WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
THE ABBEVIATED LIFE HISTORIES OF PETER NIELSEN, SR. (1813-1883)
AND KARREN CAROLINE NEILS SORENSON (1821-1901)
At age 34, Peter married Anna Maria Israelsen and to them was born a son, Israel. Anna was in poor health, however. This necessitated the presence of a live-in nurse to provide assistance to Anna, to care for Israel, and to take care of the home. Her name was Karren Caroline Neils Sorensen.
Mormon missionaries visited Peter's home in 1852, but neither Peter, Anna, nor Karren were converted to their message. Anna died shortly thereafter and when the missionaries returned a few months later, Karren listened and decided to leave her Catholic faith. She was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in November 1852. Peter followed suit in March 1853.
Karren mistakenly thought she would die soon from consumption, which we call tuberculosis today. Of this, and her conversion to the gospel, Karren said in her journal: "At the age of thirty years, my whole calculation was to place myself in a convent where my little patrimony of several hundred dollars would secure me the quiet attention of the Sisters of Charity for the few years I might still live, but in the year of eighteen hundred and fifty, the gospel was introduced in Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark... and when I heard it I lost all thought of death through consumption, which I inherited from my family, as recently there had been at that time, three deaths among us cousins from that foul disease."
Peter and Karren were both diligent in their newfound discipleship despite significant persecution by competing clergy and angry citizens who were alarmed by the growing numbers of people who were converting to Mormonism. Peter, in fact, was called to be a local missionary and on one occasion was taken before the magistrate for preaching the gospel. It was necessary for him to prove his good social standing in order to avoid going to jail.
Peter made a decision to immigrate to America along with hundreds of other Saints in 1854. He asked Karren to accompany him as a nursemaid to Israel and she agreed. Their immigration party of 400 sailed on three ships to England, picking up another 150 along the way. Peter and Karren's particular side-paddle ship, the Cimbria, had to turn back twice to Denmark because of terrible winter storms that sank other ships. Eventually, all 550 Saints made it safely to Liverpool, where vessels were contracted to take them to America.
Peter and Karren were assigned with little Israel to the James Nesmith. The ship was not quite ready to sail, so the Mormon Saints, having no place else to go, boarded the ship several weeks early and made it their home until it sailed. After putting to sea, the Saints were divided into wards and Peter was assigned to preside over the third ward. The organization of the passengers in this manner lent to increased discipline and morale and the enforcement of ship rules. As a way to constructively use their time, Peter taught the passengers how to sew the canvas tents and wagon covers they would need on the trek west.
During the voyage, several babies were born, some of the people died, and a few couples were married. One of them was Peter and Karren. They were married by one of the American missionaries returning home to the Utah Territory.
Karren Sorensen (or Sorensdatter) was born in 1821 in Flemmen, Skanderborg, Denmark, of Soren Nielsen and Anne Jensdatter. She was the eldest of five children in a Catholic family. Opportunity for marriage escaped her in her twenties, so she entered into the Nielsen home to provide service to them. She lived with them for several years before immigrating with Peter and Israel to America.
As with hundreds of other passenger ships, the Nesmith went to New Orleans from whence the Saints traveled up the Mississippi River by steamer ship. Erastus Snow was known to many of the Saints because he had been the first mission president in Scandinavia. He presided over the St. Louis region at this time and welcomed the travelers to that city. From there, Peter's family journeyed up the Missouri river on another steamer, the Clara, until arriving in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Cholera struck and killed over thirty immigrants while outfitting in Kansas. Elder Snow caught up to them in Kansas, where he found many Saints seriously ill. Elder Snow called the people to repentance, stating that the cholera outbreak was a consequence of their disobedience. After obtaining from them a pledge of increased obedience, he rebuked the disease and they were freed from its terrible grips.
Peter's family was assigned to the Second Company for the trek west. It was a party of 368 Saints, including 51 wagons and 317 oxen. The majority of the pioneers in that group were Danish, with some British Saints mixed in. Their company captain died along the way, but by and large, the company made it to the Utah Territory intact and safe. They arrived in September, 1855.
Peter had been a prosperous businessman in Denmark. After selling his home and possessions before embarking on his journey, he had $3000 with which to fund the trip. Along the way, he also paid the expenses for two other families who didn't have the means. Upon entering the Salt Lake Valley, he had only $10 remaining.
Upon arriving, a "placement meeting" was held, at which the circumstances of the group were assessed. Each family was then assigned a destination, either to start a new settlement or bolster an existing one; everyone couldn't simply stay in the Salt Lake Valley. The Nielsens were assigned Sanpete Valley. Recalling his arrival in Sanpete in 1855, Peter later wrote: "This was an uninviting place, I can assure you, to us at this time, for the entire valley of Sanpete had been visited by grasshoppers which had destroyed the crops."
Peter went to work as a tailor, but augmented his skills by learning how to be a farmer, sheepherder, and trader. With others, he helped build a wall of timber around Fort Ephraim, where they lived to protect themselves from hostile Indians. They took classes to learn English.
To Peter and Karren was born Peter, Junior, in 1856. Then, in 1858, a little girl, Anna Maria, named after Peter's deceased first wife, was born, but she lived only twelve hours. Those were the only two children they would have. Peter and Karren traveled to the Endowment House in Salt Lake City in 1859 to receive their endowments and be sealed.
The Nielsens lived in Ephraim for six years, during which time Peter became known for his business acumen and work ethic. He soon became one of the most prosperous farmers in the valley. By 1861, relations with Indians had improved and they were able to move outside the fort. Peter purchased a large tract of land and built a home. However, before the year was completed, their lives would change dramatically.
In October 1861, President Brigham Young announced at General Conference that 300 men and their families were called to moved south to bolster the flagging Cotton Mission in the general area of St. George. "Elite" families from throughout Utah Territory were tapped, representing men with skills in the trades, arts, professions that were needed there. Only those deemed to have strong faith were chosen. Peter Nielsen was among them.
With crops still in the ground, Peter sold what he could in Ephraim and immediately headed south with his son, Israel, leaving the final disposition of properties and crops to Karren. Peter was in the advanced party that scouted the Rio Virgin River for places to settle. He chose Washington for himself and his family.
While awaiting the arrival of Karren, Peter started a two-room adobe home, planted crops, began a garden and orchard, and dug a well. Eventually, they became involved in cotton production also. When Karren joined them in 1862, she oversaw the production and preservation of foods, soap-making, and meat-curing, tasks that were typical of women of this time. Together they withstood floods and famine, poor crops and pestilence.
In an attempt to better their circumstances, they moved briefly to Kanab in 1865 to try their hand at the cattle business. They returned to Washington a year later due to Indian troubles. Before returning, Peter invested in the Canaan Cooperative Stock Company, a company that managed cattle and sheep herds from Kanab to Cedar City to Parowan. The success of this venture paid rich dividends and Peter was blessed financially once again.
In the mid-1870's, two building projects demanded the time, effort, and money of the Saints of the Cotton Mission: the St. George Temple and the St. George Tabernacle. The Nielsen family contributed personally and financially to building both. By 1876, the tabernacle was completed ahead of the temple, and it was ready to be dedicated, except it had no windows. The windows had been shipped to the California coast from New York by way of Cape Horn. They were sitting in California, ready to be picked up. All that lay between getting them installed was a team of men with wagons and the money to pay for them.
The sum of money that was needed was $800. David Cannon, the stake president and future president of the St. George Temple, was charged with collecting the money and retrieving the glass windows. However, the Saints of the area were cash-poor and, despite President Cannon's best attempts at fund-raising, he was able to collect only $200.
The night before the teamsters were scheduled to leave for California was a fitful one for both David Cannon and Peter Nielsen. President Cannon worried and wondered where the additional $600 would come from. Peter Nielson worried and wondered about whether he had done enough in giving his efforts and money to the erection of the temple and tabernacle. Each was visited in a dream.
The following is an account of what happened the next morning, as it was broadcast over the CBS radio network in 1942 on a program entitled "Death Valley Days":
"David greeted the arriving teamsters, though not with his characteristic gay twinkle of the eye. A look of undeniable solemnity had supplanted it...
"They were invited to join in the family's usual pre-breakfast prayers. With fervor born of faith in dire need, David's prayer grew eloquent. As children of old they had followed Israel's God into the wilderness; and like Nephi's was his assurance that God gives no task to man without supplying means for its accomplishment. His was the simple confidence of one whose efforts, though futile, had been his utmost.
"As often occurred in family prayers, the silent participants were incidentally informed of timely news: David's earnest importuning soon revealed the sad state of affairs to the bowed heads almost incredulous about him.
"Questioning eyes met his as he arose to his feet.
"He confessed he hadn't the money: 'A man can't squeeze blood out of a stone.'
"A knock on the door broke the trying silence.
"It was Peter Nielson from Washington, a settlement six miles away.
"'Well, Brother Nielson, what brings you to St. George at such an early hour?' said David.
"The good Peter was bewildered that he was not expected. He explained that in a dream, which had persisted all night until he could endure it no longer, he was ordered to come and bring his cherished savings to Brother David. So, at 4 a.m., he had arisen, and with his gold safely wrapped in a bandana, had walked to St. George. While he told the story, the ten and twenty dollar gold pieces rang out as he poured them onto the table before the amazed spectators...
"'How much is there?' queried David.
"The silence in the room was tangible when the old man replied, 'Six hundred dollars.'
"Within an hour, the wagon train was on its way to San Bernardino, and Peter Nielson, on a borrowed horse, was jogging back toward Washington."
Regarding this, Peter relates that on that fateful morning when he got up early to take President Cannon the money, Karren came into the kitchen and asked what he was doing. Peter replied that he was responding to the invitation President Cannon had extended to them in that same kitchen to contribute money for the windows. Karren said that President Cannon had never been there or asked them for money. Peter then realized that the visit had come in his dream.
Telling the other side of the story, David Cannon related that he also had a dream the night before. In his dream, Peter Nielsen appeared to him and told him not to worry; he would deliver the $600 for the windows.
With the money, the teamsters proceeded to California, where they retrieved 2244 windows and brought them back to St. George. The tabernacle was then completed and made ready for dedication. The year was 1876.
Over the years, the story of the $600 gift has been told at General Conference on at least three occasions: by Elder Anthony Ivins, Elder Thomas S. Monson, and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. The Church eventually reimbursed Peter the $600 when it was able.
Peter was blessed with continued prosperity in Washington. He built a wing onto his home and opened Nielson and Company, a mercantile establishment that he operated with Israel and Peter, Jr. It was a "booming" enterprise, although some customers who bought on credit left town without paying up. This happened frequently enough that Nielson and Company eventually had to close its doors after several years in operation.
In 1873, local Church leaders prevailed on 60-year-old Peter to marry a widow who lived three blocks away, primarily to be a means of support for her. She was 38 years old and had 4 living children (4 others had died in childhood). Her name was Harriet Amanda Brown Tyler. Peter complied with their request. She was his first, and only, plural wife, and two children were born of that union, one of whom lived to adulthood.
Five miles west of Washington, in the foothills, Peter built a home in an area known as Danish Ranch. Karren and Harriet went there in the summer months with their children to escape the heat of Washington. From all that is known, Karren and Harriet live compatibly with each other. They appear to always have had separate homes.
In October 1879, during General Conference, Peter's name was called out once again. Instead of being asked to move as he had in 1861, this time he was called to serve a mission in Scandinavia. He was 66 years of age, but he was immediately obedient to the call to return to his native Denmark to preach the gospel.
He was assigned to labor in and around Aarhus, Denmark, the general area of his birth and upbringing. There he served among the people of his ancestry and became a member of the Aarhus District Presidency. After one year, due to his advanced age, he was released. Before he left, he provided financial assistance to many who were desirous of immigrating to America. Among the connections he made in this regard was the family of the girl who would one day come to live with his family in Washington. She would eventually marry his son, Israel. Her name was Jorgene Severene Sorensen.
Peter did not hoard the fruits of his prosperity. He willingly helped many through the years with money, goods, or food, as necessity required. As he prospered, he was generous; as he was generous, he prospered. He also served in the Church, being called to the bishopric in 1882. He was ordained a high priest in this year as well. Karren also served as treasurer for the Relief Society.
Peter died in 1883 at age 70 due to dropsy. Karren died in 1901 at age 80. They are buried in Washington, Utah.
Addendum: Peter Nielsen was born Peder Nielsen. Throughout this biographical sketch, the spelling of Nielsen is used, unless when quoting other sources that use the spelling Nielson (i.e., the CBS Broadcast script). Peter changed his name from Peder to Peter upon his arrival in America and this is the name under which he wrote his autobiography. At some unknown later time, the Nielsen family further anglicized their surname to Neilson, hence Peter's son was known as Peter Neilson, Jr. In FamilySearch, Peter Nielsen is listed as Peder Nielsen, Sr. (KWJ4-1B1).
Addendum: Records indicate additional sealings to Peter Nielsen, Sr.: Anna Catherine Gydison in the Endowment House in 1871 and Bergette Neilsen in the St. George Temple in 1879. Nothing is known about these relationships.
Addendum: The CBS broadcast about the windows for the tabernacle incorrectly identified the building as the temple, not the tabernacle
My Connection: Peter Nielsen, Sr. and Karren Sorensen begat Peter Neilson, Jr. who begat La Visa Neilson who begat Geraldine White who begat Stephen E. Lamb
Sources:
Reid Larkin Neilson: "Peter Neilson, Sr., A Life of Consecration"
Karren Nielsen: autobiographical sketch taken from her personal journal
Peter Nielson, Sr.: autobiographical sketch
"The Glass for the St. George Temple," Second Episode, Death Valley Days, CBS broadcast script from March 1942 and February 1943,
Recollection of LaPrele Bulloch: a written postscript to the CBS script
October 2016