Married Sophie Margrethe Sorensdatter 23 December 1843 in Denmark
Peder-Samuel-Mary Ann-Dixie
Died 2 December 1893 in Cedar City
Buried in Cedar City
1860 Census
1870 Census
1880 Census
I don't know who wrote this history; it was in the papers of a grandmother.
In the year 1850, Erastus Snow assisted by P. O. Hansen, G. P. Dykes and John Forsgren introduced and established the Latter-day Saint religion in that country. They were very badly treated at first, but the fruits of their labors were bountiful in the end. More joined the Church from Denmark than from any other European country according to her size. This is especially true of the two small islands of Falster and Lowland.
From such a land and people came Peter Mackelprang, born 20 April (or 7 May) 1817, in Rudby, Lowland, Denmark, son of Erik Mackelprang Kruckow and Anne Kirstene Hansdatter With. He graduated from high school where he never excelled in mathematics. He learned the trade of tanning and shoemaking.
In order to get a diploma for his trade of shoemaking, he was required to take a measurement for a pair of boots and a pair of fine lady's slippers and cut them without a pattern. When the instructor put his pattern on, it was exactly right, so he received his diploma. He worked at this trade until he was married. His forefathers were master shoemakers and as history records it. Many of them were well informed in the laws of the country. A great-granduncle was a lawyer for the King. The shop Peter worked in before and after marriage had been in the family for over two hundred years. Peter often took boys as apprentices to learn the trade.
Peter was the youngest in the family, having one brother and one sister older than himself. Being the youngest, he inherited the homestead where he lived for a few years after he married Margaret Sorensen. She was born 2 March 1820 in Rudby (or Brandeslew), Lowland, Denmark. They were married 23 December 1840 (or 1843) in the same city. They raised nine children to maturity, the eldest dying when nine months old. The first six were born in Rodby, between 1844 and 1853/4: Christine Johanne, Christian Erik, Johanne Margarethe, Soren Wilhelm (sometimes known as Samuel), August and Julius; Annie Eva Augusta was born in Copenhagen in 1855; and the three youngest were born in Cedar City between 1857 and 1863: Mary, Margaret and Peter. The eight oldest children were sealed to their parents on 6 October 1880 in the St. George Temple.
When the Mormon missionaries preached the glad tidings of life eternal in their prosperous little island, Margaret accepted the message willingly, feeling that Peter would soon see the light. It was harvest time, so Peter told the missionaries he didn't have time to study their work, but as soon as the harvest was over he would investigate it. He wanted to fit them up with clothes so he had the tailor make them a pair of dickies, as they were called, four collars each, linen handkerchiefs, and he bought them silk hats. They were all fixed up for conference. The missionaries were named Swenson and Lubean. After the harvest, Peter joined the Church (in 1854 or 1855). Then he and his wife sold the farm and moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, where they lived for one year. Peter was called to act as a missionary among his countrymen, doing much good. Brother Mattison, who worked in the Salt Lake Temple, was the first one to be baptized. After laboring at this calling for six months, they commenced preparations for the journey to Zion.
When Anna Eva Mackelprang (later Bailey), their seventh child, was five weeks old, they started on their ocean trip in a sailing boat. The voyage lasted eleven weeks and five days. The trip across the plains was accomplished by ox teams. Knute Peterson was the captain of the company. At the Missouri river they had to leave all luggage that was not absolutely necessary to their existence.
Through Margaret and Peter's supply of money and big-heartedness, four young people emigrated with them as far as Salt Lake City, where they divided the train of emigrants as was the custom. These young people moved to Sanpete County to live with relatives that had come to the country before them. Peter and his family were sent south, while others were sent north. They located in the Old Fort, northwest of what is now Cedar City, Utah. They arrived 14 November 1856, living there for a great number of years.
Peter followed his trade as a tanner and shoemaker and did farming on the side. Peter was an excellent beer-maker and would make malt beer, which was sold to the emigrants bound for California. In this way the maintenance of the family was considerably lightened. The malt was made by soaking the wheat until it sprouted, then, after browning it in the oven, hot water was poured over it and it made a good flavor for the homemade beer. The bishop of the ward wanted Peter to make beer for the town's workingmen, as malt beer was very nourishing, and they had but little to eat.
When the "New City" was laid out, they moved up, living in a shed with willows woven around to form a room. During August of the year they moved into a cellar that had been dug during the summer months. It was here that Mary Mackelprang (later Jones) was born. The next summer they built the adobe house which stood at Center Street and Third East Street in Cedar City, Utah. The children carried the water from the creek for the mixing of mud to build the adobe structure. Two rooms were built. This was one of the first houses built in Cedar City. In the cellar stood the form which served for baking. This house was erected by Brother Jens Nelson and Peter.
Since so much water was needed for tanning the leather, and since it was impossible to keep the ditch from breaking, they moved back to the Old Fort. It was here that Margaret "Maggie" Mackelprang (later Perkins) was born on 19 September 1860. Peter bought a four-room house in the "New City," which they moved into that fall, living there the rest of their lives.
Peter was a great walker and thought it no great task to walk to Parowan and back in a day or up Shurtz's Canyon for his oxen before breakfast. He held the record for being the best wheat cradler in Southern Utah, often doing five acres a day. Peter and Margaret were a very hospitable couple, and the emigrants from the north would try to arrange their drives to "make Brother Mackelprang's" for the night. It is told that twenty outfits camping in and out of the lot was no uncommon sight. Though they were not before the public much, their faith was deep-rooted and the paying of an honest tithing was one of their strong points.
Peter kept a dairy for many years, always having nineteen cows in the herd. The milk was used for cheese and butter making.
There never was a missionary that left Cedar City that Peter did not give five dollars and his blessing. During the winter, when he would kill a beef, he would always send a piece of it to the widows. He performed many duties in the church, being called with his wife to take their second anointing because of their faithfulness.
Peter died 9 December 1892 (or 1893) in his seventy-fifth year, leaving Margaret in loneliness for fifteen years before she was permitted to join him on 28 November 1908. He was a Seventy in the Priesthood and a teacher in the ward. They left behind them a posterity of eight children, two preceding them to the great beyond, and over four hundred and fifty descendants at the time this sketch was written.
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