Emigration from the Scadinavian Mission records

EMIGRATION FROM THE SCANDINAVIAN MISSION
1867-1881(6) Film #025696

Erik Andreas Thorsen 53 Farmer Fredorets
Jensine Jensen 34 Spinster Grimstrup
Alvilde Jensen 3 Kolding
[Fredericia Conf. 1868, Emig.S.M.- film 025696]

Lauritz E. Thorsen 26 Farmer Kolding
[Fredericia Conf. 1868, Emig.S.M.- film 025696]

Karen Iversen 25 Spinster Hesseballe
[Fredericia Conf. 1868, Emig.S.M.- film 025696]

Narratives of the Emigration from the Scandinavian Mission 1852-1868

from excerpts of the History of the Scandinavian Mission, by Andrew Jenson

On June 26th the "Emerald Isle" sailed into the harbor of Queenstown to take fresh water on board, as a certain machine on the vessel used to distill seawater for culinary purposes was out of commission and could not speedily be repaired. While the ship waited at Queenstown Elders Hans Jensen (Hale) and James Smith had an excellent opportunity to accompany the captain on a railway trip to Cork. On the 29th the ship left Queenstown, but the voyage after that was anything but pleasant. The emigrants received very rough and harsh treatment, both from officers and crew, and only by the strong protest of Elder Hans Jensen (Hale) in their behalf did they succeed in getting a part of their rights according to the contract made. On one occasion, when one of the ship's mates attacked a sister by the name of Sander, Brother Jensen took hold of the mate and pulled him away, while sharply reproving him for his conduct. Soon a lot of sailors came up ready for a fight, but the incident ended when the offender got a severe reprimand from the captain, whom Brother Jensen reminded of the promises made. No other company of emigrating Saints from Scandinavia are known to have met with such bad treatment as this on board any ship in crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Fortunately it was the last company of Scandinavian Saints which crossed the Atlantic in a sailing vessel. From that time on only steamers were employed in the transportation of the Saints. It was not alone the rough treatment which the emigrants received from the ship's crew that made the voyage so unpleasant, but the water taken on board at Queenstown soon became stagnant and unfit for use, causing much sickness among the passengers, and no less than 37 deaths occurred on the voyage. Many of these, however, were caused by measles among the children, but the stagnant water which all the passengers had to use was undoubtedly the real cause of the heavy death rate.


On August 11th the ship arrived at the entrance of New York harbor and 30 of the sick were taken ashore on Staten Island. The following day, (August 12th) eight other sick people were landed, and finally, alter being held in quarantine three days, the rest of the emigrants were landed at Castle Garden, August 14th. On the same day a steamer conveyed the emigrants a few miles up the Hudson River, where they, found shelter in a warehouse for couple of days, while their baggage was being weighed. While staying there a boy belonging to the company died. On the 17th the journey was resumed by railway from New York and the emigrants traveled via Niagara, Detroit and Chicago to Council Bluffs, where they arrived on the 21st. The following day, (August 22nd) they were taken across the Missouri River by a steam boat and thence they traveled by the Union Pacific Railroad to Benton seven hundred miles west of Omaha arriving there in the morning of August 25th. Here the Church team; met the emigrants and took them to their camp on the Platte River, about six miles from Benton, where they remained till August 31st, when the Scandinavian Saints took up the journey across the- mountains by ox train led by Captain John G. Holman, while the English emigrant; about the same time left by mule teams. Elder Hiram B. Clawson acted this year as emigration agent for the Church. The English Saints traveling with mule teams could ride while the Scandinavians traveling with slow ox-teams, walked most of the way to Salt Lake City. Sickness continuing to rage among the, Scandinavian emigrants, about thirty died between New York and Salt Lake City, where the surviving part of this, the 28th, company of emigrating Saints from Scandinavia arrived on the 25th of September, 1868.