BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF JACOB CHRISTENSEN AND FAMILY
Copied by Karen Shelley Hacking
Great Grandfather of Norman Shelley
Jacob Christensen, son of Christen Petersen and Maren Thompsen, eldest of ten children, was born in Vennsyssel, Hjoring, Denmark, September 21, 1827. His father was the son of Peter Peterson and Mette Christensen. His father, Christen Peterson was born in Lendum, Jutland, Denmark and his mother Maren Thomsen was born in Hapstyert, Jutland Denmark.
His boyhood days were typical of the times in which he lived. His parents earned their scanty living by fishing. Many times later in his life he told his children of the following incident that took
place when he was a mere boy. He was employed by a certain woman to herd her cows. A part of his wages was to be his lunch. The woman, was not of a very generous nature and one night Jacob said
to her, "My eyes must be getting very poor.” she replied, "Oh, how’s that my boy?" "Because", he said "I could hardly see any cheese on my bread today."
When a young man he spent two years in the service of his king, as was customary. He served as a sailor and one day was ordered to climb up and repair the mast and while so doing he lost his balance
and plunged headlong into the ocean. He was almost drowned, having gone down for the third time when he was rescued. Many times later in life he related this experience and said that drowning would be a most peaceful death.
Jacob joined the L. D. S. church in his native land on Feb. 20, 1853 and was a traveling elder for the following two years. He married Inger Kristine Thomsen Jan. 19, 1855. She became the mother of nine children, the eldest being born in Denmark before immigration.
In 1857 they immigrated to the United States. A perpetual emigration fund came into being through the desires of the Church leaders to bring to this land those too poor to provide themselves with the transportation money which was needed. The provision of this act says: "Where as there are many good and worthy people who would gladly emigrate to this state if they were provided with the means." This fund provided money for the emigrant, who paid it back just as soon as he could, after getting settled in Zion.
Jacob’s mother accompanied them to Omaha, Nebraska, where she died a short time later. They were compelled to stay here for two years, because of lack of funds to go further. Here, although he
took whatever employment he could get at sawmills and adobe yards, they lived under the most trying circumstances. One time he was obliged to trade one shirt, of his meager supply of two, for a bushel of frozen turnips, which they boiled and then warmed up in tallow.
In the meantime his wife’s parents, Thomas C. and Else M. Olsen Jensen had disposed of their property in Denmark preparatory to immigrating to Utah. They joined Jacob and his wife at Omaha and then crossed the plains together with the Nesling Company. While crossing the plains Jacob and his good wife encountered a great misfortune. `Their only child died. The company halted and buried
the little one by the wayside. Jacob, overcome with grief, threw himself across the newly made grave, declaring he could not go on and leave it. Grasping hold of him, his wife said, "Jacob, you’re not a child are you? This will not do, me must go on."
They located in Mt. Pleasant, and were among the first settlers in the fall of 1859, living in a dugout until the fort was build. Jacob helped to build the south wall of the fort, furnishing team, wagon and his own work. Homes were built against the inside walls of the fort where the settlers lived. By the fall of 1859 Mt. Pleasant had a population of 800 people.
The first ward was organized at Mt. Pleasant, July 9, 1859, by Elders George A. Smith and Amasa M. Lyman. William S. Seely was ordained bishop. Jacob Christensen became his first counselor. The Bishop and his counselors were looked upon as the leaders of the group. They were the superintendents, planners, confidant tribunal, directors, ecclesiastical tribunal, the leaders of the
group, in fact the responsibility of the settlement rested upon their shoulders.
They were all busy people those days, building homes, a fort, clearing and plowing land, planting crops, building fences, canals, fighting and guarding against Indians, harvesting crops, and a score of other jobs.
Thereafter, he devoted much of his time to the building up of this community. He was a shareholder in Mt. Pleasant’s first cooperative institution and organizer of the United Order here. He served as Counselor to Bishop William S. Seely for seven years and as president of the High Priest’s quorum for twenty—five years.
January 14, 1865, he married Ingeborg Anderson, daughter of Christian and Karen Anderson. Ingeborg was the only daughter and the youngest of a family of four, born in Seiland, Denmark, April 28, 1846. Her father was a tailor, and Ingeborg had a comfortable childhood, attending the schools of the town until her parents accepted the Latter-day Saint Church and decided to leave their homeland for Utah, where her three brothers had already settled. This was in 1862. She spent her sixteenth birthday aboard a sailing vessel, crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The trip across the ocean was so miserable, it stood out in her memory as forty—six days of misery.
After landing in New York and crossing the plains by ox team, furnished. by' the church, she landed in Salt. Lake City. Her brothers met her and her parents here. She was offered a job in Salt Lake City by a family named Deckers. This seemed a blessing from heaven to her; now she could have a job to earn some money to help get some of those things so much needed by herself and her family. After some months there, she started working for one of Brigham Young’s wives where she stayed for some time. After a year in Salt Lake, Ingeborg went to Mt. Pleasant to be with her folks.
This young girl of 18 obtained work in the home of Jacob Christensen whose wife had a family of youngsters, and in that day with the lack of any comforts, a family gave the mother plenty work to do.
Plurality of wives was in flower at that time. Those who could afford two families and were worthy could get permission of the Church authorities to marry a second wife. Jacob asked Ingeborg to marry him, and after due consideration she accepted his offer of marriage. They were married January, 1865. She was 19 years of age and he was double her age, but it seems at that time, this was often the case. Jacob Christensen and Ingeborg Anderson were sealed 14 Jan 1865. He was sealed to Inger Kirstine Jensen 4 Oct 1862 and he was sealed to Anna Christena Magnussen (Marberg) on 15 Mar 1869. Ingeborg became the mother of seven children, two dying in infancy.
About this time Jacob took a very active part in the Black Hawk War, being captain of Company A, Mt. Pleasant Militia and was in several engagements with the Indians. He was also a Councilman in Mt. Pleasant’s first City Council.
On March 15, 1869, he married his third wife, Anna Christena Marberg, daughter of Johannes and Christine Peterson Marberg, who was born March 2, 1850 at Leitse, Gutland, Sweden. She was the
second child in a family of four daughters.
Even during Anna’s early childhood tragedy and hardship stalked through her life. Her family was desperately poor, as were most of the people in the locality in which they lived. That part of Sweden was barren and unproductive. The climate was cold and the people were entirely dependent upon the rainfall for their crops. Food and fuel were scarce, coal being unheard of and wood had to be bought. .
Ann’s father was a tailor, of the machine less age, doing all his sewing by hand and, at times, walking miles and spending days to sew at the homes of the more well—to—do. His wife assisted him in his work and a good part of her time she worked for others, sometimes in a slaughter house, taking her pay in meat to help out the family larder. Anna began her working career at the age of nine, tending children.
Johannes Marberg was a very devout man. He and his family were members of the Swedish Lutherian Church, the prevailing religion. During Anna’s early childhood her parents were converted to the L.D.S. church by a Mormon missionary named Warnick of Battle Creek, Utah, now known as Pleasant Grove, Utah. Elder Warnick not only brought the Marbergs their religion, but he gave them a beautiful friendship and instilled in their hearts the desire to immigrate to Utah. Anna was baptized and confirmed a member of the church, by her father, when she was ten years old.
In the fall of 1863, when Anna was just thirteen years old, her father contracted typhoid fever and died, leaving her mother destitute and with a family to provide for. Christine Marberg having no means of maintaining the home, was forced to sell her small house and household goods at public auction and find a home for herself and daughters. The eldest daughter, Marie Helena, 15, and Anna were taken in by families to help care for children. The third child, Augusta, age 5 was taken by a moderately wealthy L.D.S. family. The mother with her infant daughter, Hedda, secured a place to work for a family named Collgren.
During this time of misfortune Elder Warnick had proved a staunch friend of the Marberg family. In the spring of 1864, he received an honorable release from his mission and the money for his fare home. Knowing Christine Marberg’s great desire to go to Zion, Adolph Warnick stayed in Sweden and loaned Christine his fare to Utah.
On account of her limited finances Mrs. Marberg was unable to take her three eldest daughters with her when she immigrated. The child, Augusta was still with the family who had taken her at the time of her father’s death and who had become greatly attached to her. Friends rallied around Mrs. Marberg, promising to care for Anna and Marie Helena. The day came when the mother was to depart
for• America and.`Utah, a day• to the end of days never to be forgotten by Anna. Her mother and baby sister, in company with the Collgrens and another family of converts had packed their belongings in white topped wagons which were to convey them to the nearest railroad center. The country was perfectly flat and level and Anna and Marie Helena watched and waved to their mother until the wagons became a mere speck in the distance. It was two sad and lonely little girls, just 14 and 16, who turned back to the mercy and charity of friends and relatives. Marie Helena went to her maternal grandparents, Peer and Helena Peterson, who were devoted to the girl, but bitter toward her mother for joining the L.D.S. faith. Anna was to stay with an aged couple and their widowed daughter.
Because of the gap between age and youth, life with the old couple became intolerable to Anna. She sought the advice and council of her sister and it was decided that Anna should leave this place and go to her father’s sister, Marie, who worked in a neighboring rural community. So Anna and Marie Helena walked the four Swedish miles, equivalent to sixteen American miles, to the place where the Aunt worked as a cook for a group of laborers. Marie Helena rested here for a couple of days and walked back alone to west Gutland.
How Anna hated to see her go, it was well the girls could not read the future for they never saw one another again. Marie Helena, never a robust child, was taken seriously ill shortly after this and was taken to a hospital in a distant city and died and was buried there. Anna knew nothing of this until she received word from the Grandmother, through the Aunt, that her sister was dead and she could call at the Grandparents and get the few possessions the girl left, if she desired.
Even the mother, on her journey across the ocean, was not free from the tragedy that seemed to follow the Marbergs. The baby Hedda, now one and a half years old, contracted the measles and died during the early part of the night. The mother, dreading to have her child thrown overboard, lay with the dead baby in her arms until morning. Then she reported it’s death to the ship’s authorities and the little one was buried in the ocean.
In the meantime the family who had taken Augusta, immigrated to America, taking this child with them. While crossing the plains the entire family, including the child, died of cholera. Only the hired man, who immigrated with them, lived to carry the story of Augusta’s death to her mother.
Anna, now alone in Sweden, was again faced with the problem of finding a home. It was no longer possible for her Aunt to keep her at the place she worked. Anna was a pretty, red haired girl and the men would not keep their hands off her. Although Anna was now old enough to hire out, she lacked the required education to do so. There were no schools in the rural areas of Sweden, so Anna never
attended a day of school in her life. It was the custom, however, for one to be able to read and repeat to a priest portions of the Swedish Testament and the Catechism. When they passed this test they were fairly well educated and ready to begin work. Anna studied diligently and in time mastered these books. She secured a place to do housework, with the customary understanding that she must remain six months and she was given one dollar in advance to bind the bargain.
She was about to begin her second year at this place when she received word from Elder Warnick, who was still in Sweden, that he had a letter from her mother repaying the loan he made to her and telling him she was borrowing the money to bring Anna to Utah. Elder Warnick advised Anna not to begin another six months of service, but she had no other place to stay until her money came so
she was obliged to start a third six months term.
Again Adolph Warnick proved to be the rare friend he was. When Anna’s fare arrived he found a girl to take her place, brought the girl to his household and took Anna back to West Gutland, where she stayed awhile with Adolph’s sweetheart’s parents and then later in the spring he took her to Jutaborg where she began the first lap of her journey to America. From here she crossed the north sea to Liverpool, England. At Liverpool she boarded a sailboat and spent five weeks on the Atlantic Ocean. This company was to have had the first steamship to cross the ocean, but were disappointed and so
made the last sailboat trip over the Atlantic.
Anna arrived in New York City in July of 1868 and came by railroad to Omaha, Nebraska. She then joined the Folkman and the C. C. A. Christensen companies and. began a four weeks trek across the plains, walking all the way. It was the middle of August when she joined her mother, who had come to Salt Lake City, from Mt. Pleasant to meet her after a four year separation. It was a happy meeting between mother and daughter. They were the only survivors of a family of six. They never again parted until the mother's death in the spring of 1907.
On March 15, 1869 at the age of nineteen, Anna was married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, to Jacob Christensen of Mt. Pleasant, Utah, 23 years her senior. Her first home was the old Haage home on South State Street, now owned by Maxine Johansen Hardy. This house, built by Jacob Christensen was considered one of the finest residences of the early days. Jacob Christensen died
March 9, 1915, having been an invalid for eleven years.
Anna became the mother of ten children, three dying in infancy, one in youth and two in middle life. She was the wife of a soldier and the mother of a soldier. She was a faithful church worker, being a visiting teacher for over forty years when the teacher’s beat covered miles instead of blocks and the contributions consisted of the staples, such as flour, eggs, meat, etc.
Anna died May 7, 1937 at the age of 87 years, two months and five days. She left four children, fifteen grandchildren and ten great- grandchildren. Her once red hair was grey, but her back that carried so many burdens was still unbent and her spirit still unbroken and surely, the good Lord, who holds the destinies of men in the hollow of His hand, will have a special reward for souls
like these, who have kept the faith.
This history was written by Olea Thompson, granddaughter of Jacob
and Anna Marberg Christensen.
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The following is a history from our archives and published in 2012
