HENDRICK ERICKSEN AND INGEBORG ERICKSDATTER ~~~ Pioneers of the Month July 2024

 

Hendrick Ericksen

 

BIRTH DATE
4 October 1818

DEATH DATE
13 August 1864

Companies

Jacob F. Secrist/Noah T. Guymon Company (1855)

Approximate age at departure: 36

Sources:

"Immigration List," Deseret News [Weekly], 12 Sep. 1855, 214-1

University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott Library, Salt Lake City, Utah

Church History Library, Salt Lake City

Journal History, 7 Sep. 1855, p. 4

Mount Pleasant Historical Association, Genealogy  


Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah

New FamilySearch/Family Tree

Perpetual Emigrating Fund, General Files (CR 376 1) (except for

Source Location

Church History Library, Salt Lake City

Ship Passenger and Manifest Lists

Source Location

Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah

~~~~~~~

 
Ingeborg G. Ericksen

Birth Date:

15 Oct 1819

Death Date:

19 May 1902

Place:
Mount Pleasant, Sanpete, Utah,

The following excerpts are taken from "Journey of Faith" by David Gunderson. Ingeborg Ericsdatter was the daughter of Eric Gunderson and Torbor Olsdatter. (A little confusing but can be found on Family Search)

The families of both Erick and Caroline (Ericksen) lived in Riser, Aust-Agder (East-Agder) Provence, Norway, which is a small fishing and resort village located about 125 miles south of Oslo. It borders the North Sea and Oslofjord. Risor was known from Viking days for its strong ships and expert seamen. Like all Norse communities, it had a tradition of Viking raids on England, France, and other parts of Europe. In the early 19th Century, Risor, though small, had become an important shipping center in Norway; roughly 100 sailing ships made it their home port. In this small community on August 27, 1830, Erick Gunderson, a son of Gunder Ericksen and Annie Jensen, was born into the world.

At this time Norway was actually a part of Sweden, having been annexed in 1815 from Denmark at the close of the Napoleonic wars, after nearly 400 years of Danish rule. Opportunity for education above elementary school was not readily available to the people of Norway unless they were members of the clergy or of the aristocracy. The family had always been close-knit and must have had the means to allow the children to receive a little better than the average education and training. (At this time, Norway was still using patronymic names so Erick Gunderson’s father’s name was Gunder Ericksen) Not much is known about Erick’s growing-up years, but he was a fisherman by trade and probably went to sea with every fishing expedition available to him to help meet the family’s needs.

 

The family must have enjoyed all of the wonderful Norwegian festivals. They would have especially enjoyed the Yuletide celebration with rice pudding, and small prizes, and coins hidden in the Yule cake. They must also have looked forward to the Midsummer Festivals with all of its traditions as well.

In about 1851, when Erick was 20 or 21 years old, he went to Scotland (Glasgow) to learn the trade of shipbuilding. It is not known how long he apprenticed in Scotland, but it was probably for about one year. Since English is the common language among the sailors of the North Sea, Erick must have had some command of the English language before he went to Scotland. While there, his English skills probably improved markedly. This must have aided him greatly when he came to America.



The first Mormon missionary to Norway was Elder Hans F. Petersen. He was brought to Norway by a Norwegian sea captain, Svend Larsen, of Osterrisor (Risor), who had become interested in the message of the church, while delivering a load of lumber at Aalborg, Denmark. Elder Petersen arrived on 11 September 1851 and with the help of Captain Larsen began to lay the foundation for the work on the next day. In Norway the missionaries received a mixed welcome. Some Norwegians readily accepted them and embraced the Gospel, while others tried to have them jailed or expelled.

It was to this situation that Erick returned to Norway from Scotland. Some members of his family had heeded and accepted the Gospel. Other family members were bitterly opposed. As a result, Erick withdrew from the family, decided to just ignore the Mormon problem, and married his childhood sweetheart, Inger Elizabeth Evensen on 13 January 1853. Some of her family members had also accepted the missionary’s message and joined the new Church but she apparently remained indifferent.

Saddened by his lack of interest in this new religion, his younger sister, Torbor, pled with Erick and Inger to just listen to the Elders and then decide. Finally, they agreed. He and Inger soon accepted the message and were baptized on 23 April 1853. He was the 35th member and she the 36th member added to the Church rolls in Norway according to the records. His father, Gunder Ericksen; his mother, Anne Jensen; his sister, and other family members preceded them as members. His parents joined the Church 19 September 1852. The first baptisms in Norway were on 23 September 1851. (Note that Erick’s future wife, Caroline and her blind mother Maria became the 7th and 8th members of the church in Norway on 25 June 1852.)

Svend Larsen, the ship captain who brought the first missionaries to Norway was baptized 23 September 1851 in Aalborg, Denmark. He immigrated to Utah in 1854.

About one year after they joined the LDS Church, Erick and Inger were blessed with a beautiful baby girl whom they named Anne Torine. She must have been a wonderful and welcome addition to their home.

Erick, along with other family members, heeded the call to gather in Zion. In mid-November 1854, Erick (age 24), Inger Elizabeth (23), their daughter, Anne Torine (nearly a year old), his father, Gunder (50), his mother, Anne (48), his sister, Torbor (18), his brother Jens (22), Jens’ wife Anne (22), Erick’s Uncle and Aunt Henrik (36) and Ingeborg (35) Erickson and their family, Erick Bertel (13), Torborg (10), John Andreas (5) and Ingeborg (6 months), departed their beloved Norway together. 

However, due to a problem with ships in Liverpool, Jens and his family had to cross the Atlantic on the next ship, the Charles Buck. Karen Dorthea and her husband Niels Johannes Petersen probably stayed in Norway to settle up the estate and to care for their grandparents Erick and Torborg, who died in 1857 and 1858 respectively. The Petersons emigrated in 1863.

One cannot help but wonder how the family members felt as the familiar scene of the Risorflekken, the large white stone, that marks Risor harbor, faded into the distance for the last time, as they sailed out into the North Sea. This would be the last sight they would ever have of their beloved hometown, Risor.

The first leg of this trip was from Norway to England. This passage was carried out on a 132-ton Danish paddlewheel steamship called the Cimbria. This voyage has been clearly described in the book “Saints on the Sea”. “There is no other body of water quite like the North Sea. It is often unpredictable, violent and treacherous - - and particularly so during the winter monts. Of all the North Sea passages made by Mormon emigrants, probably none was as terrifying as that of the small Danish steamer Cimbria. It left Copenhagen on 24 November 1854. Some 300 Scandinavian Saints were crowded on board when the 132-ton paddle-wheeler sailed out of the harbor. Although the sea was very rough, the Cimbria reached Fredrikshavn on the east coast of Jutland the following morning. There 149 additional emigrants from Aalborg and Vendsyssel joined the company, further crowding the 160-foot ship. (Our Gunderson family members probably crossed to Denmark to join this company of emigrants at Fredrikshaven.)

When there are attachments noted, I will provide a link.   This book will be of interest to not only the Gunderson Family but also to the Brotherson, Ericksen, Peel,   Madsen, Larsen and more.

Attachment 3 below:

See attachments 9-10-11:

The passenger list  that was presented to the New Orleans Customs Office  shows that they arrived safely, except for Anne Torine who had died on the 20th of January