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Subject: Christensen story - Chapter 5 (part 1)
Date: Sat, 1 Nov 1997 14:05:15 -0500 (EST)

Chapter V ADVENTURE-"MORMON MISSIONARIES"-TRAGEDY

Soon after Soren's birth two Mormon missionaries, one Hansen and one
Snow, came into their neighborhood and began visiting among the people of
Bjoring, telling of their new religion, and inviting the people ·to attend
their cottage meetings. - Lars Christian attended and listened to their
descrription of this new religion with its new Bible, from America. He and
his friends discussed it, pro and con, and were interested but skeptical.
Then they talked it over with their own Lutheran Parson, who naturally enough
resented this intrusion into his parrish and flock, which ha sought to hold
intact, In spite of this, the idea fascinated them and grew in the minds of
these simple people; the meetings were continued and subsequently quite a
large number in this immediate neighborhood actually joined the Mormon
Church, This really upset the community; more even than the their war with
Germany. This was an opportunity to go to America, the land of opportunity,
where they could acquire as much land as they desired free--or could it have
been because this new religion would permit a man to marry as many wives as
he wanted when they to America! Could that be what ·really inspired them to
join? Whatever their reasons may have been, Lars Christian and his brother,
and. a great many of their friends and acquaintances began selling their
homes, lend, and all of their possessions, converting them into cash, and in
the month of November, 1854, prepared to set sail for America
Religion may have its merits, but the changing of it always causes
an abundance of heartbreak and unnecessary hard feelings, breaking up of life
long friendships and family ties, all of which happened here. Their friends
tried to persuade them to wait at least until springtime before setting
sail, but no, their minds were made up. So a neighbor took Lars Christian,
his wife and two children, and a lady, one Sister Nelsen, in his wagon to
Fredrickshaven--a day's journey.
The sailship "Cambria", under direction of Peter O. Hansen arrived
from Coperhagen, and they set sail on November 26, 1854, for Hull, England,
with-one hundred and forty-nine Mormon Danish immigrants aboard. Next day,
November 27, a terrific storm an the North Sea drove the little ship off its
course, but they landed safely in Norway. On December 7, having been
reprovisioned,·they set sail for Hull, England again. On December 8, a storm
drove the little ship back to Fredrickahaven, their home port. Their
relatives and friends were so happy to see them that they wept, After the
terrible storms they were sure the ship with all aboard must have been lost,
They pled with them to give up this foolish voyage. Surely God did not want
them to got as evidence they cited their recent terrible experiences. But no!
they must go on, and on December 20 they again set sail for Hull,
England--all except the "girl friend", Sister Nelsen. She "lost the faith"
and remainned in DenMark. If we know our women, it would be a safe bet that
Jensina had a heart-to-heart talk with this girl, probably telling her· in
good plain Danish that she did not relish the idea of sharing her husband
with another wonrran. All this glory in the hereafter might be fine but she
intended to keep her husband for herself, etc. It must be remembered that
Jensine. was the mother of two childrer;. and the time was drawing nearer for
the birth of a third.
On December 21, came the worst storm yet experienced. The main mast
was broken the little ship was about done in, when the storm subsided the
shiplimped into Hull, England, Christmas Eve, 1854. Next morning they went to
Liverpool, by train. Here they were joined by a larger group of English
Mormon converts. They set sail on His British Majesty's ship, "Jas Nesbith",
a sailship under Captain Mills, on January 1, 1855 for New Orleans, U.S.A.
They now felt that their worst troubles were behind them, that the rough
North Sea experience would be their worst, and that the fine English ship
would soon land them all safely in America. Had they not been promised by the
missionaries in charge, in the name of their God, that they nould all arive
safely, because all ships that had Mormons aboard never sank or had serious
trouble'l They must have believed this in spite of their recent experience on
the North Sea. Had they but la~own that the ship was ill-provisioned and
over-crowded, and that they would face actual starvation, they could have
turned back, or at least nnsde sure there would be enough water and food on
board,
The time was drawing near for the arrival of Jensina's third child.
January 8, 1855, probably in mid-Atlantia, the little girl, Sara Maria, was
born.
Some nine weeks they were on this ship before reaching New Orleans.
Meanwhile they had sailed around the southern tip of Florida and the weather
was much warmer. Although undernourished, sick, filthy, lousy, the Captain
ordered everyone up on the deck, where they dipped up the warm Gulf Stream
ocean water, and bathed and washed their clothing. Then the sailors scrubbed
down the deck. Getting cleaned up some, and having warm weather nade them all
feel better, religious services were held and the leaders of the Danish group
asked Lars Christian to get his violin and play for them while they danced on
deck. The weather was so mild that the men removed their coats and the women
their heavy underskirts.
On account of stale water and improper food and not enough to eat,
little Soren cried for food. At this time the little baby sister was better
off. She was getting her food from her mother's breasts, but little Soren
whimpered and cried for food. They would ask him to sing to divert his mind
from the pangs of hunger. Although but some three years or age, it is said
that he would walk around in a circle an the deck, with his-little hands
rammed down in his pockets, and sing the songs his mother had taught him,
until he was completely exhausted and fell into a merciful sleep.
Subsequently, his whimpering and crying became weaker each day, until just
three days before they landed, where there would be food and freshwater, he
passed into the sleep from which there would be no more awakening and crying
for food. On the same day, February 21, 1855, after a brief funeral service,
his little body was placed in a weighted bag and gently lowered over the side
of the ship into the Atlantic, somewhere near the Gulf of Mexico. Two days
later they landed at New Orleans,
(The following incident occurred about 1890. showing how hard the
shock or little Soren's passing and his burial in the sea was to Lars
Christian: Aaron, Jorinda, and I were playing as children are wont to do
after the evening meal before bed time. I had crawled into an empty seamless
bag that had contained a roll of newly woven rag carpet. Aaron and Jorinda
playfully held the bag closed, and were looking for a string with which to
tie it. This being closely woven, obviously my breathing was not so good; so
I created enough commotion to disturb Lars Christian who was reading his
Deseret News or Bible as was his habit on his evenings at home just before
the evening prayer. Seeing a boy in a bag, he arose quickly from his chair by
the table, dropped his glasses and pulled me out of the bag; gave me a rough
shaking by the shoulders, He never said a word, but walked out of the house
into the night, Auntie Else Kerstine saw all that had happened; and after a
lapse of a few minutes told us that our father had buried his first son in
the sea, the body having been placed in a weighted bag, and that our playful
prank had, apparently, completely unnerved him)
written by Seth Franklin Christensen a son of Lars Christian Christensen

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