Christian Willardsen

BIOGRAPHY OF CHRISTIAN WILLARDSEN

By Marie Willardsen

Christian Willardsen, one of the pioneer settlers of Ephraim, Sanpete County, Utah, was born near the city of Skiva, Viborg amt, Denmark, April 6, 1811. Being left an orphan when very small and compelled to rely on his own resources, he started life without money, but soon obtained a farm and made himself quite comfortable. Becoming a convert to “Mormonism,” he was baptized in 1852 by Elder Christian Christiansen and left Denmark in December 1852, immigrating to America, together with his wife Karen Sorensen whom he had married in Denmark April 2, 1851. They crossed the Atlantic in the ship “Forest Monarch” and the plains in John E. Forsgren’s company, which arrived in Salt Lake City September 30, 1853. Together with others of the same emigrant company, Brother Willardsen and wife first located in the so-called Allred Settlement (now Spring City), but were driven away by the Indians and spent the winter of 1853-54 in Manti. In the spring of 1854 he settled permanently at Ephraim, being one of the first settlers of that place, where he helped to build the first forts erected as a protection against the Indians. He was a member of that community the remainder of his life, becoming one of the most prosperous citizens of the town. He had an interest in the first burr mill at Ephraim, and finally organized a company, which built the Climax Roller Mill, of which he was president and the principal stockholder till the time of his death. Later he bought a burr mill in Mayfield and changed it to the present roller process; that mill is now owed by the family. Brother Willardsen also engaged in merchandizing at Ephraim at an early day, his store being later incorporated as the Ephraim Co-op. He constructed a tannery, carried on farming and freighted produce to market. He took an active part in the Black Hawk War and passed through all the trials of grasshopper and Indian incidents in early days. In 1871 he filled a short mission to Scandinavia. Returning home he assisted quite a number of poor Saints to immigrate to Utah, he being a man of means. On many other occasions he contributed very liberally to the Church and for public purposes. Being the founder of home industries, he gave employment to many people. When he passed to his final rest at Ephraim, June 29, 1897, he left three wives and fourteen children. His first wife (Karen) bore him five children, namely Willard, Christian, Erastus C., Joseph and Marie. His second wife (Mary Larsen) bore him four children - Christian, Caroline, Andrew and James; she had two children, Mary A. Allred and Mena Oviatt by a former marriage. His third wife (Anna Katrine Sorensen) bore her husband four children, namely Annie, Lorinda, Peter and John.
Mary Larsen Willardsen, wife of Christian Willardsen, was born August 2, 1836, at Greis, Vejle amt, Denmark, the daughter of Lars Johansen and Anna M. Sorensen. She was baptized in December 1851, by Knud H. Bruun and immigrated to Utah in 1854-55. In crossing the North Sea from Frederolsjavn to England she was exposed to one of the worst storm that ever made the life of the emigrant company upon waters miserable. During the fury of the storm the ship was compelled to seek shelter at Nandal, Norway and Frederikshavn, Denmark, but the emigrants finally arrived in England and sailed from Liverpool on board the ship "James Nesmith," January 7, 1855, and arrived at New Orleans February 23, 1855; thence the journey was continued to Salt Lake City, where the emigrants arrived in September. After residing temporarily in Weber Valley and Odgen, Sister Mary located at Ephraim, Sanpete County, where she was married in 1868 to Christian Willardsen.
Anne Katrine Sorensen, wife of Christian Willardsen, was born in Gudemlund, Aalborg Denmark, November 10, 1849.
Ephraim, Settled in 1854, Treasures of Pioneer History, Vol. 4, p. 17-18, Daughters of Utah Pioneers
A number of families, who had spent two winters in Manti because of Indian troubles, located a new settlement on Pine Creek in 1854. They immediately proceeded to survey, build a fort and organize a military capacity under the command of Capt. Reddick N. Allred. This fort, which gave occasion to name the new settlement Fort Ephraim, contained 1 ½ acres of land in what is now the center of Ephraim. They also built a number of small adobe and rock houses inside the wall as well as a meetinghouse in the center of the fort. This fort was subsequently known as the Little Fort to distinguish it from the larger fort built later. The brethren who were settling on Pine Creek commenced to move their families into the fort in March 1854.
Augusta Dorius Stevens said, "All the cows, horses and oxen were corralled within the fort wall at night and carefully herded in the day. Log and mud houses were built within the fort wall to provide for the settlers, many of whom also lived in wagons and tents. The arrangement of the houses and cattle yard on the inside of the wall, as well as the meeting and schoolhouses, was that the cattle were corralled in the center and the houses, camps and wagons closer to the walls."
Among the first settlers of Fort Ephraim were James Allred,.. Reuben W. Allred, Wiley P. Allred, James T. Allred, Isaac Behunin, who had returned from Manti with the others, Alexander Justeson, Eleazer King, Fred C. Sorenson, James Farmer, Charles Whitlock, Peter Madsen, Thomas Thorpe, Andrew Thomsen, Sen., Niels Petersen, Christian Willardsen, Peter Lund, Rasmus Johnson, Henry Beal,.
The first presiding Elder at Fort Ephraim was Reuben Warren Allred, who had formerly acted as Bishop of the Allred Settlement on Canal Creek, now Spring City.

Neils Christian Heilesen

NEILS CHRISTIAN HEILESEN

by Eva T. Heilesen

…was born in Hjorring Co., Denmark, 19 Feb. 1849.  He had three sisters and one brother.  Neils was 16 years of age when his parents came to America.  His parents were converted to the L.D.S. Church by Mormon missionaries.  They came to Utah as they wanted to live where the Saints were.  They lived in several different places in Southern Utah.  His only brother, Ole Heilesen, was killed by the Indians.

Neils C. Heilesen married Inger Christina Steffensen, 13 Oct. 1873, in the Endowment House.  They made their home in Glenwood, Utah. To this union were born four children, one girl and three boys.  Henry Edward Heilesen, being the third child, was born 17 April 1878.

In the time of the Order in 1875, a cooperative of pioneer men built a small store in the North West part of Glenwood.  Stores being scarce at that time, Glenwood had the largest one and people came from near and far to trade in this store.  Then in the year 1878, this being the year Henry Edward Heilesen was born, the cooperative of men built the large stone building now standing on Main Street in Glenwood.

In 1880 Neils Heilesen went on a mission to Denmark.  When he returned he began working in the Glenwood Coop Store in which he owned a few shares of stock.  Soon after, they decided to sell the store as it was going in the red. Neils decided to buy it.  He liked it very much and did real well as he was a good manager.

Neils Heilesen was married three times and was the father of 16 children, a very wonderful family.  He served on the Glenwood Town Board April to December 1897.

On April 26, 1898 Neils left Glenwood and went into Idaho where he had bought a nice farm as he had a large family and wanted to have something for them to do.  He sold the store and home to his son Henry Edward Heilesen, and he and his family have always lived here in Glenwood.




*I have seen the spelling Neils and Niels... can anyone confirm either way? 

Christian Willardson and Anna Katrine Sorensen

"Latter-Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia" 

by Andrew Jenson, 1920

Vol. 2, p. 545-548

"WILLARDSEN, Christian, one of the pioneer settlers of Ephraim, Sanpete county, Utah was born near the city of Skive, Viborg amt, Denmark April 6, 1811.  Being left an orphan when very small and compelled to rely on his own resources, he started life without money, but soon obtained a farm and made himself quite comfortable.  Becoming a convert to "Mormonism," he was baptized in 1852 by Elders Christian Christiansen and left Denmark in December 1952, emigrating to America together with his wife, Karen Sorensen, whom he had married in Denmark April 2, 1851.  They crossed the Atlantic in the ship "Forest Monarch" and the plains in John E Forsgren's company, which arrived in Salt Lake City, Sept. 30, 1853. Together with others of the same emigrant company, Bro. Willardsen and wife first located in so-called Allred Settlement (now Spring City), but were driven away by the Indians and spent the winter of 1853-54 in Manti.  In the spring of 1854 he settled permanently at Ephraim, being one of the first settlers of that place, where he helped to build the first forts erected as a protection against the Indians.  He was a member of that community the remainder of his life, becoming one of the most prosperous citizens of the town.  He had an interest in the first burr mill at Ephraim, and finally organized a company, which built the Climax Roller Mill, of which he was president and the principal stock holder till the time of his death.  Later he bought a burr mill in Mayfield and changed it to the present roller process; that mill is now owned by the family.  Brother Willardsen also engaged in merchandizing at Ephraim at an early day, his store being later incorporated as the Ephraim Co-op.  He constructed a tannery, carried on farming and freighted produce to market.  He took an active part in the Black Hawk War and passed through all the trials of grasshopper and Indians incidents in the early days.  In 1871 he filled a short mission to Scandinavia.  Returning home he assisted quite a number of poor Saints to emigrate to Utah, he being a man of means.  On many other occasions he contributed very liberally to the Church for public purposes.  Being the founder of home industries, he gave employment to many people.  When he passed to his final rest at Ephraim, June 29, 1897, he left three wives and fourteen children.  His first wife (Karen) bore him five children, namely, Willard, Christian, Erastus C., Joseph and Maria.  His second wife (Mary Larsen) bore him four children (Christian, Caroline Andrew and James); she has two children, Mary A. Allred and Mena Oviatt, by a former marriage.  His third wife (Anna Katrine Sorensen) bore her husband four children, namely, Annie, Lorinda, Peter and John."

"WILLARDSEN, Anna Katrine Sorensen, wife of Christian Willardsen, was born Nov. 10, 1849, at Guddumlund, Aalborg amt, Denmark, the daughter of Jens chris. Sorensen and Anna Christine Jensen. She was baptized Feb. 23, 1861, by Poul Christian Petersen and emigrated to Utah in 1871, arriving in Salt Lake City Sept. 21st.  Nov. 13, 1871, she married Christian Willardsen, to whom she subsequently bore four children, two boys and two girls.  After residing in Ephraim until 1898, she moved to a place called Brooklyn, Sevier County, Utah, where she presided over the branch Relief Society about ten years.  Sister Willardsen has done a great deal of Temple work for her departed relatives and friends in the Manti and Salt Lake City Temple."

Rachel Abertha Brown Parsons

THE LIFE SKETCH OF RACHEL ABERTHA BROWN PARSONS

Written by her daughter, Della Parsons Ware

Rachel Abertha Brown, the third child of George Austin Brown and Rachel Savage, was born November 12, 1878, at Payson, Utah. She moved with her parents to Box Creek, Piute County, Utah in 1880. Although she was given the name, Abertha, she always signed her name “Bertha.” Bertha was baptized, May 18, 1888 at Box Creek, by her uncle David B. Brown. She attended school along with the other children of Box Creek, but she didn’t seem to care as much about books and reading as she did about home making. From the time she was very young, she was happiest when working to bring a touch of beauty to otherwise shabby, homely surroundings. It was not an undesirable task for her to scrub a board floor until it was yellow and clean, mix a pail of whitewash to touch up around the fireplace where smoke and grime was bound to collect. She helped knit long stockings and socks, mittens and mufflers, which were necessary clothing to be worn during long, cold winters.

Dairying was the principal industry in the valley. An abundance of knee-deep grass grew everywhere. There was plenty of grazing in the West Mountains. When Bertha was a young girl she went to the mountain to do dairy work with her brothers, Henry and Alma. They milked the cows that were turned on the range and made cheese. When Jemima, their sister, was old enough to do the work she went to the mountain dairy and Bertha hired out to work for other ranchers. She received a wage of two dollars a week. Prices of commodities were correspondingly low. Calico for dresses was only five cents a yard.

Bertha was working on their own dairy at Fish Lake in the summer of 1900 when she began a courtship with Arthur Parsons. Arthur was thirty-one years of age and Bertha was nearly twenty-one. He had just returned from a mission for the LDS Church in the Northern States. Arthur was considered fairly well to do financially. He and members of his family were also at Fish Lake dairying that summer. Quite a number of dairy herds were feeding on the meadows at Fish Lake that summer. The young people had picnics and often got together for an evening of fun.

Arthur and Bertha were married January 16, 1901, in the Manti Temple. Bertha’s brother, Henry, and Mary Christensen were also planning marriage so the two couples decided to be married the same day. The two couples traveled by wagon to Manti, a distance of about seventy-five miles. It took them nearly a week to make the trip. Arthur and Bertha brought a new bedroom set home with them. The set consisted of a bed, dresser, and washstand, all finished in golden oak. Their first home was a two-room log house on a little farm at the point of the mountain between Koosharem and Box Creek.

In this farm home their first child was born. Della May was born November 30, 1901. Bertha developed phlebitis and was confined to her home for six weeks. Her brother, Lee, a lad of fifteen years, lived with them that winter to help around the house as well as do chores outside. Arthur’s farm chores kept him busy and his church duties took him away from home sometimes at night.

Before the birth of a second child, George Stanley, born January 8, 1904, they moved to Koosharem and lived in a house owned by Bertha’s father, George Brown. With Bertha’s ambition and ingenuity she thought of ways to make extra money to buy some pieces of furniture that she could use. During that fall and winter, she took special care of her little flock of chickens, boiling a kettle of potatoes for them each morning to mix with a bran mash. This good care increased the egg production considerably. She saved the money from eggs she sold and had enough to pay for a nice baby carriage. She also raised turkeys. Gathering the eggs in the spring, she used chicken hens for brooders. When the turkey hen was ready to “set,” she broke her up so she would produce more eggs to be hatched by the “setting” chicken. She sold the turkeys to buy furniture for the new home that was being built.

They moved into the new home in 1905. Bertha had torn strips of worn clothing and sewn them together, having enough to make floor coverings for three floors. These balls of carpet rags were taken to a weaver and made into yard wide strips of carpeting. The bright colored warp made a very nice looking floor covering. She scrubbed the wood floor in the kitchen until linoleum was available.

Bertha was especially talented as a seamstress and dressmaker. She gave special attention to keeping her family well clothed. When the children’s shoes had worn shabby, she was reluctant to send them to Sunday School.

Bertha’s third child, Rachel Mary, was born March 4, 1906; Aaron, February 14, 1908; Cora, February 17, 1910; and Cleone, November 5, 1915.

Each summer the children eagerly awaited the day when they would move to the ranch, three miles south of town. The hired girl went along to help with chores and household work, and look after the children. With homemade equipment and skillful hands, Bertha made two or three large cheeses a day. Milk produced by a dozen or more cows was strained into a large metal vat. Enough of the milk was heated in a large utensil on the stove to warm the full amount to room temperature. A tablet or two of rennet was dissolved and stirred into the milk. Bertha cut the curded milk with a long knife, dipped off the whey and heated it to just the right temperature to partially cook the curd. It then could be worked with her fingers. She continued to stir and mix until the whey was out of the curds. These were salted and pressed into a cloth-lined hoop. The hoops were then place on a corrugated board, called a follower, and a wooden lid was place inside the hoop firmly but gently covering the cheese. A heavy rock was suspended from the end of a plank that pressed all the whey out of the cheese. Then it was trimmed at the edges, covered with a cheesecloth jacket, and placed away on a shelf to cure. This cured cheese bought clothing and food for the winter.

Summer vacation for the family came in the latter part of the summer each year. They were well prepared to sleep on the ground under star-lit skies for three nights. This vacation came when Arthur went to Seven-Mile and Johnson’s Reservoir, north of Fish Lake, to round up his cattle and start them on their way off the mountain. Later, he would ride to Fish Lake on horses back to bring them into the valley for the winter.

It seemed that after 1910, ill health and disappointments brought reverses into their lives. Bertha suffered from phlebitis again after the birth of her fifth child. Her legs always gave her trouble after that. She under went a major operation in 1912. Arthur contracted a severe form of bronchial asthma, for which there was no cure and very little relief.

Bertha was expecting her sixth child in November 1915 so they moved to Richfield where they could be under the care of a good doctor. Arthur’s health seemed improved in the lower climate, so they decided to sell their property in Grass Valley and buy a home in Monroe. There the children could attend high school.

They moved to Monroe the day after the General Election in 1915. Bertha and the girls went to work immediately to clean the house from top to bottom. It was her first experience with electricity. She soon learned that it is not safe to wash the inside of an electric light socket with a damp cloth. By Thanksgiving Day all was in readiness for Thanksgiving dinner. A nice dinner was prepared and a lonely bachelor neighbor was invited to have dinner with them. Arthur and Bertha were charitable and kind to those in unfortunate circumstances. They won the love and devotion of many people, especially relatives and neighbors.

In October 1920, Bertha underwent a serious major operation and spent a month in a Salt Lake City hospital. As she regained her strength she worked hard again, having a few flowers in her yard and growing a good garden, providing for the needs of her family. Being ambitious and always striving for the better material things of life, she faced many disappointments in her life. Bertha was spiritually minded in her way, but feeding and clothing her family and making a comfortable home for them was her first consideration.

Her husband passed away in August 1935, leaving her a widow for over twenty years.

She was a Relief Society block teacher for a number of years, did some temple work, was appointed by the Monroe South Ward Relief Society to sew for and clothe the dead. This position she held for twelve years before that work was finally done entirely by morticians.

For more than eight years before her death Bertha suffered an affliction that resulted from a severe illness with shingles. This involved her left eye and one side of her head and face. The malady was incurable and she suffered constant neuralgic pain. It became necessary for her to have care in a nursing home.

She passed away January 9, 1956, in a Richfield nursing home and is buried in the Monroe cemetery.

Nola Heilesen Pedigree Chart

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Vahl Ware Pedigree Chart

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Elijah Parsons Immigration

Information on Elijah Parsons' immigration from England to the United States

from the Immigrant Ancestors Project:

Age: 15
Origin: England
Occupation: Labourer
Departure: 28 March
City: Liverpool, England
Voyage Name: George Washington
Church Leaders: James P. Park
Number of Passenger 817

“NINETY-NINTH COMPANY – George Washington.  817 souls.  The fine ship George Washington, Captain Cummings, sailed from Liverpool on the twenty-eighth of March, 1857, with eight hundred and seventeen of the Saints on board, including fourteen returning elders… James P. Park was appointed president of the company with Jesse B. Martin and C.R. Dana as counselors; A.M. Musser, secretary.  The ship had an unusually speedy and prosperous voyage, reaching Boston in twenty-three sailing days from Liverpool.  Four deaths occurred on board, and one child was born.  Captain Cummings, in reply to a complimentary note from President Park and counselors, and secretary of the company, stated, ‘I am free to acknowledge that on no previous voyage have my passengers conducted themselves so orderly and peaceably as those in your charge; cleanliness, morality, sobriety, reciprocation of favors and general good behavior were preeminently conspicuous in their conduct and character.’  On Monday, April 20^th, the George Washington arrived in Boston harbor, and on the following Thursday (April 23^rd), the emigrants disembarked and most of them left Boston by rail the same day in the afternoon.  A few proceeded to New York, and perhaps other places, in search of employment, not having means to continue the journey straight to Utah, while the bulk of the company traveled westward via Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago and Rock Island to Iowa city, where they arrived on the thirtieth.  Here they were met by Elder James A. Little, the emigration agent who had arrived at the outfitting place the day before.  With considerable exertion he and the brethren of the company succeeded in getting the tents, wagon covers, and other commodities which he had purchased for the emigrants on the camp ground, and, considering that the luggage of the company had not yet arrived, except what little they had brought along for immediate or daily use, they were made quite comfortable for the night.  On the first of May a supply of provisions was got on the ground, and the tents were more permanently arraigned.  The bulk of the emigrants’ luggage also arrived in the evening of that day, after which everybody set busily to work preparing for the journey across the plains.  (Millennial Star, Vol. XIX, pp. 223, 334, 363, 377, 379; Deseret News, Vol. VII, p. 141.” <Cont., 14:7 (May 1893), p. 342>