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Show Volume IX Issue XI THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 9 March 15, 2004 The Peter Olsen Family Submitted by Cleo Smith Zarek. Information from family records and stories. My Great Grandparents Peter Olsen and Jensine Jensen lived in different areas of Denmark. They joined the LDS church and later immigrated from Denmark in 1866 with a group of converts, sailing on the Kenilworh. Peter was 28 and Jensine 21 years of age. The two met while on the ship or crossing the plains. Peter drove a team pulling a wagon across the plains. Jensine led a cow and was responsible for milking her and seeing that she got water and feed. One evening she had gone a little ways ahead in search of better feed. One of the wheels broke on a wagon in the main group, which then stopped to wait for the repair. They decided to stop for the night. Jensine kept looking for them to come. Dark came soon, and she couldn’t find her way back. She and the cow were all alone. She laid down by her cow for the night for warmth and was very nervous and afraid with all the strange sounds. She prayed that the Indians wouldn’t find her. Peter courted Jensine coming across the plains. They were married a short time after in Brigham City. The marriage was later solemnized in the LDS Endowment House in Salt Lake City. In 1869, they moved to Huntsville and settled on property where Pineview Dam is now and the present Huntsville Cemetery. After the dam was built, their home was covered with water. The Olsens were very productive farmers and hard workers. But there were also fun times. They used to get together with other Danish settlers in their homes and have very enjoyable times. The Simon Jensens were relatives. Simon would play his fiddle and they would dance to the music. One day about 1876, their five oldest children were at home by themselves for a short time. Occasionally the Indians would come into the Valley with their food sacks to gather food. Jensine would always give them food and usually had a supply of biscuits. The little children could only find a couple of biscuits. The Indians said, not enough, we will take this little girl. They put little three-year-old Veda in the sack and rode off laughing and making noises. The children were very scared and sad. The oldest boy peaked out the window. At the top of the hill to the east he saw the Indian put the sack down and let little Veda out. They were all very happy to have their little sister released. About 1877, the Peter Olsens donated the land for a Huntsville cemetery where the present cemetery is now located. Bishop Frances A. Hammond’s wife was Mary Jane Dilworth Hammond. She was the first school teacher in Utah in 1847 at age 16. They later moved to Huntsville. When she was on her death bed, my Great Grandma Smith, whom served as doctor and nurse, stayed day and night for two weeks for fifty cents per day, until Mary Jane’s death, June 6, 1877 of heart failure at the young age of 46. Mary Jane Hammond was the first person to be buried in the new cemetery. Peter and Jensine Olsen had a twin baby girl die when two months old. She was buried in the field. They later moved her grave to the new proper cemetery. Many other graves were also moved. After Peter and Jensine Olsen grew older, they moved to a home on Ogden Avenue in Ogden. They had ten children, two died at a young age. Their eldest daughter Anna, my grandmother, married Charles Mortensen, an immigrant from Sweden, in 1895. Their first home, a log cabin was built on property over on the corner of Snowbasin Road and Highway 39. They carried their water from a spring. Charles was a very productive farmer. One year he raised 3,000 bushels of wheat. That year, he was called the wheat king of the Valley. In March 1911, they purchased a nice home, which is now located at 6971 E. 200 S. It was one half mile west of the school. They were one of the few families in the Valley at that time to have an inside bathroom, hot and cold running water, and electricity in the house. They had five children. There were two daughters, Mildred and Selma. Mildred married Sidney Stromberg. Selma married Clarence Smith. They both raised their families in Huntsville. The three boys all eventually moved to Oregon. Historical Photo Jensine Jensen Olsen Peter Henry Olsen Photo courtesy of Cleo Zarek of Sonoma, California. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS is looking for Ogden Valley and Ogden Canyon historical biographies, stories, and photos to use in its publication. Please mail, email, or call Shanna at 745-2688, or Jeannie at 745-2879 if you have material that you would be willing to share. |