John Moon Clements: A Springville City, Utah Sexton

Springville City Cemetery

With the spring season in Utah struggling to take a hold, I can't help but notice the yards, flower beds and the cemeteries becoming more green and beautiful.

My husband and I have lived in Springville, Utah for about seven years now. I was born in Utah, reared in Idaho and never saw or heard of the town of Springville until I attended college. 

Nonetheless, I have strong family ties to the city of Springville through my ancestors on my father's side of the family.

In the last several years, I was able to copy the journal of my third great grandfather John Moon Clements who with his wife and children lived many years in Springville. John had written in a journal almost every day throughout his adult life. From what I have read of his life, I would describe him a fastidious man. 

He was the sexton many years for the Springville City Cemetery of which I live just three miles from and pass often. John Clements took this job very seriously. Not only did he dig all of the graves for those who died, but he kept meticulous records of which he turned over to the state once a year.

Digging a grave was very hard work for him especially when the weather was very hot or cold. But he always completed his work before the funeral and burial. 

He recorded many of the burials in his journal and if the deceased happened to be in his ward, he attended the funeral, sometimes even spoke and then he wrote in his journal a few of the words spoken at the funeral.  

John described in one of his journal entries that a man wanted his wife to be reburied in another cemetery and requested John to dig her up. In those days, caskets were wooden--sometimes made of whatever the family had lying around. At burial, a casket was lowered down in the ground with ropes. There were no cement linings as we have today and the process of embalming had not yet begun--at least in Springville. 

John wrote that he dug down and found the woman's casket, wrapped ropes around it and slowly began to bring her casket up when it fell apart. I will leave the rest to your imagination. John simply stated that after just four years in the ground, there wouldn't be much to rebury.

One day as John was digging a grave, a bereaved father rode up on his horse carrying his stillborn baby lovingly wrapped in a blanket and placed in a basket. Handing John the basket, the father asked him to bury the body of his baby.

It seems to me this would be a very depressing type of work, but necessary and probably very appreciated. John always wrote very respectfully of those he buried and seemed happy to be involved in the process.

I love the histories of my family, and I am so grateful John Moon Clements faithfully kept a journal for his posterity to read and learn from.

John is resting now in the same cemetery he cared for so much. His burial plot is beautiful, and I believe John would be very happy with the peaceful surroundings in which his early remains reside.

Do I Really Descend from Him?

I believe the majority of us would never assume something bad about a ancestor without a lot of proof? After all we share some DNA.

Usually I try to abide by the rule that there are two sides to every argument. Still what should I believe about an ancestor's bad deeds when they are historically documented--records which include court documents and other esteemed articles.

My father has a side of his family which goes back to the early Puritan days of Massachusetts. He has an ancestor named Ezekiel Woodward who was born in England in 1624 and lived his life in Wenham, Essex County, Massachusetts.

My line follows Ezekiel's first wife, Ann Beamsley of Boston, Massachusetts. After her death, Ezekiel married Elizabeth Solart the widow of John Solart sometime after 1672.

John Solart had been a prosperous Wenham, Massachusetts innkeeper. He left many debts after his death. John Solart and his widow, Elizabeth had nine children--seven daughters and two sons. After his death, the court awarded Elizabeth 165 pounds and her oldest son 84 pounds. Two daughters had received shares at their marriage and the other six children including Sarah [the infamous Sarah Good of the Salem witchcraft trials] was to receive 42 pounds when they turned 18.

When Elizabeth Solart married Ezekiel Woodward, he came into possession of her 165 pounds and the children's unpaid portions. More than a decade later, the surviving daughters, including Sarah Solart Poole, petitioned the court for the inheritances left them by their father. By that time their mother and both brothers had died.

The girls claimed that Ezekiel refused to pay their portions to them. Sarah was then the wife of indentured servant, Daniel Poole. The court said that the children should receive their rightful money but made no provision for them to do so. 

By 1686, Sarah's first husband, Daniel Poole, had died leaving debts for which Sarah and her second husband, William Good, were held responsible. Ezekiel Woodward went to court and testified that one month earlier he had delivered to William Good three acres of the Solart land that the Goods should have had many years before. Then the court ordered that the Goods pay the debts of Sarah's first husband, Daniel Poole. When the couple could not pay, they put William Good in jail and seized 9 pounds worth of his property.

From then on Sarah and her husband were reduced to begging work, food and shelter from their neighbors. By the time of the 1692 outbreak of witchcraft accusations, Sarah and William were living in Salem and she was one of the first persons to be accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. 

In 1692 Sarah Good was homeless and described by the people of Salem as being filthy, bad-tempered, and strangely detached from the rest of the village. She was often associated with the death of residents' livestock and would wander door to door, asking for charity. If the resident refused, Good would walk away muttering under her breath. 

Sarah Good was accused of witchcraft on February 25, 1692, when Abagail Williams and Betty Parris claimed to be bewitched under her hand. The young girls asserted they had been bitten, pinched, and otherwise abused. They would have fits in which their bodies would appear to involuntarily convulse, their eyes rolling into the back of their heads and their mouths hanging open. When Reverend Samuel Parris asked “Who torments you?” the girls eventually shouted out the names of three townspeople: Tituba, Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good.

On March 15, 1692, Sarah was tried for witchcraft. She was accused of rejecting the puritanical expectations of self-control and discipline when she chose to torment and “scorn children instead of leading them towards the path of salvation." Even her husband testified against her, stating he had seen the Devil’s mark on her body, right below her shoulder. He also told the court he had reason to believe she was either presently a witch, or would soon become one. Sarah was pregnant at the time of her arrest and gave birth to a daughter Mercy Good in her cell in Ipswich Jail. Mercy died in the jail a short time later.

At the age of 39, on July 19, 1692, Sarah Good was hanged along with four other women convicted of witchcraft. Sarah Good firmly proclaimed her innocence.

It certainly makes me wonder if my ancestor Ezekiel Woodward, a carpenter by trade and said to have been disfigured from a fire, would have given Sarah what her father had intended her to have, perhaps her circumstances would have been different. It is hard to estimate, but 42 pounds back in the 1670s would have purchased about 400 lbs. of bacon. Not a fortune but certainly something.

Keeping the Home Fire Burning

 My Children's Family Histories

The process of family history research and writing involves huge amounts of time.  I am willing to invest my time and efforts not particularly as a hobby, but because I love it and I have an understanding of its importance.

From my own experience, when the words family history are brought up in conversation, I observe firstly a squirm ensued by a yawn then the famous blank stare. One would think I would give up and quit talking about it, but I can't--I just can't!

I believe family history is a gift of love for the generations who will follow. I believe parents should teach their children the importance of preserving their own family's history. Hopefully, someday after I am gone my children and grandchildren will follow in my footsteps and continue to preserve family history. 

For the past three years, the only gift I have asked of my daughters for Christmas is a history of their families. I told them I didn't care what form it took--just some type of yearly history. I also said, "I don't want anything else--no pressure!" 

They have all chosen to accomplish this in book form with written histories and pictures. I am sure I am not prejudiced, but I think these books are the best gifts ever given--a true work of love. And it really is work!

In return I also give them a gift related somehow to our family history. 

All of my "family history gifts" are homemade and incredibly amateurish--meant only for the use and pleasure of my children and grandchildren. Despite this, I hope my efforts express the love I have for my them and the value I place on our relationship. 

My great grandmother wrote her own history and kept journals. Several times she wrote the phrase,  "Keep the home fires burning." For many years I wondered what she meant by that, but I think I understand it now.

Borker Andersson and Johanna Dubath

Cheese makers or cheese pressers

My ancestor Borker Andersson was born in Blentarp, Malmohus, Sweden on 1 January 1776 to Anders Pehrsson and Ingar Andersdatter.

[This is an original image of his birth record. Unfortunately, the next page has bled through the paper.]

As a young adult,  Borker was a tenant farmer, who paid a land owner for the privilege of leasing and working the land as a farmer.

Borker met and married Johanna Dubath [or Pettersson] on 13 February 1807 who was born on 1 August 1790 in the castle Marsvinsholm, Malmohus, Sweden and baptized in Balkakra, Malmohus, Sweden. She was the daughter of Pierre Nicolas Dubath [known in Sweden as Petter Dubat] and Metta Lassesson. Borker was almost 31 and Johanna just 16 years old.

Johanna's father Pierre was of Swiss birth and a master cheese maker hired to teach the Swedish cheese makers the art of Swiss cheese making. Pierre was married to Metta Lassessen and they had their four children while they lived in the castle Marsvinsholm employed as a cheesemaker.

Marsvinsholm Castle in Malmohus, Sweden

Borker and Johanna were the parents of six children:

Maria Borkersson  b. 1808 in Roinge, Stoby, Kristianstad, Sweden

Anna Borkersson   b. 1809 in Roinge, Stoby, Kristianstad, Sweden

Mette or Matta Borkersson  b. 1814 in Slimminge, Malmohus, Sweden

Anders Borkersson b. 15 March 1818 in Slimminge, Malmohus, Sweden

Ingri Borkersson  b. 1820 in Slimminge, Malmohus, Sweden

Nils Borkersson   b. 1825 in Slimminge, Malmohus, Sweden

In 1809, the year of my ancestor, Anna Borkersson’s birth, her father Borker was still listed as a tenant farmer. 

By the year 1849 Borker owned land of his own. His name appeared on Swedish records as a cheese maker. His son Nils or Nels stated in his journal, “In the  middle of my 24^th year, I decided it was time for me to take my part in the world. I purchased from my father a piece of property.” Nels also stated that he worked as a farmer and dairyman on this land.

 

Borker and Johanna’s oldest daughter Maria married Nils Nilsson on 26 December 1834 in Slimminge, Sweden and she died on 2 January 1840.

Anna Borkersson Andersson

My ancestor Anna married Ola Andersson on 20 February 1839 in Slimminge, Malmohus, Sweden at the age of 29. This was a very common practice in Sweden as it took so very long to establish oneself. Fifteen years later in 1854, the couple joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and sailed for America to join the Mormon Saints in Utah. I have written more of her and Ola in previous blog posts. Anna lived to almost 90 years old--far more than any of her siblings.

Headstone of Metta Andersson Bengtson

Matta or Mette married Niels Bengtson in about 1835. This couple joined the LDS Church as well and sailed on the ship Jesse Munn on 3 January 1854. It arrived in New Orleans on 20 February 1854. The couple traveled onto Utah and with their son Andrew made their home in Ephraim, Utah. Mette died on 9 September 1869 in Ephraim at the age of 55.

Anders married Kerstina Pehrsson on 17 August 1853.

Ingri married Hans Pehrsson on 15 March 1843 and died on 21 May  1855 at the age of 35.

Family of Anna and Nels Borkersson

Nils or Nels married Anna Maria Gustafsson Holm on 30 March 1849. He and Anna spent the next 15 years rearing three children and running a bakery business, dairying and farming. In 1853 the Mormon missionaries came into their lives. During this time, Nels' sisters Anna and Mette joined the Church and immigrated to Utah. Nels had experienced financial failure during this time which caused him to lose his livelihood and sell his home to survive. 

His wife was very unhappy during this time and she longed for Church membership and a life in Zion. She told Nels the Mormons were right in their religious views. For ten years Nels' sisters Anna and Metta had sent letters from their Utah home with glowing news and no mention of hardships. By 1864 Anna had joined the Church and pursuaded Nels to emigrate with her. Nels did not share in her faith or her enthusiasm for the Church.

He found nothing good about their voyage and considerably less than that in their journey across the plains of the United States. The happiness of the Saints made him feel unhappy. 

After arriving in Sanpete County, Utah, Nels and Anna and their three children settled into life, but non-member Nels became increasingly dissatisfied. Anna wanted to be sealed to him but he refused. One day, the bishop came to their home, packed Anna and her belongings into his wagon and within a short time Nels and Anna were divorced.

Then Nels had to live on and off with his sisters Anna and Metta and their families. In May of 1867 he decided to return to Sweden with a group of other dissatisfied Scandinavian Saints and persuaded his son, Anders to accompany him. On the 10th of July at Crow Creek, just beyond Fort Laramie, Wyoming, Anders was shot by Indians.

Nels mourned deeply as he watched his son die but continued on to Sweden. When he arrived, he wrote an unflattering book about his three years among the Mormons. His aim was to dissuade other Swedes from joining with the Mormons. Nels died the following year on 19 October 1868.

Borker's wife Johanna died on 21 March 1827 in Balkakra, Malmohus, Sweden at the age of 36. Borker lived many more years longer than she. He died on 12 March 1852 in Slimminge, Malmohus, Sweden at the age of 76.

Much of this family history was found in the books, How to Trace Your Ancestors to Europe by Hugh T. Law and The Dilemma of a Pernicious Zion by Richard G. Ellsworth.

Mary Jennette Stowe Harding

Mary Jennette Stowe Harding

Personal information for this story was given by Mary's granddaughter Phebe Harding Jensen

 daughter of Mary's oldest son Jesse Harding.

Mary Jennette Stowe was born 27 March 1827 in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England to a cloth millworker John Stowe and his wife Phebe Windell Stowe. [Several spellings exist for Mary's middle name and her mother's maiden name.] 

Mary's mother nicknamed her Madge. Mary was a very charming young girl with a beautiful voice.

This would have been the baptismal font Mary Jennette Stowe was baptized in the St. James Church in Trowbridge.

Mary's family had many of the comforts of life in Trowbridge, England. Her mother never had to bake bread or cake. One could buy a cake or pie for a twopence. The bread was made by the baker and brought to the door.  

Early 19th century families in England often lived in 'back-to-backs'. These were houses with three or sometimes two rooms, one of top of the other. The back of one house joined onto the back of another and they only had windows on one side.

It is unclear whether as a child Mary attended school, worked in her home or was employed as were many children in the cloth factories. The Industrial Revolution had created a huge demand for female and child labour. We do know Mary could read and write and this required some sort of training either in a school or at home.

Typical homes in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England mid-1800s

Although Mary's father was a mill worker, he was also a preacher of sorts for a non-conformist religious group. This religious open-mindedness in Mary's home probably prepared her for when the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints approached her. She joined the Church at the age of 20 on July 6, 1847 despite opposition from her father. 

Mary's future husband Samuel Harding, also of Trowbridge, joined the Church previous to her on March 10, 1847. Their association together in Church meetings facilitated their marriage on April 4, 1849. Mary claimed she used her lovely alto voice to help the missionaries in their street meetings.

The couple's first baby, a boy, was born July 16, 1850--they named him Jesse.

Soon the couple began preparing for emigration to the United States to live among the Saints in Utah. I have written much in a previous post about Samuel and Mary's voyage and their crossing of the plains. But the birth of her second baby, a girl they named Mary Jeanette, born on March 16, 1852 aboard ship behind a curtain separating her and a prayer meeting deserves  a second mention. Mary must have had much discomfort and anxiety with this pregnancy crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The Lord blessed them and the baby grew to a beautiful woman with a large posterity of her own.

After reaching the Salt Lake valley, Samuel and Mary were not able as some to live with family members nor could they obtain a log cabin for the winter. The young couple did as others and dug a hole in a mountainside and with a wagon and wagon cover made their home for the first winter. One day when Mary was alone with her children, a large, black bear came into her area. The bear went through everything in sight looking for food. Mary was very frightened and since she had always believed in the power of prayer, she began to fervently pray for protection. Soon the bear left without harming any of them and Mary was very thankful.

They later moved to Provo, Utah and built a home in the Provo Third Ward where Samuel worked at various times as a weaver in the woolen mill, a farmer, a policeman and a butcher. Mary and Samuel had 13 children together, 7 boys and 6 girls. All but one son lived to adulthood.

Mary's granddaughter Phebe remembered Mary like a dainty Dresden china cup--small in stature, beautiful in her old age. She kept a tidy home and adorned her walls with the skill of her own hands. Mary made beautiful net shawls and doilies. She never had a sewing machine, but did all of her sewing by hand. Mary often said, "Run three or four stitches and then a backstitch."

Phebe told, 

"I must relate here an incident which happened on one of her birthdays while I was staying there. All of her daughters were in for tea and to spend the day with her. There was something in a gift box for Grandmother. I was just as anxious as Grandmother to see what was in that box. It was a beautiful, black straw bonnet covered with laces, ribbon and purple pansies. I was very thrilled over the bonnet The girls had chosen it because it was beautiful, and I think they had good taste. Grandmother tried it on and she said it looked nice, and thanked them all for the lovely gift. 

But knowing her as I did, I felt no good was in store for that lovely bonnet I had a sick feeling inside of me. I could see she intended to do something dreadful to it. Sure enough, when the daughters were all gone, I watched her with a sinking heart. First, the scissors and then the hat, and I just had to cry out when the first clip was made. 'Grandmother, you won't spoil that hat, it is so lovely.' She said, 'Phebe, I know what I like better than you,' and snip, off came the lace, off came those gorgeous pansies, and in a short time the hat was fashioned to suit her taste, minus the pansies. I was really afraid of what the girls would think when they found out about it. But after all, it was her hat to do with as she pleased."

Mary would often pick a dress to pieces, turn it and put it back together again with a little bit of white lace in the neck and sleeves to brighten up a bit.

One day Mary said, "Phebe, I think I will do a bit of brightening up of my carpet." This carpet covered the one large room in the home which was the bedroom and living room combined. She mixed up some dye in separate colors. Her rug was painted with one green stripe, one yellow and one black. Phebe said, "Grandmother was delighted with the effect." 

Mary was a great reader and when she had read all of her own books she then read her neighbor's books too. 

One day Mary sent her granddaughter Phebe on an errand. She asked Phebe, "Will you take our paper over to Mrs. Colings, borrow their paper, take her bucket back, get the milk in our bucket, and ask her if she would change a glass of plum jelly for a glass of honey?" Phebe did not want to say and do all of that in front of all of the men that would be sitting around the stove at Mrs. Colings. She told her grandmother that she did not want to go, but her grandmother told her to march right along. Phebe did as she was told reciting the questions just like a poem. And it was just as she feared--everyone laughed at her.

Mary had an old, white cat. The cat would curl up between Samuel's legs when he lay asleep on the old, wooden couch in the kitchen. Samuel snored, the cat purred and the tea kettle on the stove sang loudly and long. When it all got too loud, Mary would say, "Father, wake up!"

Some said Mary was a proud, little woman. Phebe told, "Once she [Mary] was on a visit to her daughter Sarah's who lived in Garland. One day Uncle Will brought two Indians home to dinner, and asked Aunt Sarah to set a place for them. Grandmother was very insulted. She said, 'Will, you surely will not ask them to eat at the table with us.' 'Why, Grandmother, they are fine people.' So we all ate together. I could hardly blame her, because they smelled so badly."

Mary Jennette Stowe Harding

Phebe claimed, "Grandmother was a very religious woman. So much so that I owe much to her and the inspiring faith she had in the gospel and in the priesthood, faith in the healing of the sick. Grandmother was healed many times from terrible pain and she had received many blessings under the hands of Bishop Lewis, of the Fourth Ward. W.D. Lewis and Bishop Wride were also helpful. Grandmother would often say, 'Phebe, run over and get Bishop Wride.' I have seen her relieved almost instantly under his hands. These things have never left my mind. They have built a faith in me I will always have."

Both Samuel and Mary lived in Provo, Utah to an old age. Samuel died on 19 August 1904 at the age of 76 and Mary died almost five years later on 27 June 1909 at the age of 82.

Jens Jensen Løth

Jens Jensen Løth

In Løth, Borglum, Hjorring, Denmark on 30 June 1801, Jens Jensen was born to Jens Andersen and Zidsel Jensen.  My ancestor, Jens Jensen took on the surname Løth, the place or farm he was living as was the tradition of the time. The Scandinavian patronymic pattern of naming children has been a stumbling block for family historians since so many carry the same name.

The county of Hjorring in Denmark is located in the most northern part of the peninsula near the shores of the North Sea. As one might suspect, many of the Jensen family over the many generations were fishermen and farmers. Most of their children became expert swimmers and developed a love for eating fresh fish.

Jens was employed as a farmer and married a local girl, Anne Svendsen on 6 June 1834. Their children included my ancestor Karen Jensen born on 4 April 1835 in Borglum and her younger brother Jens Jensen born 26 September 1837 also in Borglum. Sadly, baby Jens died as an infant and Anne passed away on 14 July 1838.

Karen Jensen Anderson

Jens was then left behind with three year old Karen to rear. About one year later on 12 July 1839 Jens married Maren Andersen of nearby Weibye. It appears Maren was a wonderful mother and cook and probably a very good stepmother for Jens’ oldest daughter Karen.

Maren Andersen Jensen

Jens and Maren were blessed with four children:  Jens Jensen born 10 January 1841, Anne Jensdatter born 30 Jan 1843, Anders Jensen born 31 August 1848 and Annie Maria born 15 October 1852. All of their children were born in Borglum, Hjorring, Denmark.

The Jensen family spent many happy hours recreating by the sea with each other and extended family members. The children learned to fish and were excited to share their catches with the family. One day young Anders caught an eel and put it in his cap to travel home. After he got home, to his surprise and the family's sorrow the eel was gone.

As Jens farmed his sons attended school. Anders did not attend school as regularly as he should because he was afraid to walk through the woodland. For this Jens was arrested and was to go to prison. He was called before the magistrate and Anders was given a test. He surprised the magistrate in his reading, writing and ciphering ability so Jens was saved from prison.

Jens’ daughters worked at home learning homemaking skills, herding and milking cows, making butter and cheese and caring for the chickens and geese. They used to make a cheese called knapworst made of curdled milk which stood ripening for days then rolled into balls. Some of the children did not care for this cheese.

During this time in Denmark, neighbors were close and helped each other with daily tasks. Many families lived in poverty which made their living conditions difficult.

In 1850 Denmark granted religious liberty to all and no longer demanded its citizens to belong to the national church which was Lutheran.

Missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came into Denmark shortly after this time and Jens Jensen Loth was baptized in 1852. Maren’s brother Jens Christian Andersen Weibye joined in 1854 and became a fulltime missionary for the Church baptizing many friends and neighbors. Jens C.A. Weibye was very influential in the conversion of my ancestor, Jens’ oldest daughter, Karen. His journal makes note, “Løth Jensen’s Karen of Aarslevhedes was baptized October 21, 1855 by L. C. Geertsen.

Jens C. A. Weibye

Cottage meetings were held often at the Jensen home. Borglum residents were anxious to listen to the Mormon missionaries and some were so enthusiastic that they joined very quickly. Jens C. A. Weibye baptized often at Løth Jensen’s [this is how he referred to Jens]. In some cases a hole had to be chopped into the ice for the baptisms. The Jensens had heard of some who were treated badly for joining with the Mormons, but they were not exposed to persecution in Borglum.

In 1857 Jens’ 22 year old daughter Karen desired to join with the Saints in Utah. She emigrated with a group of fellow Scandinavian Saints in April of 1857 and sailed to America. On 14 February 1858, Karen married Jens Christian Andersen in polygamy. He was a fellow Mormon immigrant from Hjorring, Denmark and 14 years her senior.

In 1859 the Jensen family in Borglum saw a large religious revival. Several sectarian preachers traveled around and stirred up quite an excitement among the people. A group call the “Kirketroende” or church believers worked hard to show they were better followers of Christ than others. The Mormon Elders were also working in the area. Many had never before considered any other church other than the Lutheran to be the true church.

For a few years Jens Jensen Løth, his brother-in-law, Jens C. A. Weibye and their families planned for their emigration and trip to Zion.  Unfortunately, all leaving Denmark had to have permission from the government. So Jens saved his money for the emigration and continued to help other Mormon converts. 

A fellow Danish Saint, Paul Poulsen stated in his journal, 

In 1860 my mother joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints without my father’s knowledge or consent, he being very much opposed to Mormonism. In February my mother being divorced from my father with the intention of emigrating to Utah with the Saints.

 In the latter part of February, Mother Johanna Maria and Christian moved out to Jen Jensen Løth’s. In the latter part of March, Andrew and myself moved also out to Jens Jensen Løth’s leaving Niels the only one of my father’s children with him.

After paying 2328 Rigsdaler [almost $600] for their emigration, Jens, Maren and their four children boarded the ship Albion in Aalborg, Denmark on 6 April 1862. They traveled around northern Denmark to Aarhus, Denmark on the eastern side. From there they boarded a ship called Fredercia and sailed to Kiel, Germany where they caught the railroad which took them to Altona, Germany. They then sailed to Grimsby (Hull), England, where they took the train to Liverpool, England to meet the rest of the Saints and boarded the fine ship Franklin.

While traveling across the Atlantic Ocean, the Saints arose every morning at 5:00 a.m. They met at 7 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. everyday for prayers. They danced on deck each day for exercise and to uplift their spirits. The Saints helped with sanitation aboard ship by washing the deck 3 times a week and fumigating the deck with tar twice on the trip. 

Unfortunately, measles broke out aboard ship and 40 children died. During the entire journey 3 adults and 43 children died. All of the Jensen family was well and healthy aboard ship although Jens, Sr. did suffer from sea sickness at the beginning of the voyage.

A contrary wind kept the ship from arriving sooner in New York. America was first seen by the passengers on the 28^th of May 1862. After docking, passengers could not get off the ship because there were so many dead people on board and many were still sick. The ship was quarantined. Those most sick were sent to the hospital and eventually the others were able to disembark the ship and left New York on 8 train cars.

After disembarking, Jens was called upon to help purchase food and supplies for his assigned company.

In 1862, the United States was involved in the Civil War. Joseph Smith had prophesied nearly 30 years before that a war beginning in South Carolina would be “Poured out upon all nations.” Many believed that those who gathered out West in Zion would be the only people not at war, and those who journeyed Zionward would be nestled “in the bosom of a vast continent, and removed from the scene of strife, and encompassed by lofty mountains and interminable deserts and plains.” This statement must have had an impact on the Saints abroad, for, in 1862, more LDS converts immigrated to America than in any previous year. This may also have been influenced by the immigration system which became more effective.

The Jensen and Weibye families joined the C.A. Madsen wagon company, a Scandinavian company with about 264 individuals and 40 wagons when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Florence, Nebraska (now Omaha). They left Florence on 14 July 1862.

Along the trail the company experienced  groups of Indians who desired trade with the immigrants and the passing of members of the United States military. The company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 23 September 1862.

After arriving in Utah, Jens dropped the surname Løth. He was said to be a fortunate and frugal man and still had money left to buy supplies for their trip to their assignment to live in Moroni, Utah.  In Moroni, the Jensens were taken in by all the people, but since they had arrived in the fall of the year, the harvest was almost over. The whole family went out into the fields and gleaned wheat for their winter bread. Many other families had not done this and were without food. The bishop assigned three families which included Jens Jensen’s to separate their wheat into two piles—one for their own family and one to give to those who had none. Jens was a very kind and good-natured man and did as the bishop had told them but was a little stung by this early sacrifice.

Unfortunately, Jens' wife Maren died of Mountain Fever on 28 June 1863 just six months after their arrival in Moroni. On March 15, 1865 Jens remarried a woman named Mary Jacobsen. She showed little affection for his children, and they believed her to be mean and hard. Some felt that perhaps Mary had proposed marriage to Jens and he could not refuse. As time went on, the youngest Annie Maria often stayed with her older married sister Anne who had married and lived in nearby Fountain Green. Maria eventually lived with Anne permanently.

There was much excitement in Moroni when the Black Hawk War began. They had to constantly guard their homes and livestock. A few neighbors were killed and wounded by the Indians while herding stock near the Jensen’s home. Horse and livestock were constantly being stolen by the Indians. To protect themselves and others of the surrounding towns, the settlers of Moroni built a stockade and bastion. A large observation tower was constructed to see approaching Indians. If any were sighted, an alarm was sounded and the militia was sent to drive them away.

At the age of 17, Jens’ son Andrew [Anders] was called to be a Minute Man in the Black Hawk War. The first day he was to leave for duty, his brother Jens [Jim] went out and saddled the horse and led it around to the gate, then Jim and his father cried as they watched Andrew ride away. 

 It is not known but suspected that Jens was able to associate with his oldest daughter Karen [Caroline] Jensen Anderson since she and her family lived in the northern part of Sanpete County until 1871. Jens and Maren's children were all still residing in the Sanpete Valley at the time of Jens' death on 2 January 1880. He is buried in the Moroni City Cemetery. 

George Washington Barr's Early Mormon Experience

The Civil War had not yet been over four years when the George Washington Barr family of what now is Pinnacle, Stokes County, North Carolina, became acquainted with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

My Barr ancestors in Stokes county were visited by Mormon missionaries who were then assigned to proselyte in various townships of southwestern Virginia and northwestern North Carolina. The Mormon missionaries of that place and time seldom went door-to-door preaching. The missionaries held meetings to preach the Gospel of the Restoration in areas in which they were welcome [and some unwelcome], in local school houses and churches. Usually after the meetings, those who felt inclined offered the missionaries a place to stay and eat.

Those people in these areas who became interested in the Church and were baptized very quickly emigrated to Utah--their Zion. This often left small numbers of baptized members behind who could not or would not emigrate. The missionaries usually visited a certain area about once per year, and they were often welcomed back and supported by members and friends they had previously associated with.

Henry Green Boyle

One Mormon missionary who accomplished 14 such missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was Henry George Boyle who was born in the southwestern Virginia county of Tazewell. Although at the time of his mission calls Elder Boyle was living in Payson, Utah, he still had close family living in the area and much in common with the people of the South. In volume 6 of his missionary journals, he recorded his experiences in Stokes County, North Carolina. 

One such meeting in Little Yadkin, Stokes County, North Carolina I took much interest in.

Elder Boyle stated, "Came to the Dry Spring School house and held a meeting at 2 o'clock P.M. preached 2 1/2 hours to a full and attentive audience. Came to Geo Barr's & stay over night."

The school house was probably quite small usually built of logs and no windows--used to accommodate 10-45 students. A full house may not have been a very large number.

The next entry of Elder Boyle's journal continues with his visit at the Barr home. Apparently, the Barrs lived in a place they called Crooked Run.

He wrote, "Spent the day at George Barr's reading etc. and where I stay over night again."

It was during this occasion the family became better acquainted with the Church. Of interest, is that none of George Washington Barr's family joined the Church at this time. But we know the visit made an impact on them because three of the Barr children did join the Church years later. 

We know Sarah Barr shared with her posterity her feelings about the visit along with the names of the missionaries who stayed with them. Now Sarah would not have been even four years old at the time. So we could probably be sure that the family spoke of this incident many times--at least enough for her to memorize the names of the missionaries.

From Elder Boyle's journal we read that many in Stokes County were baptized during this time period and most of them emigrated to Utah. Below is another entry about a meeting held in Little Yadkin during his visit in 1869.

He said, "Dismiss them they won't go home, but hang about to hear more, there is a good opening here."

15 Years Later

Robert F. Barr Family

From the writings of the children of Josiah and Sarah Barr Tuttle we read that Sarah's brother Robert Francis Barr joined the Church several years previous to the Tuttles. A Deseret News article submitted by Elder C.C. Christensen about his mission in Aaron, Mitchell County, North Carolina tells us about the baptism of Robert his wife Susan. 

We see that Robert and his wife were baptized 1 June of 1884, but Church records indicate that they did not emigrate to Utah to settle in Nephi until 1888. This was just three years before he returned to North Carolina to help his sister Sarah and her family make the trip as well.

As was written in my previous post, Josiah and Sarah were baptized 2 April 1891 and were prepared to emigrate by rail on 6 April 1891. 

Isaac and Laura Jane Kiser Barr

Sarah and Robert's brother Isaac Barr was also very impressed with the Church. His great granddaughter, Doris Barr wrote of him, "Isaac made several trips to Utah to visit his brother Robert Francis Barr and his sister Sarah Barr Tuttle and their families. Isaac always claimed to be Mormon and may have been baptized into the faith as a young man. There was no Mormon church in the area where he lived, and he never joined his brother and sister in Utah, but he read the Book of Mormon regularly and left it to his great grandson Billy Robert Barr when he died August 2, 1938."

Early North Carolina Church records do not have Isaac Barr listed as a baptized member. But later records note he was baptized in North Carolina on 22 June 1930. Land records from Glenwood, Sevier County, Utah record he did purchase some land. 

His great granddaughter Doris Barr told me that as a child she vividly remembered her aunt driving her Grandpa Isaac to Pilot Mountain so that he could attend his church meetings.

We have been left many evidences of the important part the Gospel played in the lives of the Barr family, and they all began in 1869 when two missionaries stayed just a few days in Stokes County, North Carolina. At the time, the work of those early missionaries seemed to produce no fruit in the Barr family and yet today there are many members of the Church who descend from Robert Barr and Sarah Barr Tuttle. This is all because of the seeds which were planted in the hearts of the Barr children in their home in 1869.