History of C.N. Christensen (part 1)
Chapter 1
Christen N. Christensen
(1874-1903)
Father of Marcus Joy Christensen
Compiled and Edited by Joy W. Stubbs, 1993 & 2008
Emigration to Zion
“Thrown Out of Denmark”
Christen Christensen’s parents, Axel and Ane Marie Christensen, were both born in Denmark. They met and married in Aalborg in 1863. They suffered the trials of the deaths of two of their children and poor economic conditions. In 1869 they were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it was probably then that they began to think about going to the “Zion” in America.
In 1872 they moved to Copenhagen to try to improve their income. Things did not work out as well as they had hoped, and they finally made the decision to emigrate as soon as they could save enough money. The subject of this story, their son Christen, was born to them on December 9, 1874. His living siblings included his eldest sister Hannah, who was 9 ½, his sister Olga, nearly 5, and his brother Ole Christian (who later went by C.O.), just 2 ½.
When baby Christen was 18 months old, his parents were finally able to book passage on the Idaho, a steamship bound for America. Since this ship was leaving from the port of Liverpool, they must first travel by steamer to Hull in England and then by train to Liverpool. The family left Copenhagen by means of the steamship Otto on June 22, 1876. Before leaving their homeland forever, both Ane Marie and Axel, each in turn, made one last journey to their childhood homes in Jutland. Axel was detained a day longer than he expected, hoping to collect on a debt. Though his efforts at getting the money failed, he was able to sell some of his carpentry tools and materials to Ane Marie’s brother, Niels Christian Olesen. Then, when the day of departure finally came, Niels and his wife, Maren, were at the landing to see the family off.
While waiting to board, Axel went to speak to someone, leaving his wife and their four young children with her brother and sister-in-law. In the bustle and confusion the baby was given to his Aunt Maren to hold. Afraid that if her baggage was loaded, she would have to leave without Axel, Ane Marie refused to allow the workers to take their belongings on board. Finally, at the last minute, Axel returned. As bags and bundles were hurried up the gangplank along with the family themselves, Ane Marie did not realize that Maren still held her baby son. The family lined up along the rail to wave goodbye. Suddenly Ane Marie cried, “My baby! Tante [Aunt] has the baby!“ As the ship turned to leave the harbor, a longshoreman, grasping the situation, grabbed the baby and literally threw him into the arms of a waiting sailor on the deck, and he handed him to his mother. In his later years, C.N. delighted in telling his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren this story—that he had been “thrown” out of Denmark.
As Neils and Maren Olesen watched the confusing departure and saw the ship steam away, they must have wondered why Axel and Ane Marie had joined this strange American church and then why they had left their homeland. Ane Marie’s history tells us that their mother, Johanne Nielsen, was very much against her daughter making such a move. Little could the family have known that twenty-four years later, in 1900, this same baby boy would return to Denmark as a missionary to teach his Uncle Niels, Aunt Maren, and their two daughters, Laura and Ingeborg, eventually converting all of them to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
Arriving in Zion
After arriving in New York on July 10th, Axel and Ane Marie traveled by train to Utah. Eight days later, exhausted from the weeks of traveling, the little Danish family finally stepped off the train in Ogden, Utah. What a strange and different land they saw. The towering mountains rose immediately to the east, and the desert of the Great Salt Lake Valley stretched away to the west. No one met them. They had no relatives and spoke no English. Their money was spent. They had nothing. Even their luggage had been shipped to Salt Lake City. There was no one to meet them, for no one knew they were coming. After a few minutes, a man approached them and asked them, in Danish, where they were going. They answered, “Zion.”
“You are in Zion,” the man replied. Then he asked Axel what kind of work he could do. He said that he was a cabinet maker. The man told him to try the Brigham City co-operative—it seemed he truly was in Zion! However, before they could continue their journey north to Brigham City, Axel had to travel to Salt Lake City for their baggage. Being assured that his wife and children would be taken care of, Axel left them standing in an open field. As it happened, no one came, and they had to sleep on the ground. The next day, after his return with their belongings, they journeyed on to Brigham City, where Axel did find work in the Brigham City Co-operative Institution.
