Interesting Facts
by Duane S. Crowther
Every person on earth has a heritage and many personal experiences which shape his life and mold his personality as well as his destiny. Often, these are happenings which are of interest to relatives, friends, acquaintances, and other interested parties. From time to time, I’ll post a few such items for your perusal and enjoyment.
My great, great grandparents crossed the plains
in the ill-fated Willie Handcart Company.
Almost every Latter-day Saint has heard of the terrible suffering and many deaths experienced by the members of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies who were caught by early snow in the wilderness of Wyoming in the fall of 1856. I won’t retell all the events of their journey, but let me briefly share some vivid details from my own forefathers’ personal histories.
Peder Mortensen and Helena Sanders, and their family of eight children, first heard the restored gospel from Mormon missionaries who came to their small village of Haarbule, Denmark in 1855. Their two oldest sons, Morton and Anders, heard and accepted first, and the rest of the family soon joined them in baptism. Bitter persecution began to mount against them, and the family soon decided to emigrate from Denmark to Utah.
When they left their home to start their journey, the family consisted of Peder, the father (age 48); Helena, the mother (age 46); four sons: Morton (26); Anders (22); Hans (20); and Lars (12); and four daughters: Kirstine (23); Mette (9); Mary (7); and Caroline (4). They knew the journey would be extremely difficult because Peder, the father, had been a cripple since early manhood and couldn’t walk without assistance, and their oldest daughter, Kristine, also was an invalid.
The family knew they would have to rely heavily on the three eldest sons.
The journey led them first to the Mission Home in Copenhagen, where they waited for three weeks for the rest of the 163 Scandinavian saints to assemble. Just before their April 23rd departure date, the Mission President called the oldest son, Morton, to stay in Denmark and fill a three-year mission. This posed a tremendously difficult decision for the family, but Hector C. Haight, the Mission President, said, “If you will consent to his staying and filling a mission, I promise you in the name of the Lord that you shall every one reach the land of Zion in safety, that God will protect you on the land and on the sea.” They accepted his promise with faith, and it was agreed that Morton would remain in Denmark.
The group sailed to Kiel, Germany, came by rail to Hamburg, Germany, then went by steamer to Grimsby, England and by rail to Liverpool. They sailed to America on the steamship “Thornton,” with 167 Scandinavian emigrants and 600 Saints from Great Britain, leaving on May 4th and arriving at New York on June 14. They went by rail to Dinford, Ohio, then by steamer to Toledo and on to Chicago, where the group boarded two trains which brought them to Iowa City, Iowa. That town of 3,000 was the outfitting place for the Saints who would make the 1400-mile trek across the plains. While there, the decision was made that the group would travel by handcart rather than all travel in the slower, more cumbersome ox-drawn covered wagons.
Anders was appointed to drive one of the provision wagons, and his crippled father and invalid sister began their journey in it. Younger brothers Hans and Lars pulled the family handcart while their mother Helene pushed it. Mette and Mary were old enough to walk by themselves, but little Caroline tired quite soon each day and had to be carried.
While there in Iowa City, Anders met Christene Andersen, a Danish girl who had come to America the year before, but was prevented from journeying westward by the death of both her parents. A courtship developed, and continued throughout the long journey to Utah.
By the time the company had traveled the 300 miles to Florence, Nebraska, most of their handcarts had broken down because their axles were made of green wood. At Florence the company repaired their carts and made tents and covers. It was Kristine who sewed on the them until her fingers were bare of skin.
When the Martin Company arrived at Florence, a council was held, and the majority of the members of both the Willie and Martin Companies voted to press on, through their experienced leaders advised against it because they felt it was too late in the summer to begin the arduous journey. Three hundred miles later, a herd of buffalo stampeded the Willie Company’s oxen, and few were recovered so the provisions from the stranded wagons were moved to handcarts. From that point on, both Peder and his daughter Kristine had to be pushed by the family in handcarts for the remaining 800 miles.
Like all the members of the Company, the Mortensen family suffered intensely, especially as the food rations were repeatedly cut and everyone’s strength dwindled more and more. Anders recorded that “We wept as we went on our journey. We went before the Lord and pleaded for Him to make good the promises which were given to us by His servants when we were in old Denmark. How we implored Him to raise the sick and give us strength to carry our burdens without complaints!”
The account of how both companies became completely snowed in by the 18+ inches which fell on October 19th, and how rescue teams sent from Salt Lake City finally reached them when no one in the camp had had anything to eat for 48 hours or more, has often been told. Though emergency food and warm clothing revived their spirits and began to renew their strength, the struggling pioneers still had to trudge through the snow through the wintery cold Rocky Mountains for another 300 miles!
Most of Captain Willie’s company finally reached Salt Lake City on November 9th, where they were warmly received by the Church members there. But after just a few days, the Mortensen family learned that their journey was not yet over—they still had to journey another 300 miles to help settle the town of Parowan, in Iron County, southern Utah. At least this time they were able to travel in wagons, with their handcarts towed behind. When they finally arrived at their destination, on December 1, 1856, they found there was no home in which they could stay in the newly founded community, so they lived in the primitive church building the earlier settlers had constructed during the preceding year until some kind of shelter could be erected for them.
But the Lord’s promise had been kept! They were all alive, they truly had been protected, and they were all together. And as a family, they lent their strength and energies to the building of the community, and made major contributions to the town’s growth and well-being. Over the years, Parowan became a staging point from which settlers were repeatedly called to new Mormon villages and outposts in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Mexico.
My great grandfather, Anders Jorgen Mortensen, soon wed Christine Andersen, and the large family they raised included my grandmother, Mary Caroline Mortensen.
One thing’s for sure: the heritage and example of faith and perseverance set by the hardy Mortensen family, as they crossed the seas from Denmark and trudged across the plains of America for more than 1400 miles, pushing two of their family members in handcarts for 800 miles and shepherding three children under 12 for the entire journey, continues to inspire their many descendants. We count it a great blessing to be nurtured within the warm confines of their valiant heritage!
Last Update: June 2007