Jens Gotfredsen

  Generelle notater:

FOLKETÆLLING 1850
Jetsmark, Lundbakshede, et hus.
Jens Gotfredsen, 41 år gift, husejer, husfader, bødker, født her i sognet.
Karen Jensdatter, 39 år, gift, hans kone, født på Øland.
Peter Jensen, 5 år, deres søn, født her i sognet.
Hans Jensen, 3 år, deres søn, født her i sognet.
Dorthe Marie Pedersdatter, 21 år, væverlærling, født her i sognet.

Søn af Gotfred Christophersen og hustru Mette Kirstine Jensen. Han var farmer.

--1810 born Jetsmark Hjorring, Denmark
--1845 married 1st Karen Jensen in Denmark
--1851 (approx) joined the LDS Church
--1856 married Karen Marie Pederson in St. Louis, MO

JENS GOTTFREDSON

Sketch of the Life of Jens Gottfredson, pioneer of Sevier and Sampete counties by his granddaughter, Adell Gottfredson Jenson.

Jens Gottfredson was born in Jetsmark, Hjorring, Denmark, April 9, 1810. He faintly remembered his mother and that he had a sister. He knew his mother’s name was Mette Kirstine, and that she was a widow. He and my father, Peter, tried to trace his ancestry but failed.

Fifty-three years after grandfather Jens’ death, the genealogical library people found a little record for us and we are hoping to get more. This is what we learned:

Jens’ mother, Mette Kirstine Jensen, born 7 Aug. 1785, was engaged to marry a man named Mads Nielsen, a man of small means. A license to marry was very expensive, the equivalence of $500.00 in our money, hence so much illegitimacy in the Danish records. However a provision was made in the law that a couple who wished to be married and could not afford to buy a license could go before the state church congregation three times at intervals and declare their desire and intention to marry and have children, and they were given temporary license which entitled them to have their children’s names recorded on the church records.

This couple did this, but after their first child was born, and before they had saved enough money to buy a real marriage license, the father suddenly died, so the record said, Mads Nielsen, Mette Kirstine Jensen, not married—child, Karen Kirstine Madsen, chr. 15 Feb. 1807.

Soon another man, Gotfred Christophersen, began courting Mette Kirstine and wanted to marry her and care for her and her little girl. He too was poor, so they went to the church as she had before. Soon this man left her and went away with another woman, and this untrue man became our ancestor when Jens Gotfredsen was born. [i.e. surname "Gotfred's son"]

The mother had a struggle with two children, so when this couple came and offered to take Jens as an apprentice and teach him a trade, the mother consented.

We do not know the year, but Jens remembered his mother slightly, and that he had a sister. With no mail, telephone or telegraph, etc., it was easy to lose track of each other. He never knew that his mother later married a kind, well to do man and neighbor, Anders Thomasen, who had lost his wife and had a daughter.

Mette Kirstine had three children by this marriage.
All this information was sent to the President of Salt Lake temple, and the President had Jens sealed to this Anders Thomasen and Mette Kirstine sealed to him as his wife for eternity . . .

Aug. 12, 1845, Jens married Karen Jensen, who was born May 23, 1812, at Westerby, Oland, Denmark.

She [Karen] came from a well-to-do family who kept several servants and had large buildings and barns and kept a number of teams, cows, sheep, pigs and poultry of different kinds. From my father’s journal from which most of this sketch is taken, these people all belonged to the Lutheran, or State church. They were readers of the Bible, and learned many things for themselves, and Jens and his wife Karen joined the Baptist church, feeling it conformed more nearly to the bible teachings.

During the early winter of 1851 two Mormon missionaries came to their home and wished to stay overnight to get out of the rain. Grandfather, Jens, hesitated, then told them they might if they would promise not to preach their doctrine to his wife. He thought they would not deceive him. One of the missionaries was Christian D. Fjeldsted, and the other was probably apostle Erastus Snow.

During the evening grandfather told the missionaries about the doctrine of the Baptists saying they practiced baptism by immersion as was the method in the days of the Savior. Also other things were scriptural, with which the Elders agreed. They said, “That is not all”and opened their bible and read and discussed doctrine the Gottfredsons had not thought of. The wife fixed food for the missionaries, then Jens invited her to remain and hear the marvelous things the missionaries could teach them.

…But he remembered these missionaries distinctly. His impression was that they were good men. They were neatly dressed and spoke pleasantly. They even spoke to the lad which pleased him and made him feel important.

It was not long until the parents became converted and were baptized in December where they had to cut quite thick ice to perform the ordinance. (the genealogical records was performed again by proxy in 1932.)

At the time of the baptisms and joining the church they had three children: Peter, the oldest, born 17 Apr. 1846, Hans, born 4 Aug. 1848 and Mette Christine, named for her grandmother, born 24 Aug. 1850. We knew her as aunt Stina Tuft. On July 2, 1852 was born another son whom they named Joseph Smith Gottfredson which name really caused complications. The law said new babies much be registered in the State church but the Priest said he would not have such a degraded name on his records.

The records show that Karen also had a daughter, Annie, born out of wedlock March 21, 1838 who married an uncle of Mrs. Lars (Marie) Jacobsen of 365 west 6th North, Logan, Utah. His name was Jens Christian Jensen and she was the second wife. Mrs. Jacobsen’s daughter did the writing for her mother and she is Mrs. Andrew Anderson (Treenie) and lies at 895 West, 5th North, Logan, Utah. I don’t know if this girl emigrated, or if she is sealed to the parents.

How they were in the Church, persecutions were heaped upon them. Jens was set apart as a local missionary and companion to Elder Fjeldsted. While they were out proselyting a mob gathered and seized them and let them down a deep well into the ice cold water with a long rope. They said they were baptizing them by immersion, etc. Even Peter, who was with his grandmother in Westerby did not escape.

The parent’s ambition was to gather with the saints in America, and every effort was put forth in that direction. Where they lived in Denmark the soil was very poor and sandy, having no doubt been washed up from the ocean. The native vegetation was a small brush called heath and there were wild blueberries that they gathered. The houses were few and scattered, with small gardens adjoining. Most of the land was unoccupied. A sluggish stream ran through the country, called Red Oe. A poor quality of grass grew along its banks where water over-flowed in the spring of the year. The fuel was mostly peet or turf, a sod dug out of bogs in square blocks and laid on the high ground to dry. It was mostly decayed vegetation, and served the purpose very well. There was not much money . . .

By December they were prepared to make the long journey to American. Peter was family historian it seems and described this journey in his journal. Also from Andrew Jensen’s “History of the Scandinavian Mission” I will copy as follows:
“On Thursday, Nov. 29, 1855 a company of Scandinavian saints numbering 447 souls sailed from Copenhagen, on board the steamship “Loven,” bound for Utah, under the direction of Elder Canute Peterson who was returning from his mission to Norway. After a pleasant voyage, Kiel, in Holstein was reached, and thence the emigrants continued their journey by rail to Gluckstadt, thence by steamer to Grimsby, England, and thence by rail to Liverpool where the Scandinavian emigrants were joined by 42 British and 30 Italian Saints, and went on board the ship “John J. Boyd.” The Jens Gottfredson family had a few days visit in Copenhagen with Jens’ older sister whose name had been Karen Kirstine Madsen who was married to a man named Hans Jensen Trelde. They had a coffee and tea shop in the big city . . .

The Gottfredson’s stopped in Alton, Illinois. The children picked up the new language very fast. It was harder for grandfather. I remember when he was in his 80s he still talked Danish to my father but insisted that they answer him in English.

[see memories for more]Note
Taken from "History of Jens Gottfredson":

"Jens was born in Sunby, near Alborg Denmark 9 April 1810. Little was known of his parentage. He never knew his father. His mother was a widow. At a very early age he was bound out as an apprentice to learn the coopers trade (Barrel maker), the master was very strict and he became a proficient workman.

He served in the Danish Army six years as a corpral and was discharged in1844 and took up his trade as a cooper. He married Karen Jensen of Oland Denmark in 1845 and they joined the Baptist church. They were born Lutherans. The winter of 1851 they investigated the Mormon doctrine and joined that religion. During the next few years he traveled some as a local missionary and in 1855 emigrated to America.

He left Alborg Denmark early in December and sailed on the 12th from Liverpool England on the ship John J. Boyd under the leadership of Knud Petersen who had filled a misson to Norway and Denmark. There were 508 passengers on board. They landed in New York 15 Feb 1856 after a very rough voyage ove rthe Atlantic Ocean. Apostle John Taylor was at New York to look after the emigrants.

For lack of means to contine on to Utah he stopped in Alton, Illinois and obtained work at the b Kiln at one dollar a day. There his wife sickened and died 4 Jul 1856. After her death he went with his children to St. Louis, Missouri where he got work at the Filley foundry where Charter Oak Stoves were made.

Being without a housekeeper he had an unmarried woman by the name of Karen marie Pedersen (Meilhede) who had crossed the ocean when he did and stopped at Keokuk, Iowa come to St. Louis and keep house for the family. Through encouragement from Christian Christiansen, a returning missionary they were married by him 12 Aug 1856.

The Life Summary of Jens
When Jens Gottfredsen was born on 9 April 1810, in Jetsmark, Hvetbo, Hjørring, Denmark, his father, Gotfred Christophersen, was 31 and his mother, Mette Kierstine Jensdatter, was 24. He married Karen Jensdatter on 4 July 1845, in Øland, Hjørring, Denmark. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 2 daughters. He lived in Ålborg, Denmark in 1855. He died on 29 June 1898, in Vermillion, Sevier, Utah, United States, at the age of 88, and was buried in Glenwood, Sevier, Utah, United States.

  Begivenheder i hans liv:

• Indexed wrong (read in sources) On the correct record the birth date for Jens Gottfredson was recor: Indexed wrong (read in sources) On the correct record the birth date for Jens Gottfredson was recorded as April 1810 in 1825 when confirmation was confirmed, The birth father of Jens Gottfredson is Gotfred C, Jetsmark, Hjørring, Danmark.

• Bopæl, 1845, Jetsmark, Hvetbo, Hjørring, Danmark.

• Bopæl: Glenwood, Sevier, Utah, United States.

• Bopæl, 1855, Ålborg, Denmark.

• Udvandring, 15 Jun. 1857.

• Indvandring, 13 Sep. 1857, Utah, United States.

Jens blev gift med Karen Jensdatter, datter af Jens Pedersen og Else Margrethe Christensdatter, den 12 Aug. 1845 i Jetsmark, Hjørring, Danmark. (Karen Jensdatter blev født den 23 Maj 1812 i Vesterby, Øland, Hjørring, Danmark, dåb den 31 Maj 1812 i Øland, Hjørring, Danmark, døde den 4 Jul. 1856 i Alton Madison, Illinois, USA og blev begravet i Alton Madison, Illinois, USA.)

  Ægteskabsnotater:

Hele familien emigrerer til Amerika.