Jens Olsen

Born 14 May 1841 in Denmark to Rasmus Olsen and Ingeborg Sorensdatter
Married Annie Catherine Hansdatter Christensen 7 August 1859 in Salt Lake City
Jens-James Peter-Raymond-Earl
He died 16 October 1883.
Buried in Ephraim

 1860 Census 
1870 Census

This biography was written by Jens' granddaughter Lucille Johnson Stratford.

James Peter Olsen was born in Selandveile, Denmark, 14 May 1841. His father was Rasmus Olsen, born 12 November 1806, in Skouhousse, Denmark. His mother was Ingeborg Sorensdatter, born 23 December 1812, in Stensby, Kallchaur, Denmark. They lived on a beautiful estate, located on a cliff over the ocean.

His parents heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when James Peter was 13 years of age. They emigrated to Utah in 1854. They were sent to Ephraim, Utah to settle that part of the country.

He had four sisters and six brothers. One of his brothers died at sea. In 1858 he met a blue-eyed, dark-haired girl by the name of Annie Catherine Christensen. She and her family had emigrated to Utah from Denmark in 1855. They were both 18. She was born in Alborg, Juland, Denmark October 13, 1841. They would sit on the woodpile and do their courting. They married October 19, 1859.

They lived in a two room adobe house. They lived in one room and used the other for a granary. Their furniture consisted of a large box for a table, a flour bin, two three-legged chairs, or stools, and a wooden bed with rope springs. There were a few shelves on the wall to hold the few dishes they owned.

They did their cooking in the fireplace. When company came, they would roast potatoes for refreshments. Their home had a dirt floor and a dirt roof, but they were very contented and happy. Two little boys were born to them. The eldest, James, died as a baby. The other was James Peter.

In the spring of 1864, James Peter was called to go to Omaha, Nebraska with Ox teams to help bring emigrants over the plains. It took them six months to make the trip. It rained steady for six weeks. As there had been a drought, people said, “If it had not been for the Mormon boys coming and bringing the rain, we would not have raised any crops that year.” That fall, September 1864, a baby girl was born to them. They named her Annie Catherine after her mother.

In 1865, they were called to leave their home in Ephraim and go to Circleville to settle that part of Utah. They took what they could with them. They built a two-room log cabin, (which is still standing?) and put in their crops. They lived in Circleville for one and a half years, when the Indians began to trouble them by stealing their cattle. They built a fort around the houses and the women and children were not allowed outside it. They had a hard time, scarcely enough to eat. Many times his wife, Annie Catherine, would take the baby in her arms and little James Peter by the hand, and run to the meeting house. Daniel H. Wells came out there and saw the terrible time they were having, so ordered them to move back to Ephraim. The crops were about ready to harvest, but they had to leave them and start anew.

Even though they went through hardships in Circleville, they had good times. They had to eat boiled wheat at times, as there were not enough men to guard the place and go for supplies at the same time. Finally some one put up a windmill and ran a Burr mill with it so they could grind the wheat into coarse graham flour.

One night the Indians came and drove off most of the cattle. All the men had to go to try and save them. Annie Catherine was afraid to go to bed. She had mixed bread and it was ready to bake. She had no wood and was afraid to go get some. One of their sports was playing ninepins. After meeting, and when they had time, they would play ninepins. They kept them at James Peter's house. Annie Catherine thought, "We will never live to play ninepins again," so she used them for wood to bake her bread. The men came back with few casualties.

On March 12, 1876, they moved to Manti. They bought a farm from Heber C. Kimball. It was located just below the hill north of where the temple now stands. Just before this time, the saints were practicing plural marriage. Only about 3% did. They had to have the consent of their first wife. James Peter decided to take a second wife. This was before they moved to Manti. Her name was Christina. Annie Catherine and Christina were like sisters. They each had a baby the same age, David and Louis.

The women would take turns working in the fields while the other one would stay home and nurse the babies. The boys grew up like twins and were in business together for a good many years.

James Peter was called to St. George, Utah to work on the temple. They arrived at about where Parawan now is. They were snowed in for a few days. All the party but he and the other men returned home. He and the two other men went on to St. George and filled their assignment of a year, working on the temple. He also worked on the Manti temple.

He was a 2nd Lt. in the guard in the Indian wars. He was a good mediator with the Indians. Chief Blackhawk visited their home many times. He would bring pine gum to the children. Annie Catherine, James’ daughter, said she had chewed many wads of gum that Blackhawk had given her. Annie Catherine, his wife, received an Indian war pension the last few years of her life; and I suppose the other wives did also if they were alive.

He married a third wife. Her name was Christine, also. They called the second wife "Big Stina," and the third one "Little Stina." When they went to get married, the two women and the oldest daughter, Annie, stayed at home and cooked the wedding dinner. Annie Catherine, the daughter, said she alsways remembered seeing them come home sitting on the front seat of the wagon.

Annie Catherine, the first wife, had nine children: James, born 9 August 1860, died 23 April 1861, a child: James Peter, born 12 March 1862, Ephraim, married Severina Simonsen: Annie Catherine, born 17 September 1864, Ephraim, married John A. Johnson, died 25 December 1927; David, born 14 September 1866, Ephraim, married Cora Dorthea Madsen; Ingeborg Diantha, born 4 April 1869, married Fredrick Burton Newton: Alma, born 1 April 1872, died 3 September 1880 - eight years of age; Edmond, born 13 July, 1874, died 10 September 1880 - six years of age; Heber C., born 23 July 1877, died 25 August 1880 - three years of age; Hans Christian, born 11 September 1880, married Zina Anderson 22 November 1899.

Christina, the second wife, had Louis, Mary and James. One girl died that we know of.

Chirstina, the third wife had Lizzie, Lehi, and Daniel. She married a second time and had four children, Theo, Violet, Lamar and Calvin.

James Peter married a fourth wife. Her name was Metz Ann. Her mother came to James Peter and asked him to marry her daughter. He wouldn’t have to support her. She had been married and had a little girl. She had another baby girl and it died, also the baby. The other girl died when she was nine years old.

He was a stock raiser and farmer, and also had sheep. He furnished a team and wagon for each of his wives. Annie Catherine lived on the east side of the road and Christina, the second wife, lived on the west side, on the farm just below the temple hill. He was a partner in owning the first binder in Ephraim. It had to have the grain raked from the canvas. The next one tied the grain with wire. Lots of people would come to see it. One day Hans stuck his finger in the binder. The tip was cut off. His father put it back on and bound it with splints. He still has his finger.

Jim and Lehi would herd cattle in the north foothills. When the grass was gone, they would move farther up the mountain. The older boys would help on the farm. When the crops were gathered, the boys would fix up the old wagon, with the help of their father, and with a yoke of oxen would go after wood. Many times one yoke would be of wild steers, which would cause a lot of trouble. At times they would drive them without lines and there were no brakes on the wagon. When they came to a hill, they would have to stop and lock the wheel with the old-fashioned lock chains. Sometimes they were unable to stop the wagon and the load would go tipping down the hill.

James Peter and his wife would always pray before the boys started, asking the Lord to protect them from harm during the day. Sometimes it would be far into the night when they returned, but always in safety. There is an old spring up on the mountain. They still call it "The Olsen Spring."

During the terrible diphtheria epidemic, Annie and James Peter lost three little boys within three weeks- Alma, Edmond, and Heber. The last little boy was lying dead in one room while Annie Catherine gave birth to her youngest son, Hans, in the other room. One of the second wife’s daughters died also at this time.

The daughter, Annie Catherine, was very ill with diphtheria also at this time, but she recovered. They lived in Manti five years when James Peter was called to go on a mission to Denmark. He left home October 16, 1882. He labored there for ten months, being ill most of the time. He was released to come home.

James Peter lived only two months after returning from his mission. He passed away at the age of 42 in October of 1883. He is buried in the old Ephraim cemetery. He left three wives and eleven children. At this time, 1965, they are all gone but his youngest son, Hans Olsen, who lives in Gunnison, Utah. He died, so the children are all gone now.