John Waldemar
by Ina Marie Erickson Allred Asmund Waldemar and his wife, Hannah Johannson, (John's Parents) lived in the seaport town of Malmo, Sweden, where they both worked hard to provide for their family, as well as to educate them to be dependable and self-reliant. It was into this home that John Waldemar came on September 12, 1837. John's boyhood days were spent on a small farm, and at an early age he helped in many ways to supply the daily needs of the family. His earliest ambitions were directed toward accomplishing something worthwhile. When he was old enough, John attended school in Sweden, but he was later sent to Copenhagen, Denmark, where there were more efficient teachers and more subjects taught. Having a great love for music from an early age, John became a very apt student. By ardent study he learned to play very skillfully on the violin, the flute and the cornet. Military training was given to all boys when they reached the age of fourteen, and so John, as well as his father, were for many years, members of the Swedish Sea Force. When he was not at sea, John helped cut timber to be exported to other countries. Father and Mother Waldemar were both faithful members of the Lutheran Church, and so the children became interested in the same faith. It was about 1853 that the Waldemar family first heard the Mormon missionaries relate the principles of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. John, now a young man of sixteen, became interested in the gospel along with his parents and the older family members. In 1854, he, his parents and other members of the family were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. John became a very devout member of the Church: sincere and faithful. In 1855, he was set apart to do missionary work in Sweden. He was a great influence in bringing many into the Church. After John's baptism, his one desire was to gather with the Saints in Zion and plans were made toward that end. It was late in November of 1855 before the Waldemar family was able to begin this long journey, almost too late to venture out upon the wintry sea. But since it was such a wonderful occasion, John had faith to face the chilly blasts of wind and water on the stormy sea. The Waldemar family experienced anxious and exciting moments as they left their native shores and travelled by way of Keib, Germany. The trip from Germany to Liverpool was made on the small boat, Cambrie. It was cold and the North Sea was rough during the five days that were spent on the water. The latter part of the journey was made by train. At Liverpool, Elder Franklin Richards held a meeting instructing the Saints about the voyage. He told them to be prayerful and have no fear or anxiety, as they would encounter bad weather, but all would be well if they were brave and had the faith to endure. John Waldemar was appointed to preside over the group of Saints on the vessel. On December 6th, 1855, John went aboard the sailing vessel, John J. Boyd, anchored in the bay and ready to set sail for America. Five hundred and eleven souls were on this ship, so it was overcrowded. Large families were encouraged to remain home until spring, but because of their strong desire to go, many were willing to suffer the discomfort and inconveniences of a winter trip. Many of the emigrants who sailed at this time were from Sweden. Boxes, trunks, bundles, and bedding were piled everywhere on the ship. Some of the baggage even served as tables. There was no room to cook on deck, so the food had to be eaten cold or not at all. The voyage was far from pleasant. Each day the storm grew worse as the waves dashed over the deck and finally tattered the sails, which had to be taken down. To calm the passengers fears, the Saints sang hymns of praise. The captain, blanched and angry, blamed the bad weather on having so many Saints on board. He demanded that all of them stop singing and praying, saying that Satan was on the ship. Christmas Day was spent on the ocean amid sleet and storm. What a Christmas it was for the Saints! John Waldemar played beautiful strains of music on his violin while the Saints sang. They even had a Santa Claus. Some of the parents had brought a few little gifts for the younger children and a little rock candy; otherwise, there were no gifts. A few days after Christmas someone carelessly threw a lighted match into the cabinet room, causing a fire. Smoke almost strangled those on board. Elder Canute Peterson prayed for the Saints to be saved, and faith was the prevailing power. After this incident, the captain again cursed the emigrants, saying he had a notion to throw half of them overboard. As the weeks passed, food grew more scarce and there was not enough water on board to quench the thirst of even the sick persons. Many of the children had measles, and several cases of scarlet fever broke out. There was much sadness and heartache as some loved ones were lowered into their watery grave by John Waldemar and others. After almost twelve weeks at sea, John arrived in New Orleans. He was happy to be on land again after such a strenuous journey. After resting for a few days, the emigrants went up the Mississippi River on a boat, and then by rail to St. Louis, arriving there the first part of March, 1856. Because of bad weather, John worked in St. Louis until the latter part of April. It was then that Elder Peterson ordered his company of Saints to set sail on a steamboat up the Missouri River to Winter Quarters where preparations were made to begin the trek across the Plains. John and his parents were assigned to travel to Utah in Captain Robert Neslen's company. They left Winter Quarters in June. John helped drive the cattle and ox teams across the Plains. Indians were often troublesome, causing the oxen to be hard to handle. The days were sultry. Because of heavy loads, supplies were often unloaded and left beside the roadside in order to relieve the weary oxen. In spite of the many difficulties as they trudged through the burning sand or mud, the Saints were often heard laughing and singing the songs of Zion. At bugle call all would gather to receive instructions. Sunday was a day of rest and worship, and no travelling was done on that day. Often in the evening, after a long day's trek, John would play his violin while others danced barefoot to the music. After three months of travelling by ox-team, John arrived in Salt Lake City. September 20, 1856. He lived in the fort until spring, then his family moved into a little log cabin near the Second Ward. Many houses and buildings were needed by Saints and carpenters and masons were in demand, so John soon found plenty of work to do: all, of course, with little or no pay. His willingness and patience toward his fellowmen won him many friends. John was among the three thousand Saints who gathered at Silver Lake, Big Cottonwood Canyon, on July 24, 1857 to celebrate the arrival of the pioneers who had come into the Salt Lake Valley ten years before. At that time, word was received that United States soldiers were on their way to Utah. Not knowing what might happen, the Waldemar family again loaded their wagon and journeyed into Utah Valley. John's next home was on the east bench in Spanish Fork. The grasshopper plague of the previous summer and the resulting shortage of food caused dark days to hover over the new home in Spanish Fork. Fish and cornmeal bread were the main dishes. As spring advanced, pig weeds, thistle and sego roots were added to the almost-starvation diet. After moving into their little two-room log cabin, John and his father cleared the land of sagebrush and planted a small crop of wheat and a garden. Only a few bushels of wheat were harvested; this was ground by hand and made into flour. It was because of late planting that only a part of the crop matured. In June of 1859 the Waldemar family was sent by President Brigham Young to help settle Mount Pleasant in Sanpete County, and to help protect the settlers from the savage Indian attacks. Travelling by wagon and oxen, they arrived in Mt. Pleasant the latter part of June, just in time to help finish the fort there, and move into it. John, then twenty-two years of age, had experienced hard work and severe trials, yet, with his violin as a companion, he had also spent hours of joy and happiness. Less than a month after the Waldemars arrived in Mt. Pleasant, a grand celebration was to take place on July 24, which marked twelve years since the pioneers first entered the Salt Lake Valley. John helped erect a large bowery in the southwest corner of the fort, then Christian Anderson and he went to the mountains with an ox team to get a load of pitch pine wood to furnish light for the evening of dance and entertainment. As before, John played his violin while the happy dancers frolicked on the grass until two o'clock the next morning. The first of August found John in the hayfields helping to harvest one of the crops of native grass with a homemade scythe. He raked the crop with a pitchfork and hauled it with a slow ox team from the lowlands of Chester to Mt. Pleasant, which required one day to make the trip. After the hay was gathered, it was time to cradle the grain, gather it into bundles and tie it by hand. John, using willows, flailed out bushels of grain. He then separated the grain from the chaff by throwing it into the air to let the breeze blow away the chaff. Hard work such as this made the Saints appreciate their leisure hours. John, being a well-educated man and a fine musician, played at all the important gatherings in Mt. Pleasant. On July 4, 1861, the first flagpole was placed in the fort. A whole ox was roasted and enjoyed by everyone. Then John played on his violin for the dancing that took place on the dirt floor of the bowery. Though many people were barefoot, they could still make the dust fly. In March of 1861, John was chosen to go to Salt Lake City with his wagon and ox team to haul granite from Cottonwood Canyon to help build the Salt Lake Temple. After this assignment was completed, he returned to Mt. Pleasant. Soon he organized a pioneer band. It was while he was creating such a jovial time at the dances that John met both of his future wives. On March 19, 1862, he married Sophia, the daughter of Andrew and Ingreed Maneur, also natives of Sweden. Their companionship was of short duration for she passed away the following December in childbirth. On May 10, 1863, John married Alesia Erickson, and twelve children were born to this union. John helped haul logs to build a schoolhouse inside the fort. He also helped to build Bishop Seeley's sawmill, receiving lumber for pay. Plays were put on in the one-room schoolhouse, using a wagon-cover for a curtain. Sweet strains of music could always be heard at these performances. It was interesting to have many nationalities spending the winter together in the fort, singing hymns in their own native tongue, and dancing to the music. They also met together to worship and praise God for his goodness to them. When John's uncle, Niels Waldemar, was sent by President Brigham Young to the Missouri River to bring immigrants to Utah, John not only loaned his wagon and one ox to make the trip, but worked for his uncle while he was away. After leaving the fort, John moved his family into a dugout which furnished a roof over his loved ones for a short time, but because of the attacks by the Indians, they moved back into the fort. In 1865, Mt. Pleasant leaders saw the need for home guards to protect them from the savage attacks of the Indians. John was chosen as one of the guards. He received seventy-five dollars a year as pay for guarding the men who worked in the hay fields. The guards, always ready to go where trouble beckoned, were called minutemen. John served in Captain day's company for three years; he went on duty at the call of the bugle, taking his turn at guarding the Saints. During the winter, because of cold weather and deep snow, the Indians were quieter, but warm weather found them again stealing and killing. The social hall that had been built by John was turned into a guardhouse. Fifty men stood guard for twenty-four hours each, and all minutemen answered to roll call every day. Even as a youth, the spirit of patriotism and loyalty had been instilled into John's mind. When he heard the drums beat, he would quickly assemble with the other minutemen to protect the colony, even though it meant leaving their homes and enduring great suffering. In June of 1866, John was called to go in a covered wagon to Fairview, to move settlers to Mt. Pleasant. While he was away on this journey, a little daughter was born to Alesia. In 1867, John and his family left the fort a second time. He was an adobe maker, and so built a one-room adobe home with a slant to the back so that other rooms could be added at a later date. Happiness reigned in this humble little home and many golden days were spent within its walls. Covered wagons drawn by oxen or mules were the only means of travel, and although it was inconvenient and slow, it was just in such manner that John and his family attended their first October general conference held in Salt Lake City. When President Brigham Young visited Mt. Pleasant in 1868, a grand celebration was held in his honor. Wagons were decorated, and each drawn by four fine horses. It was in such a wagon that John and the other pioneer band members went to Fountain Green to meet President Young. As they neared, the band played loud and clear. Later they all met at the bowery in Mt. Pleasant where President Young gave encouragement to the Saints and thanked them for their loyalty and good work. On October 15, 1869, a man by the name of Mr. Hustler came to Mt. Pleasant with various musical imstruments for a brass band. A military band was organized, and in three weeks John was able to play six popular tunes on the cornet. The band members had beautiful homemade suits. Their coats were blue trimmed with brass buttons. The band played beautifully and performed for dances. The ticket for such occasions was a bushel of wheat from the men, while the ladies furnished a basket lunch. As a gift of appreciation for services rendered by the band, each member was given ten acres of land in a large field just a mile north of the town. The ten-acre lots were numbered and each drew a lot. John moved out onto his lot and raised grain and a fine vegetable garden. Later he bought forty more acres to farm. The ground was quite low and required only a little irrigation to raise good crops. John was an industrious and a progressive farmer. He started farming with just an ox team and home made implements, but later purchased some mules, and then he became the proud owner of a fine team of horses. John raised milk cows. He planted potatoes, vegetables, and grain, and sold the surplus of his crops that was not needed for his family. He also raised sugarcane, although he had some good years and some bad on this crop. When the grasshoppers were bad, he planted peas instead of grain. In 1886, John built a home on the farm and moved his family there. Farming proved to be uphill business for the first few years, for there was much to be done in clearing the land and planting, but he never gave up. He was also a good businessman. He started the Sanpete County Co-op Store and was secretary for many years. He was connected with this store till 1886. In 1870, John bought beef cattle and started a butcher shop in a log building opposite the Co-op Store. John was a jack-of-all-trades; he believed he should never carry all his eggs in one basket. He was not only a farmer, a musician, businessman, and devoted husband and father, but he served the community as a veterinarian. Many of the settlers came from miles around for help and advice when their cattle or other farm animals were sick. He also made bee-hives and fixed harnesses. He spent the long cold winter months in his shop mending broken tools and making horse-hair brushes for the children. He also owned a brickyard and made the red brick himself. John built the Wasatch Academy in Mt. Pleasant. It was later used for a dance hall, and still later sold for a school and church house. In 1872, he and others built an adobe store building between Second and Third West on the north side of Main Street. This was more modern than the log building that had been known as the Mt. Pleasant Co-op. The new building was called the Swedish Store and the old building was used as a warehouse. On March 3rd, 1875, John and others with an interest sold the old Liberal Dance Hall on Main Street to Duncan McMillan, who started a Presbyterian Sunday School. With the money from this sale, the men built a new dance hall. John's talents were many and his willingness to serve was great. He played his violin in Mt. Pleasant's tabernacle choir for many years. When the telegraph line was put through Sanpete County, John helped to haul logs from the canyon to be used for poles. He served on the city council for two years. He was also called to help build the Manti Temple. During this period, while they were there, the men camped in tents on Indian Creek. One time there was a severe blizzard, and for a time it was feared that all the men would perish; however, they weathered the storm through faith. John gave much in labor and finances to erect this temple. The years of sacrifice in John's life were rewarded. His home on the farm was surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers, and it was said to be the most outstanding in all of Sanpete County. He appreciated the home and the sacrifices of his good wife and his family of twelve children. His trust in the Lord was the key to his achieving such a happy and successful life. When he had a duty to perform, or a position to fulfill, he did it with honor. When called to do missionary work throughout Sanpete County, John was ready and willing to do his part for the upbuilding of the Church. He had clear vision, sound judgment, and a determination to succeed. He worked untiringly on the farm and in his places of business, making a good living for his wife and family. As the years rolled by and John's step grew slower and his eyes more dim, he could no longer run the farm. Surrounded by sad and pleasant memories, and to satisfy the desire of Alesia's heart, John sold the old farm and bought a neat little home in town next door to his daughters, Elizabeth and Elna. both of whom had married. Happiness reigned in the new home for only a few short months. They moved in November, and on February 25, 1921, when he was eighty-three, John passed on to his reward. On the back plate of the beautiful bronze monument erected and unveiled in Mt. Pleasant on July 6, 1909, is found the name of John Waldemar, an honored pioneer and veteran of the Black Hawk War. John's splendid character, his clean life, his love for his fellowmen, and his success as a businessman, caused all to love and respect him. His acquaintances had a keen appreciation for this worthy citizen as a true pioneer and church builder. His children did well to try to emulate his noble character. - Ina Marie Erickson Allred ( John Waldemar was an uncle to my father, Alif Dehlin Erickson. I have often heard him speak of "Uncle John Waldemar" with affection and the utmost respect. He was the brother of Elna Waldemar who became the wife of Paul Paulson Dehlin, my great-grandfather. Because there are so many parallels in the lives of my father and Uncle John, I took the liberty of copying this history from Volume 10 of "An Enduring Legacy" published by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers 1987. I, too felt drawn to him upon reading this account. I feel it would have been a privilege to meet the author, also, who must surely have been a relative of some kind, considering the kind, affectionate way she treated this biography. I have been fortunate enough to find out the following facts about her: Ina Marie Erickson Allred was born at Mt. Pleasant on 29 April, 1897. She was the daughter of Louis Erickson and Elizabeth Waldemar. She was baptized and confirmed by Thomas W. West on 23 July, 1906. She moved to the Tooele S. Ward on 26 March, 1926.)
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| Back Row left to right: Elna Celcelia, Nels Amos, Emily Elizabeth, John Leonard, Louis Franklin, Hannah, James Alif, Front row left to right: Torborg Elisa, Eric Theodore, Ralfe Leon, John Waldemar |
