Peder and Lena Mortensen (LARSON FAMILY)

Peder Mortensen is my fourth great- grandfather. (My grandma Larsons great- great grandpa through her mother).   I'll be honest- when we used to look at my mom's pedigree chart in her genealogy book, my siblings and I thought his picture was terrifying. Like the scariest ancestor in the whole book. We loved to look at those pictures over and over but even my mom had to admit that his photo was scary looking. It wasn't until a few years ago when I was playing around on the internet that I discovered I had a direct ancestor that was in the famous Willie Handcart Company.  I was surprised that I had never heard that before; that somthing so distinctive as that wouldn't have been passed down and remembered.  I was excited to look him up and find out more about my pioneer ancestor- and lo and behold, it was the scary guy in my mom's pedigree chart!!

I read his history and that of his family and was amazed.  During this time I was asked to speak about family history at a youth fireside before they went on trek, and there was also a Relief Society activity where we were supposed to "bring an ancestor."  In both instances I shared parts of Peder's story.  In both instances I had powerful, spiritual manifestations of his nearness and living spirit that made my whole body tingle from my head to my toes.  It was the first and only time I've really felt like an ancestor communicated with me.  Call me crazy, but it's true though it's hard to put into words.  So- needless to say I don't think he's the scary guy anymore.  I think he's an amazing example of faith, courage, and perseverance.  (I guess people just looked scary in their pictures back then)

Peder Mortensen was born January 28, 1806 in the little town of Haarbule, Denmark, on the Isle of Moen.  His wife, Lena, was also born in Haarbulle in 1808 and they had 5 sons and 4 daughters.  They were a close-knit and very religious family, devout members of the Lutheran faith.  They owned their home and a successsful farm where they raised sheep and cows, and Peder was also a cooper and shoemaker by trade.  

The first Mormon elders came to their town in 1855 and the oldest son Anders was the first to listen.  He was immediately convinced of the truth of the gospel and when he brought his family to the next meeting, they were all convinced as well.  The older members of the family were baptized right away.  Unfortunately, the persecution from their nieghbors began right away and there was much hatred and bitterness against the family for their conversion to the new faith.  They were anxious to immigrate to America to join the Saints in Zion and they sold their farm at a good price.  

While in Copenhagen preparing to sail on to England, the President of the Scandinavian mission, Hector C. Haight, met with the family and asked their eldest son, Morten (my 3rd great-grandfather) if he would stay in Denmark to serve a mission.  The tight-knit family was very upset and distressed, as they had wanted to go to Zion all together and didn't know how they would make it without their eldest son.  Peder was crippled from severe rheumatism and the youngest daugther was only 5 years old.  Seeing their distress, Presdient Haight felt impressed to promise them that if they let Morten stay to serve a mission, that they would all reach Zion safely and be "protected on land and on sea."  The family had great faith in the Lord and so continued on their journey to Germany, followed by England, and then finally to America on board the ship "Thornton," where the Captain was impressed with the order and cleanliness of the Saints and gave them many liberties.  

Once they reached Iowa City they planned to buy oxen and wagons to make the 1400 mile trek in relative comfort.  Instead they decided to go by handcart so that the rest of the money from the sale of the farm could provide the means for other families too poor to purchase their own wagons, to also travel to Zion by handcart.  They ended up providing the means for three other families to make the trek.  They were assigned to the Willie Handcart Company, which included companies of English, Scottish, and Scandinavian saints.  Most of us know the story of Willie and Martin Handcart companies.  They began later than expected, on July 15th, were delayed trying to find a crossing at the Platte River, and their carts continually broke down along the way.  They had to improvise to fix them themselves, and many of the oxen and cattle were run off by stampeding buffalo and never recovered, causing the handcarts to have to be even more overloaded.  Add to this that Peder couldn't walk and had to ride in the wagons or handcart pushed by his children.  Lena was a tiny woman, but full of faith, while she pulled one handcart with the help of her small son, her older sons pulled the other, and her three little girls held onto her skirts.  

When they began to run out of food it was rationed but they hoped to buy more supplies when they got to Fort Laramie, WY.  When there were no supplies to be had there they were reduced to 10 oz a day per person.  Lena would make small biscuits out of the flour for her family rather than the porridge most of the women made, and one day when they were particularly hungry she remembered a pin cushion she had brought from Denmark as a keepsake, and that it was filled with bran.  That night she opened it and cooked the bran for their evening meal.  The snows came early and the old and young began dying of starvation and cold.  Eventually they had to sleep out in the open because there werent enough strong men left to set up the tents every night.  One night at Rock Creek 14 people died in the night and Peder's sons helped dig the grave, as there weren't enough men strong enough to dig into the frozen ground.  Lena and her daughter helped sew the bodies into sheets for  the burials.  

Yet they were lucky that Peder could fix his children's worn out shoes along the way, and that he brought his violin as part of the 17 lbs each person was allotted, to play it at night for the enjoyment of the camp, before things got difficult.  Peder also slept on the family's food to keep it from being stolen in the night.  When the rescuers from Salt Lake found them in the mountains between Colorado and Utah, they wept to see the ragged, barefoot people asking for news of Zion even before they asked for food.  The bacon, flour, and crackers they brought probably saved most of the ssurvivors until they arrived in Salt Lake on November 9, 1856.  76 people had died along the way; the Mortensens were one of the few families that didn't lose anyone, just as they had been promised.  

Shortly thereafter, President Young sent the family to settle in Parowan, Utah, where Peder and his sons bought 20 acres and farmed.  He also worked as a cooper and shoemaker again, though he had to remian in a wheelchair.  Morten arrived in Salt Lake in September 1859 with his Danish wife he had met on board the ship, and the family was reunited finally.  Peder lived just ten years after arriving in Utah, and as long as he lived he went to church, meetings, and social events pulled in the very same handcart he had brought across the plains.  

The Peder Mortensen home

A couple weeks ago we were camping in nearby Panguitch, UT and my husbnad was indulgent enough to drive a bit out of the way to Parowan so I could find Peder's burial site.  It was a beautiful cemetery with lovely views of the mountains and all that makes those little Utah towns so quaint and pretty.  There were many Mortensens since the family resided there for at least 50 years but I eventuallly found the right one. 

The original marker was clearly aged so it looks like some of the family has provided a new one.  The old one can still be read however, and has the distinctive "Faith in every footstep" pioneer plaque attached to it.  It also has an etching of Salt Lake City Temple on one side, where he and Lena were sealed.

I sat in the grass for a while alone and tried to imagine how they lived, and how they must have looked at the same mountains I was staring at, 150 years ago.  I thanked them for their sacrifice, for giving up their life in Denmark, and all their comforts for this great faith- and for the fact that I would not be where I am with the blessings of the gospel in my life, if not for Peder and Lena and my other pioneer ancestors.  Then it started to rain and still I sat there, because I thought I could endure a little rain after all they had endured!  After a little while the sun came out again and I went back to the jeep and we headed home.  But I think Peder and Lena knew I was there.