PEDER
HALVORSEN
and
JOHANNE
MARIE JENSDATTER
by
EUGENE H. HALVERSON
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| Johanne Marie Peder Halvorsen |
This is a story of my great grandfather
Peder Halvorsen and his family. How a
war and religion changed and separated the family. Peder was born on the 4th of July 1820 in the
town of North. Milbak, Lendum Parish, Hjorring County, Denmark, the most
northern county in Jutland. He was the
second son of three children of Halvor Christensen and Anne Pedersdatter. Halvor, died about 1826 while his children were
very young, Christen 10, Peder 6 and Maren 4.
Anne was a wonderful lady and a good mother, she raised her family by
herself during very trying times. Halvor
it seems had left Lille Grontved to marry and raise his family in North Milbak,
Lendum, being the younger son he received no inheritance, Karen Marie said her
father's name was, Christen Peder Halvorsen,
Her autobiography is the only reference that Peder had two given names,
all other documents give him only one given name.
This story is a composite of some of the
autobiographies of some of Peder's children, all who ever lived that knew him
are gone. We start with a few stories
when they were children. They tell how
the children complained when they had to herd a large flock of stubborn geese
and the grandchildren remember stories about floating schnapps (beer) in bottles down the ditches to
the men working in the fields. The
schnapps that they made was a non-alcoholic drink, water was not very safe in
those days and they would all drink it, even the children.
Peder was educated in the Danish schools as
required by law and we believe he served an apprenticeship in one of the
building trades. Children went to school
all year long - from morning until night in the winter and from very early in
the morning until noon in the summer.
This schedule allowed them to come home and help out on the farm after
noon. Sometime after his schooling he
went to Bovetgard on the Island of Laeso to train for the army.
By law large land owners like the
Grontved's and the Starholms were required to supply a quota of men for the
National Militia, they also trained and supplied officers for it. Norwegians it seemed were Denmark's favorite
choices, without the backing of the Grontved's Peder would have never been able
to be a Captain in the Danish Army.
Both their Grandparents owned large farms
and were quite wealthy and influential. If
you were the oldest son you would inherit but all other children if not needed
were sent off as some as they were of age.
They were now of the “Lower Class” and poor and completely on their own. If you were poor you would always be poor.
In 1848 Frederik VII became the new King of
Denmark, he rewrote the Constitution that caused the Duchies
of Sleswig and Holstein to revolt.
Prussia entered the war on the side of Holstein. Most of Sleswig was captured before Denmark
was able to mobilize and send her armies.
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| Add caption |
One day while in Sindal, he met his future
wife, Johanne Marie Jensdatter. She was
a daughter of Jens Larsen and Anne Marie Nielsen, born 3 May 1832 in Sommerdal,
Sindal, Hjorring, Denmark. Johanne Marie
did not remember her mother who had died when she was just a little girl.
When her mother died her father remarried and
sent his three children off to his sister to raise in another Parish. His sister and foster mother, Karen
Larsdatter was a widow. She was paid by Astrup
Parish to raise them.
1840 Astrup Census
Niels Larsen Jensen 13 Ugift Hendes
Pleieborn (foster child)
Johanne Marie Jensdatter 8 Ugift Hendes
Pleieborn (foster child)
Johanne could not remember an older sister,
Anne Marie Jensdatter who died when Johanne was three.
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| Add caption |
But she remembers a brother about four
years older than she." This older
brother, Niels Jensen had a job herding geese, but he also had to take care of
his little sister. She said she
remembered when they were out herding geese, it became very cloudy and
dark. She was very frightened. Her
brother, only a child himself, told her to "Look at that long dark cloud;
it looks like our mother's hair. She had
beautiful long, dark hair and I'm never frightened when I see a cloud like
that. It makes me think of her. Their mother died when she was 27 years
old.
Johanne said when her father remarried, we
were sent out to work as soon as we were old enough. I went to do housework in the home of some
people who owned a tavern. These people
loved her and were very kind to her.
They gave her work in the tavern when she was old enough. It was here that she met grandfather
Halverson when he came home from war.
She was serving in the tavern or inn in Denmark when a group of soldiers
came in. They were very noisy and
boisterous, celebrating their safe return from war and relaxing after been in
the service of the King of Denmark.
After serving the men, grandmother remarked to the attendant in the
kitchen that she surely didn't like the captain in charge of these men. They took rooms in the inn.
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| Uniforms |
Martena, Peder's youngest daughter who was
born after Halvor and Jens, his oldest boys, left for New Zealand tells this
story of Peder and her mother. "My
mother met my father in a tavern. She
was a waitress and when Peder and some other soldiers came in and ordered beer,
she had to wait on them. She said she
was very much afraid of him and little did she think she would ever marry
him.
On the 8th of November 1853, Johanne Marie
Jensen did marry that "wild one", here in Sommerdal, Sindal. Halvor was born the next year, 24
October, 1854. Jens Peter was born on
the 7th of May 1857, Karen Maria (Mariah)
was born, 9 January 1860. His mother,
Anne came here to live with Peder's family till she died many years later. She was with them when all ten of Peder and
Johanne's children were born. Pedersen
was the "surname" of all the children born to them. Those that died in Denmark and those who moved
to New Zealand remained Pedersens as was the patronymic naming system
there. Those who came to America changed
their name to the Sur name of the father, to the English custom.
Then in 1863 just weeks before Andrew (my
grandfather) was born the family moved to Lille Gronheden, Hjorring, where
Andrew was born 25 July, 1863. In a 1972 letter from Saeby, Denmark, Lille
Gronheden is referred to as the farm.
Lille Gronheden was where Peder's sister, Maren had been living. This is the farm the children talk about in
their stories.
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| Peder's war chest |
In a December, 98 letter, Knud said, “My
mother, who was born in1877 and died in 1969, investigated her family in
1958/59 when George Konrad Pedersen searched for his ancestors in the
newspaper. Maren Halvorsdatter and Ole
Knudsen owned Lille Gronheden until they got divorsed. After the divorce, Maren became a housekeeper
for a farmer who moved around a lot. She
went with him and I think became quite old.
Their daughter, Anne Marie and son-in-law, Konrad Andersen took over the
farm. Konrad was a sickly man and quite
a bit older than Anne Marie. He died in
1901. Anne Marie sold the farm and
bought a house in Fredrikshavn near Lille Gronheden. There is about three kilometers as the bird
flirs between Knaverhede and Gronheden.
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| Add caption |
We have a picture of Ben-tinus Elsig who
fought in World War 1. Knud his son
fought in the same artillery regiment in World War 2, both against the
Germans. Knud and Ellen on 14 Oct. 1992
celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary.
Three more of Peder and Johanne's children
were born here in Lille Gronheden and times were extremely difficult, there was
little or no food to be had. Thomas was
born at this time on November 3, 1865.
Four years later Niels was born but died the same day on October 27,
1869. One year later another son, Niels,
was born on November 28, 1870.
Just before Andrew was born War had been
declared, Denmark was at war with Germany again. King Frederick VII died and the new King,
Christian IX had broken the London Protocol Treaty by making the Duchy of
Sleswig part of Denmark. War was
immediately declared by the Duchies of Holstein and Sleswig and the hordes of
Prussian and Austria. Peder now a
captain in the army, was sent to Sleswig, leaving his wife Hanna with four very
young children. The soldiers were now
behind the Dannevirke fortifications and the Eider River. They were ready for battle but the Generals
and the king were not. Retreat was
ordered in mid-winter in the mists of a snowstorm. The bewildered troops had to pull cannons and
equipment through drifting snow and fight the advancing enemy. They lost the war in this first and decisive
battle. They were pushed from one
fortified city to another during the following year until the valiant army was
pushed from Sleswig and most of Jutland.
Denmark was completely at the mercy of the hated Germans.
A story written by Mina Briggs said,
"German soldiers entered their home on three separate occasion searching
for food and plunder, they took everything they had. Leaving only a ragged quilt for Grandma Anne,
because she was sick. We don't know
where Peder was at this time, the war was over but he could have been a
prisoner or even at home.
We have one of Peder's stories told by his
grandson, Lionel Jensen. "The
Germans had taken this hill the previous day.
That night the citizens of the city were asked to empty their straw
ticks over the cobblestone streets so the Danish army could roll the cannons
behind the German lines. The battle was
fought with cannon, muskets, swords and bayonets. The battle was eventually lost at a great
loss to each side. In the morning blood
ran in rivulets down the hill. Thousands
of Danes and German soldiers were killed or wounded. Thousands of refuges from
Sleswig who abandoned their homes filled Jutland. It was time of famine and disease.
In time Denmark began to rebuild the
country. This was when Peder resigned
his commission in the army to become a carpenter. A large bridge was built across the Saeby
River near the town of Saeby. I haven't
been able to find out how long Peder worked on this bridge but he did earn and
save some money. Saeby is on the
western coast of northern Jutland and the Kattegat Sea separates Denmark from
Sweden. Their climate is mild damp, rain
and mist are common all year round and swept by winds from the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1873 when Halvor was 19 years old, Peder
believed that there would be more wars with Germany and desperately wanted more
than this for his children. Jutland
would produce neither the food nor the jobs for her people. The great landowners and the wealthy classes
made life unbearable. The adventure and
the empty spaces of a new world beckoned and this hardy and courageous family
wanted to be a part of it.
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| Halverson family 4th of July in Park |
The opportunity to go to New Zealand came
when Sir Julius Vogel called for the Scandinavians to settle New Zealand. Halvor and Jens signed up to go but both went
under different contracts with the government.
(These next words taken from a
book written by George Petersen son of Jens, from New Zealand) New Zealand must have been chosen because
they would have the comfort of their language and the Lutheran Church. To them the English were old-stock Danes
anyway. They also had no time for the Mormons in Utah
where most of the Danes had already immigrated too.
Peder gave Halvor the money for the passage
and his blessing with the promise he would come when they made a place for
him. The next year shortly after his
17th birthday, Jens enlisted with Julius Vogels Public Work and Immigration
Scheme where he had to pay the latter for his passage and land. He sailed on the German ship Friedenberg for
New Zealand soon after. Peder had again
promised him that he would come when they were ready for him.
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| Saeby |
Martena said she loved her mother and
father very much. Her father took time
to spend with his children and showed them the drills of the soldiers. Peder loved to dance and was very good at
dancing quadrilles, etc. She remembers
going to the Kings Palace for a dance with her parents. The family would go for a walk in the park or
to wade in the ocean. In the evenings
the brass band would play and give concerts.
These were very happy memories.
The older children received a good education in Denmark. And very little education here in
America .
The last three children were born here in
Saeby after the War. Ane Mary (5
February, 1875), Anthon (6 February, 1876) and Martena (15 May, 1877).
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| Anne Marie Olsen Conrad Andersen Conrad |
The presence of the Mormons began to be
felt by the family. Peder did not
approve of the Elders of the Church, but being the gentleman he was, he allowed
them in his home. The teachings of the
Mormons seemed to fulfill a great need of the Danish women. Both sides of my father's family - my
grandfather and grandmother - were led to Utah by a girl in her early 20's.
Aunt Maria (Mariah) had been
listening to the message and songs of the Mormons before Halvor and Jens had
left Denmark. She was told of a new land
in America where the people were building the City of Zion and she wanted to be
there. Where people of one heart and one
mind would dwell in righteousness as brothers and sisters. Women in those days were treated like so much
chattel. She was baptized in 1878 and
four years later when she was 22 years old, left Denmark with her 11 year old
brother, Niels, with four dollars in her pocket and only the promises of the
Elders that they would be taken care of.
She was a brave and a very religious girl. 1882 was when they left for America and it
was also the year Peder's mother Anne died.
America was never the land of milk and honey that was promised them but
they were always faithful to the Church.
This was the same year that her grandmother, Anne Pedersdatter
Christensen, (Peder's mother) died in
Saeby in 1882, 94 years old.
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| Jens Peterson NZ |
Peder's wife Johanne was now also studying the Mormon gospel. She would sit on the doorstep with her two small girls, Mary and Martena, singing the hymns of the Lutheran Church. When Peder realized she was about to be baptized, he asked her to wait for him. A reluctant Peder and an enthused Hanna were baptized in the ocean by Lewis Bowen's grandfather, Andrew Peter Hansen, while the girls watched. The mother and the children believed in their new religion and followed it as long as they lived, but I can't seem to find anything concerning religion and Peder.
In 1887 the family left for America. Peder was 67 years old, Martena was 10. Ane Mary, 12 years old. They were met in Lehi by Maria and her
husband Nels Jensen when they arrived here in Utah, they were taken to their
home in Goshen. Read Martena's Story, it
tells in detail the arrival in America of her and her family
One more thing that Peder left in Denmark
was his Farm Name, Bovet. George
Petersen from New Zealand found it on a plaque in the Saeby Church. He thought it important enough to name his
son Bouet. The name came from a farm
called Bovetgard on Laeso Island in the Kattegat Sea. Other farm names used by the families of
Peder and Johanna was Grontved, Aagaard, Starholm, Kul, and Hongaard.
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| Add caption |
Great grandma Johanne had delayed the trip
for a long time because of sickness, typhoid fever and again on the Ocean
became very sick. The landed in New York
where Peder visited an old friend that owned a restaurant.
They soon departed for Lehi, Utah by
train. Peder, the old soldier, took his
turn guarding the door against bandits and train robbers. They were met by Mariah and her husband Nels
Jensen, they had been married for almost four years. They were taken to their home in Goshen for a
month or so. Then one day Eric Nelsen
and his wife came to take Peder, Johanne and Martena to Spanish Fork. These were the same Nelsens who had taken
Mariah in when she came to America. Ane
Mary was left in Goshen for a year, she was left here to work for her sponsor,
Maria Gillespie. Martena was kept with
her father and mother, who were both sick for a long time. Martena later worked for neighbors for the
families needs.
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| Halvor Pedersen family in New Zealand |
Thomas had moved to Palmyra earlier. He went to work for A. W. Johnson, where he
earned enough money to pay for his own immigration and two acres of land for
his father. Peder and his children would
build a house on this land. It was a
two-room adobe house that had a flowing well in front of it. It was a very pleasant spot that was shaded
with large popular trees. Neighbors and
children would always stop for a drink and a rest. Peder's home was built on a corner lot. His son, Thomas who married Emma Ottesen he
built his home just west of his father's.
The Ottesen's lived to the east.
The Church and the school was across the street to the north. The house and all the old trees are gone now,
it is now just a beautiful farm. The
well is still there but it has been caped (this is about 1900 w. and 5000
so.) With many children and grandchildren
there along with many Danes and Norwegians there so their life should have been
quite pleasant.
We
are told of family gatherings and dinners and they were quite happy and
contented. Peder and Johanne did learn
to speak the English language and was able to converse with his
Grandchildren. Peder was a loved and
honored gentlemen and there were wonderful stories told of him. He loved to tease Johanne. When invited for dinner he would always say
"How nice it is to have a "clean bite", a bite was a full
meal. He always honored and complimented
the cook. In his eyes "no one was
fat". He often remarked, “Fat was a
pleasing sight." People loved to be
around him, and he loved people. He made
a great host. And he was a good Grandpa
from as told by the autobiographies left by a few grandchildren who wrote
them.
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| back Halvor Burrow Jane Pedersen Burrow Mary Ane Fredericksen Pedersen Grandma Fredericksen |
The last three years of Peder's and
Johanne's lives were hard ones, they were getting quite old and very
feeble. So Uncle Tom and Aunt Emma took
them in to their home and soon built another room on to the house to care for
them. In time it became necessary for
Peder to leave his wife and go to Goshen to live with Aunt Martena where he
died. Johanne Halvorsen died in Tom's
home a few months later, 11 November, 1905.
Peder in his last days was cared for in
Martena's and Chris Jensen's home in Goshen.
Peder still wanted to be shaved every day and Chris would do this for
him. He kept himself trim and stood
tall, still the old soldier. On the 7th
of April, 1905, he fell to the floor and Chris carried him to a leather couch
in the living room under the south window where he died in his arms at age
85.
Aunt Maria's eldest son Peter Halvor,
called his Grandfather a "Tony" (High-toned)
an old fashioned name for conceited, vain or proud. He slept at his Grandfathers house many
times. He still remembered how
Grandfather kept his curved pipe with a lid on it and a bottle of schnapps in
the window. He remembers when
Grandfather asked his wife for a pie and a snack that she gave him.
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| Andrew, Ane Mary, Karen Maria, Matina, Thomas Peder Halvorsen, Niels, Joanne Marie Halvorsen |
Great grandfather never worked at his
carpentry trade after he built his house.
He worked around the house and raised a garden. Rose Marie Steel has the original pictures of
Peder and Hanna and some of his carpentry tools with his initials on them. Vera Robbins, Niels Halvorsen's granddaughter
also has an original picture of Peder and Johanne in their home. The families of Thomas and Martena should
have some but yet I haven't found anything.
As one spouse dies the other seems to give
up and go to, Great grandmother Johanne died in her home later that year on the
11th of November. Their children Andrew
and Mariah were many miles away in Ucon, Idaho at this time, but the four other
children were there.
They were both laid to rest next to one
another in the Cemetery at Spanish Fork, Utah.
This is where almost all the Halversons are buried. Buried near each other on the upper portion
or high ground.
Jens in a letter to James Grant Nielsen
said "She was a good old mother.
Poor old mother cried when I went.
Dear old mother, she was a good mother to us all. Our parents had to struggle to find food and
clothes for us all, but they did the best for us they could."
They were both laid to rest next to one another in the Cemetery at Spanish Fork, Utah. This is where almost all the Halversons are buried. Buried near each other on the upper portion or high ground.
Jens in a letter to James Grant Nielsen said "She was a good old mother. Poor old mother cried when I went. Dear old mother, she was a good mother to us all. Our parents had to struggle to find food and clothes for us all, but they did the best for us they could."
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| James, Ray, Myrtle, Chis Harvey Eliza, Mary, Andrew, Mary, Joe, Merrill |
Johanna (Peder's wife) baptized 15 Sep 1879
Niels and Karen immigrated 16 Jun 1882
Karen Marie baptized 8 Mar 1880
Lars immigrated 24 Aug 1883
Niels was baptized 9 Jun 1882
Thomas immigrated 25 Aug 1884
Peder (father) baptized 5 May 1883
Lars Andreas was baptized 5 Jul 1883
Parents & girls immigrated 15 Jun 1885
Thomas was baptized 2 Aug 1884
Ane Marie was baptized 4 Jun 1885
Martena was baptized 4 Jun 1885
We have a Broberg-Nelsen/Nelson in Nebraska coming from the same county in Denmark, coming to Elkhorn Iowa then to Albion and Monroe Nebraska. We have a photo of a great Aunt in Denmark on our ancestry.com Callumfamily public tree. Do you have other photos of homes in Denmark? WE are trying to i.d. a photo of the interior of a home. And any info on the Broberg name which we cannot pinpoint.
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