeast corner next to the street. This barrel was a very important part of life at that time as it contained the culinary water supply for the family. A big creek ran down Main Street in front of the house and stones were placed down into the creek bed to form steps to get down to dip the water out. This barrel was filled with water from the ditch every night and let settle and then the top was used in the house for all their needs. Of course a barrel was always placed under the rain pipe too, in order to catch all the run off rainwater from the roof, as it was softer water than from the ditch and was used for washing the hair etc.

Grandma Karna would always do the milking. She would go out with an apron over her long dress and a big hanky tied around her hair and soon would come back with the bucket full of milk. Later Uncle Andrew took over this task.

In their cellar hung sides of beef and pork on rails from the ceiling, as well as smoked hams and sausages. Bins of all sizes held apples, each kind in its department. There was plenty of food for all with milk, cheese and butter topped off with delicious home made bread. There were not quite so many vegetables but no one starved. Grandma made delicious “starch cake” made mainly of potato starch and eggs. There were no salads, but Thin Pancakes and Ebelskevers with jars of cream and homemade malt beer. Much of this was drunk in the early days because of the impure water.

Karna had an even temper and loved her children and grandchildren very much. Nils was not well the later years of his life and finally passed away April 3 1885.

Swedish was spoken in the home, but the children learned to speak English too. So the grandchildren could understand Swedish but not speak it.

When any of the grandchildren came to sleep with Grandma Karna, she would fry thick juicy slices of ham, boil potatoes and make milk gravy for breakfast. Then she would have the child take a basketful of eggs to Longsdorfs store and get groceries for them. In her later years Grandma Nielson enjoyed sitting by her little kitchen window in the dark and watching the people go up and down Main Street. She passed away the 23 of August in 1920 in Mt. Pleasant and was buried beside her husband in the town cemetery.

Their children all lived in Mt. Pleasant all their lives. Hans, whose birthday was the 14th of March 1857, married Amelia Simpson on the 13th of March 1890. He was 33 years old and she was 25 at the time. She was a lovely woman and a very good cook. They had three children – Frances, Pricilla Caroline, and Goldie Benta. The girls were beautiful but didn’t live long. Pricilla passed away at the age of 16 and Goldie died when she was 27 years of age. Frances married Miriam Thurman. They adopted one child, Stephen.

Benta married Niels S. Nielson and didn’t change her maiden name. He came to America with very little money but accumulated until they were considered some of the more well to do in the community. He and his brothers began the Sanpete Co-op Store and later the Commercial and Savings Bank. They had three daughters, Addie Victoria, who passed away at the age of two and one half of membranous croup, Irene, who lived to be 33 years old and Beatrice who lived to be 73 years of age. She married Ira Wickliffe and they lived in Long Beach all their lives. Their three children were Irene, who died at 16 years of age, Eunice and N.S. Eunice married Mr. German, but he passed away. N.S. married and has several sweet children.

Chastie married Oscar Anderson on 12 October 1878 and had six children but tragedy came to the family and three of them passed away within five weeks with diphtheria and the fourth boy, Gerald L., died at the age of 20. The first ones were Francis O., Archie J., and Lettie C., then Gerald came next, followed by Anna and Addie who lived to raise nice families and at this date (1969) Addie is living in Pasadena, California. Anna married Owen Niling and had two girls, Virginia and Irene. Addie married Howard Strang and they had Marilyn, Richard. Annette Elizabeth married Joseph Monsen on November 4, 1886 in Mt. Pleasant. They were blessed with three children, Florence Karna, Raymond Joseph and Venetta Dorothy. They all lived into mature age and all had families. Florence married Vance McIntosh and their children were Florence Fern, Edwin Joseph, Jean Annette, and Donald V., with one child dying of immaturity, Robert Vance. Ray’s children were Shirley Rae, Richard, and Joseph. Venetta had four nice children, Dorothy Edna, Phillip, Jack and Robert. She married Harold Jensen. Ray’s wife was Lucille Tilson.

Andrew and Niels never married. They lived in Mt. Pleasant all their lives with the exception of the later years when Niels resided in Long Beach. Andrew had a very exceptional characteristic of kindness to all. He was nicknamed Judge as he acted in this capacity in the community for many years. Niels was very frugal and they both accumulated quite a bit of money before they passed away.

Augusta married Albert Edwin Peterson on December 20 1896. They were the parents of three children, Albert (Bert), Helen and Stanley. Bert married twice. One wife was Viola Phillips. From this union was born a little girl, Bonnie. Later he married Josephine and they had a daughter also and named her DeeAnn. Bert died of a heart attack and Helen of complications of arthritis and diabetes. Helen’s husband was Bernard O’Neil and they resided in San Pedro, California. Stanley took Iris Rasmussen for his mate and they had two children, Andy and Sally.

Henry and Wilhemina Ericksen Pioneers of the Month- April, 2010

 Henry Ericksen was born July 28, 1856 in Lehi, Utah; the son of Henrik and Ingeborg Gunderson Ericksen.  Henrik and Ingeborg were Norwegian immigrants and converts to the Church of Latter Day Saints. They first settled in Lehi and then moved south to Mt. Pleasant on the date of August 13, 1864. Not much is known of Henry's childhood.  We know he fell in love with Miss Wilhemina Morrison, the daughter of William and Mary Margaret Farquhar Cruickshank Morrison.  They were married October 24, 1878 in  the Endowment House, Salt Lake City.

 In about 1885,  Henry Ericksen and his brother Allif started a meat and grocery store in Mt. Pleasant. Henry managed the store while Alif ran the farm and livestock; buying, feeding and slaughtering for the store. They would notify the townspeople that on a certain day they were going to kill a beef in the evening and bring it to the store the next morning, so that people could get a "hunk" of meat.

There were steaks, roasts, boils, stews or hamburger - just a chunk of meat. They would start cutting just back of the ears and end at the hind shank. all the cuts sold for the same price per pound; whether it was the neck or the porter house. Then, to carry it home, the customer whittled a sharp stick, jabbed it in the piece of meat and went home to mama, to have it prepared for the family dinner. There was no paper, twine or plastic to wrap the piece of meat in.

In 1893, they built their store on Main Street and took in another partner; brother-in-law, Judge Ferdinand Ericksen. The store was incorporated as the Ericksen Meat and Grocery Co. Their store was in a two story brick building with a full basement. It was considered one of the finest institutions in the community.

Ferdinand Ericksen was a lawyer and occupied three rooms on the second floor for his law practice. The town doctor, Dr. W.W. Woodring, occupied the other two rooms on the second floor.



In 1920, Soren M. Nielson and  Harry, Henry's son, bought the store.



Henry was also a Black Hawk War Veteran and a member of the Mt. Pleasant Pioneer Association.

Wilhemina Morrison Ericksen







Wilhemina was born in Ephraim, Sanpete County March 13, 1959.  She was the daughter of William Morrison and Mary Margaret Farquhar Cruickshank Morrison, immigrants from Aberdeen Scotland.  When she was three months old the family moved to Mt. Pleasant, where they lived in a tent for three months.  Then a one-room adobe house was built just inside the south gate of the Mt. Pleasant Fort, where the family lived until the Spring of 1863.  In those days chances for advancement were limited and what little education she obtained was from her father and mother. 

In 1865 her father, William Morrison was called to help settle Sevier Valley.  Being unable to dispose of their property in Mt. Pleasant, (which proved to be a blessing later on) her mother Mary Margaret Morrison was obliged to remain with her family here in Mt. Pleasant. 

Wilhemina began needlework, and all kinds of handwork, suc as embroidery, millinery, drawing and straw-braiding for hats.  She used to go to the field to glean wheat for the chickens.

She was not quite twelve years old when she made her first temple apron to aid her mother.  At this particular time her mother had a very painful felon on her thumb and was unable to make the temple apron for a Brother McClenehan who had died. So Wilhemina spent all of that Christmas Day 1871, making her first temple apron without assistance. 

Wilhemina received instructions in telegraphy at Ephraim from Miss Helen Armstrong, after which time she was employed in the Mt. Pleasant Telegraph Office which position she held for 18 years.  During that time the telephone system was installed for use between Mt. Pleasant and Fairview.  She being the first to operate the telephone system in Mt. Pleasant.

She married Henry Ericksen in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City on October 24, 1878, by Daniel H. Wells.  They made their journey by team and wagon which took them eight days.  To this union ten children have been born.

In 1892 on account of the dath of her sister Tina, Wilhemina was obliged to give up her office work and take up the responsiblilty of caring for her brother-in-law's two children as well as her aged mother, who was ill at the time.  This continued for six years.  During this time she gave birth to three children and buried two of them at the age of one year each.

Just before her sister's death, she was requested to accept the position of President of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association in the Mt. Pleasant Ward.

With all the added responsibility, she continued the M.I.A. work for nine years, when she was called to be the President of the North Sanpete Stake Relief Society.  This new work began in the Fall of 1900 and she held that position for twenty years; being honorably released and retained as an honorary member.

She was a member of the Mt. Pleasant Historical Association from the time  of its first organization.  She was also a member of the Genealogical Association of Utah.  In 1921, she was called to act as a member of the genealogy committe of the Mt. Pleasant South Ward and in that same year she was made chairman of the burial clothes committee of the same ward.

She prepared and laid out for burial hundreds of people for as long as she could.  She always endeavored to fulfill any duty required of her with a willing heart and to her best understanding and always felt blessed by doing so.  She was forever grateful for the sacrifices her parents had made in accepting the Gospel of Jesus Christ, leaving their homeland and all that was dear to them there, coming to the wilds of the west, the chosen land for God's people, where they faced the red men and helped pioneer the country and make it "blossom as the rose". 

In 1920 she was appointed genealogist of the Morrison Family Organization when she gathered many records and helped others with their genealogy as well as did the temple work for their dead.

There is no limit to the work of the faithful in whatever capacity their calling may be. Much is required.  Sacrifice brings for the the blessings of Heaven.  Do your might with a willing heart and God will Bless you.

Niels Christian Johansen (Pioneer of the Month - March 2010)

Niels Christian Johansen

Chris (Blacksmith)

Married:  Gertrude Jensen

Born:  March 17, 1872   ---   Mt. Pleasant, Utah

Died::  November 11, 1947  ---   Mt. Pleasant, Utah

History written by Etta Marie Johansen Larsen (daughter)

In 1872 Mt. Pleasant, Utah, Sanpete County, was a bustling little town boasting a population of 3,000 people.  The people were divided in four groups: those in the southeast part of town were called the "Rocky Heaven" crowd, no doubt named because of the rocks brought down by the creeks in past ages.  In the southwest part of town lived the "Copenhagens" or "Copenslogans" group.  The Danish people congregated in this area.  "Dog Type" was the name tagged on the residents of the northwest part of town.  Northeast residents were answered to the "Buttermilks"; maybe they milked cows or churned butter.

Dad was born March 17, 1872 to Niels and Kirstine (or Christena) Marie Anderson Johansen (Johannes) in the southwest part of Mt. Pleasant in a small adobe house which is still standing and hasn't changed a lot.  H was the eldest of eight children, six boys and two girls.  He also had half brothers and sisters, as Grandfather had been married before.  He was blessed in 1872 and given the name Niels Christian after his father.  His relatives called him "Chris the Blacksmith", but to mother it was "Christian".  He was baptized April 1, 1882, by J.J. Wallis and confirmed April 2, 1882, by Peter Monsen (neighbor) and H. J. Brown.  Dad was made an elder on December 8, 1885 in the Mt. Pleasant South Ward which was shortly before he married mother.  He was made second counselor in the Y.M.M.I.A. of the Mt. Pleasant South Ward, October 2, 1901.

Dad was always an active church worker and served at various times with the Sunday School, the M.I.A., and the Priesthood in Mt. Pleasant North Ward.  He was a Seventy at the time of his death.

I suppose Dad grew up learning to work as there were chores to do, such as hauling wood in for winter, herding cows on the street, helping with the vegetable garden as everyone had a garden those days, helping Grandfather thresh his wheat in the fall, and also helping to haul the hay as Grandfather owned a small piece of ground in the southwest part of town.  He probably helped clean and pick the burrs out of the wool so Grandmther could card the wool for quilts.  Grandfather was a weaver and had his own loom.  I can see Father as a child having many friends, playing with the Copenhagen kids in that part of town.  Some of the games were steal sticks, run-my-sheep-run, stink base, Danish ball, rounders, leap-frog, nip cat, kick the can, mumble peg and marbles in the spring.

He was 24 years old when he courted and fell in love with a shy, timid Danish girl from the north part of town.  He and Gertrude Jensen married January 1, 1896, in the Manti Temple.  They went to Manti with two other couples in a bob sleigh, staying overnight with friends, and came home the next day.  They lived two blocks east of his parents in a small adobe house.  They lived there only a short time and then moved over on Main Street to Grandmother Jensen's home to take care of her until she died October 21, 1899.

Blacksmith shop was located at approximately 350 West Main

To them were born eight children:  Christella, Pearl,  Heber Christian, Francis Simon, Mable Christine, Aldevea Gertrude, Lester Delbert and Etta Marie.  After his marriage he herded sheep for a short time.  Later he went into the blacksmith business with George N. Clemensen.  After working with him for a few years and learning the trade, he went into the blacksmith business for himself.  He build his shop on Main Street on the southwest corner of Grandmother's lot.  Blacksmithing was a good, steady job.  Dad worked hard, being very skilled in blacksmithing, he was a perfectionist in his work.  Early of a morning he would usually sharpen hay knives so as not to waken the neighbors.  H often shod the horses in the afternoon after the sun had gone behind the shop, or he would work under the apricot trees.  When by accident Dand and horseshoing would get on the lawn and near Mother's flower beds, she would get very upset.  Toward fall he would be working mostly on plow lays and wagon wheels as the farmers would be getting ready to haul coal from Fairview Canyon.  The rims, which were always metal, would have to be smaller than the rim base, so it was up th the blacksmith to heat and stretch the metal rim, so it would fit snugly over the wooden edge.  The plow lays would have to be sharpened and often iron would have to be fastened onto the toe of the plow lay.  The farmers would do their fall plowing just as they do today.  Dad saved all the scrap iron he could find and it came in handy, especially during the war years when iron was scarce.  The fire in the forge had to be red hot when he was working so anyone standing around would get a turn pumping the bellows by hand.  One could almost tell what type of iron or steel was being pounded out by the ring of the anvil, as each had its own tone or beat.  It was music to ones ear, as a neighbor said.  I think Dad made the most money on shoeing horses.  Of course, I'm sure it was the hardest and most difficult to do.  Some of the men a few years ago told me he got fifty cents a shoe and he furnished the shoes and nails.  Many happy hours were spent with Dad in the shop, pumping the bellows, dodging the sparks as he pounded out a horseshoe or plow lay on the anvil, using up his chalk to draw pictures on the walls, a handfull of nails  to hammer in the big log that served as the doorstep for the shop.  The kids coming to and from school would stick their heads in the front door.  Dad would give them a few nails to hammer in the log.  Some of the ladies from the South Ward would tell how their kids took the long way home so they could visit with the blacksmith.  The grandkids also liked to be at the shop; sometimes they would run away from home.  Dad would soon send them back home; he didn't want the little ones around unless their mothers were wit to watch them.Blacksmithing was slow in the winter time and that was good as Dad needed a rest, for he worked so very hard.  The folks always had a good supply of food on hand; flour, grain mash, and in the cellar with long rows of smoked hams, shoulders, and sides of pork hung from the log ceilings.  In the big cupboards were shelves lined with bottles of fresh peaches, pears, apricots, plums, big crock jars of jam, pickles, relishes and of course a couple of five gallon cans of honey.  Then there was the milk cupboard with a tight screen on the front for the milk, cream.  Potatoes, carrots and parsnips were kept out in the dirt cellar which was in the corral.  Dad and Mother had two gardens, one a small one which we kids were responsible for planting, watering, and weeding.  Then we could take vegetables from it whenever we wanted as long as we didn't waste any.  We would have play dinners of fried potatoes, carrots, cooking on almost any stove in the neighborhood.  Dad always had a milk cow, chickens and pigs.  He owned five acres of ground west of town.  He would raise grain on one half and hay on the other half.  Every few years he would change the hay and grain ground.  There was a row of fruit trees down the center.  He would exchange work with the farmers to use their horses and implements to do his harvesting, so you can see there wasn't much in the food line that Mother and Dad had to buy at the store.  A little sugar, coffee, a can of salmon or maybe a piece of cheese, but Mother would always have to ask Dad for the money.  I sure had my share of going to the shop and asking Dad for money for groceries.  I didn't mind because he would usually find a couple of pennies in the bottom of the old leather purse fo me to spend for candy.  H was surely free-hearted when he was spending the money himself.  He liked to surprise  us by bringing home treats.  One day he had gone to town to get horse shoe; soon he came back in a truck with a big phonograph and several records, os for days after that he would bring a record home.  At Christmas time Mother would say that he was a big show off because he gave us so many presents.  Each summer he would see that Mother and I would have a train trip to Axtel to visit Mother's brother, Andrew.  Dad would cry when we left and he'd cry when we came home.  He was a very emotional person.  He would shop for all of  Mother's clothes and sometimes he would bring home several pairs of shoes for Mother to try and she would keep the pair that she liked best.  He would take the others back to the store.  He would buy the best grade of calico for her dresses and aprons.

Mother would go with Dad to Sacrament Meeting and the old folks parties.  She liked the picture shows and he took her often.  After I got a little older, he would say, "Take your Mother to the picture show, I'm too tired to go tonight."  Often if he three of us were home alone, Dad would say, "Sis, run up and get us an ice cream cone."  There was Gunderson's Candy Store a block and a half east of our home and it sure got a lot of Dad's money.

Dad was the boss and all we kids knew it.  If there was any arguing or quarreling going on up at the house, Dad was soon up there straightening us all up. Dad handled the money and if we ever wanted money for a show ticket or whatever, we had to ask Dad and he wasn't one to hand it over very freely.  I'm sure this was the way Mother wanted it.

Dad loved to entertain and play with his children and grandchildren, telling ghost stories, romping on the floor with them.  He would get on his knees under the big dining room table and walk it all around the room.  Mother would hold her ears when the kids would start to scream and yell.  The year 1918 when the whole family had the flu and we were all quarantined, he put up a big swing in the shop and built a whirly-gig out in the garden spot.  When almost everyone had the flu, Dad would go with Dr. Syndergaard to the homes of the sick in Mt. Pleasant and the neighboring towns.  Sometimes the horse and buggy would get stuck in the mud and Dad and the doctor would have to get out and lift the buggy up out of the mud.  Sometimes they would be gone all night.  A few weeks ago, an old neighbor, Ray Seely, told me about Dad coming down to their home in the middle of the night to borrow their old gray mare so he could go to Schofield to ber with Heber who had the flu.  The doctor had called and said Heber had taken a turn for the worse.  Dad rode all night long, but with Dad's faith and doctoring, Heber got well and was able to come home.  Dad was a good nurse and when we were sick, he usually was the one that nursed us.  I remember that he had a bottle of consecrated oil in the bedroom window.  He honored his Priesthood and used it whenever he felt it necessary. 

Dad was with the volunteer fire department most of his married life.  There were  many major fires, like the one in 1898 that destroyed most of the buildings on the north side of Main Street.  Also in 1930, Pat Cammer's barn burned with tow little ones, four and two years old in it.  Dad was the one that found them.  This really upset him for a long time.

Mt. Pleasant weathered three major flood in 1893, 1918,1946.  All went roaring down through the main section of town, distributing mud, rocks and debris on each side of Pleasant Creek, through homes, stores and streets.  The one in 1918 Louis Oldham lost his life.

The year Dad was born, 1872 the first post office was built in a small log building.  The same year the Indians and the white men signed a Peace Treaty ending the Black Hawk War.  The D & R,G Railroad started its run from Salt Lake to Mt.  Pleasant in 1890, as well as the telephone system from Fairview to Mt. Pleasant.  The first telephone and telegraph operator in Mt. Pleasant was Annie Johansen, (Little Annie) who was Dad's half sister.

In 1929 came the depression and the banks had to close their doors.  Some families went hungry, but not the N.C. Johansen family because of the storage that Dand and  Mother had on hand.  They had to help the married kids out with their little families.  Dad did have to drop all we kids life insurance and he borrowed money on his life insurance policy to pay his taxes on the land and home.  There just wasn't any money to be gotten.  He lost around $200.00 in the bank.  He did work for the farmers and they would pay him in produce which was anything from hay or grain to raspberries or honey.

Wednesday, October 22, 1941, was Dad's first trip to Salt Lake City.  He went with Gottfred and me into Granite Furniture Store to buy our furniture.  A few years later, he visited in there with LaRue and Bud.  Bud took him to all the interesting places.  He never stopped talking about what a good vacation he had.

Dad loved celebrations, like the 4th of July when he would put his anvil out in the middle of the road and at the break of dawn, he would blast off dynamite, waking up the whole town.  He was often duptized to help the town marshal at celebrations.  He was often called to serve on the jury, which he said he didn't like.  He was water master for many years, served on the stove committee for the old folks part, was president of the committee in getting the old folks pension into effect before we had social security.

Dad was large in stature, over six feet, weighing from 225 to 250 pounds, a giant of a man.  As long as I can remember, he wore a mustache and he loved to make the ends curl.  He wore a cul on the top of his head, as his hair was quite wavy.  His family broke his heart many times, but he still stood by them supporting them in all things.  He loved them very much.

In later years, Dad didn't have mujch to live on.  I asked him once why he didn't collect some of the money that the farmers owed him.  H had two record books in the shop.  When he did work for someone, he would write their name and what he had done  in one of the books.  Then when they paid him, he would cross their name off.  There were many names that weren't crossed off.  He said, "I guess they have paid me and I've forgotten to cross their names off, if not, it doesn't really matter, they are all honest men."  I remember him burning the one. but I believe he kept the other one.  Maybe he did believe that some of them owed him.

I don't remember of Dad being sick much of the time, only the spring he would get really sick with the hives.  They found out later that it was the fruit which seeds that was causing them. By not eating those fruits he was okay.  In his later years he had arthritis really bad and all I remember he did for it was a copper bracelet on each wrist.

Dad was a frank, plain-spoken person, kind, homest and full of fun.  He was respected and loved by his family and friends.  He retired in 1944 and passed away November 11, 1947.

Marie Johansen Syndergaard, Pioneer of the Month - February 2010

Marie Johansen Syndergaard (wife of Andrew Jensen Syndergaard, Daughter of Niels and Christana Johansen)

Marie Johansen was born on June 2, 1850 in Aalborg, Denmark and died April 6, 1924 in Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah.

Her father and family joined the L.D.S. Church in 1860.  The family left Denmark for America in April 1862.  They came across in a sailing ship, on which there were no conveniences and sanitary conditions were bad.  They were nine weeks crossing the ocean.  She often spoke of the seasickness of all the folks on board.  She and another girl about her own age were the  only ones who were not ill during most of the voyage.  She liked the ocean, the trip was a great adventure for her, aside from being presed into service in caring for the sick.

The family came across the plains in the Harriman Company and arrived in Utah on October 5, 1862.  She walked all the way.  The company was met in Immigration Canyon by some of the earlier settlers.  Mother orode into town, the campaing grounds which were located where the Salt Lake City and County Building now stands.  This was her  first ride during the long journey.  Here they visited with her aunt (Grandmother's sister) and family, who journeyed on to California the next day and were never  heard from again.

The family was sent to Lehi to settle, where they stayed for three years.  At that time, there was still much excitement about the Johnston Army that had camped on the shores of Utah Lake-Cedar Fort.

The family moved from Lehi to Mount Pleasant in 1865.  Here they were really pioneers.  It was a barren country, inhabited by Indians who were hostile to the whites.  They lived in a fort to protect themselves from the Indians.  All work done outside the Fort was done in groups, such as going to meadows for hay, farming, hunting, gathering wood and provisions.
As soon as the settlers were able, they built homes and moved away from the fort.

Grandmother Johansen died leaving 6 children.  Mother had to assume the responsibility of taking care of the children.  She spoke of the terror she suffered nights when all the men were called out to fight the Indians.  One night, Indians came to the window, it was a full moon and she saw them and heard them talking.  The beds were on the floor back in the  shadow where they could not be seen.  She said she held her hand over the mouth of the smallest child for fear  it  might make a sound.  The Indians left without molesting them but that period of time had seemed like an eternity to her.

Grandfather Johansen had been a professional weaver in Denmark, so it was  possible for him to weave carpets, rugs, cotton materials such as tablecloths, etc.  From the sheep, they clipped the wool, washed, carded and spun it into yarn which was made into woolen cloth for suits, men's suits, dresses, children's clothes, wool blankets, etc.  The yarn was also made into stockings and mittens.
In the season of harvesting sugar cane, Grandfather and the boys operateda molasses mill.

He also did carpenter work and made tables, chairs, dressers, beds, etc.  Bed springs being an unknown item at that time, thebeds were  made with round  knob pegsall around the side and end rails, back and forth, cross ways and lengthwise, rope  or rawhide was laced to make a foundation for straw mattresses and feather beds.  The furniture was nice enough to be used even in this day.

Grain was harvested by  scythe or cradle scythe.  The women were inlisted to help  bundle the grain.  There was much waste so women and children gleaned the fields after the harvest.  Mother did much of this helping to provide winter flour for the family.

They also gleaned bits of wool from the brush where the sheep had ranged during the summer and early fall.  This would provide an extra of warm knitted stockings or mittens, or wool bats for quilts.  They died the yarn sometimes into fancy tied and dyed designs.

Besides gardening and raising, poultry, the women made their own soap, lye from wood ashes for softening water for laundry, starch, candles.  Also, the women did family sewing and tailoring.  They did the curing of meats from home slaughtering and from meat from the hunt, rendering of lard and storing food for winter, such as dried fruits and vegetables such as corn and peas, etc.

In the community, there was a tanner  who prepared the skins of the deer.  Mother made buckskin gloves from these skins.  This enabled eht men to do much heavy work during the cold winter months, road building, cutting timber.  Many expressed deep appreciation for this.

She also did fine needlework, eyelet embroidery, tatting,  netting or filet lace, crocheting, knitting (stockings for the family), carding wool, spinning and weaving the yarn into homespun from which warm suits and clothing was made, tailoring even men's suits, and homemade blankets.  she was a leader in every phase of industry and my earliest recollection is of folks coming to her for help.

Marie Johansen married Andrew Jensen  Syndergaard on October 18, 1869.  They were married in the Endowment House in  Salt Lake City, Utah.  She took with her, her two youngest sisters to care for.  To this marriage, 13 children were  born.  She cared for many  more children, sometimes taking in whole families when the mother had died.  Thus, it became necessary for her to spend many nights spinning and weaving, sewing and mending after having done a hard days work.

After the Indians became friendly, they used to camp in our yard when they came into town in the winter to beg.  In cold weather, they made their beds on the kitchen floor and roasted their meat over the fire in the kitchen stove.  They depended on her for most of their provisions.  This was not always a pleasant ordeal but it was better to have their friendship.  Old Santaquin, Nephi Indian Jim and Joe used to bounce the children on their knees and hum weird songs while father and mother finished their evening chores.  It used to take days to get rid of the sage brush smell after these visits.

Because mother was a good cook and always had good things to eat, our home was the meetingplace on Sundays.  The grownups ate and went to church and the children in the neighborhood were all taken care of.  Mother sometimes in a half joking and half pensive way wondered what could be done about saving her, while she washed the pots and pans and cared for the children while the Good Folks Worshipped.

She never attended school in America but she spoke good English, perfect enunciation and read and wrote.  She always said that America was her adopted country and she would learn its language because  it  was her language.  She was a keen mathematician, always figuring a problem mentally before others could write it out and she did this with speed and accuracy.

She had a hard life but with all a remarkable logic and philosophy.  She was a hard and  conscientious worker.  Her motto was "What was worth doing at all, was worth doing well"  and she always managed to do it just a little better than anyone else.  She would never spend time sewing cheap materials.  She had a contempt for shoddy things.

She did her part in caring for immigrants that came.  This was not always a pleasant task because the old sailing vessels that brought the emigrants were infested with all kinds of vermin which made it impossible to make the trip without being contaminated.  This was a hardship to the families who took them in.  The first job being to get them cleaned up.

No one ever left her home hungry.  She fed everyone, a kindness that was too often taken advantage of by many.

Author:  Elizabeth Jensen Syndergaard, originally typed October 22, 1964; 7th child of Jacob John Heidemann Jensen and Elizabeth Hansen; wife of Neil Anthony Syndergaard, 9th child of 13 children of Andrew Jensen Syndergaard and Marie Johansen.

Retyped by:  Carolyn Syndergaard Caddis, Granddaughter of Annie Elizabeth Jensen and Neil Anthony Syndergaard, June 24, 2005.

Andrew Jensen Syndergaard, Pioneer of the Month ---February 2010

Andrew Jensen Syndergaard was born on May 11, 1851 in Sundby, Denmark and died on  May 19, 1912 in Mt. Pleasant, Utah.  Andrew was the son of Jens Christian Syndergaard and Ane Kirstine Larsen, (Annie Catrine Laursen).  His father died when he was seven, and his mother, with two sons (Peter and Andrew) and two daughters, (Ingaborg and Elsie Marie) came to Utah, crossing the plains in an ox-train under Captain Madsen.  They arrived in Mt. Pleasant in October 1962.  Later another sister, Ane Marie, came to Mt. Pleasant.  Here his mother bought a farm, which the boys worked.


At the age of 14, Andrew stood guard at the temple site in Manti.  The Indians were very hostile at that time.  A large Indian that jumped out from a pile of logs was shot to death almost within arms reach of him, an experience that tormented him for years.

During those early years, no one paerson went out of the city limits alone.  They went in companies when they cut hay in the meadows and if a member of the party got very far from the rest, the whole company, the whole company stopped until he could catch up.

In his early life, he did freighting to Pioche, Nevada.  He was one of the men commisssioned by President Brigham Young to haul the oxen for the St. George Temple from Salt Lake to St. George, which was a difficult task over the roads which were then not better than a cow trail.

In 1868, he went east in Bishop William S. Seely's Company.  He was about 17 years old then.  This was to bring immigrants to Utah.

He married Marie Johansen, daughter of Niels and Christiana Johansen on October 18, 1869 at the Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Utah.  At this time he was 18 years old and built a house for his new bride at 389 West Main Street, in Mt. Pleasant.

Andrew was a Black HawkWar Veteren.
He was always active in civic affairs.  He was one of the first town marshals.  He served on the City Council.

Insert from the Mt. Pleasant Book - page 167

"The December 4, 1889 city record shows that Councilman Syndergaard moved that coal oil lamps be placed as follows.  One at Hans Nielsen's corner, one at N.S. Nielsen's corner, one at Peel's corner, one at the Co-op corner, and one at Church Square.  The five coal oil coal oil lamps, which were said to add a dignified appearance to the city."

Andrew also worked on the Sanpete Valley Railroad,  He delivered ties from Pleasant Creek Canyon to near Freedom.  He was also active on all frontier projects, building roads, exploring forest, cutting timber, etc.  He and his brother, Peter, joined John Hasler's Brass Band which was  organized in 1870.

One of his outstanding accomplishments was befriending the Indians.  They always camped in the yard, fed their horses from the hay stacks and ate their meals at the table, made their beds on the floors when the weather was cold.  The Indians often counseled with him about many things.  These were the indians that lived in Thistle Valley.  Their Bishop finally forbid them, imposing in that manner, so they camped at the Tithing Yard but they, the Indians, came to the house to visit and often sneaked their outfits into the yard, inspite of their Bishop's request not to do so.  One old Indian spoke of him as "Heap Big Man - Heap Good Man".  Andrew always said the easiest way to get along with the Indians was to keep their friendship.

Andrew and Marie had 13 children.  Andrew, Gertrude, Kate, Annie M., Hyrum, Anthony, James, Olive, Parley, and  Hortense.  Lars, Anna and Joseph died at early ages.

compiled by Della Fern Barentsen Standlee (Great-great granddaughter of Andrew)
Inserts taken from the"Mt. Pleasant Book" 1859-1939; "History of Sanpete County",
parts of the history written by Annie Elizabeth Jensen, (wife of Neil Anthony Syndergaard, 9th son of Andrew)

Andrew's wife, Marie Johansen Syndergaard Biography will be posted tomorrow.