Jens Peter Krogue

Selected Excerpts from Gertrude Krogue Christensen and Abram O. Christensen by Wendell A. Christensen: Gertrude's Father Jens Peter Krogue was born 23 June 1821 in Trinitatis Parish of Copenhagen, Denmark. His father, Peter Emilius Krogue (Peder Emilius Pedersen), was born in a small town in Germany near the Denmark border. Jens was a small child when his father died, and his mother had a difficult time in providing the family sustenance. Jens learned to make shoes and followed that trade throughout his life. His lineage is given in pedigree charts, pages 105-108. Jens Peter received the gospel message soon after the Scandinavian Mission was opened by Elder Erastus Snow. According to Copenhagen L.D.S. Membership Records, where he was converted (GS #41,940, p. 37), he was baptized on 26 December 1852 by Samuel Hansen and confirmed 2 January 1853 by Carl C. N. Dorius. In June 1853 he was ordained to the office of a Teacher. These records differ from the records of the Bloomington, Idaho, Ward and Temple Index Bureau which give his baptismal date as 23 December 1853.

Shortly after his conversion, he emigrated to America. For a while he lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he had a good shoe making business. Below is an account of him given in the words of his daughter, Gertrude: "He was a good, true, faithful Latter-day Saint. I am very grateful to him for his teachings and the courage he had in those days. It was when the first missionaries were sent out and the church was first organized. Later, the Lord told them to send them to foreign missions. Erastus Snow was one of the first to be sent to a foreign country into Denmark, and he was the one who found my ancestors in France and Germany. "Of course, father was in Denmark, and in those days most people looked down upon the members of the L.D.S. Church. When they joined the church they were outcasts. All of their friends left them. If they were in business, all of their customers left.

Father was a shoemaker and a good one. When the gospel was brought to him, he knew what it would mean, but he had the courage to join the church, regardless. It wasn't long after that until there was a company. The missionaries would go and preach the gospel. When they were ready to go home, they would take their converts back to Zion with them. The converts wanted to go to live with the people of their own faith, which was very natural." After making the trek to Utah by wagon train, Jens Peter lived in Salt Lake City. There he married (1) Anna Secela Dungor, born 20 September 1841 in Olsten, Denmark, a daughter of Les Christian Dungor. Jens and Anna lived for a while in Salt Lake City. [1-2]

Gertrude's Mother: These were the days of polygamy in Utah, and Jens Peter was encouraged by the authorities of the church to take another wife. Anna had a very close friend, Charlotte Amelia Nielsen, who had recently come from the Old Homeland, Denmark. Anna asked Jens Peter to marry her, and she became the mother of Gertrude. Charlotte Amelia Sorensen Nielsen was born 21 January 1841 in Blaesburg Parish, Mosbjerg, Hjorring, Denmark, a daughter of Soren Nielsen and Christiana Larsen Hejlesen. Her parents and brothers and younger sister joined the church in Denmark. Charlotte was baptized on 1 November 1853 by Stephen Christensen. For her lineage, see Pedigree Charts, pages 105-108. [2]

Emigration of the Nielsen Family to America: On 29 November 1855, Charlotte, her parents and family joined a company of 477 Scandinavian Saints who boarded the Steamship "Loven," bound for America under the direction of Elder Canute (Knud) Peterson. Elder Peterson was returning to America from his mission to Norway. A sorrowful sight was watching Charlotte's older sister, Karen, who had not joined the church and who had chosen to stay behind, follow the boat until stopped by deep water. She apparently had a change of heart about joining the church. They never saw her again. According to Andrew Jenson's History of the Scandinavian Mission (page 106), the Saints had a pleasant voyage to Kiel, in Holstein, and then continued their journey by rail to Gluckstadt.

They took a steamer to Grimsby, England, and then traveled by rail to Liverpool, where on 12 December 1855 they joined British and Italian Saints in boarding the ship "John J. Boyd." The tempestuous voyage across the Atlantic took over eleven weeks. The Nielsens landed in New York on 16 February 1856. After a short stay at Castle Garden, they traveled by rail via Dunkirk, New York, and Cleveland, Ohio, to Chicago, Illinois. There the company divided into three parts, some going to Burlington, Iowa, and others to Alton, Illinois. Their group went to St. Louis, Missouri, arriving there on 10 March. They spent the remainder of the winter and spring across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, where they found employment to earn means enough to continue their journey West.

Canute Peterson, who had been in charge of their company from Copenhagen, had traveled West in March but had now returned to Florence, Nebraska, with oxen teams to assist the Saints in their move to Utah. The Nielsens therefore crossed the plains by ox team in his company. Charlotte walked all the way. She carried her younger sister on her back when fording small streams and over difficult places. The family arrived in Great Salt Lake City on 20 September 1856, where they made their first home. ("Journal History" and Deseret News, 5 Oct. 1856.) [2, 5]

Endowment House Sealings: It was the following summer, on 7 August 1857, that Jens Peter Krogue, Anna Secela Dungor, and Charlotte Nielsen were sealed in the Endowment House. They made their home in Salt Lake City. [5]

Threat of Johnston's Army: This was the time when the United States Government sent Johnston's Army to Utah to quell a supposed rebellion. Jens Peter was one of the guards stationed in Echo Canyon to guard the interests of the Saints. Along with other members of the church, the Krogue family moved south to escape the Army's advance. They lived in Springville for a short while, where the first child of Jens and Charlotte (Louisa Christiana) was born on 17 June 1858.

After the Army showed peaceful intentions and moved to Camp Floyd in Cedar Valley, the Krogue's moved back to Salt Lake City, where the first child of Jens and Anna Secela was born 24 August 1858; he was named Peter Franklin. [5] The Move to Cache Valley In 1860, the Krogue and Nielsen families were sent by Brigham Young to settle in Hyde Park, Utah, a small town in Cache County, just north of Logan, Utah. This was a rich agricultural community. Here two children were born to Charlotte and three to Anna. [5]

The Move to Bear Lake Valley: Four years later, in 1864, the Krogue's and Nielsen's were sent to Bloomington, in Bear Lake Valley, which at that time was thought to be a part of the Territory of Utah. Here seven more children were born to Charlotte. Their first home had a dirt floor and a sod roof, the grass of which grew in the summer time and helped hold the roof together. In time, they built two homes, one for the family of Anna Secela and the other for the family of Charlotte. [5-7]

How Settlers Were Chosen: It is interesting to know how people were chosen and sent into remote places to settle a particular area. In 1863 President Brigham Young called Charles C. Rich to select a group of people to settle the Bear Lake Valley. Apostle Rich made a list of people, or families, who, in his judgment, would represent various trades needed in a community and make excellent pioneers. His list had to be submitted to the General Conference of the church and voted on by the members of the church. After these names were submitted and passed upon, they were given an official call by the president of the church, President Brigham Young, to go to these various areas and make settlements where others might follow.

In this case, the Krogue's and Nielsen's, among others, were called to settle Bear Lake Valley under the direction of Apostle Charles C. Rich. Apostle Rich had been moved around on numerous occasions and really felt he had not been allowed to settle for any great length of time in any one place with his family. However, he felt good about this assignment, as Bear Lake Valley was thought to be in Utah and he felt he would not be leaving the Territory of Deseret. Therefore, in the spring of 1864, he led his group of a few families of Saints who had been called to Bear Lake. [7]

Bloomington's First Settlers: The first entrance into Bear Lake Valley was from Mink Creek up through Emigration Canyon which enters the valley on the west side toward the north at the point which is now Liberty and Ovid. From there the pioneers went south and made settlements in Paris and Bloomington. Some of the first families in Bloomington were: a widow, Merinda Campbell and her two sons, Warren and David, and Mr. and Mrs. John Dunn, a nephew and three daughters. These people entered Bear Lake Valley through Gentile Valley and Soda Springs. They arrived in Bloomington 18 Apr. 1864. Emigrants coming later arrived via Emigration Canyon.

Charles C. Rich and his son had previously laid out Bloomington in 10-acre lots, ten lots of one-acre each in the 10 acres. Wide streets of eight rods width were the standard in all Mormon pioneer villages. David B. Dille was the first presiding elder in the town. Dille numbered the lots, which were made available to all new families. Then each man drew a number which matched a particular lot. Among the first who drew for lots after the Dunns and Campbells were: Jens Peter Krogue, James Wilburn Welker, Peter Greenalgh, Isaac Dunford, John J. McCaray, William Hulme, David B. Dille, Nathaniel Haws, Soren Nielsen, Christian Nelson, Arnold Goodliffe, James C. Thomas, Samuel Payne, David Evans, Jonathan Huckvale, David Roberts, James H. Hart, Lotwick Reese, George Osmond, Edward M. Patterson, and the Roger brothers. [7]

The Name of Bloomington: The town was named Bloomington by Charles C. Rich and his son, William Rich. While they were traveling on the highway south of the settlement in the springtime, they noticed an abundance of wild flowers along the countryside. It was decided by father and son that the name of this town should be Bloomington. [7]

State Boundary Problems: In 1871 a telegraph line linked the Valley with the world around them. In September of that same year, the telegraph brought shocking news to many people of that area. The Geological Society declared that the north half of Bear Lake Valley was within the bounds of Idaho State and not in Utah as they had believed and hoped. They wanted to be in the bounds of Utah because many of their members were living in polygamy. Now that they were in Idaho, they found many unjust laws concerning the Mormon religion, particularly polygamy. Following the declaration by the Geological Society, the Mormons from Garden City north were hounded by the Idaho authorities. They were denied No. 1 citizen status. They were not allowed to vote. The polygamists, those they were able to find, were put in jail for long periods. [8]

Jens Peter, the Shoemaker: Jens Peter Krogue did not keep his two families in one house. The family from Charlotte lived in a small house built one block west from the highway on the south side of Canyon Street. It is not known exactly where the house of Anna Secela and her family was located, other than it was somewhat near the home of Charlotte and family. Jens, like all the others, was given a plot of land on which he could do some farming. As he had never been a farmer in his native country, farming did not come easy for him, and he turned mostly to his regular trade of shoe making. He was an expert in the art of making shoes. He tanned his own leather and fashioned his own shoes. [8-9]

Anna Secela Leaves: It was some time in the space of years that a tragedy happened in the Krogue family. A fancy young man by the name of Frank Elvy came to Bloomington. Not much is known about him as to why he was there or from where he came. He took a liking to Anna Secela and made advances toward her. He made a lot of wonderful promises, and before anyone knew, Anna Secela succumbed to his gift of talk and his fancy ways. He took Anna Secela and all her children, which were four, and left town. Jens Peter knew nothing about it until the next morning when he went to check on Anna Secela and the children. To his dismay, her house was empty, all had gone. He hitched his oxen on the wagon to follow Frank Elvy and Anna Secela and the children. For three or four days he followed Elvy as he was headed toward Evanston, Wyoming. He was unable to catch up to him as Elvy had horses on his wagon and Jens Peter had oxen, which were much slower. He arrived in Evanston and learned that the Elvy wagon had pulled out of town the day before, on their way to California. There was nothing Jens Peter could do but return home. He remembered this sorrowful experience throughout the remainder of his life.

The names of the Krogue children by Anna Secela were Peter Franklin, James, Marie, and Sarah. Elvy took them to California where they all took the name of Elvy, i.e., Peter Franklin Elvy, James Elvy, Marie Elvy, and Sarah Elvy. Much later in history, Peter Franklin Elvy and Sarah Elvy moved to Spokane, Washington. At various times they contacted the Krogue family in Bear Lake. Sarah Elvy married a wealthy man who had mines in Northern Idaho and a chain of hotels. His name was Alfred Page. Sarah told how Elvy had been mean to the children after he had taken them away from Bear Lake into California. On one occasion she had asked Elvy why he had taken the children when he disliked them so. He told her that Anna Secela would not have gone with him without the children. These two, Sarah Page and Peter Franklin, visited the Krogue family, Gertrude in Bloomington and Angus and Bertha Krogue and family in Montpelier. [9]

Gertrude's Brothers and Sisters: Jens Peter and Charlotte were the parents of six boys and four girls. The sons were David Anthony, James Peter, Nelson Louis, Orson Elmer, Angus and Leonard. The daughters were Louisa Christiana, Josephine Clementina, Mary Catherine, and Emily Gertrude. Emily "Gertrude" was born 5 February 1875 in Bloomington, eleven years after its settlement. She had heard from her parents stories of the early happenings in the valley, and she personally knew some of the early leaders who had influenced the settlers in all phases of their lives—physical, environmental, as well as spiritual. [9]

The United Order: During the church leadership of Charles C. Rich and William Budge, the United Order was organized in Bear Lake Valley. The plans included a system of cooperatives, a store, dairy, saw mill, tannery, harness factory, among others. The Order encouraged the saints to great industry. Through cooperative action fences were built, irrigation ditches dug, roads built, machinery purchased. The saints manufactured their own necessities. Gertrude's father and mother were active in the United Order while she was yet a baby. To prove their consecration to the cooperative effort, many saints were rebaptized. Gertrude's father and mother were rebaptized into the United Order in 1877 and 1878, as shown in the Bloomington Ward Records. The United Order gradually declined, but it served its purpose of encouraging home manufacture and industry so that many of the daily needs were supplied. Gertrude's parents taught her many of the home and pioneer arts that were fostered. The decline in the cooperative effort was partly due to the coming of the railroad. [10]

The Edmunds-Tucker Act In 1882: Congress passed the Edmunds-Tucker Act, outlawing polygamy. The men who practiced plural marriage were usually the leaders of the community who had the respect of all their neighbors. In some cases, even non-Mormons recognized the integrity and honesty of the polygamist leaders and did not want to report them. However, the radical anti-Mormons of Utah and Idaho pressured Congress to clamp down on the church. Congress forbade polygamists from voting or holding offices in Utah and Idaho territories from 1882 on. Idaho adopted a more effective and extensive political activity—no Mormon, regardless of what he thought about polygamy, could vote or hold offices in Idaho after 1884. Furthermore, no Idaho Mormon could leave the church and regain his vote outside of Bear Lake County. Congress never got around to pushing these restrictions in Utah, but the threat was there, nevertheless.

The anti-Mormons were jealous of the Mormon co-ops—it meant Mormon expansion. They didn't want them to vote because the Mormons caused "bloc voting," which caused church control in politics. In 1978 it was discovered that many of these pioneer men were not now considered members of the church. Many of these men had voluntarily removed their names from the membership of the church so as to be able to vote in an election where allocation of water rights was very essential to the well being of the inhabitants of this particular part of the valley. Idaho would not let the Mormons vote. Therefore, about 51 men in Bloomington and 49 men in Paris were excommunicated from the church. They were able to vote and, in this particular case, were able to save the very vital water rights. Unfortunately, it seems that in every case the pioneer men neglected to have their names reinstated on the membership rolls of the church. Or, in cases of excommunication, they had not rejoined the church.

Their descendants are now seeing that their membership is reinstated and their ordinance privileges restored. It is not known to what extent the battle of polygamy touched the life of Gertrude. It is certain it did not affect her life as much as some who were of her age. Her father was originally a polygamist, but prior to all this trouble over polygamy, her father's other wife had left the country with Mr. Elvy. Because of this, Jens Peter could not come under the critical eye of the government men as they hunted for polygamists. However, her future husband's father, Jacob Christensen, was a martyr to the cause—he withdrew his church membership to be able to vote for water rights, and his descendants had to care for his reinstatement. [11]

Jens Peter Krogue's Mission to Germany: When Gertrude was five years old, her father was called on a church mission to Germany. This was a brave undertaking for him to leave his family of then eight children and a wife expecting a baby. There was little cash for his support, only that obtained by the family from selling eggs, a few dairy products, and the handicraft of his wife's and daughters' making. It was while he was in Germany on his mission that he had the only picture taken of him that the family now has. The picture shows him standing near an ornate table with his scriptures before him. After filling an honorable mission, he returned to the states on the steamship "Nevada," as recorded on the passenger list on 29 August 1883, his age there given as 62 years. He was pleased to see for the first time his son, Angus, born to him while he was on this mission. [11-13]

Spelling of the Krogue Surname: At the time of the birth of her father in Copenhagen, the Parish Records spelled the surname as Krog. Other Danish entries spelled the name Krogh. However, one of the teachers during Gertrude's school years seemed to think her surname was of French derivation. He thought the family should add "ue" at the end of the surname and spell it "Krogue" to reflect its French origin. Thereafter, the family followed his suggestion. [20]

Appendix: The following autobiography was related to Wendell A. and Viola P. Christensen, Loraine Christensen, Cathy, Julie, Kelly, Brett, and Harold Christensen, and recorded in shorthand and transcribed by Jeanine H. Long on the 29 June 1972, at Bloomington, Idaho, at which time Gertrude was 97 years of age:

In my youth, I had a jolly time. One thing, I was my father's pet, so they tell me, and I didn't care at all. Every place father went, I went with him. His ancestors came from France and Germany, and he was born in Copenhagen. There were a lot of French and Englishmen who immigrated in the fall of 1863, and father came in the spring of 1864, but they all left Salt Lake about the same time. Only father and his group went to Hyde Park (north of Logan) and stayed for a while. Father was sent to Springville and lived in a dugout and soon President Young sent them to Hyde Park. My oldest sister was born in Springville. My next oldest sister and little brother were born in Hyde Park. David and Josephine.

In 1864 he was sent here to Bear Lake and my sister Mary and James Peter and Nelson Louis were born, and then I came next, number seven in a family of ten. [97] My father was very fond of music and he had my sister, Mary, who was ten years older than I, take music lessons and then give lessons to me. She didn't take to music at all. She cooked and sewed. I worked in the music department of the church until I was in my seventies, in about 1973. I taught the lower grades the New Testament, the four courses in that. I taught in different classes until I was in my 73rd year. When Louis got old enough, I gave him music lessons, and he took over on the music. I got some books and compliments for my work in the Sunday School from many different superintendents. [98]

I was named after my father's mother. I have often wondered if that was why he took so much interest in me. He was a good, true, faithful Latter-day Saint. I am very grateful to him for his teachings and the courage he had in those days. It was when the first missionaries were sent out and the church was first organized. Later, the Lord told them to send them to foreign missions. Erastus Snow was one of the first to be sent to a foreign country into Denmark, and he was the one who found my ancestors in France and Germany.

Of course, father was in Denmark, and in those days most people looked down upon the members of the L.D.S. Church. When they joined the church they were outcasts. All of their friends left them. If they were in business, all of their customers left. Father was a shoe maker and a good one. When the gospel was brought to him, he knew what it would mean, but he had the courage to join the church regardless. It wasn't long after that until there was a company. The missionaries would go and preach the gospel. When they were ready to go home, they would take their converts back to Zion with them. The converts wanted to go to live with the people of their own faith, which was very natural.[99]

My father was very fond of music and he insisted I practice on the organ and piano in the college auditorium. Sometimes when I would practice I would play for hours and Professor John Widtsoe would come in the room and lean on the organ and talk to me. He came from the same country as my father. We had many hour-long conversations. Another day he came in again. So I value lots of things in my school very highly. Glad I went even if I did have to go in shabby clothes. I found that it didn't make a bit of difference. [100] When the Saints got to Springville, Johnston's Army was going to come through and burn everything in Salt Lake City. My father's folks went in hiding and he went on the defense line and defended his people along with a group of other early pioneers

SOURCE: https://familysearch.org/photos/stories/1022208/selected-excerpts-f...

Jens Peter Krogue was listed in the 1860 U.S. Federal Census living in Cache County, Utah Territory, and he and his family were listed as follows with several mis-spellings of their names: Jas. P. Krog, 38, Cinna C., 19, Charlotte, 19, (plural wife), and children Louisa, 2, and Peter, 2. Jens or James was working as a shoe maker and his real estate was valued at $100 and his personal estate at $70. The two children were born in Utah.

By the 1870 census, they were living in Bloomington, Idaho, and were listed as follows, again with their names mis-spelled: James P. Croage, 45, Charlotte A., 29, Louisa, 12, Josephine, 10, David, 7, Mary, 5, James P., 1. Jens was still working as a shoe maker, his real estate was valued at $400 and his personal estate at $250.

They were still living in Bloomington in 1880 and were listed as follows in the census: Peter Krogue, 59, Charlotte A., 37, Louisa C., 22, Josephine, 19, David, 17, Mary, 15, James P., 11, Niels (Nelson Louis), 8, Emily Gertrude, 5, and Orson E., 9 months old. Jens Peter Krogue was working as a farmer, and son David was working on the farm as well. Louisa, Josephine and David had been born in Utah and all the other children in Idaho. Two more sons were born, Angus and Leonard in February of 1882 and April of 1886.

Some of Peter and Charlotte's neighbors were my ancestors, Inger Madsen Welker and her husband James A. Welker, with their children, Clara and James, and next door was James A. Welker's brother, Adam Welker, Jr., and his wife Clara Osmond Welker and their one year old son Anson. Just a few homes down the road were John Welker, 50, and his wife, Roxanna Mahalia Dustin, 46, my 3rd great grandparents, and their nephew, Levi J. Dustin, 14, and next door was their son John E. Welker, 26, and his wife, Sarah Ann Thornock Welker, 24, and their children Sarah O., and John P. Living not far away was my 2nd great grandmother, the daughter of John Welker and Roxanna Mahalia, Dustin Welker, Roxana Louisa Welker Madsen and her husband, Christian Madsen, the son of Jacob and Dorothea Madsen, and sister of Inger Madsen Welker.

By 1900, Peter Krogue, 78, and Charlotte A., 59, were still living in Bloomington with their three youngest sons, Nelson Louis, 28, Angus, 18, and Leonard, 14. Peter and Charlotte had been married for 44 years, had given birth to 10 children, 8 of whom were still living. Peter was still working as a farmer and his two sons, Nelson and Angus were working as farm laborers. They owned their own farm free from a mortgage.

Jens/James Peter Krogue passed away four years later on January 4, 1904, in Bloomington, and was buried in the Bloomington Cemetery. His wife, Charlotte Amelia, lived another 13 years and passed away on February 2, 1917, and was buried with her husband in the Bloomington Cemetery.