HOME OF MONS MORTENSEN ROSENLUND AND WIFE KARNA LARSON

 

NORTH SANPETE HIGH SCHOOL 1916

Graduates of Class 1916 Plan a reunion. North Sanpete High School may have changed considerably in the past 50 years, but the fond memories of the graduating class of 1916 are still vivid among those who attended 

the school at that time. 

 

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR ANNIE WILCOX MADSEN ~~~December 3, 1965 ~~~ (from our archives)

 

You may wonder how the entire funeral was recorded.  Annie's daughter Alice Panier was a court reporter and took the entire funeral down in shorthand.

  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzoP3qZgzktb5QVa6o6GFwF_j680Q5qUeIpYMwUBs6hgPQGS5X0RnDk_uZGJuIGMiypdzdSp7dfjjT0fIqApSMZjwP6c0gEFJsMAwZLI_GmFu1IrG7mHbRxJLG_3TTke7okMZxymWZiwM/s1600/Panier,+Alice+reporter.jpg

NEWSPAPERS OF SANPETE COUNTY

 

Saga of the Sanpitch  1980

NEWSPAPERS OF SANPETE COUNTY

Eleanor P. Madsen

Ephraim, Utah

Professional Division

First Place Historical Essay

“When the last editorial is written

And the ink is smoothly dried;

When the papers have been folded

And addressed and wrapped and tied;

When these two who stood together,

Though days were dull or bright,

Will have closed the office door at last

For the long, eternal night;

May the thoughts and words and phrases

Of the things they dared to say

Be their unquestioned ‘press card’

In that land of endless day.” 1

This poem might well be a eulogy to all the editors of early Sanpete newspapers. We picture two
toiling together with laborious hand methods, the only available tools in those early days before the turn of
the century, when every letter was set separately, all the inking done by hand, and the press operated by hand
or foot power.

The old print shops are now forgotten as newer and faster methods have replaced the archaic one.
Even the Linotype is now becoming obsolete as more modern, electric machinery performs many tasks with
minimum effort for the editor and his staff.
Survey after survey has proven that no other medium is so thoroughly read or listened to as the
hometown paper. Indeed, since April 24, 1885, when the Home Sentinel, the first newspaper published in
Manti by James T. Jakeman, 2
residents have eagerly scanned local publications for personal and social items,
odd bits of national and state happenings, and other copyrighted material. Three items taken from the first
editions have a bit of humor for the reader today.
“Salt Lakers are having strawberries and cream and our Manti, more rain.”
Ft. Green Items: “The stores of this burg are paying 6 cents per dozen for eggs and 42 cents per bushel
for wheat.”

“Wide brimmed hats are very fine as substitutes for umbrellas in the sun’ but people do say they are
out of place on the front seats of the theatre. He (she) whom the coat fits let him put it on.
Within five years two other local papers appeared. In June, 1890-, James T. Jakeman issued the County
Register in Ephraim 4, and in November, 1890, A.B. Williams and J.M. Boyden published the Mt. Pleasant
Pyramid. 5.in 1891 the Ephraim plant was purchased by M. F. Murray and Company. The name was changed to the Enterprise 6
by which it was known through the management of ten editors, Ward Stephensen, John
Christiansen, Fred Jorgensen, W.E. Thorpe, Oscar Neilsen, a. E. Britsch, Nephi Christensen, Curtis Mitchelson
and Roscoe C. Cox. 7 Mr. Cox began publication in 1925 and was editor and manager for 35 years, the longest
period for any of the publishers. 8

The plant was located first in a building at 30 East Center Street. It was
later moved to the basement of the Ephraim Bank building and then to 56 North Main (Roscoe Cox Home).
The Mt. Pleasant Pyramid was purchased from Mr. Williams and Mr. Boyden by Burke McArthur in
1911. Mr. McArthur bought the first Linotype machine in Sanpete County, and continued to make
improvements in the plant until it was modernized throughout. About this same time, he also purchased a
permanent home for the paper, the building which it now occupies. 9

“The price of the local paper was combined with the needs of those concerned in Sanpete; it was
printed in kind; in terms of so much hay, so many potatoes or so many cords of firewood.” 10 Rates of
subscription listed in the Mt. Pleasant Pyramid Friday morning December 29, 1912, were: one year - $1.50; six
months - $.75; three months - $.50.
Editorials played an important role in the early newspapers, serving to arouse interest and to motivate
the people to action on local issues. They also helped shape policies and form public opinion on vital matters,
proving that the ‘pen is mightier than the sword.”
Mt. pleasant also had a small newspaper called The Call, which was edited and published by Christian
N. Lund, Jr., in a plant on the south side of the street at about 270 West Main. Mr. Lund operated his plant
first in Salina, then in Mt. Pleasant for a total of about ten years before moving to Salt Lake City, where he
continued in the newspaper business with a paper entitled The Progressive Opinion, which maintained a
circulation in Sanpete County for many years.

The Home Sentinel in Manti with J. T. Jakeman, Manager, and Dan Harrington, Editor, was re-named
The Sentinel in 1890 when H. H. Felt leased it. On October 13, 1893, under lease to Joel Shomaker, the paper
acquired the title of the Manti Messenger, which has continued since that time. 11 Other publishers to the
year 1929 year were J. L. Ewing, Peter A. Poulson, M.A. Boyden and S. Peter Peterson. 12
An item from the January 26, 1894, issue of the Messenger gives an insight into law enforcement in the
city.

“Sleigh riding has been the order of the day for some time. Some of the boys were a little too fast to
be within the limits of the city ordinances last Sunday and as a result were fined on dollar each.”
A rival paper in Manti, the Sanpete Democrat, was first issued in June, 1898, 13 and in 1902 was known
as the Sanpete Free Press with L. A. Lauber, publisher. It sold for $1.00 per year. 14 A local item in the January
7, 1902, edition reads as follows: “The rabbit hunt on Monday between Manti and Ephraim resulted in favor of
Ephraim by a score of 186 to 155….”
In the south end of the county, the Gunnison Valley News recorded this item:
“The great event came when a man named Camp came with a press and started a local weekly, which
he called the Gunnison Gazette. It was housed in a little building that stood on the north side of Center street
next to the school lot. After a short while, in 1909, he sold it to Nephi Gledhill. It was an old Washington hand
press. It took the family to get the paper out. The children would go after school and set type. When the
bank building was finished it was moved into that basement.”1513
In 1919 the paper was transferred to Howard W. Cherry, who modernized its operations and changed
the name to Gunnison Valley News. Subscription rates were $2.00 a year and $1.00 for six months. 16

Many
issues of the paper that year carried items of soldiers returning from World War I. the paper for July 4, 1919,
gave a detailed announcement of a patriotic program followed by foot, auto and horse races, boxing, baseball
and dancing, saluting the soldiers with the greeting: “Welcome, Soldier boys, the town is yours. Let’er bust.”
Prior to the editions of the local papers in the various communities in the County, the readers of early
news were able to obtain the Daily Deseret Evening News, which began as a weekly journal in 1867. “It
contained a variety of material, including speeches, lectures on scientific subjects, messages from church
heads, legal notices, local news, messages from the settlements reporting their progress, etc. It was always
part of the settlement. It gave the people a sense of contact with the world, a basis for comparing their lives
with that of other settlers and made them feel part of a large and important body. Everybody read the
News.”17 In this News, September 22, 1883, there appeared “more than two columns of the full size
newspaper, the names of all the stake presidencies and ward bishops for all the organized stakes of the
church.”

The Salt Lake Weekly Herald (Tribune) also found ready circulation in Sanpete County, 18
In listing early day publications, the Snowdrift, with Roscoe C. Cox as its first editor, provided
happenings and literary contributions from students at the College as well as being a media for training and
developing of talents in the news field.

The local papers were a powerful force in uniting the thoughts and actions of the people in the
communities. In giving due credit to the editors and publishers of Sanpete newspapers in the 44 years from
1885 to 1929, we are aware that they put the good of the people before their personal gain. First and
foremost was their love of the work, hearts that felt and understood the pulse of the community, men who
dared crusade for a better world, sometimes unappreciated, sometimes misunderstood, but never ceasing
their efforts for the printed page until that final copy was edited. These hands that set the type, turned the
presses and folded the papers will not be forgotten. Their words will echo and re-echo from the yellowed,
brittle pages, reminding us of conflict, tragedy, of joy and faith and hope, of life, as it was in our Sanpete
towns through these years.
Sources: 1
Christie Lund Coles, “To Mother and Dad”, Newspaper clipping.
2
These Our Fathers, p. 36
3
Snow College Film Library, Home Sentinel, 1885.
4 W. H. Lever, History of Sanpete and Emery Counties, p. 287.
5
These Our Fathers, p. 103.
6 W. H. Lever, p. 287.
7
These Our Fathers, p. 86.
8
Armanda Cox, Personal information.
9
These Our Fathers, p. 103.
10 Albert Antrei, “The Salty Old Press of Sanpete County”, Enterprise, 1979.
11 Mt. Pleasant Pyramid, December 29, 1912.
12 Antrei.
13 Song of a Century, p. 123.
14 W. H. Lever.
15 Sone of a Century, p. 123.
14 W. H. Lever.
15 Snow College Film Library, Sanpete Free Press, January 7, 1902.14
16 These Our Fathers, pp. 156-157.
17 Snow College Film Library, Gunnison Valley News, May 2, 1919.
18 These Our Fathers, pp. 156-157.
LAND OWNERSHIP IN EARLY FAIRVIEW

HAMILTON SIXTH GRADE 1948 ~ Marsden Allred Teacher

 

 

Daniel Rasmussen

 

Add caption

HOME OF MORTEN RASMUSSEN AND KAREN MARIE CHRISTENSEN ~ Researched, Compiled by Tudy Barentsen Standlee (from our archives)

 

 

 Currently Vacant

BUILDING OF THE FORT WALL ~~~ Mt Pleasant

 

HOME OF LEONARD JAMES JORDAN AND WIFE EMILY MARIE CALDWELL (from our archives)

 

 

Current owner unknown 

 

HAMILTON ELEMENTARY~~~ 1944 ~~~ HELEN BOHNE TEACHER

Erick and Caroline Gunderson (from our archves)

 

Our friend, David R. Gunderson, (Now has passed on) has just published a book entitled “Erick and Caroline Gunderson’s Journey of Faith from Norway to Sanpete”. He has been assisted by a cousin, Betty Gunderson Woodbury. Both are contributors to our Mt. Pleasant Pioneer Blog. David has been working on this book for a long time. His research and personal knowledge of, not only the Gunderson family but also of Mt. Pleasant history is extensive. Betty has been working on the family genealogy and collecting items of Utah family history all of her life.


With David’s permission, we post January’s Pioneers of the Month: Erick and Caroline Gunderson, excerpts taken from the book:

In times of crisis, the fate of peoples and nations is often described as "hanging on a thread".  In fact, the fate of our Gunderson family did hang by the threads that held a big black button on the foul weather smock that Erick was wearing during a storm on the North Sea.  During this storm, a huge wave crashed over his small fishing boat and washed him overboard.  He was able to get back to his boat, and save his life (and that of our family), because this button caught on a line or a piece of netting that was trailing out from his boat and the button's threads held.

Erick brought this button with him when he came to Utah and my Uncles Doug, Shy, and Glen recalled of playing with it when they were children.  It would be nice to have this button now but it has been lost.  But it must have looked like the one shown here.





The families of both Erick and Caroline 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 and roughly 100 sailing ships made it their home port. It was in this small community on August 27, 1830, that 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 a member 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 in order to help meet the family’s needs.

The Aurora Borealis is seen from Norway.  Erick and the other members of the family would have been familiar with these spectacular sights.

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.)



On 26 November the steamer resumed her voyage and the weather was fair until the next afternoon. Then a strong wind came up, and its rising fury forced the captain to seek haven in the nearest Norwegian port. He put into Mandal (formerly known as Vesterrisor), an excellent harbor sheltered by high and steep granite cliffs. Here the Norwegians offered the Saints accommodations on shore for several days until the wind diminished. The elders preached to some of the villagers, and several were later converted.

On 7 December the Cimbria once again put to sea, but the improved weather soon changed for the worse. Before the end of the day a violent storm struck. The waves became mountainous, and the wind shrieked through the rigging. Tons of water crashed over the bow, shattering the bulwarks and some boxes on deck. The captain once more sought safety in Mandal’s harbor, but the strong currents and winds made it too dangerous to head toward Norway. The vessel returned to Fredrikshavn, where she anchored on the ninth. During this storm the emigrants huddled below decks, suffering from the cold, the pitching of the ship, and seasickness. Once on shore again, a few of the less hardy refused to travel farther, but most of the Saints recovered their courage and even held public meetings.

It was not until 20 December that the captain felt the weather would permit setting out again for England. For a day the sea was favorable, but the following night the storm returned with the appalling savagery of a mindless beast. Great masses of water threatened to capsize the little steamer, and the twisting troughs between waves seemed designed to break her back. For hours the Cimbria battled the ferocity of the winds and the high seas, while the miserable passengers were too cold and sick and too busy holding on to their bunks, tables, or anything secure to think of much else but prayer and survival. The vessel, shuddering and quivering with each wave, tried to turn back for a third time. Then, in the afternoon of the twenty second, the wind veered to the north. The captain changed course and continued on to Hull. On 24 December the battered steamer with her exhausted crew and thankful passengers anchored in the River Humber. The following day-Christmas-the Scandinavian Saints traveled by rail from Hull to Liverpool, where most boarded the Yankee square rigger James Nesmith bound for New Orleans.”

The Cimbria passengers arrived a day or two too late for the ship they had been scheduled to use, and the Church Immigration Agency hurriedly located the ship James Nesmith. It was quickly equipped for passengers and on 7 January 1855, with 440 Scandinavian Saints, and one English Saint, it sailed for America. (The ship being too small for the whole company, 24 people were left to come later. Jens and his family were probably among these.) The company leader of the Saints on board both the Cimbria and the James Nesmith was Peter O. Hansen, a returning missionary. The voyage began with the ship being towed out of the Liverpool harbor down the river Mersey, past the light house and into the open sea where the sails were unfurled and a course was set for the new world.

During the winter, the prevailing winds in the North Atlantic are westerlies, and emigrant ships had to tack (sail into the wind) for most of their crossings. This results in a fairly rough and long voyage. However, crossing the Atlantic in the winter made it possible to cross the plains in the summer and this was crucial.

Many of the Mormon emigrant ships had wonderful choirs which performed during the dedication and prayer for safe journey services which were always held at the outset of each emigration voyage. One of the great gathering hymns, “Ye Elders of Israel” with its inspiring message, “O Babylon O Babylon we bid thee farewell, we’re going to the mountains of Ephraim to dwell” was one of the favorites. Both the emigrants and many of the ships officers and seamen took courage from these dedication ceremonies and the continued prayers for safe voyage. Over the 30 years of emigration by sail only one vessel, in 176 was lost.

After a 47 day passage, the James Nesmith arrived in New Orleans on 23 February 1855. The passenger list that was presented to the New Orleans Customs Office shows that the family had all arrived safely, except for Anne Torine who had died on 20 January.

The 1850s travel on the rivers was fraught with many dangers. Among these were diseases, especially cholera, exploitation by unscrupulous gamblers and boat personnel, running aground or being caught on a snag, sinking, falling overboard and being ignored, thievery, etc. However, until 1856, when the railheads were extended to Iowa, it was the best means of transportation available. The Charles Buck, on which Erick’s brother, Jens traveled, was the last Mormon emigrant ship to land at New Orleans. It departed from Liverpool on 17 January and arrived at New Orleans on March 14, 1855, after a 53 day passage.

Within a day or two after their arrival the Gunderson/Ericksen family began their voyage up river. Two steamboats, the Moses Greenwood and the Oceana, carried James Nesmith travelers to St. Louis, where they arrived March 7. Those who could not immediately afford passage to Salt Lake City took the steamboat Polar Star to Weston, where they sought employment.

On March 12, 1855, about 175 of the Mormon emigrants from the ship James Nesmith resumed their passage from St. Louis to Atchison, Kansas aboard the steamboat Clara. It was a trip bedeviled by delay and disease. At Leavenworth low water compelled the steamer to lay up for a time during which another Mormon company arrived. There twenty Saints died of cholera and on the way to Atchison nine more deaths were recorded. This 351 ton sidewheeler was skippered and partly owned by Joshua Cheever. A year later the Clara was sunk by ice at St. Louis.



On 25 March 1855 while the family was at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, Erick’s younger sister Tobor Kristine (18) married Simon Fredrick Halversen (26) from Brekke Osnoy Ostfold, Norway.

Erick’s parents, and his Aunt and Uncle, Henrik and Ingeborg Ericksen, and the rest of their family members that came on the James Nesmith, reached Mormon Grove at Atchison, Kansas in early June. There they began preparations to cross the plains and with the exception of Erick and his family, they continued west with the Secrist-Guyman Wagon Company which left from Mormon Grove on 13 June and entered the Salt Lake Valley on 7 September 1855 after a 57 day crossing. They settled in Spanish Fork and prepared for the arrival of the rest of the family.

Erick remained in Mormon Grove at Atchison, Kansas until 1856. Family records say that Inger, who was pregnant, contracted cholera. The baby, a boy who they called Earl Even, was born on 25 October and soon passed away. Inger died two days later and they were both buried at Mormon Grove. The rest of the family had left in June and it was too late for Erick to find and join a company and follow his family to Utah in 1855, so he worked to prepare to go on to Utah during the next immigration season. In 1856 he arrived in Utah during the week of the 16th of September 1856, after an 81-88 day crossing and joined the family in Spanish Fork.

A Wife for Erick Comes from Norway

Erick left Norway in late 1854 with his parents, his sisters, a brother-in-law and a small child and other family members. In 1857, two years later he was a single widower in Utah probably living with his parents. How lonely he must have been. However, things were about to get better.

As the Gundersons and other families, one by one left Risor to go to Zion, another member of the Risor Branch of the Church, Caroline Johnson, longed to go to Zion also, but she just couldn’t leave her widowed and blind mother alone in Norway. Recognizing the strong desire of her daughter to join the Saints in Zion, Maria encouraged her to go. However, Caroline always replied that she could never leave her mother alone in Norway. Finally, Maria said, “If you won’t go without me, I will have to go with you.” When Caroline asked how they could do that her mother said that “they would just face the problems, one at a time. “ In the spring of 1857, they did just that.

Maria (age 54) and Caroline (age 22) departed Norway on Saturday, 11 April 1857, with a group of saints from Christiania (Oslo), Norway and sailed to Copenhagen aboard the Norwegian steamship Viken. In a calm sea, the vessel arrived at the Danish port the following day. After a five-day delay this company-about 540 emigrants under the direction of Hector C. Haight, President of the Scandinavian Mission, boarded the Danish screw steamer L.N. Hvidt and traveled to Grimsby (just south of Hull). From that English port they traveled by train to Liverpool. Soon after they arrived in Liverpool, they boarded the ship Westmoreland.

The Westmoreland left Liverpool on Saturday, 25 April 1857 and arrived at Philiadelphia, Pa on Pentecost Sunday, Sunday, 31 May 1857 after a 36 day passage. The emigrants then boarded the train to go to the trail head in Iowa City, passing through Baltimore and Wheeling along the way.

At Iowa City, they joined the Seventh Handcart or Christian Christiansen Handcart Company which departed on 12 June and, traveling over the Mormon Trail, arrived in the Valley on Sunday, 13 Sep 1857.

One of the other passengers on the Westmoreland was C.C.A. Christensen who was a convert to the LDS faith in Denmark and had served a mission in both Denmark and Norway. Before his mission, he had studied painting and illustration in Copenhagen for several years. It is interesting to note that he lived for a time in Mt. Pleasant and took an active roll in the early developments of that community.

The Arrival of the Christiansen Handcart Company in the Salt Lake Valley

“Along the way lay the skeletons of worn out oxen, but these heroes and heroines endured …With their lips half eaten up by saleratus dust, and clothed in rags, with almost bottomless shoes on their feet, yet they greeted with songs of delight the rising sun which let them see Salt Lake City for the first time.”

“What changes have taken place since that time in less than one week our emigrants are now brought here from the Atlantic coast, where they disembark after a few days pleasant ocean voyage by steamship, while we in those days were tumbled about by sailing ships for several weeks , uncertain of the time when we could expect to see the promised land. And then the journey by land over the great, empty plains and high mountains on foot, poorly supplied with food and clothing- in short, subjected to almost every deprivation that people could bear and endure, and that for all of thirteen weeks.” (taken from Nebraska History p. 344 “By Handcart to Utah, the Account of C.C.A Christensen, translated by Richard L. Jensen)

Caroline and Erick Meet, for the second Time, and Start Life Together

On his arrival in Utah on 16 September 1856, Erick joined his parents in Spanish Fork and began to work to further establish the family in Utah. He probably worked as a carpenter and also at farming, but nothing else is known about this first year in Utah, except that we guess he was very lonely.

Caroline and her mother arrived in Utah on 13 September 1857, about one year after Erick’s arrival. As noted, they had traveled in the Christiansen Handcart Company which crossed the plains together with the Cowley Ox Cart Company in which Erick’s brother Jens Gunderson traveled. While crossing the plains, Jens and his family surely would have become acquainted with their Norwegian friends. Caroline and her mother, Maria that they had probably known for many years, maybe even from childhood, and associated with the Osterrisor Branch of the LDS Church in Norway.

Since they were friends from “home” and had crossed the plains together, it would only be natural for Jens and his family to invite Caroline and her mother to join them in Spanish Fork. Communication between family members in Utah and family members in the Midwest may have been difficult in those days, but some information must have been exchanged, if only by word of mouth. In any case it is likely that Jens knew or was able to find out where the rest of the Gunderson family was located.

How happy the Gundersons in Spanish Fork must have been to have Jens and his family safely in Utah, and to greet friends from “home”, and to get all the latest news about their friends and family back in Norway. They all must have had a wonderful reunion.

Quickly, Caroline and Erick became interested in each other and on Monday, 12 October 1857, only about four weeks after Caroline’s arrival; they were married (sealed) by none other than President Brigham Young in the President’s Office in Salt Lake City at 12:30 p.m. They were late endowed in the Salt Lake Endowment House on 22 November 1861 with B. Young, W. Woodruff, and S.L. Sprague officiating.

Imagine finding a partner from “home” in far off Utah. One that spoke your native tongue, and who remembered the Risorflekken, the midsummer festivals, the picturesque Risor Harbor, the beautiful church by the sea. One who loved all the special Norwegian foods and songs, one who knew all the old friends from “home”, and one who remembered all the other special things that you remembered from your past. Then you will know how blessed Erick and Caroline must have felt to have found each other.

On 6 September 1858, Erick and Caroline had a daughter who they named Lurine Elizabeth Gunderson. She was born in Spanish Fork and died on 28 December 1861 in Mt. Pleasant.

Erick and Caroline Gunderson Relocate to Mt. Pleasant

Considering many factors, we believe that Erick came to Mt. Pleasant in the spring of 1859. It is likely that Caroline came a bit later after the birth of her second daughter, Maria Elizabeth, which occurred on 17 Feb 1860. Therefore, Erick would have been in Mt. Pleasant to assist in building the first and second forts, to divide up the land, and to clear it for planting. They would also have participated in the defenses mounted during the Black Hawk War, probably joined the United Order and played a major role in the erection of the first Mormon Church in Mt. Pleasant. They would have participated in the building of the first plants and mills and obtaining new farm equipment.

Being a carpenter by trade, his services were greatly in demand as he helped build many of the early and later homes, churches and school houses in Central Utah. He worked on every temple that was erected in Utah during his lifetime as well as the Salt Lake Tabernacle, and for the most part, he volunteered his services.

Erik passed away in his 68th year on Monday, 1 March 1898.  He was an honest upright man, respected by all.  He was the father of eleven children with his wife Caroline.  He also had two children with his first wife, Inger. Both passed away  early along with their mother durin emigration.

Caroline Johnson Gunderson passed away March 23, 1903 in her 73rd year.  She was a respected pioneer who had crossed the plains with the7th handcart company.



HAMILTON ELEMENTARY SIXTH GRADE 1947

 

Home of Christian Nielsen and his third wife Martha Rearson ... Researched, Compiled and Updated by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

 

Barbara Hansen Strate ~ Cheerful High School Friend

 

Barbara Hansen Strate

November 20, 1946 — October 6, 2023

11/20/1946 ~ 10/6/2023

 

Barbara Hansen Strate of Spring City, Utah passed away at the age of 76, on Friday, October 6th in Spanish Fork, Utah.

Born in Mt. Pleasant, Utah on November 20, 1946, to Willard G. and Bernice Baxter Hansen, Barbara was the third of four children and was the only daughter. Growing up in the small town of Spring City, Utah, she spent her days raising and riding horses alongside her dad, adoring baby dolls, and cruising around in her brother’s hot rod. She graduated from North Sanpete High School with the class of 1965. She was married to Stephen H. Strate in the Manti Temple on July 1, 1966, and later divorced. Together they were the proud parents of four children, nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren with one more on the way.

Barbara was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and worked at the Manti Temple for twenty years, before retiring in 2013. She served faithfully in her callings and was the first to show selfless love to anyone and everyone she knew. Barb was always the first to offer a helping hand and give her time and possessions to those in need.

Her selfless nature was never more apparent than when she was with her family. She fiercely loved children, grandkids, and great-grandkids. She dedicated her life to her family and there was never a game, barrel race, or activity for any of her grandkids that you couldn’t find her at. When she wasn’t with her family, you could catch her out to lunch with her friends, on a ride up the mountains, driving around her hometown of Spring City, and watching the horses out at the pasture.

Regardless of her life circumstances, she could always count on her favorite men, George Strait her “boyfriend” and John Wayne her “husband” to bring a smile to her face. Her ability to find the brightest parts of life is what made her personality so infectious.

Her close bond with her brothers is something she carried with her for her entire life. You could catch her out on the porch chatting or watching The Price is Right with one of them on any given day. When she wasn’t surrounded by friends and family, you could be sure her furry friend and closest companion, her dog Sadie, was always close by.

Barbara was a light to all those who knew her, and the warmth of her house was unmatched. The saying “there’s no place like home except grandma’s house” was a feeling in the most real sense in her home. There truly was no place more special than Barbara’s home and the love she showed to everyone who entered it.

Barbara is preceded in death by her parents, Willard and Bernice; her brother, Howard Hansen; and her grandson, Dawson McKinley Strate. She is survived by her children Angela (Larry) Christiansen, Delynn (Tammy) Strate, Amberlee Memmott, Devin (Amy) Strate; grandchildren Ashlee (Dellan), Kyle (Haley), McKade, Tiana (Joey), Kierstyn, Darian, Hailee, Kodi; great-grandchildren Ember, Emree, Sylvie, Jaxxon, Hastings, Lachlan; Brothers Vanoy (Evon) Hansen, Richard (Karen) Hansen, and many nieces and nephews.

 To Watch Funeral Services Live, Click Here. The Live Zoom Link will activate at 10:45 a.m. MST Prior to Service.

 

Home of Charles Christian Nielsen and his wife Mattie Christina Justensen ~~~Researched, Compiled and Updated by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

 

Home of Christian Nielsen and his third wife Martha Rearson ~~~ Researched, Compiled and Updated by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

 

Home of Jens Peter Nielsen and his wife Annie Catherine Olsen ~~~ Researched, Compiled and Updated by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

 

Hamilton 6th Grade 1947

Home of Henning Peel ~~~(from our archives)

 

ENN ESS AITCH 1960