Hans & Mary Jensen – Hans & Dora Jensen

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by Iona Mary Jensen Black "Hans Christian Jensen was born March 20, 1883, in Mink Creek, Idaho, Oneida County, the fourth child of Thomas Jensen and Hansina Marie Jensen. His childhood days were spent in the old Jensen home on the banks of Strawberry Creek. He had four sisters and five brothers. Eliza Kirsten was born August 1877 in Richfield, Utah. Christina was born in Point Look Out, Utah. The rest of the children were born at Mink Creek, Oneida County, Idaho. They were James Thomas, 6 August 1885; Hans Christian, 20 March 1883; Sarah, 19 August 1885; Daniel, 10 January 1888; Ezra, 7 February 1890; Harry and Hannah (twins), 26 January 1891. Hannah died while she was still a baby. Frank George was born 22 March 1894. Thomas Jensen had a large cattle ranch with 200 outside animals and 40 milk cows. There was much work to be done and not much time for school. Hans did his elementary schooling in Mink Creek, Idaho. After the chores were done in the morning he would drive in an old buckboard to school for all day and hurry home and get the chores done before nightfall. After he had finished the 8th grade he had a great desire for further learning. He was a very good penman and liked to write. So with this desire as soon as the summertime work was done he went to Logan, Utah, to the Agriculture College. There he got what schooling he could during the winter months, but when spring came he went back to the ranch again. I remember him telling that his only and favorite teacher was John A. Widtsoe. He never did finish any courses to get a college degree, but he got much learning during these winter quarters. On February 21, 1905, in Logan City, Utah, Hans was married to Mary Anna Christensen by J. N. Larsen, an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. In 1906, this marriage was solemnized in the Logan Temple. When Hans and Mary were married contrary to the rules of etiquette, the bride's parents being responsible for the wedding. Grandma Jensen spent several days with the help of the many best cooks in the valley cooking a luscious banquet for the wedding reception. The wedding presents they received were in such abundance it was almost unbelievable. Hans and Mary had a busy happy life. Grandpa and Grandma Jensen had moved to Preston, Idaho, and he leased his farm to sons James, Hans, and Daniel. The new owners of the land, in order to keep up with the trend of the times, sold the cattle and bought sheep. With this new business much time was spent pasturing the sheep, feeding them, lambing, shearing, and marketing them. I remember the wonderful summers we always had when school was out and dad and Uncle Jim had the sheep up Emigration Canyon. We would go up there and sleep in tents. We made our beds real high by piling up pine tree boughs and we ate sourdough biscuits and roast mutton baked in huge Dutch ovens. Dad used to tell the story of how they owned a wonderful dog named Rover. All the sheep men would like to own him, they tried to buy him or trade for him. One day dad and Uncle Ferd Christensen were herding sheep and by accident a neighboring herd got mixed in the Jensen herd. So down the dusty road came the owner. He was cursing and fit to be tied. Ferd and dad knew what was up so dad called, "How would you like to trade dogs today?" The man thinking maybe he had had a change of heart and would part with the dog began to bicker for a trade. By the time he got close enough the talk was of trade and his anger had died down. They cut out the mixed sheep and each went on their weary way. It was always dad's happy lot to ship the lambs to Omaha, Nebraska, for market. Each time he would go he would sell the lambs and bring home a much treasured gift for each member of the family. I remember a beautiful watch, very thin gold, sort of a lapel watch, he bought for my mother. She had it a couple of years. It had a long chain going around the neck and fastening with a pin on a dress or suit. Something went wrong and the watch needed repairs, so dad on his next trip to Omaha took the watch to a repair shop, got it fixed, and on the way home he was riding on the train. When he went to the diner he wore his coat but when he came out he hung the coat on the rack near his seat and someone stole the coat and in the pocket was the watch. I still have a breast pin he bought for me with my initials on it, I. M. J. Sometime later they sold the sheep and divided the ground into farmland. Jim, Hans, Dan, Harry, and Frank, each getting a portion of the farm. The farmland alone was not enough to make a living for the increase in the size of each family so dad went to work at Oneida for the Utah Power and Light Company. In about 1913, Bishop William E. Crane, Willard Nelson, and Hyrum Bell were made the new Bishopric in the Mink Creek Ward. They did not have a ward clerk and they decided that they would concentrate on help at a later date. So several names were submitted. None of them had Hans' name on them, so they all went home and at the next meeting, Bishop Crane handed each man a piece of paper on which to write the name of a candidate. All three brethren had fasted and prayed for help in making the right decision. When the papers were unfolded each paper had the name of Hans C. Jensen written on them. So he served as ward clerk for 25 years. He was an excellent bookkeeper and penman. He was secretary for the irrigation ditch company at the same time as he was Ward Clerk. These four men comprising the Ward Bishopric also organized into a singing quartet and sang many a song at social gatherings as well as at church functions. Dad was the kind of a person who liked to be a first. He had one of the first power driven washing machines made by the Maytag Company. After the original motor played out, dad bought a long flat belt and connected the washing machine to a gasoline motor, which he also used to cut wood, grind feed, and run the wheat cleaning machines. This way the washing machine ran for most of a day, once a week to keep the clothes clean. He also had the first Model T Ford bought in Mink Creek. When Allie Hanson's mother died, A11ie lived in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The Hanson boys, Martines and Chris, hired dad to go to Idaho Falls and bring home their sister. So after work at 5 PM, dad got in his car and took away driving all night getting Allie and coming home. He arrived back in Mink Creek at 8 AM the next morning. Comment was made as to what a speed demon Hans was to make a 200 mile trip in 16 hours. During the summer of 1917, Denmark Jensen, a Patriarch from Brigham City, Utah, came to Mink Creek to visit his daughter. While he was there, some of the town's people invited him to the Jensen Ranch and as many as desired came and Brother Jensen gave them a patriarchal blessing. Dad was a scribe for him until his hands became tired, then Lillie Jensen Kofoed and Helen Christensen Gibbons finished the writing. In 1918, when the 1st World War was declared, Frank Jensen and William Hall were in the service of their country. At this time Hans and Mary were expecting their seventh child. Mary, our mother, was not very well during this time. Pearl Jensen and Lillie Jensen were both living with us helping with the housework. So when the baby came April 21, 1918, mother made the delivery of a beautiful 7-pound baby girl. For a time, mother seemed okay then it seemed that a clot of blood circulated through her system, first lodging in one place and then in another until it finally caused her death on May 7, 1918. A day I shall never forget. I had been down to Aunt Venna's home taking my music lesson from a Mr. Perry. I could not take the lesson at home as I usually did for mother was ill. After the lesson, I ran home as fast as I could to show my mother that I was given a new piece of music, but I never did tell her. When I arrived home, I was told that my mother had left this world. She was buried May 10, 1919, in Mink Creek, Idaho. Dad was left alone with seven children all under 12 years of age to take care of. Several of his friends and relatives offered to divide us among them into different families, but dad would not think of it. So Pearl and Lillie lived in our house and took wonderful care of all of us. Then on June 14, 1919, Hans was married to Dorothea Christina Christensen Jensen in the Logan Temple. Aunt Dorry was Hans' brother, Jim's wife, and Dorry was also Mary's half sister. She was living on the portion of the Jensen ranch that belonged to Jim. So they not only were joined in marriage but Aunt Dorry had a two room home that could be moved from her farm to dad's farm and that made room for the enlarged family which now grew to eleven children. Hans' seven and Dora's four was further enlarged by the birth of five more children, so Hans was the father of 12 children. They were Iona May Jensen, born 29 March 1906; Chester Hans, born 25 October 1907; Mark Herbert, born 11 November 1909; Thomas Carl, born 27 November 1911; Leeral George, born 24 April 1914; Veleda Vera, born 10 February 1916; Mary Anna, born 21 April 1918; Lynn Joseph, born 17 November 1920; Rex Lyman, born 15 November 1921; Elgin Calvin, born 31 October 1923; Vera Elaine, born 18 September 1925; Donna C., born 2 November 1927; and four of his brother's children--Orvil Thomas, born 8 June 1908; Ellen Ida, born 1 April 1910; Ivy Dora, born 20 March 1912; Freaman James, born 7 May 1914. Aunt Dorry was welcomed into our family as a second mother and her children were truly our brothers and sisters. Aunt Dora was a most wonderful person taking the kicks and cuffs of a stepmother most graciously with the added responsibility and the children being older and big enough to milk the cows. Dad went to work at Oneida for the Utah Power and Light Co. Each morning he would ride on a horse up over the hills to Oneida to work there for 8 hours and ride home again--in the wintertime he was gone from light to dark. I remember while dad was working at Oneida, sometimes we would make a big batch of ice cream and load the white topped buggy with eggs, milk, and cream and go to camp and sell the produce. We would go to the ice plant and get enough ice to freeze the ice cream and have a real picnic. We would then go up to the Dam at Oneida and catch huge tubs of fish and haul them home and put them in the old smoke house which was always full of smoked ham and smoked salted fish. Oneida was Hans' second home. He did have a home there to live in when he was not at home. During the late summer of 1939, Hans was not very well and he consulted several doctors, but none of them seemed to help him. Then in January of 1940, he suffered a heart attack and was bedfast for a month. Aunt Dora and a daughterin- law, Roma Lee Jensen who was a registered nurse, took care of him and when the second attack struck him he died January 27, 1940. He was buried January 30, 1940, in the cemetery in Mink Creek. He was born, lived all his life, and died in the same house. He left us this worthy heritage. I hope and pray that each of us can honor his name. I, Iona Mary Jensen Black, am writing this as I remember our father. I follow a famous father His honor is mine to wear; He gave me a name that was free from shame A name he was proud to bear. He lived in the morning sunlight And marched in the ranks of right He was always true to the best he knew And the shield that he wore was bright. I follow a famous father And never a day goes by But I feel that he looks down on me To carry his standard high. He stood to the sternest trials As only a brave man can; Though the way be long I must never wrong The name of so good a man. I follow a famous father, Not known to the printed page Nor written down in the world's renown As a prince of his little age. But never he stooped to shame. He was bold and brave, and to me he gave The pride of an honest name. I follow a famous father And him I must keep in mind Though his form is gone, I must carry on The name that he left behind It was mine on the day he gave it; It shone as a monarch's crown; And as fair to see as it came to me It must be, when I put it down."