Karen Hansen’s story is a tragic tale, starting with her birth circumstances and lasting throughout most of her life. She was abandoned by her unwed mother as a toddler, later became a widow with three small children, voyaged across the ocean, and finally remarried (to a polygamist with at least four other wives) but still basically lived as a single mother without any help from her husband.
Much as was the case with my previous story of “The Marriages of Else Mortensdatter,” I started researching the story of Karen Hansen seeing her as a distant relative, but then later discovered she was more closely related along another line. When I first started investigating her story, the only relationship I knew was that she was the widow of the nephew of the third wife of my polygamous second-great-grandfather on my father’s side of the family. As the story developed, I discovered that she was related much more closely on my mother’s side as the mother-in-law of my second-great-uncle.
Researching this story also led me to discover the correct last name of my second-great-grandfather’s third wife, as related in my previous story, “Elizabeth and Cathrine Amalie.”
Karen’s Birth and Childhood
Karen Hansen’s parents, Hans Larsen and Kirsten Jensdatter, were both farm laborers on the Erichsholm Manor in Ågerup, Holbæk, Denmark. In the 1834 Danish census, they are both listed in the household of the Erichsholm Manor. Hans is listed as married. There isn’t any indication of who his wife was, but she might possibly have been one of the other laborers there. Kirsten is listed as unmarried. There is no evidence that Hans and Kirsten were ever married to each other.
Although never married, Hans Larsen and Kirsten Jensdatter had three children together, as shown in the children’s birth records in Ågerup, Holbæk, Denmark. Their first daughter, Ane Marie Hansen, was born September 9, 1833, and died 23 hours later. At that time in Denmark, it was common to name a later child after an earlier child who had died. Their second daughter, also named Ane Marie Hansen, was born September 3, 1834. Karen Hansen was their third daughter, born July 4, 1836. Due to an illness that made them unsure of whether she would survive, she was baptized in the home on July 6. She was later baptized in the chapel on July 23.
Karen Hansen was sent to live with another family when she was a very small child. According to the family history as told by her son Isaac Lars Isaacsen, “She was adopted by an old lady when she was about two years of age, nothing is known of her parents, the last thing my mother remembered of her own mother was she and her sister, trying to follow their mother, and their mother turning back and picking her up and spanking her and making her return to the old lady. She never saw her mother after that.”
From the 1840 Danish census, we are able to determine that Karen Hansen was adopted into the family of Niels Pedersen and Kirsten Larsdatter in Ågerup, Holbæk, Denmark. Karen’s older sister Ane Marie does not appear in the census, and I could not find her in any other census, so she may have died prior to 1840, or she may have been adopted into another family. Niels Pedersen died on May 3, 1843, and his wife never remarried. Karen Hansen can be seen living in the household of the widowed Kirsten Larsdatter in the 1845 and 1850 Danish censuses. Karen must have moved elsewhere after that, but I cannot find her in the 1855 or 1860 censuses. It was common at that time in Denmark for teenage children to leave home to go to work as servants in more well-to-do households.
Karen’s First Marriage and Family
Karen Hansen married Lars Isaksen on October 4, 1864, in Kirke Såby, Roskilde, Denmark. Lars Isaksen had been born on May 29, 1838 in Soderup, Holbæk, Denmark, to Isaach Larsen and Ane Rasmusdatter. On his birth record and early censuses, his name is spelled as Lars Isaachsen, but in later records it has changed to Lars Isaksen.
Karen Hansen and Lars Isaksen had five children together, all born in Kirke Såby, Roskilde, Denmark. Three of them died before adulthood, and the other two survived to marry and raise families in Utah.
Their first son, Isak Larsen Isaksen, was born on July 29, 1864. According to the remarks on his birth record, Karen Hansen had been working in the household of Isaach Larsen (the father of Lars Isaachsen) for ten months prior to this birth. Isak was baptized in the chapel on October 7, three days after his parents were married. He died at about age 1½, on December 17, 1865. On his birth and baptism record, his name was listed as Isak Larsen according to the traditional Danish patronymic naming conventions. The naming conventions were transforming during this time, however, so on his death and burial record his name is listed as Isak Larsen Isaksen.
Their second son, also named Isak Larsen Isaksen, was born on March 2, 1866, and was baptized in the chapel on March 27. On his birth and baptism record, his name was listed as Isak Larsen Isaksen, then it evolved over the years to become Isaac Lars Isaacsen, which is the name on his headstone.
Their third son, Hans Larsen Isaksen, was born on June 16, 1868, and was baptized in the chapel on August 30. On his birth and baptism record, his name was listed as Hans Larsen Isaksen, then it evolved over the years to Hans Lars Isaacsen, which is the name listed in the Utah Cemetery Inventory.
Their fouth child and first daughter, Ane Marie Isaksen, was born on July 15, 1870, and was baptized in the chapel on October 16. On her birth and baptism record, her name is listed as Ane Marie Isaksen, then it evolved over the years to Annie Isaacsen, which is the name listed on her marriage records.
Their fifth child and second daughter, Johanna Franziska Isaksen, was born on March 21, 1873, and was baptized in the chapel on July 6. She died at the age of 18 weeks on July 29. The family history as told by Isaac Lars Isaacsen mentions a “sister Rebecca, who died in the old country,” but Johanna Franziska seems to be the only sister who died in Denmark. Isaac’s memory may have been faulty in remembering the name of his youngest sister.
Karen Hansen joined the Mormon church in 1872. Her husband, Lars Isaksen, did not even know she had joined until at least a year later. Lars joined the Mormon church in early 1874, then died on July 16 of that year, leaving Karen to be a widow with three small children.
Karen’s Voyage to Utah
Shortly after her husband’s death, Karen Hansen was able to obtain help from the Perpetual Emigration Fund of the Mormon church, and she sold everything she owned to begin planning a voyage to Utah with her three surviving children, Isak, Hans, and Anna. Two steamers, the Pacific and the Cato, left Copenhagen on June 25, 1875, carrying 666 Scandinavian Mormons. Karen and her children were probably a part of the group on board the Pacific. They arrived in Hull, England, on June 28, and traveled by train to Liverpool, where they immediately boarded the single-screw steamship the Idaho. The Idaho sailed from Liverpool on June 30 and arrived in New York City on July 14, 1875, where they boarded a train the following day. The general voyage notes say they arrived in Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 22, but the family history as told by Isaac Lars Isaacsen recalls their arrival in Salt Lake City being on July 24. By that time, overseas travel had gotten much safer, and the railroads went all the way to Utah, so the trip went very smoothly. There were only two deaths on the journey, a 73-year-old Swedish woman who died during the ocean voyage, and a 15-month-old child who died shortly before they arrived in Ogden.
In Salt Lake City, they were able to sleep in makeshift shelters with straw on the floor, using whatever bedding they might have. Elizabeth Rasmussen Fechser, the aunt of Karen’s late husband, was the third wife of my second-great-grandfather Johann Friedrich Fechser, who worked as a miller in Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah. Johann hitched up a team of horses to a wagon and went to Salt Lake City to pick up Karen and the children and bring them back to Mount Pleasant to live with them for a few days. Bishop William Stewart Seeley of Mount Pleasant found a one-room adobe house for them to live in. He also found a couple of wheat farms that had been recently harvested and arranged for Karen and her children to glean the wheat fields. They accumulated about two bushels of wheat that they dried in the attic, and tromped it and blew away the chaff, so that Johann could mill it into flour for them. Along with fruit that neighbors gave to them, which they peeled and dried, this gave them enough food to get them through their first winter. In the spring, Karen met Ebbe Jessen Senior and married him in May 1876. Family group sheets and histories, including the family history as told by Isaac Lars Isaacsen, say that she was his sixth wife. I could find documentation of four other wives, but I assume there may have been one more whom I was unable to find in my research.
Ebbe Jessen Senior’s History
The remainder of Karen’s story cannot be fully appreciated without first knowing the story of her second husband, Ebbe Jessen Senior, and the rest of his family.
The parents of the Jessen family were Jes Olesen and Anne Marie Ebbesdatter. They were married on October 16, in Fredericia, Vejle, Denmark. They had eleven children together, all born in the county of Vejle, Denmark: the first Ebbe Jessen was born June 8, 1802, and died about 1813; Anne Jesdatter was born September 19, 1804, immigrated to Utah in 1862, and died September 9, 1889; Maren Jesdatter was born July 9, 1807, and died October 13, 1832; Ole Jessen was born June 24, 1809, immigrated to Utah in 1863, and died July 25, 1901; Margrethe Dorthea Jesdatter was born May 6, 1813, married in 1847, remained in Denmark, and died in December 1866; Ebbe Jessen Senior was born April 7, 1816, immigrated to Utah in 1854, and died March 2, 1899; Dorthe Jesdatter was born March 3, 1820, and died May 3, 1821; Mads Peter Jessen was born April 22, 1822, immigrated to Utah in 1854, and died December 14, 1862; Dorthe Johanne Jesdatter was born March 2, 1825, and her death date is unknown; Jes Jessen was born September 18, 1826, immigrated to Utah in 1854, and died February 7, 1897; and Johanne Marie Jesdatter was born May 12, 1829, married about 1849 in Denmark, and died in 1855 en route to Utah.
The six children in the family who immigrated to Utah, as well as their mother, came over at different times on different ships. Ebbe Jessen Senior came first (along with his wife, Dorthe Pedersdatter Jessen, and their three sons, Jess Peter, Christian, and Jens) aboard the ship Jesse Munn in 1854. Mads Peter Jessen (along with his wife, Maren Jensdatter) and Jes Jessen (along with his wife, Anna Marie Hendriksen, and daughter, Annie Marie Jessen, who was born aboard the ship) came a few weeks later on the ship Benjamin Adams. These three brothers and their families traveled in the same unknown pioneer company to get to Utah, but Mads Peter’s wife died before they arrived. The youngest sibling, Johanne Marie Jesdatter Jensen (along with her husband, Jens Jensen, and their son, Jens Jensen) and mother, Anne Marie Ebbesdatter Jessen (using her children’s rather than her husband’s last name on the passenger lists), came on the ship James Nesmith in 1855 and traveled in the Jacob F. Secrist/Noah T. Guymon Pioneer Company, but Johanne Marie died before they reached Utah. Anne Jesdatter Bertelsen (along with her husband, Jens Bertelsen, and youngest daughter, Jessine Bertelsen) came on the ship Humboldt in 1862 and traveled to Utah in the John Riggs Murdoch Company; Anne Jesdatter Bertelsen’s oldest daughter, Karen Bertelsen Dideriksen (along with her husband, Niels Dideriksen, and their children) came on the ship Wieland in 1882 and settled in Oxford, Warren County, New Jersey; Anne Jesdatter Bertelsen’s middle daughter, Anne Marie Bertelsen, and youngest son, Johannes Peter Bertelsen, had come previously on the ship Westmoreland in 1857 and traveled to Utah in the 7th Handcart Company. Ole Jessen, who was widowed prior to leaving Denmark (along with his son, Peter Christian Jessen, and daughter, Hansine Jessen), came on the ship B.S. Kimball in 1863 and traveled to Utah in an unknown pioneer company.
Ebbe Jessen Senior had married his first wife, Dorthe Pedersdatter, in Denmark on May 1, 1841. Shortly after the Jessen brothers moved to Sanpete County, Utah, he married his second wife, Ane Margrete Madsen, on October 24, 1859.
Mads Peter Jessen had married his first wife, Maren Jensdatter, in Denmark on October 24, 1851, but was widowed before they reached Utah. Shortly after the Jessen brothers moved to Sanpete County, Utah, Mads Peter married his second wife, Anne Marie Bertelsen, on February 7, 1858. Anne Marie was his niece, the daughter of his sister, Anne Jesdatter Bertelsen. The other brothers did not feel it would be proper to marry a niece, but Mads Peter had no problem with it. On that same day, he also married another young Danish immigrant, Anne Marie Rasmussen.
Mads Peter Jessen died on December 14, 1862, probably from diphtheria. After Mads Peter’s death, Ebbe Jessen took Anne Marie Bertelsen for his third wife. Mads Peter’s other wife, Anne Marie Rasmussen, married another brother, Jes Jessen, whom she later divorced to marry Niels Andersen.
In 1872, Ebbe married his fourth wife, Else Petersen. He is also said to have taken another wife following his marriage to Else, but I could not find her name or the date of their marriage. All of the Jessen brother had multiple wives, but Ebbe seems to have had the largest number.
Ebbe and his brothers finally settled in Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah, but they moved around a lot. Being a stone mason, Ebbe designed and built homes, churches, stores, and social halls. He later moved to Manti to supervise the building of the Mormon Manti Temple. The fact that he moved so much might explain the fact that he cannot be found in the census records.
Karen’s Second Marriage and Life in Utah
After Karen became Ebbe Jessen Senior’s sixth polygamous wife in May 1876, she and the children remained in their one-room adobe house in Mount Pleasant while Ebbe traveled to Richfield, Sevier County, Utah, where he found a sixty-acre plot of land to homestead. He returned to Mount Pleasant, where he placed Karen and the children on a wagon hitched to two oxen named Old Don and Spec, and they traveled alone for three days to Ebbe’s new spread of land in Vermillion, outside of Richfield near the Sevier Bridge. There wasn’t a house on the land, so Karen and the children dug a large cellar-type hole, built up walls with willow branches, created a roof with more willow branches, then sealed the whole thing with mud, dirt, and leaves. This became their meager, windowless house. They had brought enough food with them to get through the first winter. They spent that first winter clearing two acres of the land. The sage brush they cut was used as fuel for cooking and heating their little hut. It was difficult to try to use a hand plow on the hard land that was covered with sage brush. In the spring, their neighbor, Kelsey Bird, loaned them a wooden tooth harrow, and they were able to broadcast enough seed by hand to be able to harvest thirty bushels of wheat that year. They remained there for two years.
In 1878, Ebbe sent a letter informing Karen that he had sold the farm and purchased a city lot in Koosharem, Utah, which straddles the boundary between Sevier and Piute Counties. Karen loaded up the children and all their belongings onto the wagon, hitched up the oxen, and they traveled to Koosharem, where they once more discovered they did not yet have a house. The town was so new that there were only four lots there. Karen cut down aspen trees from a nearby grove, and they built a log home, using aspen limbs for the roof, and sealing it with hay and leaves and mud. They had brought enough wheat with them so she could make bread, and she was also able to get a couple of chickens she could cut up to make a weak soup, using one small piece of chicken at a time. She made friends with the local Native Americans, and she would sew buckskin shirts for them with beads and fringe, and they would pay her with venison. They stayed in Koosharem about three years, by which time there were about eight families living there. Karen and her children cannot be found in the 1880 census, presumably because their small town with very few families may have been missed by the census takers.
About 1881, Ebbe sent for Karen to join him in Manti, where he was working on the construction of the Manti Temple, so once again Karen hitched up Old Don and Spec to the wagon and traveled to Manti. Ebbe had rented a couple of small rooms for her and the children to live in, and he put Karen to work in the boarding house he was running for the volunteers who were working on the temple. Karen, along with some of Ebbe’s other wives, spent their days cooking for the boarders, cleaning, washing dishes, and all the other chores that running a boarding house entails. Ebbe traded their two faithful oxen for a couple of ponies that were used to haul the heavy stones into place for the construction of the temple. By the time the building of the temple had been completed in 1888, Karen had acquired her own little house. Her youngest son, Hans Larsen, died that year, and her oldest son, Isaac Lars, was already traveling all over Utah making his living, so only her one daughter, Annie Marie, was living with her.
Karen’s daughter, Annie Marie, married Jessie W. Fox (my second-great-uncle) on May 4, 1891. Karen’s son, Isaac Lars, married Eliza Jane Robertson on January 9, 1892, and Karen lived with Isaac’s family after that. They were first in Manti, then moved to several other small towns, including Gunnison and Axtell in Sevier County, and Centerfield in Sanpete County, trying to start a successful farm before finally settling in East Garland, Box Elder County, Utah. In all of the censuses in the 1900s, Karen’s name is listed as Karen Isaacsen. This may be due to the federal government’s enforcement of anti-polygamy laws forcing her to revert to her previous name, but since I have no other earlier records, I don’t know whether she ever went by the name Jessen.
Karen died on July 17, 1925, at the age of 89, in East Garland, Box Elder County, Utah. She was buried in the East Garland Cemetery on July 19, 1925. Her son Isaac Lars Isaacsen and members of his family are buried nearby.
Eric’s Roots 
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Thank you for the short writing of Karen Hansen. My mother was Joyce Isaacson the daughter of John Isaacson. John’s dad was Isaac the son of Karen. I have heard some of the feelings around the treatment of Karen in my life. Feel free to email me.