Allen Family History

Patriarchal Blessing given to Hans Jorgen Johannesen:

(volume 19, page 55) No. 65 West Weber July 16th 1856

A blessing was given by Isaac Morley Patriarch upon the head of Hans Jorgen Johnson son of Johns & Margaretta Jorgenson born August 31st 1826 in Aale, Norway.

Bro Hans Y. I place my hands upon thy head by the authority of the holy Priesthood & I seal a Fathers blessing upon my head & I say unto thee this seal shall be a comfort to that mind for the Lord has blessed thee & brought thee into covenant with him where thou hast obtained an heirship in the kingdom & Church of Latter-day Saints. Thou art numbered with the sons of Abraham to enjoy the blessings of the everlasting covenant & thou wilt bear the keys of the Priesthood that will exalt to thee & thy family in the kingdom of thy God. Thou wilt be honored with the seals of the Patriarchs & become a Savior to thy Fathers household for thou art living in the day when the Lord has set his hand the second time to recover his people & to gather them from all Nations of the earth & thou wilt be entrusted with the keys of Priesthood to aid & to assist in this gathering & in thy endowment by duty will be made plain & when the Temple of thy God is finished thou shalt be made partaker of the keys of knowledge of the power & glory to gratify thee for all thy labors for thou art of Ephraim & will realize that blessings preparatory to thy Missions to the Nations of the earth for thou hast a labor to preform to be extended back to the days of the Savior that thy progenitors may be brought into the kingdom & church of God. Thou shalt be blessed and exalting thy family that they with thee may enjoy the keys of Priesthood in their exaltation. Thou shalt be blessed in(_____) the earth & laying up in store that thy labors be not hindered when thou art called to discharge by duty in restoring thy fellow man. These are thy seals they are thy blessings & by authority I seal them upon thee with the blessings of endless lives in the Kingdom of thy God. Even so Amen & Amen.

Life Sketch of Hans Jorgen Johannesen and Inger Kristine Nielsdatter (Johnson):

Hans and Inger were both born in Aale, Norway in 1826 and lived about 200 yards away from one another. The two were married at the age of eighteen on November 11, 1844. LDS missionaries visited their home often. They had visited Inger's parents when she lived with them, and although they were treated well and were given food and shelter, their message was always denied because Inger's father was a strong Lutheran. Inger continued this stance after her marriage and would not listen to their teachings. However, Hans joined the Church in 1853.

Hans and Inger had taken in a little girl named Julie Hess, and she also joined the Church. Because Hans and Julie were members of the Church, the Elders came by often to sing hymns and talk about the gathering of the Saints to the Salt Lake Valley. Inger refused to prepare food for the Elders and always left the room when they came, but Julie would prepare something for them and would listen to their teachings.

Inger has explained that her difficulty in accepting the gospel was because I could not think of leaving my dear old home, parents, and friends to go to Zion on a far distant continent among a strange people and endure the hardships which laid so heavy upon the shoulders of the Saints in Missouri and Illinois (spelling and punctuation modernized).

One day in June of 1853, Inger, Hans, and Julie were out in the fields planting potatoes. Inger has said: the sun was bright and the birds sang beautiful songs of praise to their Creator. We worked faithful until about noon day. We had but one row left to plant; I volunteered to stay and finish the remaining row . . . As I was working dropping the small pieces of potatoes one by one into the tilled soil everything was still. I heard the voice of an unseen choir sing songs of Zion and as near as I can translate it from Norwegian to English they sang, Blessed are they who hear the chimes of Zion's land. The Spirit of God filled my soul with happiness and He planted a testimony of Jesus Christ and the Divinity of Joseph Smith in my heart. The songs of Zion rang in my ears and I knew that the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the only true plan of life and salvation. I was willing to do anything to be obedient to its doctrines. I went to the house and told my husband I was ready to sell our farm, cattle, horses, and everything and move to Zion. A few weeks later I was baptized . . .

They got busy making preparations for their journey and sold all of their property. Inger was the only member of her family to join the Church and her parents were very bitter. Nonetheless, she and Hans knew they should obey God rather than Man. They left their home with their four children and Julie Hess and soon arrived in Christiania, Norway, where they met many other Saints who left their dear ones, homes, and nation to emigrate for Zion.

The family sailed to America in 1853 with 400 other Saints. It was very crowded. Hans, Inger, their four children, and Julie Hess all shared one small bed. Hans and Inger took turns sleeping so there would be enough room in the bed.

As soon as the family arrived at Mormon Grove, Kansas, Inger learned that both her parents had died. The family traveled across the Plains and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in October of 1855. Inger has said: to our great surprise, instead of finding a Garden of Eden as we expected we found grasshoppers by the millions and not a blade of grass. All the leaves were eaten from the trees and bushes. A large valley covered with sage brush and some places were as bare and white, not a blade of grass, just white salt beds.

They soon settled in South Weber. Starting out was difficult. They could not get any flour and their children would go to bed crying for something to eat. They gathered roots to eat and prayed for guidance. Inger has said: Awe were humble, prayerful, and set our trust in the God of heaven and earth. They were able to buy a good cow and calf and the next spring they planted gardens.

Early in the spring of 1858, the family moved to Hyrum in Cache County. It was cold and stormy when they first arrived and since they did not yet have a home they lived in a hole in the ground at the public square until warmer weather came. They bought a piece of land and soon began to till the soil and plant. They struggled to produce good crops the first few years and had to overcome the challenges of hoards of grasshoppers and very hot summers. Through fasts and prayers they were successful and avoided starvation. Hans and Inger had ten children and raised all but one to adulthood. In 1902, Hans was struck in the eye by a weed while he was working in the garden. This blinded his eye and later affected the other eye so he became totally blind. He spent the last year of his life bedridden and died in February 1904. Inger lived almost ten years more and died in 1913 at the age of 87.

A few years before her death, Inger shared her history with a grandson, Lester Nielsen, and said: When I look at my children and at their children and see how my posterity has been blessed I feel like a bless[ed] mother in Zion. . . . I feel that God has blessed me in nameless way. . . . My humble prayer is to God that you my dear grandson . . . may live a good praiseworthy life as I have done. Be humble and prayerful and God will bless you.