Family Grows up

Thelma Christensen tells of a story that occurred around 1930. Rebecca had just been called as the Work and Business Director for the Palmyra Stake Relief Society and she and the other board members made a trip to Logan, Utah to attend a seminar. Logan is well over 132 miles from Spanish Fork one way. The fog on this day was horrible and Rebecca agreed to sit on the hood of the car and direct the driver. They made it to Logan safely and attended the seminar. On the trip back the President, Mrs. Hughes, was going to sit in the front seat. Rebecca said, “no you don’t, I sat in the cold all the way there I get the front seat on the way back”. Thelma claims that President Hughes not only lets Rebecca have the front seat but she had much more respect for her in the future.

Olena Olsen, Rebecca’s mother had been very sick for some time. Rebecca had cared for her mother throughout her life especially when her sister Serena passed away from Typhoid fever. Olena passed away on September 22, 1933 in Spanish Fork, Utah. She was buried in the Spanish Fork Cemetery on September 25, 1933.

Einer was made a Seventy in the Spanish Fork Fourth Ward around the time that he and Rebecca were married. He was ordained a Seventy by Chas H. Hart on August 28, 1910. He was made a High Priest on March 15, 1936 by David B. Bowen. Einer was active in church and he and Rebecca lived like any Latter-day Saint during this time with their religion being the centerpiece of their family’s lives. [1]

Einer and Rebecca took in a young girl in the 1930s who was just 11 years old. Her name was Ruth Hansen and she was a cousin to Rebecca. Her parents had both died and she and her siblings had been farmed out to other family members. Rebecca had no daughters and I am sure she was happy, like most women, to have a girl to raise around all of those boys. Einer and Rebecca cared for this little girl raised her and educated her. Ruth at the age of 18 left the Christensens and never came back except, years later she came to see Rebecca and asked her to watch her son while she went to California with another man who was not her husband. Rebecca refused and Ruth never went to California. Rebecca felt that she in some way had saved her marriage.

Einer and Rebecca also had a chance to adopt a young girl, but after a while the mother came and took the baby back. Rebecca and Einer were heart broken as they had fallen in love with this baby as their own and hoped to have a chance to raise a girl in the family.

The 1930s were tough times as the whole country was suffering through the Great Depression. Einer and Rebecca’s family was hit as hard as most families of that time. However, they were lucky to have five strong boys who had been taught by their parents to work. They raised most of their own food and did not have to rely on paying for food or other needs. Rebecca was a great seamstress and sewed most of their clothes. What items they did not have they traded with others in their community.

During the Depression, Einer and Rebecca were about to lose their home because they could not make payments. Rebecca wrote to the President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt who had just been elected. She asked him to help her save her house and he was able to intervene and save her home. Floyd was able to get a job with the Railroad and worked on the section and was able to help with the house payments. [2]They never lost their home, however others in Utah were not as lucky.

While most people in Utah may believe that Utah was least effected by the Depression, this is far from the truth. In 1933 Utah’s unemployment rate was 35.8%. Utah had the fourth highest unemployment rate in the United States and for the decade it averaged 26%. By 1933 government relief programs were helping 32% of the people in Utah and business failure had increased by 20%.

Unemployment which began in Utah in 1938 and for those eligible for unemployment benefits 60% of them ran out of their benefits before they could find employment.  Many people believed that farms and farmers were safe during the depression but this is wrong as well. Between 1929 and 1933 Utah’s gross farm income fell by 60%. Most farmers found more success in trading their produce from their farms with other people for what they needed. This was how many people survived the Depression by moving to a barter system until jobs opened up and things began to get better for the average person.[3] The Depression for the Christensens was hard but may not have been as difficult for them as for others. Pete and Floyd were both old enough to date girls but could not find jobs to earn money to go on a date. Einer would give them both 50 cents so they could go out. Having spare change up to a whole dollar was a lot of money during these times. For example $12.63 today has as much buying power as $1.00 in 1932.[4] In other words 50 cents then is comparable to the cost of a movie ticket at today’s prices.

Einer was able to get enough money together to purchase his first car. He bought a Model T which, started by using a hand crank. Before that time they had used a horse and buggy and they must have thought they were in the big time with a Model T which could go up to speeds of 45 miles an hour or more.[5] These early cars were very different from the cars we have today. Model Ts did not have ignitions inside the car and as mentioned it needed to be cranked in the front of the car. Often times these cranks could be very difficult to use and sometimes would jerk away from the person starting the car and could break an arm if a person was not extremely careful. These cars usually had only a top over the car seat and could be very cold in bad weather. Rebecca used this car to get around but may not have been as knowledgeable about upkeep on this vehicle as the following story illustrates. Rebecca, who was still a trail builders leader, took a group of boys in the new Model T down to Arrowhead swimming. On the way back she had a flat tire. She had the tire changed but when she got home Einer was very upset with her. So she decided to fix the tire herself. She did what she knew best and took out her sewing kit and began sewing the inner tube of the tire back together. According to Thelma Christensen this made Einer more upset but he was so busy laughing that he had to step in and show her how to repair a flat tire.

Pete had been dating Thelma Larabee from Springville during this time and they decided to marry. Thelma, following Rebecca’s example told Pete that if he wanted to get married to her that he would have to marry here in the Salt Lake Temple. Pete had been smoking for sometime and agreed to quit. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on December 21, 1933. Pete unlike his father was unable to give up this habit and was a chain smoker most of his life. He finally gave it up in the late seventies when he was told to quit by his doctor for health reasons.

Pete was able to obtain work on the section for the Rio Grande Railroad. This was hard work as most of their work was preparing track bed and laying tracks for new railroad lines or repairing old rails. Pete loved to tell his grandchildren how he did this type of work for $1 a day. While I don’t know if that is what he was really paid the story’s message has always been the same. “You don’t know how good you have it now days”. [6]

Thelma and Pete lived with his parents for 8 months and then they moved into the old farmhouse. Thelma was so happy to finally have a home of her own.  She spent several days cleaning her home and then they finally moved in. She loved this home and felt proud of the fact that she finally had a place of her own.

Thelma tells of a time when LaVoy crept up behind her to scare her. When he did scare her she turned around and hit him not knowing it was him. It really hurt him but either because of pride or the fact that it really hurt, LaVoy walked away but he hit a table on the way out. Thelma was surprised at her own strength but did not mean to make LaVoy mad.

Pete and Thelma had three children. Joan was born first and Thelma claims that Einer and Rebecca were so happy to have a grandchild. Rebecca was even more excited to have a granddaughter, as she had always wanted a daughter.  Karen was Pete and Thelma’s second child who passed away from pneumonia at 18 months on February 23, 1938 in Spanish Fork Utah. Einer claimed that he knew that she would pass away as a personage had come to their home and he knew this was a sign that Karen was not going to live.  Thelma and Pete were to have a third child, a son, Larry who was born the following June. Pete had moved his family up Spanish Fork Canyon to be closer to his work. Because they were away from town and especially church, Rebecca would often have Einer drive her up the canyon to pick up the grandchildren to bring them down to Spanish Fork.[7] Joan lived with them while she attended Kindergarten and first grade. Larry and Joan spent almost every summer with them for many years.

Einer added to his farm around 1935 when farmland he had been renting from Nels Anthon on the Mapleton bench was purchased to raise peas, grain and hay. Floyd who never married, helped his father out on the farm along with his other brothers and from time to time Floyd would get a job when the farm work had slowed down.

Lavoy was the second son to get married. He married Elva Christensen in Provo, Utah on November 29, 1938. LaVoy and Elva lived with his parents for about two weeks and then moved into the Farmhouse. Lavoy and Elva had 3 girls, Lavern the oldest and twins Lois and Lacy.

In 1939, Rebecca was about to get the church calling that she would have for the rest of her life until she died. In January of 1939 the bishopric of the Spanish Fork Forth ward came to meet with her. They came to call her to be the Primary President of the ward. A Primary President was to oversee the spiritual training of all children from 18 months old all the way to 12 years old. She was still suffering from the effects of Typhoid Fever, which nearly took her life. Her bishop gave her a promise, that if she accepted this calling that she would never miss a Primary meeting because of her health. She never did miss a meeting because of her health. When she was sick it was always in between her meetings.

---

     [1] Spanish Fork Forth Ward Records, film #0027315, LDS Family History Library Archives.

     [2] Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen, pg. 11.

     [3] John S. McCormick, The Great Depression, www.media.utah.edu/UHE/d/DEPPRESSION%2CGREAT.html.

     [4] William G. Hartley, Trinity Calculations relative Value of $1 in 2000 vs. $1 in given year, Writing Family Histories, Brigham Young University, 2001 pg. 233.

     [5]  Wikipedia.org, “Model T” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Model_T.

     [6] Thelma Christensen, Oral History Interview,  December 28, 2005, In Authors possession., Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen, P. 12.

     [7] Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen,  P. 12.

Raising 6 Boys

Einer in front of his hen house

Raising Six Boys

Einer was able to obtain a small house in the Fourth ward for the sum of $3.00 per month. The newlyweds moved into this house for their first year of marriage. Their first child was born in this house on July 11, 1911. They named him Floyd Ephraim Christensen after Einer’s brother Ephriam who died when he was a teenager. Rebecca was confined to her house during this time and she had long black hair that needed to be combed everyday. Her new sister-in-law Christina Christensen was the only person she allowed to comb her hair for her.[1]

Einer and Rebecca both wanted a new house so Einer bought one acre of land across the street from Rebecca’s mother Olena Olsen’s home at 809 East 2^nd North. Einer built a two-room white brick house. Once it was completed Einer and Rebecca and their new baby Floyd moved into their new home. At this time Olena wanted Rebecca to leave her husband and come back and live with her. Rebecca was very happy in her marriage and had a son. She told her mother she had no intention of leaving her husband and would remain with Einer and her son.

Floyd who was growing into a strong boy became very sick one day. Rebecca took him to a doctor and the doctor told her that she was pregnant with another child and that her milk was poisoning Floyd. Rebecca was afraid that Floyd would not get enough milk and so she was constantly giving him milk. Floyd must have become sick of milk growing up as he never drank milk in his later life.

Einer’s sister Christina came by with her boy friend Clarence Daniels to meet with Einer and Rebecca. Christina was very excited and very happy. They told Einer and Rebecca that they were getting married in the Temple and they wanted them to go with them. Rebecca agreed if they would wait until after her baby was born. Clarence and Christina were very excited but agreed to wait. Christina and Clarence were married in the Salt Lake Temple on February 26, 1913 with Einer and Rebecca accompanying them.

On December 31, 1912 Rebecca was butchering a pig and rendering lard when her labor pains began. She knew she was going to have a child but she wanted to finish dressing out the pig. She knew she would not be able to get out of bed for the next ten days so she wanted to finish.  She finished butchering the pig and then she went to bed.  Laurel Peter Christensen was born on that day being named after his mother’s father Peter Hansen.[2]

Einer and Rebecca had six sons and they were:

Floyd Ephraim              July 11, 1911

Laurel Peter                  December 31, 1912

Claire Michael              January 23, 1915

LaVoy Talmage            June 23, 1917

Rulon Einer                   November 6, 1919

Marvin Romaine           August 31, 1923[3]

Rebecca and Einer had two boys and soon would have a third son. But having an easy life was not meant to be. Rebecca while in childbirth with her third child saw her father standing at the foot of her bed while she was in labor. She claimed that he said  “oh Becky, Becky” over and over again. Rebecca told her mother and the mid-wife, Mrs. Poulson who thought it was a sign that Rebecca would die. However, Rebecca gave birth to a healthy baby boy on January 23, 1915. Einer and Rebecca named their son Claire Michael after Einer’s father.[4]

Einer had been farming for about four years on the farm his father Michael had left him. Einer bought the Steve Hutchinson farm, which was about 80 acres, next to his farm. This farm was about ¼ mile from their home in town and was on the road to Springville. There was a house and a barn on the Hutchinson farm and Einer moved his young family out to the house so he could be closer to his work. The train tracks for the Rio Grande Railroad ran through the middle of the property and was a block from their home. Einer and Rebecca’s family was growing and their farm was growing. Life for them was going well and they had every reason in the world to be optimistic.

On the Morning of August 4, 1916 Rebecca and Einer awoke early and Einer put on his irrigation boots to irrigate and went out his door and up across the tracks where he had to irrigate. Rebecca was doing the wash and was cutting up laundry soap and putting it into the boiler so it would dissolve and become sudsy. Rebecca did her laundry outside under the trees. The day was beautiful and an excellent day to do the washing. As Einer left that morning he claims he felt chains on his legs holding him back but once he crossed the tracks this feeling left him and he went on.

Rebecca continued to do her laundry and tried to keep her eye on her three young children. Somehow Clair who was 18 months old at the time slipped away from her. Einer and she heard the whistle of the train but could not see Clair. Clair had reached the tracks and the next sound was the passenger train screeching to a halt. Rebecca screamed and threw the socks down she had been washing and ran for the train. Einer threw down his shovel and ran towards the train as well. Einer arrived first to the train and crawled under the train to pick up little Clair's body. He had to have the train back off his body first before he could pull him out. This was a terrible tragedy and Einer and Rebecca never got over the loss of their son. Rebecca made Einer move them back to their home in town where she would not have to be so close to the place where she had lost her youngest boy. Thelma Christensen states that Einer and Rebecca felt that they had both been given signs to this tragedy but neither recognized this until after the death of their son. Rebecca found the socks she had been washing that day years later in some bushes. [5]

While still on the farm Pete and Floyd were playing in the barn while their mother climbed the ladder where the chickens were. The hens would hatch out young chicks and then Rebecca would pick them up and bring them down and feed and care for them. On this day while Rebecca was picking up some baby chicks she felt eyes looking at her She turned around to look at the ladder and gasped as two sets of little eyes stared back her. This somehow caused Pete to let go and he fell twenty feet to the floor of the barn. Rebecca dropped the baby chicks and went to the ladder grabbing Floyd and carried him down the ladder and then grabbed Pete and ran him into the house to his father. She claimed that Pete did not breathe all the way in. Once with his Dad Pete began breathing again. Pete recovered with no ill effects.[6]  

Einer and Rebecca suffered from the death of their son Clair but as the accident with Pete illustrated they still had two boys to raise and it would not be long before another child would come to this family. Einer continued with his farm work and Rebecca did house work. Rebecca did not have any of the modern convinience's of today as she had to do her laundry by hand and she had to make much of her own food that we take for granted today. She had to make butter each week usually 8 pounds, which she used for cooking as well as for bread. She also sold what she did not need to bring in extra money. Einer was a farmer and much of the skills he used on his farm are nearly a forgotten art, as our world has become more high tech and the suburbs have taken over the farm land. Milking cows was all done by hand. Hay had to be cut by hand with hired help and stacked onto a wagon. It was then hauled to a barn where the loose hay was pulled by pulleys up into the top of the barn or stored in piles. Much of this type of work is mechanized today where most of it was done by hand in those days.

Horses were a needed necessity on the farm as they did all of the work that was required. Horses pulled the plows that the farmers would use to till the ground. Horses would pull the devices used to rake the ground. Most of the planting was done by hand as each seed was placed in the ground one at a time. Horses were used again in the harvest pulling the wagons that would haul the hay or grain from the field into the barns. Horses were also used to pull the hay or grain up to the upper lofts of the barn. Since cars were not yet widely used, horses were the main mode of transportation in those days.

With the money that they earned from their farm and their labor, they would buy new cattle and whatever they needed that they could not produce on their own. Everything was valuable and nothing was ever wasted. Sometimes they used their hard-earned money to go to the show. They could take their whole family to a movie for 20 cents. This was probably a very special occasion for this family.[7]

Each year they would slaughter a cow and they would either smoke the meat or put it in a wheat bin as refrigeration was not heard of in these early days. In later years when they were able to purchase a freezer they kept their beef in it. Farming was a necessity of life in these times and many people lived off the land. People in the early 1900s relied on the earth to make a living. Today, many of these skills are lost and children have to go on field trips to see real life farm animals.

Einer and Rebecca had a new edition coming to the family. The small two-room home in Spanish Fork was too small. Einer hired Mun Geislison and Victor Leifson to add on to their house. The Christensens now had six rooms and an indoor bathroom. In those days this was a luxury as most bathrooms were outside of the house usually in the back yard. On June 23, 1917 LaVoy Talmage was born and with the new home edition there was plenty of room for everyone in this growing family. 

The Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 devastated the town of Spanish Fork and the Christensens were no exception. The Spanish Flu afflicted 28% of all Americans and it killed over 675,000 people in the United States alone. It is still considered the one of worst epidemics this country ever faced.[8] Many people died from the disease and you could see people in town wearing mask to protect themselves. All of the Christensens were ill with the flu and Rebecca did what she could to help her very sick husband and sons. The neighbors were very helpful and helped out with milking the cows and doing other chores for Einer while he was sick. Laurel Peter was the least sick and once he recovered he started cutting wood to keep the fire going. However, he had a relapse and became worse than he had been the first time he was sick. He was only six years old at the time. Slowly all of the family members recovered and all had no significant side effects from this devastating flu, which killed so many people. [9]

Rebecca had her fifth son on November 6, 1919 and named him Rulon Einer after his father. Rebecca thought that she was going to have twins but when Rulon was born she asked if it was twins and the mid-wife’s response was “not at this size”, Rulon was 12 pounds at birth and was a very big baby. [10]

Rebecca’s brother Henry’s wife Reva became very ill with Typhoid fever. Rebecca went to help her along with her sister Serena. Both of them became ill from the disease and Rebecca was unconscious for six weeks. Reva and Serena died from the disease. Einer sent his children to the Skinner home while Rebecca was recovering. Einer hired two nurses for around the clock care and he made them keep records in duplicate. He was so concerned for her health that he spent much of the money he had earned from his farm on her care. Einer had been well off financially up to this time but after her illness he went far into debt.

Floyd decided not to stay at the Skinner’s home and came back home. LaVoy claims he got in a fight with one of the Skinner children and was not allowed to live there anymore. He came home and had to share a bed with his father and Floyd. [11]

Rebecca’s recuperation was a very long one and her Doctor told her that she would never walk again. She began to exercise her legs by sliding from chair to chair then she started using crutches. She would walk out to her orchard with her crutches and use the tree limbs to pull her up and set her back down and she slowly built up her strength so she could walk again. Because of her and Einer’s determination she had recovered from Typhoid fever and could now walk. She was very thankful for her health and as soon as she could she traveled to the Salt Lake Temple where she asked for a blessing. The brother giving her a blessing remarked on how much faith she had. Because of her faith the brother asked to give her a second blessing.[12] Rebecca slowly recovered but because of her illness and a statement by her doctor she did not believe she would have any more children. She was determined to prove her Doctor wrong one more time and had her sixth son Marvin Romaine Christensen who was born on August 31, 1923. Rebecca had a priesthood blessing while she was pregnant and she felt that she would not have had a healthy baby if it were not for this blessing.[13]

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     [1] Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen p.4.

     [2] Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen, p.5-6.

     [3] Spanish Fork Fourth Ward Records, film # 0027315, LDS Church Archives.

     91 Ibid.

     [5] Thelma Christensen, The History of Rebecca Christensen, p. 6. Death Certificate of Clair Michael Christensen, State of Utah, File #272

     [6] Thelma Christensen, History of Laurel Peter Christensen, In Authors Possession p.1.

     [7] Farming Methods and Practices , <www.davidkusel.com/centennial/237farming.htm>, www.webfamilytree.com/farming_through_the_century.htm.

 Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen  p. 7-8.

     [8] Nature Facts, U.S. Natural Disasters, www.cogscreations.net/wildlands/usdisasters.htm.

     [9]  Lettia Ann Davis History, http://slf.gweep.net/~Ssbray/davisla.htm.

     [10] Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen, p. 7.

     [11] Lois Lovell, History of LaVoy Talmage Christensen,  April 2005. Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen, p.8- 9.

     [12] Ibid.

     [13] Marvin Christensen, History of Marvin Romaine Christensen, January 2005. In Authors Possession.

Rebecca Hansen and her Marriage to Einer



Einer and Rebecca Wedding Day September 28, 1910



The Early life of Rebecca Karen Christina Hansen

Rebecca was born in Spanish Fork, Utah on April 8, 1887 and the first girl in her family other than a sister who died at birth.[1] Peter’s mother wanted the girl named after her and Olena’s mother wanted her named after her. Both parents wanted to avoid any problems they decided to give her two middle names in honor of her grandmothers both hardy pioneer women. Peter wanted to name his daughter Rebecca after an old girl friend so they named her Rebecca Karen Christina Hansen. Rebecca grew up in Spanish Fork, Utah as it was changing from a territory to a State. Rebecca also saw the turn of the century in her early years, which brought many changes to the country and especially to Utah.[2]

When Rebecca was six weeks old her father moved the family from Spanish Fork up to a homestead in Spanish Fork Canyon. Spanish Fork Canyon had a large amount of rattlesnakes and the homestead had many snakes around it. Rebecca just two years old tried to kill a rattlesnake one-day with just a garden hoe. When her mother saw this she ran to her daughter and took her to safety. When Rebecca was six, her parents moved their families back into town to start school. Rebecca was very excited about being baptized her dreams were realized on September 5, 1895. She was baptized by A.R.M. Beck and was confirmed the same day by George Snell.[3]

Rebecca enjoyed school and found school easy and she did well in her classes. She claimed that she only had to read her books on the way to school and could easily pass her subjects. Thelma Christensen her daughter-in-law claimed that Rebecca had a photographic memory. Rebecca excelled in school and when she reached the 8^th grade she graduated from school, as this was the highest grade one could achieve in Spanish Fork. Rebecca loved math and was forced to stop because she was better than the teacher. Her classes motto was “excelsior” which means “moving upward” in Latin and their class colors were blue and gold.[4] Rebecca was not happy with stopping at the 8^th grade and decided to further her education by attending the BYU Academy.

Rebecca loved her time at BYU Academy and was active in school and student activities. She roomed with a girl from Spanish Fork and she climbed the mountain to put “Y” above BYU being the first class to whitewash the “Y”. She graduated from BYU in 1906 after just two years majoring in Arts and Industries. Rebecca had decided to take up a career in teaching and was asked to teach dressmaking. She never had the chance to teach as her father Peter Petersen Hansen died on June 12, 1906 from pneumonia.[5]  

Rebecca’s mother was devastated by her husband’s death and according to Thelma Christensen, Rebecca’s daughter-in-law, Olena was a very domineering woman who would not allow Rebecca to leave her to teach. She made her stay with her and help her run her household and to keep her company.

Rebecca had an experience not long after her father’s death that made her believe that her father was all right and did not want her mother to worry. Rebecca was in the same room as her mother one night when she saw a personage appear in the room. This personage looked at her mother and never spoke. Rebecca took this as a sign that her father was all right and desired his wife to stop grieving him. Rebecca told her mother about this occurrence in the hope that she would overcome her grief and move on with her life. [6]

Rebecca was meant to be a teacher and if she was not to pursue a profession in teaching the Lord certainly planned on her being a teacher, according to Thelma Christensen. Rebecca was home with her mother for only a short time when she was called to be a religion teacher and was made the 1^st assistant to Kate Skinner on October 17, 1906. She later was made superintendent of the religion class on August 23, 1908 by Sydney Corey of Payson, Utah. Emily Miller was her first assistant and Ella was her second assistant. She was also made a primary teacher for the Second grade in November of 1907 and Sunday school teacher for the 2^nd intermediate B on March 10, 1907.  She was also made the leader of the trail builders and held this position until 1938.

Trail Builders was a primary class for young boys 10 years of age. Primary is a Church program for young children age’s 18 months to 11 years old in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Rebecca was the teacher for these trail builder boys teaching them a mixture of religion along with outdoor scouting skills. In later years they changed the named to Blazers which the author participated in as a young boy. There is no longer a boys only class. This is now a mixed class of 10-year-olds boys and girls called Valiants.

 The young boys would wear bandoleers and as Thomas Monson, First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recalls they would sing a song with the following lyrics:

“Oh we are the boy trail builders,
Out west where the sunsets glow;
Where the brooks flow down like silver
From the heights of the virgin snow. …
Our light is the light of virtue,
Our strength is the strength of youth;
Our trails are the trails of honor,
For we build with the stones of truth”.[7]

       President Monson has wonderful memories of these days and how they helped him grow as a young man. He recalls how a teacher in the Trail Builders class called him aside one day to help her keep the boys under control. He explains that he was the problem in the class and from then on out there was no more problems.

                I am sure that Rebecca was a great teacher and taught trail builders in the Spanish Fork, Fourth ward primary program for many years.[8]

Left to Right Peter P. Sarah, Jens, Isaac, Karen, Mary & Joseph Hansen

Rebecca was well acquainted with a young man in the Spanish Fork, Fourth ward named Einer Christensen and she was interested in him and he was in her. They began dating around this time. Occasionally, like many couples do, they would get in arguments and Einers younger sister Christina, or Stena as she was known, would pass notes back and forth to each of them until they reconciled and got back together. Einer and Rebecca fell in love with each other and one day Einer proposed to Rebecca. According to Thelma Christensen Rebecca said, “I am very flattered, but I can’t marry you until you quit smoking. You know how important it is to me to be married in the temple”[9].

Einer went through a long hard process to give up cigarettes but was rewarded when Rebecca finally agreed to marry him and they married on September 28, 1910 with three other couples. [10]

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     [1] Rebecca Hansen, Death Certificate, State of Utah  LL 01683255, Spanish Fork 4^th Ward Church Records, LDS Church archives, film # 0027315.

     [2] Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen, p. 1,  In Authors Possession.

     [3] Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen, p. 1-2. Larry Christensen, Oral History  Interview, 12-27-05, Spanish Fork Ward Records Archive # 0027315.

     [4] Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen, p.3.

     [5] Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen, p.2.

     [6] Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen, p.2.

     [7] Thomas S Monson, Primary Days,” Ensign, Apr. 1994, 65, Come Listen to a Prophet’s Voice: Love,” Friend, Feb. 2002, 2

     [8] Joleen Meredith, Friend to Friend, Friend, Nov. 1982, 6.

     [9] Thelma Christensen, History of Rebecca Christensen, p.3-4.

     [10]  ibid.

Kristen Enarsdottir; Daughter of Iceland

Loftsalir where the arrow is pointing in this picture is where Kristin was born.

Kristin Einarsdottir

Kristin Einarsdottir is born on November 6, 1855 in Loftsalir, Dyrholar, Vesturskaftafell, Iceland.[1]Her father was Einar Jonsson who was born in 1790 on the family farm of Loftsalir, the parish of Dyrholar in the county of West Skaftafell, in Icelandic, Vesturskaftafell. Loftsalir was a small farm on the southern shores of Iceland close to the landmark called Dyrholar or “hole in the rock”. Dyrholar is a large outcropping of rock, which extends out into the ocean and a large hole is in the side of the cliff so large boats can pass through. This is where Einar Jonson was born in 1790. He married Kristin Arnadottir on October 23, 1835 in Asar, Vesturskaftafell, Iceland.[2] Children soon followed as Arni or Outna as it is pronounced in Icelandic was born on July 15, 1837 and Vigfus followed the next year on July 13, 1838 in Loftsalir. Other children followed Einstinvieg in 1839, Thoreylin in 1847 both daughters who never married. Kristin was born on November 6, 1855 in Loftsalir and the last child to be born was her brother Gunner who was born on April 4, 1857.[3]Here is a list of all of their children:

1.      Son Einarson  August 26, 1836  Loftsalir Died

2.      Arni  July 15, 1837                     Loftsalir

3.      Vigfus  July 17, 1838                  Loftsalir

4.      Einstnveig  December 15, 1839  Loftsalir

5.      Einar 1841                                   Loftsalir  Died

6.      Thoreylin  July 26, 1847             Loftsalir

7.      Son    March 25, 1852                 Loftsalir Died same day

8.      Kristin        November 6, 1855     Loftsalir

9.      Gunner   April 4, 1857                Loftsalir

 Gunner lived and died in Iceland on March 30 1935. He married and had a daughter in Erarbakka named Jonina who was born on November 1, 1907.[4]

            Kristin’s father came to an early death on July 9, 1859 when Kristin was only three and her younger brother Gunnar was two. This may have been the end of the farm Loftsalir and splitting apart of this family to different parts of Iceland. Kristin’s brothers Arni and Vigfus moved to a small island off the south shore of Iceland by 1864. This island is the Westman Islands or in Icelandic Vestmannaeyjar. In 1867 Kristin moves to the Westman Islands to work for her brother Vigfus and his family as a maid. In 1875 Kristin’s brother Arni dies from pneumonia in the Westman Islands.[5]

            Kristin moves to another household to work as a maid by 1870, which appears to be her occupation during this time. In 1879 she meets a Mormon missionary named Einar Eirikson. Missionaries had been coming to Iceland since the 1850s. For whatever reason the only place they had success was on the Westman Islands, so this is where the missionary effort was based. If Kristin had not lived on the Westman Islands she never would have met Elder Eirikson. She was baptized on April 10, 1879 by Elder Eirikson and began planning her move to Zion to be with the saints and to leave the persecution many Icelanders faced when they joined this new church.[6]

            Kristin is finally able to leave for Utah in 1881 and leaves with 22 other saints and Elder John Eyvindson who is the leader of the small group of Icelandic saints traveling to Salt Lake City. Elder Eyvindson and his companion Elder Jacob Johnson had started their mission in Reykjavik but came under severe persecution and spent time in jail for preaching. These two men would lead Kristin’s group to Utah.

The Icelanders left Iceland on the Steamer “Camoens” from Reykjavik. They arrived in Granton, Scotland and then traveled to Liverpool, England. In Liverpool they set sail for Utah on the “SS Nevada” on July 16, 1881 at 1:00pm. The Icelanders sailed from Liverpool, England to New York City and arrives in New York on July 23, 1881. Twins were born on July 20, 1881 two days before arriving in New York to the wife of Halldor Jonson. They named the children Atlantic and Victoria Nevada. On the evening of their arrival Kristin’s group boards a train in New York and travel’s by rail all the way to Utah. A sister passed away on their travel across the country and Elder Eyvindson stays behind to assist in her funeral on the North Platte. The rest of the group arrived in Salt Lake City on August 7, 1881 under the leadership of Elder Johnson. This group moves on to Utah County where they settle in the first Icelandic settlement in North America, Spanish Fork.[7] 

Kristin who is 25 years old meets Michael Christensen and on November 17, 1881, Kristin and Michael are married in Salt Lake City in the Endowment House.[8] Michael and Kristin make their home in Spanish Fork, Utah. One-year later Kristin gives birth to a son. She names him after her Father Einar Jonsson. Einer is born on October 5, 1882 one year after Kristin arrived in Utah.

            Kristin has her first daughter on October 8, 1885 and calls her Hannah Catherine. Another boy named Mickle Ephraim who is born on January 8, 1888 in Spanish Fork soon follows Hannah.[9]

Kristin’s brother Vigfus has a son named Arni who was born in 1875 who leaves Iceland in 1887 and travels to Utah at the age of 12. Arni arrives in Utah and goes to Spanish Fork where he is baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His father follows in 1888 and the rest of Vigfus family immigrates to Utah by 1890 and 1891. I have no record of wheather Vigfus stayed with his sister and her family or had some type of contact with her. Living in the small town of Spanish Fork, I would assume they were in contact. In just a few years Kristin’s children will be moved out to different families but not to Vigfus or any of his children. One can assume that Vigfus and his wife were elderly and being new to the country they did not have the means to care for Kristin’s children.[10]

            On June 4, 1890 Kristin has another daughter named Grace who dies that same day. Her last daughter Christina is born on October 19, 1891 and is a healthy and happy baby. However, her mother Kristin never recovers from this birth and on October 26, 1891 she passes away leaving Michael alone with four young children to care for in his old age.[11]

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     [1] Dyrholar, Vesturskaftafell, Iceland, film #0073374, LDS Family History Library Archives.

     [2] Census Loftsalir, Dyrholar, Vesturskaftafell, Iceland, 1855 Iceland LDS Family History Library Archives film #0073374.

     [3] Ibid.

     [4] Eyrarbakki, Iceland parish records, LDS Family History Library film # 0073399,

Bjorn Magnusson,  Vestur-Skaftfellingar 1703-1966,  Vol. II, Reykjavik 1970 Pg. 98, LDS Family History Library Archives,  Scand 949.1272 D3m cl.

     [5] Westman Islands parish, Iceland 1875, Film # 0074169, LDS Family History Archives.

     [6] David Ashby, Icelandic Mission Records, Iceland Mission History; February 2001,

Icelandic Association of Utah. Pg. 20.

     [7] Ibid

     [8] LDS Church Records, Spanish Fork Forth Ward #292, film # 0027315, LDS Family History Library.

     [9] Nora W. Carter, Cemetery Records Spanish Fork, Utah LDS church Archives,  979.224/s3.

     [10] Nora Allred, The Icelanders of Utah, The Icelandic Association of Utah p. 49-50. Westman Islands parish  Iceland, LDS Film # 0074169.

     [11] Nora W. Carter, Cemetery Records, Spanish Fork Utah, LDS Archives  979.224/s3