Peter Christian Christensen (my second great grandfather) and Frederick Christensen (no relation) have similar histories. Peter was born in in 1849 in Copenhagen, Denmark; Frederick was born in 1851 in Gudum, Denmark. Peter’s parents were named Christian Christensen and Margrethe Hansdatter; Frederick’s parents were named Christen Christensen and Mariane Hansdatter. Peter’s family immigrated to the United States in 1853, and he was orphaned before traveling to Utah; Frederick’s family immigrated in 1854, and he was orphaned before traveling to Utah. Because of these similarities, their stories seem to have merged, and the history of Frederick written by his grandson Jay Christensen in 1980 tells the story of Peter’s immigration rather than Frederick’s. Frederick was too young to remember his own immigration, so I must assume that he was told an incorrect story, which he then passed down to his children and grandchildren, and it has since become accepted as fact. For the sake of historical accuracy, I would like to try to set the record straight.
Peter Christian Christensen
I have already written several posts about Peter Christian Christensen, including Finding Peter Christian, The Biography of Peter Christian Christensen, and An Orphan’s Legacy, so I need not reiterate his story beyond the recitation of a few relevant facts.
Peter Christian Christensen’s birth name was Hans Peter Christensen. Danish census records and parish records show that he was born on August 17, 1849, in Copenhagen, Denmark, the son of Christian Christensen and Margreth Handsdatter, and the older brother of Johan “Jon” Erastus Christensen.
A passenger list shows the Christensen family arriving in New Orleans on March 19, 1853, aboard the schooner Forest Monarch, with a notation indicating that Peter’s mother had died on board the ship. Personal journals of other passengers show that Peter’s mother died on March 12 and was buried on an unidentified island. There is no official death record. Personal journals also show that after the passeners’ March 29 arrival in Saint Louis aboard the steamship Grantover, Peter’s brother died on April 2, and Peter’s father died on April 3. There are Saint Louis, Missouri, death records for both of them verifying these dates. Peter was at that time left without any surviving family at the age of three.
The facts of Peter’s childhood come from histories that he shared with his children and grandchildren. He traveled to Utah in the John Forsgren Company in 1853 and lived with John Forsgren’s family for several years before being taken in by the family of Abner Lowry. He stayed with the Lowry family until he was married, and during that time he was known as Pete Lowry. He might have been too young to remember the trip across the plains, but his personal memory should be enough to verify his living with the Forsgren and Lowry families. The fact that he lived with the Forsgren family should verify that he did indeed travel in the Forsgren Company.
Frederick Christensen
Not having written about Frederick Christensen before, I will try to give a more detailed description of his childhood.
Danish parish records show that Frederick Christensen was born on July 4, 1851, in Gudum, Denmark, the son of Christen Christensen Hyllested and Mariane Hansdatter, and the younger brother of Hans Christian Christensen. In addition to the patronymic name of Christensen, Frederick’s father also had the additional last name of Hyllested, which probably would have been the name of the town or farm where he lived.
The history of Frederick states that Frederick and his family traveled to the United States on the Forest Monarch in 1853, that his mother died just before the ship arrived in New Orleans, that his father and brother died in Saint Louis, and that Frederick traveled to Utah in the John Forsgren Company in 1853. This information matches the story of Peter Christensen’s arrival, but documentation that is available today shows that this was not the story of Frederick’s arrival. Frederick and his family actually traveled to the United States in 1854.
After being converted to Mormonism, the Christen Christensen Hyllested family traveled with a company of three hundred and thirty-three Mormons from Denmark, Sweden, and Germany, bound for Utah. After the Swedes had joined them in Copenhagen, the Danes began their travels on December 22, 1853, taking the steamer Slasvig to Kiel, Germany; then traveling by rail to Glückstadt, Germany, where the Germans joined them; then taking the steamer Queen of Scotland to Hull, England; and finally traveling by rail to Liverpool, England.
A passenger list shows the Christensen Hyllested family leaving Liverpool on January 3, 1854, aboard the three-masted schooner Jesse Munn (also known as Jessie Munn). It was a rough journey. Many people became sick with cholera, and twelve people died at sea, in addition to three who had died prior to the ship’s leaving Liverpool. The available personal journals of other passengers don’t specifically name any of those who died on the journey, and there doesn’t seem to be a record of the passengers arriving in New Orleans on February 20, so it is uncertain whether the entire family survived that leg of the trip. The journal of one German passenger, Hans Hoth, states that on February 17, “The Danish woman who lost her mind on the 18th of last month died today. She left behind her husband, and 2 small children.” This description could have fit Frederick’s mother, but no name was given, so it may have been someone else. Most of the passengers boarded the steamer Saint Louis, bound for Saint Louis, on February 22, but the Christensen Hyllested family seems to have remained in New Orleans a while longer. They also seem to have removed the “Hyllested” from their last name and were known thereafter only as “Christensen.”
Whether they stayed in New Orleans to earn additional funds before continuing the trip or to care for their sick child is unknown, but the Christensens appear to have stayed at least until April 27, when the interment register for the Lafayette Cemetery in New Orleans shows a Danish child named Hans Christian Frederick Johanne Christensen being buried, having died the previous day. Many of the items in the record don’t match the actual facts. There are two additional names (Frederick, his brother’s name, and Johanne, his grandmother’s name) between his middle and last names; his age appears to be listed as 2 years rather than 6 years; and his period of residence is given as 1 year 6 months rather than as 2 months. I attribute these errors to a language barrier and also to the grief of the informing parent. I do believe that this is actually the record of Frederick Christensen’s brother, Hans Christian, noting that the death cause of chronic diarrhea would make sense for a young child who had just gotten off a ship where cholera was rampant. The fact that the interment was paid for rather than being a charity burial shows that the family had remained with the sick child in New Orleans.
The history of Frederick states that Frederick traveled to Utah in the John Forsgren Company in 1853, that he was adopted by a married couple named Sorensen (no first names are given) who settled in Salt Lake City, and that when Mister Sorensen died around 1858 Frederick went to live in Ephraim, Sanpete County, with Niels and Mary Petersen, who had traveled in the John Forsgren Company in 1853 and had been married during the overland journey.
Having arrived in the United States in 1854, Frederick could not have possibly been a part of the John Forsgren Company in 1853, but I have not yet been able to find any documentation giving actual information about this leg of Frederick’s travels, so his arrival in Utah remains a mystery until more records can be found.
I tried searching for records of a Sorensen who would have traveled to Utah in the years following 1854 and would have died in Salt Lake City around 1858, but I was unsuccessful in finding anybody matching that description. Either there is a lack of documentation for this person, or perhaps his name or other details were misunderstood by those originally sharing the story.
I was able to find records of Niels Peterson and his wife Mary Jensen Scow, who traveled in the 1853 John Forsgren Company, were married during the trip west, and settled in the town of Ephraim. Frederick is shown as part of their family in the United States Federal Census records from both 1860 (where his name is listed at Fk. Petersen) and 1870 (where his name is listed as Frederick Christensen).
The Western States Marriage Index shows Frederick marrying Laura Hansena Christensen on February 20, 1880, in Ephraim. I could not find a listing for them in the 1880 United States Federal Census from June of that year, but they can be seen living in Redmond, Sevier County, Utah (where they had moved in 1890), in the 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 census records. Laura died on June 29, 1935, in Redmond, and Frederick died there on October 15, 1936. They are buried together in the Redmond Cemetery.
Errors in the Historical Record
The history of Frederick Christensen seems to be mostly correct, but the information about his immigration is in error. He did not come to America on the Forest Monarch in 1853, and he did not travel to Utah in the John Forsgren Company of 1853. He came to America on the Jesse Munn in 1854. I have not been able to find what company he was in when he traveled to Utah, but since he arrived in America in 1854 it would have to have been in 1854 or later.
I would assume that Frederick related this history to his children and grandchildren. He probably would have learned the information from his foster parents, Niels and Mary Petersen, who may have been confused about the facts of Frederick’s immigration.
Although I have not been able to find Niels Petersen and Mary Jensen Scow on the Forest Monarch passenger list in 1853, histories based on their own recollections say that they were Forest Monarch passengers and that they did travel to Utah in the John Forsgren Company of 1853. Some Peterson family histories quote the journal of an anonymous immigrant in the Forsgren Company, stating that on September 11, 1853, “On this day two pairs of this company were united in marriage, namely Brother Olsen and Sister Cirene and Brother Niels Peterson and Maren Jensen Scow.” I’m sure that Niels and Mary Christensen told the stories of their travels while Frederick was growing up, and perhaps he took it to be his own story without realizing he had traveled separately. I also have a theory that the Petersens may have remembered the orphan Peter Christensen from the John Forsgren Company, and that when Frederick Christensen was in need of a home after the death of his first foster father, they may have mistakenly believed that he was the same orphan. Frederick told the stories to his children, who told them to their children, and finally the stories were accepted as fact.
I hope that additional research may some day reveal the details of Frederick’s journey to Utah. Until then, we can know the facts that he arrived in America in 1854 on the Jesse Munn and was later able to join a loving family who raised him to be a valuable member of society who left a legacy through his many descendants.
Eric’s Roots 