| Early photo of Salt Lake City looking east toward the Wasatch |
The year
1854 was a year of great changes for the Chappell family. George Armstrong Chappell, eldest son and
companion to his father in so many difficult times –embracing a new and
controversial religion, leaving friends and family in the East, crossing a
continent in a covered wagon, building a home, clearing and cultivating a farm,
carving out a place in a wild land - passed away on February 6, 1854 at the age
of 32 (1). The cause of death is
unknown, but given the time of year, a respiratory infection such as influenza
complicated by pneumonia would be the most likely. Also, cholera, which had so decimated the
Dunsdon famiy, may have afflicted Anna Maria again in taking her husband. Other illnesses known to take the otherwise
young and healthy included appendicitis, or cellulitis from a cut or
scratch. Regardless of the cause, one
can only imagine the heart ache the family must have felt. His young wife, six months pregnant with
their first child, must have felt particularly alone and vulnerable. Thomas and Sarah would have been a source of
comfort to Maria, but they too, would have been dealing with great grief. Surely this was a difficult time as in the
grips of winter, this young woman, still just a child, buried her husband and prepared
to give birth.
George
Armstrong Chappell, Jr. was born April 29, 1854, in East Mill Creek, Utah
Territory. The aching hearts of those
still mourning the loss of his father must have surely been comforted by the
birth of this baby boy. Named after his
father, this newest member of the family would have brought a beam of light
into the Chappell home, much like the spring April sun chasing away the cold,
dark days of winter. Anna Maria and the
baby continued to live with Thomas and Sarah Marie, however, the birth of a new
grandchild was not to be the only addition to their family that year.
Each year
many wagon companies carrying thousands of new immigrants would come into Salt
Lake City. These were people from all walks of life and from many different
countries. Most were fellow members of the Church, but with the discovery of
gold in California in 1849, thousands of “gentiles” passed through on their way
west. While immigrants, like the Weech family, were certainly an ongoing part
of the Chappell’s lives, a non-Mormon company from Arkansas passing through
Salt Lake that summer of 1854 on their way to California changed the Chappell
family forever.
Mary
Elizabeth Wardrop was born in Tennessee in roughly 1832. At a young age she married Jeremiah Phelps in
Sebastian County, Arkansas, and with him had two children, Sarah Ann Phelps,
born in 1851, and George Washington Phelps, born in 1852, both in
Arkansas. In 1853, the family left
Arkansas for California. Their route of
travel took them through Salt Lake City arriving on July 4th of that year.
While in Salt Lake City, she and the children left Jeremiah and sought refuge
among the Mormons citing that he had “neglected to provide for her and her two
children those things that were necessary to make them comfortable insomuch
that she has been forced to leave him and seek a home among strangers with her
children”. (2)
Mary
Elizabeth Wardrop Phelps and her children became acquainted with the Chappell
family during their time in Salt Lake City with Thomas assisting her with her
divorce the following year. (Thomas Chappell signed the court summons for
Jeremiah Phelps to appear in court in the matter of the divorce, Salt Lake
County, June 15, 1854). Polygamy was
being openly practiced among the Latter-Day Saints at that time and sometime
thereafter, Mary Elizabeth became Thomas’ second wife. With this union, the Thomas Chappell family
added three new members and over the
next several years added three more as Mary
and Thomas would have three children together.
(In the 1860 Utah Territory
Census, Mary Elizabeth along with her two children from her first marriage,
Sarah Ann and George Washington, was living with the Chappell family in East
Mill Creek. New to the family was Susan,
age 4, Henry T., age 2 and infant James E., three new children born to Thomas Chappell and Mary Elizabeth Wardrop
Phelps Chappell - 1860 US Census, as found on www.ancestry.com).
 |
Mary Elizabeth Wardrop Phelps, Second wife of Thomas Chappell |
Arriving
later that year, in the fall 1854, a Danish immigrant family moved into the
community. Jeppe Christensen, a widower
having lost his wife on the trek, along with his 7 children settled in Mill
Creek. They were all part of the Hans Peter Olsen Company of 1854 that arrived
in the Valley on October 5th. (3) Their eldest son, 18, was Peter Christensen,
future second husband of Anna Maria Dunsdon Chappell. (4)
Like the
Chappell’s, Sperry’s, Sidwell’s and Dunsdon’s, the Christensen’s had also made
great sacrifices to come to Zion.
Joining the Church in their native Denmark, they were among the first
large group of Scandinavian Saints to immigrate to Utah leaving Denmark in late
December 1853 or early January 1854.
Persecutions were intense and the urge to gather with the Saints in
America was great. While the financial
status of the Jeppe Christensen family is unknown, apparently, many of these
early Danish immigrants were people of means.
In an act of true Christian charity, many of the well-to-do helped those
less fortunate members pay for the journey to Zion. Traveling by ship to Hull, Great Britain,
they took a train on to Liverpool where they were part of the 454 LDS
passengers on board the Jesse Munn when it set sail from Liverpool on January
5, 1954. (5) After a uncomplicated voyage, they arrived in New Orleans February
20, proceeded up the Mississippi River and eventually on to Kansas City, the
designated outfitting place for the Saints that year. (Please see the full summary of this voyage
indexed at the end of this chapter.) (6)
While
illness and death was not as prevalent among the Christensen’s and those with
whom they traveled, cholera was still stalking the travelers and taking
many. Sadness, loss and sorrow would
also be there’s to bare. On May 26, 1854, Christian J. Larsen in his journal
records, “This morning at 8 o’clock I called the people together for the first
time since we left Kansas City and we had prayer, singing and preaching, as we
had been used to on board the ships. We
had another meeting in the evening at 6 o’clock. The wife of Jeppe (or Jesse) Christensen
died. “(7) Karen Christensen, wife and
mother, was gone at the young age of 46.
Like most of
the European Saints, these Danish members were not used to travel. For many, a trip to the market in the next
town had been their longest journey prior to setting out for the western United
States.(8) How strange this land of
America must have appeared; and how “big” it must have been. Surely they were amazed as they traveled day
and after day up the mighty Mississippi River, on to the Missouri River, and
finally to Kansas City. Having come from
the wooded mountains of Denmark, the rolling prairie of western Missouri must
have seems almost overwhelming as they contemplated the task of heading out
into this wild wide open land. Many
traveling with the Hans Peter Olsen Company mentioned in their journals the
buffalo that would at times come near their camp. Many also mentioned the
Indian troubles they encountered near Fort Laramie. While concerns were high, other than losing a
few cattle, the company came through without suffering any serious Indian
attacks. (9)
Mountains
must have been a welcome sight for many, or at least not something worthy of
concern. Very few of the travelers
mentioned the mountainous terrain they would have encountered through Wyoming
and on to Utah. Travel through the
rugged Wasatch is also not mentioned in the trail excerpts of those who were to
pen their experiences of the trek.
Perhaps, by this point in the journey, the anticipation of finally
arriving in their new home was such that little else impressed upon their
minds. Many do, however, mention the
wagons sent from the valley with provisions that began arriving in
mid-September while they were still a good three weeks away from the Valley. The hungry travelers received this food with
great appreciation. (10)
On October
5, 1854, the weary travelers rolled into the Salt Lake Valley. In anticipation of the arriving Saints, arrangements
were already being made to provide employment for the new arrivals and shelter
for the fast approaching winter. (11)
The Christensen family found employment and shelter for the coming
winter in Mill Creek.
While we
have no written record of the interactions that may have occurred between the
two families, we can assume the Chappell and Christensen families were familiar
with each other. Surely Peter quickly
became aware of and had early interactions with the young widowed Anna Maria
and her small, growing baby boy. Over
three years would pass between Peter’s arrival in Mill Creek and their eventual
marriage on January 3, 1858. (12)
During that
time, Peter was a busy young man. This young Dane must have made an impression
on Brigham Young and other church leaders in that family records indicate he
worked for Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff and other Church leaders. He also made two trips to the Missouri River
to help immigrants travel to Utah.(13)
In the
summer of 1857, word came to Utah that an army was being sent by the United
States government to destroy the Mormons.
This army of some 2500 soldiers under the command of General Albert S.
Johnston was coming to Utah by order of President James Buchanan.
Unfortunately, due to the poor communications of the day, the authorities in
the East thought the Mormons were in open “rebellion” against the United States
and that it would take armed confrontation in order to replace Governor Brigham
Young with a new, government assigned governor.
This same lack of communication lead the Mormons to believe the army was
coming to destroy them and their settlements. Uncertainty and fear gripped the
colonies throughout Utah. The Mormons
were in Utah as a result of having been forced to leave their homes first in
Ohio, then Missouri, and finally, Illinois.
Having enjoyed 10 years of relative freedom from persecution, they once
again prepared for conflict.
The
resulting confrontation, known as the “Utah War”, lasted roughly a year from
the summer of 1857 to the summer of 1858.
Never intending to force an armed showdown with the US troops, Brigham
Young and the Mormons mobilized local militia to meet and delay the army far to
the east while further preparations were being made in Utah. These preparations included defenses in the
local mountain passes and contingency plans to move the whole population of
Salt Lake City to more rural parts of the territory. (14)
Peter was
part of a militia assigned to prepare and defend Echo Canyon, the main route
coming into Utah from southwestern Wyoming. Years later, John Broom,
brother-in-law to Peter Christensen (he was husband of Hester Dunsdson, Anna
Maria’s sister) would describe his efforts as follows:
“We organized ourselves into military
companies, and went out one hundred and fifty miles to meet them before they
could reach the Valley. Now the
advantage we had of them was not in numbers, but it was in the knowledge we
possessed of the canyons, and passes in the mountains through which they would
need to pass…. In these canyons and passes we fortified ourselves in some
places in the canyons. The passage was
so narrow between the precipitous sides of the mountains, that there was barely
room for a wagon to pass through. We dug
out trenches in this canyon in which we could conceal ourselves from the enemy
and high up on each side of the walls.
In places where there was room to stand and work, we piled up rocks to
hurl down on the heads of the army, had it undertaken to pass through the
narrow defile..” (15)
The delay
tactics were sufficient in slowing Johnston’s Army such that they had to set up
winter quarters near Fort Bridger some 40 miles east of the present day Utah
border and the top of Echo Canyon. As
winter set in, the Saints in the Valley also settled in for the winter knowing
there would be no confrontation with this “invading army” at least until late
the following spring when the mountain passes would again be open.
 |
| Johnston's Army |
Satisfied
the threat was not imminent, Peter Christensen along with the other militia
guarding the canyons returned to their homes.
Now back in East Mill Creek, Peter had the opportunity to pursue his relationship
with the lovely Anna Maria Dunston Chappell. The young English widow and
handsome Dane married January 3, 1858. Establishing a new home together in East
Mill Creek, the newlyweds and 4 year old George Armstrong faced an uncertain
New Year. Would they be driven from
their homes like so many of the early Saints before them? Where would 1859 find them? Surely, Anna Maria, so familiar with heart
ache, approached her new life with concern.
Or, perhaps, in her heart she sensed what only God knew – their future
together would be long and full. While not without challenges, the dark days of
her youth would not be again.
1. Family Genealogy Records
2. Mary Elizabeth Phelps vs. Jeremiah
Phelps, Bill for Divorce, 12 of June
1854, Utah Territory
3. Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel,
1847–1868 , Hans Peter Olsen Company of 1854, http://lds.org/churchhistory/library/pioneercompanysources
4. Death Certificate, Perry Christensen,
1905, Juab County, Utah
6. Jesse Munn, A Compilation of General
Voyage Notes as found on: http://www.lib.byu.edu/mormonmigration.
"SIXTY-NINTH COMPANY. -- Jesse Munn, 333 Souls. This company of
Saint were all from the Scandinavian Mission. Quite a number of the recently
made converts to 'Mormonism' in Denmark possessed considerable means, and as
the spirit of emigrating to America was universal in all the branches in
Scandinavia from the beginning, the well-to-do Saints made almost immediate
preparations to sell their property and wend their way Zionward. The incessant
persecutions, which prevailed against the members of the true church in nearly
all parts of the country, also increased the desire to emigrate; and rather
than tarry, a number preferred to sell their homes at half price, if by so
doing they could only obtain sufficient means to defray the expenses of the
journey. Under these circumstances the spirit of brotherly love also manifested
itself in its noblest form, and under its divine influence the rich Saints
remembered their poor fellow religionists, and extended to them that material
help and succor, which has always characterized the Saints of the Most High.
Thus, hundreds of the poor, whose chances to emigrate with their own means,
were almost beyond reasonable expectation , were assisted by their wealthier
brethren to go to Zion. Through the column of 'Scandinavians Stjerne,' the
Church organ in Scandinavia, plain and minute instructions were given to the
emigrants, who nearly all were unacquainted with the incidents of travel. In
fact, there were many among them, who during all their previous experience in
life, had never had occasion to go farther from their homes than to the nearest
market town. Thus, as a matter of course, it was no easy task for the elders
who presided over the different branches and conferences of the mission to plan
and arrange everything for the emigrants, and especially was the burden heavy
which rested upon the presiding brethren in Copenhagen where the headquarters
of the mission were located. In the latter part of December, 1852, however,
President John Van Cott succeeded in making the necessary contracts for
transportation, etc., and in the afternoon of December 22, 1853, the first
emigrant company of the season, and the third shipload of Saints from
Scandinavia, three hundred strong, set sail from Copenhagen on board the steamship
'Slevig' under the presidency of a young elder by the name of Christian Larsen,
who now acts as bishop of one of the wards in Logan, Cache County. A large
concourse of people had assembled on the wharf to witness the departure of the
'Mormons,' and a great deal of bitterness and hard feelings were manifested.
When Elder P. O. Hansen, after the vessel had left the harbor, was walking back
to the mission office, he was followed by a mob who knocked him down and
pounded him considerably about the head. He lost a quantity of blood, but
received no dangerous injuries. By way of Kiel, Gluckstadt and Hull the
emigrants reached Liverpool England, in safety, on the twenty-eighth of
December, and on the first of January, 1854, they went on board the ship Jesse
Munn, which had been chartered by the presidency in Liverpool, for the
transportation of the Scandinavian Saints, in connection with a few German
Saints, which swelled the total number of souls to three hundred and
thirty-three. The company sailed from Liverpool on the third, and after a
prosperous voyage arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi River on the
sixteenth of February. During the voyage twelve of the emigrants died, namely:
two adults and ten children; three couples were married. On Monday February 20th,
1854, the Jesse Munn arrived at New Orleans, where Christian and Sven Larsen
made a contract for the further transportation of the company to St. Louis; and
on Saturday the twenty-fifth, the river journey to that city was commenced.
Owing to unusual low water in the river, the passage was slow, and tedious,
which in connection with the change of climate and difference in the mode of
living, caused cholera of a very malignant type to break out among the
emigrants, resulting in an unusual number of deaths. After the arrival in St.
Louis on the eleventh of March, houses were rented for the temporary occupation
of the emigrants, who tarried there about a month, until the next company of
Scandinavian emigrants arrived, under the direction of Elder Hans Peter Olsen.
During the stay in St. Louis, sickness continued amongst the Saints, and many
more died of the cholera. (Millennial Star, Vol. XVI, pp.41, 447;
Morgenstjernen, Vol. II, page 52.)" "Tues. 3. [Jan 1854] -- The ship
Jesse Munn sailed from Liverpool, England, with 300 Scandinavian and 33 German
Saints, under the direction of Christian Larsen. It arrived at New Orleans Feb.
10th, and the emigrants continued up the rivers to Kansas City, Missouri, which
this year was selected as the outfitting place for the Saints crossing the
plains."
7. Personal Family History (Marilyn
____)
8. Jesse Munn, A Compilation of General
Voyage Notes as found on: http://www.lib.byu.edu/mormonmigration.
9. Trail Excerpts, Mormon Pioneer
Overland Travel, 1847–1868 , Hans Peter Olsen Company of 1854.
http://lds.org/churchhistory/library/pioneercompanysources
10. Trail Excerpts, Mormon Pioneer
Overland Travel, 1847–1868 , Hans Peter Olsen Company of 1854.
http://lds.org/churchhistory/library/pioneercompanysources
11, Trail Excerpts, Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel,
1847–1868 , Hans Peter Olsen Company of 1854.
http://lds.org/churchhistory/library/pioneercompanysources. Trail Excerpt: "Our Immigration,"
Deseret News [Weekly], 28 Sep. 1854, 3.
“Began to arrive on the 19th, and since then have continued to come in
almost daily. The timely assistance furnished from the settlements, and the
favorable weather will
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