Marie Larsen

  Generelle notater:

Hun blev født den 18 marts 1852, døbt i kirken den 31 marts 1852, datter af tømmermand Lars Peter Sørensen og hustru Gjertrud Marie Jensdatter af Halbak, 36 år gammel.
(Kilde: Vester Hassing kirkebog 1835-1856, opslag 83, Aalborg amt).

Mary Sorensen Jensen (full sister to John P. Sorensen)
by Grace Jensen Walker

I can best remember Grandmother as she sat in her favorite rocking chair that was placed conveniently on the hand loomed carpet that covered her bedroom floor, or walking in the small vegetable garden and flower garden at the rear of her home. She was small of stature, and wrinkled and bent with age. Her dress so familiar of the country where she was born, was of dark material, and fashioned with long full sleeves, and a gathered skirt which came to her ankles. Her shoes were the high lace type, and she wore a pale gray apron. Her long hair which fell below her waist, was neatly done up in a tight roll at the top of her head. A characteristic touch was the large gray ribbed sunbonnet she wore for her outdoor excursions. Her friends greatly admired her pep, and dry wit, even though she was in her eighties.

She made her home at 123 I street in Rupert, Idaho, until the infirmities of age made their mark upon her. She then left the little cottage which had served as her home for many years and made her home with her eldest son, Chris.

Her life was one of hard work, and though much of her childhood is unknown to her descendents, research has turned up some very interesting facts, and stories.

The only girl in the family of five children of Lars and Gertrude Marie Jensen Sørensen, she was born March 18, 1852, at Vester Hassing, Aalborg, Denmark, and given the name of Mary. Her schooling was very limited, and her children recall her telling of herding geese as a child. When she was ten years old, her mother passed away and there is no record of her life until she reached the age of fourteen, 1866, when she was confirmed a member of the Lutheran Church with which her family was associated.

Shortly after this LDS missionaries visited the home and it is presumed they introduced Aunt Hannah Peterson's mother to the family, and she later became step-mother to the children. Mary was told the story of the Gospel and was baptized into the LDS Church 30 June 1867, and confirmed a member the following day, July 1st, 1867. Both ordinances were performed by Hans Jensen (We are not told if he was a relative).

Two years passed and the family embarked from Denmark on July 1st 1869 and journeyed to the United States to be near the church. On August 6, 1869, the first year train service was established in the West, they arrived in Ogden.

From there the family migrated to Bear Lake with Niels Larsen, going through the mountains, and it is presumed the route took them through the Logan Canyon. They located in Ovid, Idaho, November 15, 1869. It was here she met Peter Jensen, during the period when polygamy was practiced in the Church, and she became his second wife, with the marriage vows exchanged at the Endowment House, Salt Lake City, June 6, 1870.

Eleven and one half years elapsed before any children were born to this union. It was in January 1882, when her eldest child, a daughter christened Georgina Cecilia, was born. In the years to follow, three sons and one daughter were born, the youngest Alvin H. arriving in December 1891. Both of these children have passed away; Gene in March of 1935, and Alvin in May, 1940. The two remaining sons, Chris, and Lorenzo, make their homes in Heyburn and Rupert, Idaho. The daughter, Mary Bedelia, makes her home in Los Angeles.

Mary spent a greater portion of her married life in the little town of Ovid, and there she raised her five children, more or less alone, it being necessary to maintain a separate home following the issuance of the Manifesto on Polygamy. Besides caring for her children and her home she also kept several cows and a few sheep, and on one occasion took to carpentry to build a fence and shed, and shelter for her animals. Her hands were busy with the shearing of the sheep, washing and carding the wool by hand, and forming it into small rolls to be spun into thread. The thread was then hand loomed into the heavy jean material which was used to clothe her children (Some of the grandchildren also wore clothing made from the material she had loomed years before). She was also capable of knitting the stockings and mittens for the children. Other articles she made were many quilts and hand-loomed rugs, one of which was in her possession at the time of her death.

She assisted Grandfather in his work as Postmaster, and during his tenure as Bishop. It was her job to care for the tithing payed in kind, such as molding the butter into bricks. This was sent to the Wyoming mines, the nearest outlet for marketing the products of the Valley.

It was during her residence there she became active in the Sunday School and religion class. She also served in the Relief Society as Secretary, and later became President, an office she held from June 2, 1898 to August 8, 1907.

In the spring of 1908, her sons migrated to Albion, Idaho and built a home for her. She arrived on October 9, and other than the marriages of her children and the passing of Grandfather in February 1911, there is little of historical interest, while she resided there.

After nine years she left Albion and moved to the new irrigation project of Minadoka making her home in Rupert November 1917. Here she became active in Church work in the ward, and was appointed and set apart to do the work on the Temple Garments, under the auspices of the Relief Society. A district teacher, and a member of the Relief Society quilt committee. She remained active until her age made it impossible for her to get around.

Passing away on May 24, 1939, at the age of 87, she was laid to rest in the Heyburn, Idaho cemetery in the burial robes she had made years before.

Descendents of Mary Sorensen Jensen now living, number 26 grandchildren, sixty-four great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren.

The following has been added to the History of Mary Sorensen Jensen by Willard H. Sorensen and Beatrice, and was copied from "Pioneers of Bear Lake" page 321 written by Ethel Jensen Mathews, book published in 1968.

Peter Jensen was born 6 July 1831 in Fredericksburg, Denmark to Jens Andreas Christensen and Johanah Larsen, who were born in Sers(?)ev Denmark. He married Bodil Marie Jacobsen 12 Feb 1859. They accepted the Gospel and were baptized in Denmark by William Poulsen in 1862.

In the spring of 1864 Peter Jensen was called along with several others to help settle Bear Lake Valley. They traveled by way of Soda Springs, entering the Valley from the North, arriving at a beautiful meadow by a sparkling stream. This little settlement was first called South Creek, later called Ovid, named after the Roman Poet. Here the pitched their tent, made partly from the wagon cover used in crossing the plains. Peter Jensen was a shoemaker, a carpenter, and a farmer. He made all their own furniture and made shoes for the family. He hauled logs from the canyons to build cabins and for fuel. He bought some shoemakers tools and carpenters tools in Omaha, Nebraska as they were preparing to cross the plains. He made glue from the feet of animals. Their third child, Lars Peter was born in the tent that was pitched on the bank of Ovid Creek on 24 November 1864, and was the first child born in Ovid. Peter was called as the presiding Elder in 1871 and was appointed President of the United Order at the same time. He was sustained as Bishop of the Ovid ward in which capacity he served for eleven years. Peter also did the surveying for two ditches which ran through Ovid.

His first wife Marie Bodil Jacobsen was the mother of the following children: 1. Johanna Marie b. June 1862 in Denmark and died on the plains. 2. Ole Peterson Jensen born 27 June 1863 md. Eliza Jane Whithood (their history found on pages 314-315 of the same book). 3. Lars Peter Jensen b. 24 Nov. 1865 md. Margaret Verena Hymas. (History on page 314). 4. Anna Christina md. 14 Nov. 1888 Abel Smart. (History to be found on page 766-767). 5. Johannah Christine Md. Alonzo Cook. 6. James Andreas md. Johanna Overgarrd. (sic)

Peter Jensen began living plural marriage 6 June 1870, when he married Marie (Mary) Sorensen. She was born 18 March 1852 in Vester Hassing Aalborg, Denmark. She was the daughter of Lars Peter Sorensen, and Gertrude Marie Jensen (Her father was named Gregersen).

Peter Jensen was Postmaster in Ovid, and his wife known as Mary was assistant Postmaster for 16 years. The Post Office was in her home, and they carried mail to Liberty. During the raid of the United States Marshalls, Bishop Jensen and his second wife were arrested, and she was taken to Court as a testifying witness. Five children were born to this union: 1. Georgina Sicilia Jensen, md. John Osborn. 2. Christian Peter, md. Rebecca Hymas. 3. Lorenzo Wilford, md. Minnie Hymas. 4. Mary Bodila Jensen md. Henry Burgess. 5. Alvin Hans Jensen, md. Cora Phippin.

Note: There is more of this history in the "Pioneers of Bear Lake." Minnie L. Sorensen posses a copy and Willard H. and Beatrice Sorensen have a copy.

  Begivenheder i hendes liv:

• Bopæl, 1860, Vester Hassing, Kær, Ålborg, Danmark.

• Konfirmation, 1866, Vester Hassing, Ålborg, Danmark.

• Indvandring, 1869.

• Bopæl, 1880, Ovid, Bear Lake, Idaho, United States.

• Bopæl, 1900, Ovid, Bear Lake, Idaho, United States.

• Bopæl, 1910, Albion, Cassia, Idaho, United States.

• Bopæl, 1920, Rupert, Minidoka, Idaho, United States.

• Bopæl, 1930, Rupert, Minidoka, Idaho, United States.