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Story re-told by Mary Almond | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Jens' First Wife
 Jen's Third Wife
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THE LIFE HISTORY OF JENS CHRISTENSEN (Father of Grandma Ada Christensen Almond Compiled from histories written by his sons, David and Mose, and daughters, Ada and Ann.)
Jens Christensen was born at Tobberup, Aalborg, Denmark, on July 1, 1830. He was a son of Christen Pedersen, who was born in Maarum, Aalborg, Denmark on July 2, 1788. His mother was Else Nielsen, who was born October 7, 1798 at Tobberup, Aalborg, Denmark. Jens was one of five sons and one daughter born to this couple. The names and birth dates are as follows:
All of the children were born at Tobberup. They must have moved to Horby a short time after the children were born, as that seems to have been their home. At seventeen years of age, Jens left Horby and went to Horbo, where, according to Soren Jensen (Uncle of David) had some sort of store, selling wooden goods. He also made rope, wooden barrels, buckets, and wooden kitchenware. While Jens was away attending school, it seems his father, Christen Pedersen, heard and accepted the gospel. When he returned home and found what had happened, he was very much disappointed to think his parents had joined such a strange and unpopular faith. Later, however, he became interested and attended church gatherings. It was during these gatherings he met his first wife, Karen Anderson, who was born January 4, 1840. She was one of eight children born to Christen Anderson, who was born in Simested, Viborg, Denmark, and was Christened February 1, 1807. Her mother, Mette Marie Anderson, was born December 3, 1809 at Skorping, Aalborg, Denmark. Jens was baptized December 7, 1863. He was married to Karen Anderson, his first wife, at Logster, Viborg, Denmark on May 17, 1862. They had twins born on May 3, 1863 at Hobro, Randers, Denmark. They were Mary Elizabeth and Christian. Christian died shortly after birth. A record of Jens Christensen was found in the military records. The war between Denmark and Germany had started, and Jens was sure to be drafted into the Danish Army. This was the war over Sleafig, Holstein. He had intended to go to America for some time. He left what interests he had in the hands of Soren Jensen, who later disposed of the business and brought the money to Utah and gave it to Jens. Jens got what money he could, deserted the Army, and went to Sleafig Holstein, which was neutral territory. He left Sleafig Holstein in the spring of 1864 to make the long journey to Utah.
According to the shipping record of the shipping vessel "The Monarch of the Sea" on which they came, Jens Christensen was in charge of the following group:
On April 18, 1864, they landed at Liverpool. They left Liverpool April 18, and the shipping record shows the amount he paid for the tickets, team, railway ticket, etc. It is believed the figures in the following table represent dollars, as the record showed that money was paid for exchange:
There were 973 other immigrants in the Company. They arrived in New York June 3, 1864, having spent 36 days crossing the ocean. They proceeded West by rail to St. Joseph, Missouri, then by boat to Omaha, Nebraska. This was the outfitting place for crossing the plains. Jens was to drive a wagon drawn by four yoke of oxen across the plains. His wife and baby were permitted to ride in the wagon. It is believed that he crossed the plains with the William B. Preston Company, as that was the Company that left nearest that time. They endured the usual hardships in crossing the plains. The oxen became exhausted and would often stampede with the whole outfit, plunging into passing streams to cool off. The wheels on the wagons became so dried out that they had great difficulty in keeping the tires from coming off. When they arrived at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, a baby boy was born on August 22, 1864 to Karen and Jens. They remained at Fort Laramie for four days, and then continued on their journey again for Salt Lake City, where they arrived in September of 1864. The baby was named Christian Laramie. TRAGEDY It seems Jens Christensen was called by Church Authorities to settle in Sanpete County, where he moved soon after arriving in Salt Lake City. The settlers were having a great deal of trouble with the Indians during the Black Hawk war. The Indians stole most of the livestock belonging to the settlers, and to add further to this desperate situation, another child was to be born to Karen and Jens. Because Jens was unable to secure the necessary help for his wife each day, she was alone when the baby started to come. She didn't know how to get help at the time of the birth, and both she and the child died, and were buried in Manti, Utah. Jens, was now left with two young children to care for. You will remember they were Mary Elizabeth, two years old, and Christian Laramie, one year old. Brokenhearted and thoroughly discouraged, he sold the few remaining cattle he had, and purchased a team of horses from the Catholic Padres from Mexico. With this team and wagon he moved his two children and what belongings he had and went North. He obtained the services of a woman to assist in caring for his children. Her name was Mary Regastine Jensen, daughter of Jens Engbery and Marie Sorensen. She was working as a domestic for a family in Salt Lake City. Whether they were married before they left Salt Lake is not definitely known, but she became his 2nd wife. They were married in 1867. About this time they moved to Brigham City. Jens had a brother, Peter Peterson, who was then living at Bear River City. He thought of moving there. He acquired a small tract of land at Bear River City, but at that time the only water available for irrigation was the Malad River, which was so heavily charged with alkali that a few irrigations ruined the land. Jens decided not to move to Bear River City.
At Brigham City he got permission from Peter Jensen to use one of his outbuildings to live in while he was building a house. Three of their children were born at Brigham City.
The family moved to Newton, Utah, about 1871, where three more children were born.
JENS'S THIRD WIFE When Nephi was a baby, Jens and Mary Regastine (Aunt Stina), his wife, heard of a Danish immigrant named Caroline (Karen) Jensen, who was working for a Fredrickson family in Weston, Idaho. After due discussion and prayer, they journeyed to Weston to talk to Caroline about entering into the bonds of Celestial marriage (plural marriage) with them. Caroline (Karen) had a little girl named Signe (Zina) whom she had brought with her from Denmark. Caroline was encouraged by Mr. Fredrickson to marry Jens Christensen, and after a short time to prepare, both women were endowed and sealed to him.
Caroline (Karen) Jensen married Jens Christensen December 21, 1874. She was the daughter of Jens Jensen and Anna Christina Jensen.
They endured the privations and hardships of pioneer life, working always together for the common good of the family. In 1878, Caroline (Karen) moved into her new home. Stories were told to her children of how, with the help of the older boys, she would cut the wool from the sheep, they would then wash it, cord it, spin it into yarn and then weave it into cloth. From this cloth they would sew suits for Jens and the boys and dresses for the women and girls, as well as sheets and blankets for the beds. Jens was a good provider. They always had plenty of meat, honey, cheese, molasses, fruit and vegetables. At this time, the U. S. Marshals began persecuting the polygamists. One day, while he was at his ranch (Caroline's home) the Marshals slipped up on them by lying down on their horses, although the children were always on the lookout. Jens went through a trap door and hid in the cellar. The Marshals opened the trap door and, holding two six shooters on Jens, ordered him to come out. He served six months in the Penitentiary, but he had many polygamist friends there. DEATH On the 17th of February 1892, Jens died, after an illness of only six days. He was free of debt. He was intensely loyal to the Church, which wielded a tremendous influence on his life. He left his children a wonderful heritage of honesty and integrity, and a tremendous challenge to carry on the love for the Gospel and for their fellow men. Jens (or James--the name is the same) was a very spiritual man. This next story will let you know how much faith he had and how much he believed in prayer. I asked cousin Arbon Christensen to write about it because he is the son of Nephi Christensen and Nephi, son of Jens, is featured in the story: Arbon's Story Like other families of the times, the James Christensen family was much acquainted with illnesses of the times. These had to do with mostly children's diseases and were generally not too serious. However, three of Mary Christine's sons had died in early childhood, but the real crises in illnesses came when Christian Laramie, the eldest son, now 26 years old, became ill with that dreaded disease, Dyptheria. Chris was father Jens's favorite, and the son of his beautiful, beloved Karen, who had died in Sanpete County and had been buried in an unmarked grave along with her infant child. Chris was also the chief support of his father and the whole family. His illness got worse and it seemed there was no hope for him. They had no doctor or medicines and home remedies could not combat this terrible disease. It was spring and early morning. Nephi, now 17, had charge of the sheep at this lambing time. He was up at daylight to tend the sheep. As he passed the new-built granary, he heard a voice inside. He stopped to listen. It was his father praying aloud for the life of his eldest son. He was offering his own life to save his son. Father James (Jens) was telling how important the life of Chris was to the family and the carrying on of their faith in the Church. James' prayer was answered. Chris began to rest and the fever abated. A day later and the crisis was over to the relief and joy of the whole family. A day or two later when Father Jens came to the breakfast table, Mary Christine could tell something was wrong. "What is it?" she asked. He told her he had had a dream, a bad dream. He dreamed that a black arm had come down through the ceiling and had fastened itself on his arm. He could not shake it loose. He had awakened and lay there staring in the dark wondering what it meant. This was an omen and he knew it. It soon proved so, because a black spot began to show on his arm, where he had been clutched by the black arm in his dream. The black spot got bigger until it began to cover his whole arm. The family tried to get Father James to go to Logan to the doctor. He would not go. He knew it was an answer to his prayer. However, Nephi offered to ride to Logan on a horse to see if he could get some help from the doctor. Dr. Armsby heard him explain what was wrong with his father. The doctor said, "I can do nothing for him. Your father has Erysipelas blood poisoning." James Christensen died February 17, 1892 at 62 years of age. His wives, Mary Christine and Caroline, met at the well between the two homes. They were weeping and comforting each other. Mary Christine said, "Pa's gone now, but we still have each other." Chris lived and got half of the Old Ranch homestead. He married Alice Jenkins and they were very successful. They built a lovely home. Chris went on a mission and later served as a counselor to Bishop Martin Rigby for 25 years. During this time, because Bishop Rigby was called away much of the time, Chris carried on much of the ward's business. The wives of Jens (James) Christensen drawn closer together by his passing, helped each other to carry on, and in April 1900, Mary Regastine (Stina) died after a short illness of Spotted Fever, and on May 28, 1920, Caroline, (Grandma Almond's mother) died.
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