Key Words: polygamy, Newton, UT; Star Valley, Freedom, WY

Transcription

1 STAR VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY HISTORICAL BOOKS INVENTORY DETAILS 1. Overview Title: Anna Maria Jensen Jenkins Author: Subject: Personal History Publisher: Publishing Date: Number of Pages: 4 ID#: 519 Location: Website 2. Evaluation Evaluator's Name(s): Kent and Polly Erickson Date of Evaluation: December 2014 Key Words: polygamy, Newton, UT; Star Valley, Freedom, WY Included Names: John Jenkins, Hans and Maren L. Jensen, Ann Davies Jenkins, Mary Oviatt 3. Svnopsis She was born in 1863 to Hans and Maren Larsen Jensen as they traveled to Utah. After an unsettled childhood,, she married John Jenkins in 1882 as his third wife. After serving a term in prison for polygamy, he and Maria were on the move to avoid further involvement with the law. One of the places they lived was in Star Valley where they had a farm. She served others in any way she could. When she died in 1930, eight of her ten children were living. 4. Other

2 ANNA MARIA JENSEN JENKINS Anna Maria Jensen was bom August 9,1863, somewhere on the plains between Omaha, Nebraska and Salt Lake City, Utah. She was the daughter of Hans and Maren Larsen Jensen. Her mother, with two boys and one girl, had left Denmark to emigrate to Utah as converts to the LDS Church. Her father was unable to harmonize his feelings religiously with those ofhis wife; therefore, he chose to remain in his native country. They parted, perhaps never to meet again. Such were the sacrifices often called for in response to religious convictions. The journey from Winter Quarters, now called Florence, Nebraska (located six miles north of Omaha), was taken in wagons drawn by oxen. This method was of necessity laborious and slow, fiill ofdramatic incidents and many hardships. It was while on this journey that Anna Maria was bom. It is supposed that the little group came to Brigham City, Utah, where after about three years her mother married a man by the name ofjames Larsen, who had two children by a former wife. The uniting ofthese two families brought trouble to the children of the new wife. It became necessary to find homes for them among fiiends, and this was not always satisfactory. Marie was at this time about three years old and had been placed with a lady ofthe town. This did not prove to be a happy home. When the lady left the house for long or short periods, she would shut Marie up in a room to be sure she would be there when she retumed, and also to be sure ofher safety. One day Marie's mother made her a visit. She found her alone and after visiting her for a short time, made ready to go. Marie pleaded to go with her, for her "mother," as she had been taught to call her, was unkind to her. Marie's mother inquired around fi-om neighbors to leam the real condition, and found that what the child said was tme, so she found a new home for her. Just who these people were is not known. In 1870, when Marie was 7 years old, her sister Hannah married Alfred Goodsell, and Marie went to live with them. As she grew older and could help with the housework or other work, as was often expected in those days, she worked for others to help meet her necessities. She had only one dress made ofcalico, this she wore on weekdays, and on Saturday night she would wash it out to wear clean on Sunday. In about 1877 or 1878 the Goodsells moved south to Potato Valley. Marie accompanied them, but within a year they retumed and made their home in Snov^ille, Box Elder County, and later they moved to Newton, Cache county, Utah. During this time her mother had also moved from Brigham to Newton and later to Weston, Idaho (Franklin county). Marie was grown to womanhood, 19 years ofage, and she took an active part in social and religious activities in the ward. Here she met John Jenkins, and married him on October 12, 1882 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, Utah. Brother Jenkins had two families before this, so Marie became his third wife. John had received a call for a mission to England, so immediately after their marriage in Salt Lake City he departed for his mission and Marie retumed to Newtonto make her home until he retumed. Marie continued to work around for people where she could get employment and at times would visit with her another when she felt she would be welcome. As she was not welcome at home with her mother when her stepfather was there, she had to watch her chance to visit while he was away.

3 Brother Jenkins remained in the mission field only one year, receiving an early release because ofill health. In the spring of1884 Marie and John Jenkins moved to a ranch at the Big Meadows, west ofweston about 10 miles, where he had a dairy ranch. Her work was mostly that ofmaking butter and cheese, which was sold at Weston and here and there, wherever a market could be found. This industry offered but a meager income, for their product had to be sold at a low market price in those days, about 8 to 122 cents a pound in bulk, not molded. In the fall Marie came back to Newton, traveling by ox team, which was very slow. She lived with Mary Oviatt, John's first wife when in Newton for the first year or two. When John purchased a small farm on the east side ofthe creek this became her home. One the loth ofaugust 1884 Marie's first child, Oliver, was bom. In 1886 she was sustained as second counselor to Susan Barker in the ReliefSociety organization. On November 16,1886 her second child, Mariam, was bom. She lived only 1 V2 years. On the 12th ofapril 1888 she was called to part with this little girl. This loss had to be sustained by Marie alone so to speak, for her husband was serving a term in the state prison, for unlawful cohabitation as the statutes defined it. He was soon released and advised not to return on a similar offense, but he answered that he would be faithful to his families even ifhe should be forced to serve another term. He returned to Newton and with Marie moved back to the summer dairy ranch. This he did hoping to be out ofthe way from the officers whom he felt would be looking for him on account of his challenge at the time ofhis release. As winter was approaching they prepared to move away from their summer isolation to more consistent winter quarters. This time they went to Treasureton, Idaho. While there on March 19,1889 another son, Moroni, was added to their family. He in a measure filled the vacancy caused by Mariam's death. That spring instead ofgoing back to the ranch, they went to Teton Basin, Idaho, taking with them 113 head ofyoung cattle. It was necessary for John to drive the cattle and Marie to drive the team on the wagon with her children. In the Snake River country, there were but few bridges and many times they were forced to ford the river. This was perhaps thrilling, but full of danger. But they survived it all and arrived safely. John came back to Newton that fall on account offeed for his cattle, but Marie remained in Teton all summer and winter. That winter she made her home with John's brother, Henry Jenkins, and David Nelson. The following spring, 1890, she retumed to Newton with Naham Curtis, but moved again to the dairy ranch. For there was splendid hopes ofa good market for their products, because ofthe railroad construction work going through Cache Valley and through Bear River Canyon into Box Elder County. They sold butter and cheese to the various railroad camps and canal camps. The canal leading out of Bear River Canyon was built at this same time. John Jenkins contracted to furnish the beefneeded while the work was going on. He furnished about 100 head ofbeef The next winter Marie spent with her mother in Weston and while here another son came to brighten her home. It was her son, Raymond (John Raymond), bom May 15,1891. The summer was spent on the ranch with her usual routine ofduties and cares, as she assumed all responsibility connected with this branch ofthe family economics. This continued for several years without much variation, except the family continued to grow and cares increased. Two more children were added to the family: Ann Olivia was bom October 2,1893 at Newton, Utah and Wilford on November 12,1895 at Newton. In May of 1894, while they were living on the ranch, the United States Marshals were

4 again looking for her husband, as they had been informed that he was again violating the statute against polygamy, or as it was more often called, unlawful cohabitation. He had hoped to be more or less unnoticed on his summer ranch as it was located in the hills north ofclarkston. But there was always someone ready to give information to the officers, and while in Weston one day in May 1894 a friend informed John that the officers were looking for him. He hurriedly returned to the ranch to get Marie. The family would then seclude themselves until the search was abandoned. But friends had also informed Marie ofthe search; she was frightened and had taken her family offour children to a spot in the thicket ofmahogany trees, about V^ mile distant, where John had a bed, a secret place ofretirement when he was at the ranch. Here she had put the children to bed and stood watching over them, hoping and praying for their protection. This was the picture that presented itselfwhen John found them sometime in the night. The situation looked so divinely solemn that he has often said that he wished an artist could paint the scene and give emphasis to the sacredness ofthe setting. They left the hills that same night and rode horseback to the Michael Clark ranch just above Clarkston. They traveled all night. They stopped and had breakfast, but they had to retum immediately to the home to attend to the milking and churning. John did not stay at the ranch but decided that to be unnoticed and out ofthe way he would take the necessary equipment and go up in the mountains above Mink Creek. So before the month was over, he packed his belongings and went into the timber. He located near a saw mill and cut and sawed logs all summer. In the fall he got the privilege ofusing a comfortablehouse nearby to live in, so Marie joined him in August, and made her home there until winter set in when they returned to Newton. The experience Marie had in moving from one place to another, meeting with different experiences, touched a tender spot in her heart, and she was always ready to come and go whenever asked to do so. She never complained about it either. One night while she was alone in the Mink Creek Canyon there was a terrible blizzard raging outside. She was alone except for the children, and being nervous and frightened ofconditions as they were, she heard a noise as ifsomeone was sobbing and scratching at the door. She called but no one answered. She called again several times and finally a man answered. She went to the door and there stood a man and a crippled child almost perished in the snow. They had walked over the mountain from Bear Lake on their way to Mink Creek and were caught in the storm and would have perished in the storm had they not been led to her door. She took them in, built up a fire, gave them warm food and cared for them until they were able to continue their journey. In the meantime John had acquired considerable hay land in Star Valley and had become extensively interested in raising cattle. He took Marie to Star Valley and she made her home there for 6 to 8 years. Here she did practically the same kind ofwork as on the dairy ranch, with the addition ofcooking for hired help, as her husband put up an abundance ofhay, something over 100 tons annually. While here two more children were added to their family; a son, Seymour, bom May 13,1898 and a daughter, Meda, bom May 28,1900. Both were bom at Freedom, Wyoming. In the fall of 1902 the family retumed to Newton, Utah. Here her husband also operated a hay field, putting up some 200 tons in Newton, and in Weston where he harvested about 40 tons each year. This required much hired help and added to the domestic duties of Marie. She added two more children to her family. LaVon was bom in September 17,1903, and Burton was bom Febmary 8,1909, This made ten children, eight ofwhom were living. The 3

5 death ofseymour on September 10,1915 was a shock from which she never recovered, for he was just growing into manhood and then was snatched from her. She had not realized he was ill. Her home was without water for culinary purposes when she first moved to her home across the creek, and all the water used had to be carried from the creek about a block away from the house, both for the house and for the animals that could not be turned out. This was quite a hard and tiresome task to do. While she was not much ofa public worker, she was always cheerfiil in serving. She served as a counselor to Sister Barker in the ReliefSociety in When John's mother (Ann Davies Jenkins) became too old to care for herself, he took her to live with him and she was cared for by Marie until her death on February 14,1905, at the age of82. The following sunmier Marie took her own mother (Maren Larsen) to her home and cared for her until her death on February 9,1906. She also cared for an elderly widower who had become incapable, both physically and mentally, and had to have close and constant attention. Rather than see him be sent away to some charitable institution, Marie consented to care for him, for a minor real estate consideration. In November 1910 her brother Peter Jensen died at her home after a period of suffering with Bright's disease. And again we will state that her life was one of service which was rendered for the love of service, which after all is the test of a true Christian soul. Her disposition was congenial, as a result she made many friends. She took much pride in her household affairs and tried to extend all the pleasure and comfort she could to all connected with her home. Whenever anyone came to her home, she would always give the very best she had. Nothing was too good for them. She was not a selfish person. She was always a comfort in times ofsickness and trouble. Anne Marie never had the privilege ofattending school, so all the knowledge she possessed ofthings temporal or spiritual, she gained through the hard school ofexperience. She left her family a couple oftimes and went to Logan, Utah to cook and keep house for some of the children ofthe families while they attended school. In 1919 she suffered a severe attack offlu, as a result ofwhich, in her weakened condition, she became subject to asthma and later she became a sufferer of gallstones for which she was operated on January 30, Two weeks following the operation she suffered a heart attack which caused her death on February 14, She was survived by 8 living children, 28 living grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. 4-