LIFE HISTORY OF THOMAS CHRISTIAN STEFFENSEN

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LIFE HISTORY OF THOMAS CHRISTIAN

STEFFENSEN

Thomas Christian Steffensen was born on Saturday

December 15, 1821 in Frederikshavn, Hjorring,

Denmark.

His father’s name was Stephen Michael Moller and

his mother’s name was Kirsten Marie Christensen.

He was christened in the Flade parish when he was 11 days old. Flade, Hjorring, Denmark is

directly to the west of Frederikshavn. Here is a picture taken from the Flade Parrish record book.

Note line 18. It shows his christening date on 26 December 1821 and his birth date of

15 December 1821. His mother stated on this record that Thomas was an illegitimate child and

the father’s name was Stephen Moller.

Frederikshavn was originally called Fladstrand which means "Flat beach", until 1818 when it

received status as a merchant town under the name of Frederikshavn, after King Frederik VI.

Its name translates to "Frederik's harbour".

Due to its advantageous proximity to the

entrance to the Baltic Sea, Frederikshavn is

also an important traffic portal with its ferry

connections to Sweden and Norway.

Frederikshavn has historically been a naval

base of some strategic importance. The town is

Geographically, Denmark is relatively flat with no big mountains to climb, its highest

point being no more than 173 meters above sea level.

Frederikshavn is a Danish town in the county of Hjorring situated along the

Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark.

Thomas Christian

Steffensen

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well known for fishing, and its fishing and industrial harbors.

The Danish term "frederikshavner" means "Someone from Frederikshavn") and is used to denote

a quality place.

The only old military installations remaining to this day

are the Gunpowder Tower (Krudttårnet), constructed in

1688, and the Northern Entrenchment (Nordre Skanse).

The Gunpowder Tower has been preserved, and is

incorporated in the municipality's coat-of-arms.

These would have been

things that Thomas would

have seen growing up.

Thomas’ world and life in Denmark

The country is about 90% Protestants so there is a good chance that the family was Protestant.

Until a few years ago, Danish food was essentially associated with potatoes and bacon, and

Danish cuisine was completely unknown outside the country.

Denmark is one of the world's oldest monarchies with a history that stretches back to the Viking

Age around the year 1000.

A Danish liberal and national movement

came about and gained momentum in the

1830s. After the European Revolutions of

1848, Denmark peacefully became a

constitutional monarchy on 5 June 1849.

A two-chamber parliament was

established.

After the Second War of Schleswig in 1864, Denmark was forced to cede

Schleswig and Holstein to Prussia, in a defeat that left deep marks on the

Danish national identity. After these events, Denmark pursued a policy of

neutrality in Europe. Thomas would have been 23 years old at the time of

this war.

The Gunpowder Tower The Northern Entrenchment

Here are pictures of two of the Kings of Denmark, Frederick VI and Christian VIII that ruled the country during much of the time that Thomas lived in Denmark.

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Denmark is often cited as one of the world's best countries to live in. The strong welfare state

ensures economic equality in society and the virtual non-existence of corruption, while polls

repeatedly show that the Danes are among the happiest people in the world.

Thomas was born just one year after Joseph Smith had received what is referred to as the First

Vision where God and Jesus Christ ushered in the Dispensation of the Fullness of Time.

When Thomas was about 3 years old the first internal combustion engine was made.

Webster’s dictionary came out when he was 8 years old and the LDS church was organized when

he was just 9 years old. The telegraph was invented when he reached 12. The battle of the Alamo

was fought in the United States when he was 15. When he reached 24 years of age the great Irish

Potato Famine was just starting. So many significant things had happened during his younger

years.

It was also at the age of 24 years that he married his first wife. Her name was Maren Kirstine

Jesperdatter.

Maren was born on April 4, 1821 in Elling, Hjorring, Denmark, which would make her 8 months

older than her husband Thomas. She was born in the city of Elling, Hjorring, Denmark as was

her mother Kirstine Poulsen. . Her father was Jesper Sorensen .

Her mother Kirstine Poulsen died about 1835. This supports the Danish Census of 1845. This

census shows Jesper as being a widower. Also listed is Maren, her brother Soren Peter and a

younger sister named Marie. The 3 children are all listed as unmarried.

Map of Elling Parish or Sogn

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Thomas and Maren were married on December 2, 1846. Maren was 24 years old and Thomas

was just 13 days short of also being 24 years old. They were married in Elling, Hjorring,

Denmark.

Thomas probably did not know Maren’s

mother, Kirstine because she died 11 years

before they were married.

Their marriage brought forth 11 children

spanning 23 years. Their children are listed as

follows:

Age of

Child’s Male/ Birth Year- FamilySearch parents

given name Female Death Year number at birth

Mary Christina Female 1846 – 1920 KWJC-MB2 24 yrs.

Jens Jorgen Male 1848 – Deceased K2HN-ZFL 27 yrs.

Christian Male 1849 – 1918 KWVP-W3F 28 yrs.

Mary Ann Female 1852 – 1924 KWVP-TBK 31 yrs.

Willard Smith Male 1854 – 1884 LZV2-5W3 33 yrs.

Josephine Female 1856 – 1929 KWJH-D36 35 yrs.

Julius Male 1858 – 1919 KWN4-WRB 37 yrs.

Malvine Female 1860 – 1861 KWVP-W3K 39 yrs.

Malvine Brichhammine Female 1863 – 1945 KWVP-W3G 42 yrs.

Hyrum Male 1866 – Deceased KWVP-W3D 45 yrs.

Villar Smidt Male 1869 – Deceased KWVP-6S5 48 yrs

Enker(mand)=widower; Ugift=unmarried or single;

Gift=married; M or mand=male; K or kvinde=female

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All of the children were born in the following towns within Hjorring, Denmark.

Elling Flade Asted Mary Mary Ann Melvine

Jens Willard Smith Hyrum

Christian Josephine

Julius

Malvine Brichhammine

Villar Smidt

Thomas Steffensen was baptized and became a member of the LDS church on May 30, 1852 in

Denmark.

Maren followed her husband’s lead and was baptized and became a member of the LDS church

on 30 June 1852 also in Demark.

Thomas and his family made plans to go to the United States to be with the Saints. He left first.

It was just 2 months after the birth of Villar Smidt when he started his trek to America. He left

Liverpool, England on July 15, 1869. It must have been difficult to say goodbye to his wife and

children and his beloved homeland, Denmark.

Here is a copy of his immigration to America.

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Following is a brief account about the happenings of the trip, aboard the boat “Minnesota” and

on to Utah.

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Shipping records show that Maren at age 50 came to the United States 2 years after Thomas.

Records also show that two of her daughters came with her. Eight year old Malmine and 16

year old Josephine were the two daughters. They came to America on a ship named the

“Nevada” which sailed on October 18, 1871 and arrived in New York on November 1, 1891.

Following are the documentation of their journey.

Also recorded is a brief description of the

journey.

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Two other records show that two of Thomas’ and Maren’s sons also came to the United States.

Julius came on the same ship as his mother but came on an earlier voyage. He came on the

“Nevada” from Liverpool, England to New York City between September 6, 1871 and

September 18, 1871. He was only 11 years old.

His brother, Christian came 6 years later at the age of 28. He also traveled from Liverpool,

England to New York City on the “Wisconsin”. The journey was from June 27, 1877 to July 7,

1877.

Documentation of their voyages is shown below.

Julius’ ship log:

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Christian’s ship log:

Documentation showing

passage to America for

the other children at the

moment has not been

found. However, all of

the children lived in Utah

so they have had to come

from Denmark at some

time. It is evident that

the family came to

America a little at a time.

One would think the

reason was probably the

great cost in monies for

the trips.

With the completion of

the railroad across the

United States in 1869, all

of the family rode the

train to Utah.

The US Federal Census

taken in 1880 for South

Cottonwood, Salt Lake,

Territory of Utah shows Thomas with his wife Mary (Maren). There is a son listed that has the

name of James. The age matches that of their son Jens when in Denmark. Also listed is a

daughter named Malvina. Josephine is now married to Hans Hansen. Thomas is shown as a

farmer and his wife is keeping house.

Farther down the same census record is listed Sondra Sanders, the father of Peter James

Sanders. Peter would later marry the daughter of Thomas Steffensen’s son Julius. The fact the

families are all on the same census page suggests that they lived near and knew each other.

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Unfortunately, Thomas’ wife Mary died just 5 months later on 11 November, 1880. She was

buried in the Murray City cemetery on 22 November, 1880.

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Records show that Thomas remarried within one year of becoming a widower. He married a

Swedish girl by the name of Amelia Augusta Andersen. They were married in Salt Lake City, Salt

Lake, Territory of Utah.

She had been baptized on 20 September, 1862 and took out her endowment and was sealed to

Thomas in the Endowment House on 24 November, 1881. We do not have a death date.

Three years later Thomas married a Danish girl called Josephine Hansine Meyer. She was born

21 September, 1856 in Kosor, Soro, Denmark.

Josephine immigrated to the United States on 14 June

1884. She left Liverpool like so many other Saints

coming to Zion and arrived in New York City on 23

June 1884. She came with a man named Sine Meyer

who was 50 years old at the time. She had with her 3

children, Ruth Augusta, Ester Knudine and Maren.

Ruth and Ester share the same birthdate so one would

assume they were twins. All three children were born

in Denmark.

Children coming to Thomas and Josephine’s family since their marriage in 1884 show 5 more

children being born from 1885 to 1894.

The family of Thomas and Josephine Steffensen are as follows.

Child’s Male/ Birth Year- FamilySearch parents

given name Female Death Year number at birth

Ruth Augusta Female 1880 – 1920 KWZH-XPJ 59 yrs.

Ester Knudine Female 1880 – 1952 KWJZ-MB1 59 yrs.

Maren Female 1883 – Deceased L6QZ-HYV 62 yrs.

Willard Erastus Male 1885 – 1967 KWJ6-SYQ 64 yrs.

Alma Male 1887 – 1888 K2HN-ZPB 66 yrs.

Emanuel Male 1887 – 1954 K2HN-ZP8 66 yrs.

Albert Male 1890 – 1971 KWJZ-8TJ 69 yrs.

Wilford Male 1894 – 1894 K2HN-8VW 73 yrs.

Since Thomas died in 1896 this family did not have many years with their father, especially little

Albert who would have been about 6 years old at the time of his death.

All of the children except Albert and Wilford were born in the Salt Lake City area. Albert and

Wilford were born in Central Valley, Utah. Central Valley is about in the middle of the State of

Utah and just south of Manti. Why Thomas and Josephine moved to Central Valley is not known

to the author.

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Thomas passed away on 16

July 1896 in Monroe, Sevier,

Utah which is just south of

Central Valley. He was 74

years old at the time of his

death. Thomas was buried in

the Central Valley Cemetery

This is the headstone of Thomas

Christian Steffensen.

The 1900 US Census record shows Josephine’s mother, a widow living in Murray City, Utah.

The record shows that Ruth and Esther, ages 19 and Mary (Maren), age 18 are living with her.

Maren shows up in the 1910 US Census record living with her Uncle Francis Moedl. Also listed

is her grandmother, Hansine Meyer.

Josephine M. Steffensen died 5 December, 1902

in Provo, Utah. She is buried also in Central

Valley, Utah. Josephine was sealed to her

husband on 21 November, 1984 in the Salt Lake

Temple.

This is the headstone of Josephine Meyer

Steffensen.