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Show Volume XXV Issue IV The Ogden Valley news Page 9 April 15, 2018 Life Sketch of Nils Lofgren – Part I By his daughter Rae L. Hurd Nils Lofgren was born in Billeherga, Sweden, Dec. 17, 1855. This town is near Malma, the principal city located near Kataget in the southern part of Sweden. He was the son of Anders Pehr Lofgren and Kjersti Pheason. In Sweden, the son takes the father’s first name and becomes the son of Anders, or Nils Anderson. So my father was known as Nils Anderson in Sweden. The name “Lofgren” was a Nils Lofgren title given to my great-grandfather Pehr Nilson while in Sweden. The succeeding generations kept the title in America. So my father became Nils Lofgren in America and no longer “Nils Anderson,” as he had been called as a boy six years old in Sweden. Grandfather Anders Pher-son took the title in America and was known as Anders Pher Lofgren. He was converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sweden. The family left Sweden and crossed to Denmark. From Denmark they went to Germany. They left Hamburg, Germany April 9, 1862, and set sail on a sailing vessel called the “Humbolt” to cross the Atlantic Ocean. They were seven weeks on the ocean. They had a few days of very stormy weather. Then the ocean travel was rough. One day during a storm, my father, Nils Lofgren, was on the deck of the ship and a large over-hanging wave swept him off his feet. He was rescued. In this same company there were 323 Scandinavians and they arrived in New York, U.S.A. seven weeks later near the first of the month of June.1 Anders P. Lofgren and his wife and five children traveled by train and boat to Omaha, Nebraska. Here they were compelled to wait for six weeks for an ox team to make the trip across the plains to Utah. They left Florence, Nebraska July 21, 1862 in John R. Murdock’s Company. He was Captain of the ox train of 65 wagons and 700 immigrants who were making the trip west to Utah.2 It was necessary to cross the North Platte River where 16 oxen were drowned. There was quicksand in the bottom of the river, and one team of oxen started to sink, and if the wheels of the wagon stopped rolling, they could not go through. The men added too many oxen and the weight kept breaking the chains. There were hardships along the way. Many children walked, as well as their parents. One day Nils Lofgren was separated from his parents, and being only 6½ years old, was very tired of walking in the hot sand. He stopped to rest by the roadside. While he was lying alone by the side of the road, a man with a load of flour for the Saints 1 April 9, 1862 (Church Chronology) - The ship Humboldt sailed from Hamburg, Germany with 323 Scandinavian Saints, under the direction of Hans Christian Hansen. The company arrived at New York May 20 and at Florence about June 1. 2 Sept. 27, 1862 (Church Chronology) Capt. John R. Murdock’s church train (second), which had left Florence July 24 with 65 wagons and about 700 immigrants, arrived in Salt Lake City. came along and found him and asked him to ride. Nils climbed into the wagon of flour and was so weary, he was soon fast asleep. When camp was called that night, a great confusion was evident when the Captain, John R. Murdock, called for his saddle horse to go back and find the little boy of Lofgren’s who had been left many miles back on the trail. When the man with the load of flour heard this, he immediately told them he had picked up a boy in the afternoon. They went to the wagon, and there was little Nils still fast asleep on the flour. His parents were very grateful that their boy was safe. Many of the Company died en route to Salt Lake City and were buried on the plains. There pioneers arrived in Salt Lake September 27, 1862. The first night, they camped where the City and County Building now stands. (This story was written in January 1941). They had found the land of peace and rest. They were indeed happy that the long road across the plains was behind them. Here was their new land and their home. They thanked the Lord that He had brought them safely over a long weary journey. It had now been six months since they had left their former home in Sweden. The boy, Nils Lofgren, had walked nearly all the way from Florence, Nebraska to Salt Lake. Other children walked also. His mother, Kjersti Lofgren, walked part of the way and she had a nursing baby, born June 16, 1862. This baby was named Cecilia. The family walked to Sugar House (near Salt Lake City) where they lived the first winter in Utah. They carried their belongings and lived in one room, 10x10 feet, with one window, 10x12 inches, and a dirt floor. The window light was out, so the father, Andres P. Lofgren, spent his last 75 cents to buy a glass (to cover the cut out window for) light and to keep out the cold. The family had exhausted their resources in making the long journey from Sweden to Utah to gather with the Saints in Zion. There were five children in the family who came to Utah. Peter A. Lofgren, born in Billeberga, Sweden, Jan. 24, 1848; Ben, or Bengt, born in Sweden, July 1, 1852; Nils, born in Sweden, Dec. 17, 1855; and Cecilia, born Jan. 10, 1862. The one room in which the family lived was part of the Bondason house. Mr. Bondason was an old friend of the family who offered to share his home with them. There were seven persons living in this one room—the parents and five children. They slept on the floor and rolled up their bedding during the day so they could move around the room. Since the grain fields in the area had been harvested, permission was obtained from the owners of the land for the children to glean in the stubble. The three oldest children went out and gathered wheat heads. These, their father threshed out with a flail and thus obtained enough flour for bread for this family. The father traded his labor for lots; with these, he made tubs and barrels, tying them with willows. His only tool was an old butcher knife he had found on the plains. This tool, also, served as a drawing knife. He began making baskets and churns, still using willows for hoops. These tubs, barrels, buckets and churns were in demand, and in return for these, he received groceries. This is the history of a man in his struggle to conquer the wilderness. The father traded barrels for logs and made a weaver’s loom. The mother was a weaver and now she could follow her trade and could assist with the needs of her family. When spring came, they rented a farm in Mill Creek and obtained a cow and some chickens. The two older boys obtained work at the paper mill located at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon, and the older sister obtained work at the house of an English family in Mill Creek. Nils, now seven years old, was sent out to herd cows and sheep. In the summer of 1863, Nils herded cows around President Brigham Young’s field, where the beautiful Liberty Park now stands in Salt Lake City. While the cows were feeding, he would run down to Temple Square and watch the men at work on the Salt Lake Temple. (This memory of his childhood was always dear to him). In the evenings, Nils helped his mother wind bobbins for the next day’s weaving at the loom. The following winter, Nils attended a small school near the creek at Mill Creek where he tried to train his Swedish tongue to sound English letters. This was his first experience in an American school. During 1864 and 1865, the family stayed on the Mill Creek farm where they accumulated some livestock—sheep, cows, and horses. The land was all taken up, as the settlers had been there since 1847. Feed was hard to obtain. In November 1865, the father, Andrew P. Lofgren, walked all the way to Huntsville. He had heard of a little valley located 12 miles east of Ogden, so his trip from Salt Lake to Ogden, and then the distance to Huntsville, was not a short one on foot. In this beautiful valley, he located a piece of land and traded a team of horses to Robert Wilson for it. It was 28 acres and was part of the “Old Farm.”3 3 Robert Wilson was from Eden. From The Past . . . This photo of the “Pine View Club,” courtesy of Janet Stegen Ross of Ogden, previously ran in the December 15 issue of The Ogden Valley news as the photo from the past. In conjunction with the photo, we received the above ad, dated December 9, 1949, from the Huntsville History Library, advertising the club. A notation regarding the ad states the photo of “Margie” shown at right is Marjorie Brunker, who was married to Homer Brunker of Huntsville. As noted previously, the club was situated on the north side of the mouth of Wheeler Canyon at the top of Ogden Canyon. Services Engine - Suspension - Chassis Wheels/Tires - Jetting -WPC Treatment - Transmission polishing - Oil Change - Welding: Aluminum 4930 E 2550 N Eden UT 84310 Monday-Friday 8am-5pm 2668 Grant Avenue, Suite #104A, Ogden, UT Get your bike serviced now and be ready for spring fun! 801-648-7975 Saturday Night 5:00 p.m. Sunday Morning 8:00 a.m. Sunday Morning 10:00 a.m. No Tuesday Mass during the redecoration. Fr. David Gaeta 857-247-0770 Before and after any Mass or by appointment. Saint Joseph Catholic Elementary, Middle School, and High School Providing a challenging, college-focused education in the proven tradition of Catholic schools, for the families of the Ogden Valley. We want to teach your children! 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