Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy

Jens Westergard

Male 1845 - 1933  (88 years)


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  • Name Jens Westergard 
    Born 14 May 1845  Visby, Hassing, Thisted, Denmark Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Christened 29 Jun 1845  Visby, Hassing, Thisted, Denmark Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 21 Dec 1933  Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried 24 Dec 1933  Ogden City Cemetery, Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I2632  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Father Christen Enevoldsen,   c. 18 Oct 1808, Bedsted, Hassing, Thisted, Denmark Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 21 Dec 1867, Gettrup, Refs, Thisted, Denmark Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 59 years) 
    Mother Ane Kjerstine Jensdatter,   b. 3 Feb 1812, Kjaestrup, Heltborg, Refs, Thisted, Denmark Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1 Jul 1883, Harrisville, Weber, Utah, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 71 years) 
    Married 16 Apr 1837  Visby, Hassing, Thisted, Denmark Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F1022  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Mary Holst,   b. 6 Apr 1848, Hejsager, Øsby, Haderslev, Denmark Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 9 May 1885, Harrisville, Weber, Utah, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 37 years) 
    Married 18 Feb 1871  Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F1027  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Ane Marie Christensen,   b. 14 May 1856, Bedsted, Hassing, Thisted, Denmark Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 5 Sep 1889, Harrisville, Weber, Utah, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 33 years) 
    Married 23 Aug 1885  Slaterville, Weber, Utah, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F1028  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 3 Anna Persdotter,   b. 6 May 1849, Selja, Mora, Kopparberg, Sweden Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 23 Aug 1918, Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 69 years) 
    Married 30 Mar 1892  Logan, Cache, Utah, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F1026  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 4 Mary Ann Ward,   b. 7 Jun 1862, Tedstone Delamere, Herefordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 25 Oct 1934, Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 72 years) 
    Married 8 Jan 1919  Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F1030  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • RESEARCH_NOTES:
      1. Censuses:
      1880 for Harrisville, Weber, Utah, FHL film 1255339, National Archives Film T9-1339, p. 487C [neighbors to brother Hans]:
      James Westergard, blacksmith, 35, Den, Den, Den.
      Mary Westergard, keeping house, wife, M, 32, Den, Den, Den.
      Teah, dau, 7, WY, Den, Den.
      Peter, son, 5, UT, Den, Den.
      Anna, dau., 3, UT, Den, Den.

      2. "Names of Persons and Sureties indebted to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company 1850 to 1877," http://www.jacksonfamilyhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Doc030_PEF.pdf, p. 156, accessed 23 Apr 2014:
      Ann and Hans Westergaard - 1868.
      Jens Chr. Westergaard - 1868.

      BIOGRAPHY:
      1. Also known in America as James Christensen Westergard; birth name in Denmark of Jens Christensen. Last name of Westergard prior to emigration to America. Emigrated to the US in 1868. See FHL film #025686; Perpetual Emigration Fund p. 188. See also FHL film #48533. Occupation: blacksmith and farmer.

      2. In my files, I have a copy of "Emerald Isle Journals" prepared by Fred Westergard for the 2002 Westergard reunion. Using various sources, Fred has collected excerpts of the journals of various passengers who were on the same voyage from Denmark as was Ane Kjerstine Jensdatter (56) and her two sons, Jens (23) and Hans (18). These journals are too lengthy for this database, but I do herein summarize some pertinent information. (Also note that Fred prepared a similar typescript called "Kenilworth Journals" for Maren Westergard Olson of which I also have a copy on file.) They followed Maren (who sailed in 1866) by sailing from Copenhagen, Denmark on 13 Jun 1868 on the "Hansia or Hansa" arriving on 16 Jun 1868 at Kingston upon Hull, England. Owing to the large company on board they were very much crowded for space. From this point and in the evening of the same day they traveled by rail to Liverpool, England. Here they found accommodations in seven different hotels, where they, with the exception of one place, received anything but decent treatment because they had had next to nothing to eat. On 20 Jun 1868 they boarded the 1736 ton clipper sailing ship "Emerald Isle," commanded by a Captain Gillespie. They had a half day wait on the wharf because the carpenters had not completed their labors in making temporary berths for the passengers. Elder Hans Jensen Hals, and his counselors Elders James Smith and John Fagerberg presided over the company of 876 Saints (627 from Scandinavia and the rest from the British Isles). On June 26th the "Emerald Isle" sailed into the harbor of Queenstown to take fresh water on board, as a certain machine on the vessel used to distill seawater for culinary purposes was out of commission and could not speedily be repaired. On the 29th the ship left Queenstown, Ireland, but the voyage after that was anything but pleasant. This emigrating company of saints probably had the worst treatment of all emigrating companies because of lewdness of the crew and the stagnant water that caused much sickness. Fortunately it was the last company of Scandinavian Saints which crossed the Atlantic in a sailing vessel. From that time on only steamers were employed in the transportation of the Saints. No less than 37 deaths occurred on the voyage. Many of these, however, were caused by measles among the children, but the stagnant water, which all the passengers had to use, was undoubtedly the real cause of the heavy death rate. One comment by Hans Jorgenson about the "Emerald Isle" passage illustrates the general feeling expressed in most of the journals: "The treatment we had on board said vessel was anything but human. The captain and crew showed themselves as rough and mean towards us (especially Danish) as they could and the provisions did not by any means come up to the bargain. The shortest I can say about it is that this treatment was something like the Danish prisoners received in the 1807-1814. I for my part can never think on the deadly "Emerald Isle" but with the greatest disgust and hatred." The Saints held multiple meetings during the sabbath days in different parts of the ship and were divided into 13 wards, each with a presiding elder. Occasionally a dance would be held on deck. Schools were started in which the English were to teach the Scandinavians to read and speak the English language. They arrived in New York harbor on 11 Aug 1868 and after 3 days quarantine, landed at Castle Garden on 14 Aug 1868. On the same day a steamer conveyed the emigrants a few miles up the Hudson River, where they found shelter in a warehouse for a couple of days, while their baggage was being weighed by the railway station. On the 17th the journey was resumed by railway from New York and the emigrants traveled via Niagara, Detroit, and Chicago to Council bluffs where they arrived on the 21st. They stopped at Niagara and were able to see the falls. The following day, they were taken across the Missouri River on a rainy day by a steamboat and thence they traveled in cattle cars on the Union Pacific railroad to the end of the line arriving the morning of 25 Aug in Benton, Wyoming about 700 miles west from Omaha. Here the Church teams met the emigrants and took them to their camp on the Platte River, about six miles from Benton. On 31 Aug 1868, they began the rest of trip to Salt Lake City, Utah by church ox team of 62 wagons in Captain John G. Holman's company via Muddy Gap, Three Crossings, and the rest of the original Mormon Trail. The English Saints traveling with mule teams could ride, while the Scandinavians traveling with slow ox teams, walked most of the way to Salt Lake City. Sickness continued to rage among the Scandinavian emigrants with about thirty dead between New York and Salt Lake City. Jens left the company when it reached present day Echo, Utah and went down Weber canyon to Ogden where he went to work for the railroad. They with the rest of the company of approximately 650 people arrived in Salt Lake City on 25 Sep 1868 at about 9 o'clock in the morning. They camped temporarily in the Tithing Yard. See FHL films: 025686 - Perpetual Emigration Fund; 298442 - Crossing the Plains Index; 25692 - BMR, Book #1048, pp. 322-332, 370; 175654 - Customs. In the same typescript, Fred included the following biography of James (Jens) Westergard written by a granddaughter as follows: "Granfather James C. Westergard. This is some history grandfather told me about and I wrote it down. I must have been in grade school. 'Mother, myself, and Hans left Denmark the first week of June 1868. Crossing the North Sea to England took three days. Took the railroad to Liverpool. We were in Leverpool a week when we boarded a sailing vessel for America. We were on the Atlantic Ocean eight weeks and four days. Many took sick and 43 died on the ocean. We landed in New York 27 or 26 of June. We had a terrible storm at sea. We were in New York eleven days. Then took the railroad to Benton, Wyo. which was then the end of the U.P. railroad. Traveled 500 miles in 5 weeks when we landed in Utah. I left the company at Echo, Utah, 23 Sept. and went down to Weber Canyon to work on the railroad. I worked there a week before Christmas. Went to Salt Lake City, took a trip to San Pete to visit my mother and my sister. I was back in Ogden by the first of April 1869 then went back to work on the railroad till it was completed. After the railroad was completed all the white men were discharged except the foreman. They hired Chinamen. I went back to Omaha, Neb. Got work on the railroad again and worked two years. 17 Apr 1871, I married Mary Holst. In the spring of 1871 we left Omaha and went to Carbon, Wyo. working there for the Wyo. Coal Co. Was there a year. We moved back to Utah and bought a farm of 20 acres near North Ogden, Utah.'"

      BIRTH:
      1. FHL film # 053243; Visby Parish Record, 1814 - 1872, book 3, p. 28.

      2. Viborg, Denmark Regional Archives; Visby parish records; microfiche C118.3 plate 1 p. 28.

      3. Per cemetery records.

      4. FHL film 392693 "LDS Patriarchal Blessings Index": James Christensen Westergard, b. 14 May 1845 at Visby-Tisted, Jutland, Denmark, parents Christen Westergard and Anne Christine ___. Blessing date 4 Aug 1903 at Ogden, Weber, Utah. Lineage: Ephraim. Patriarch John Smith. Vol. 64, p. 223.

      CHRISTENING:
      1. FHL film # 053243; Visby Parish Record, 1814 - 1872, book 3, p. 28.

      MARRIAGE:
      1. Ane Marie Christensen: Date given in wife's obituary is 23 Aug 1886. Recorded in an early LDS membership record as 23 Aug 1885. Considering his first wife's death in May 1885 and there being small children, the earlier date sounds more likely.

      DEATH:
      1. Cemetery Records; Ogden City Cemetery; Lot 5, Block 18, Plat D, Ogden, Utah.
      Ogden City Cemetery online: James C. Westergaard, b. 14 May 1845 in Denmark, d. 21 Dec 1933 in Ogden, UT, parents are Chistian Westergard and Anna Jensen, plot D-18-5-1E.

      BURIAL:
      1. Cemetery Records; Ogden City cemetery; Lot 5, Block 18, Plat D, Ogden, Utah; 1st Avenue between Center and South Streets.

      OBITUARY:
      1. "Funeral services for James C. Westergard, 88, who died Thursday at 2:30 a.m. at the family home, 1950 Jackson avenue, will be conducted Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the LDS 20th ward chapel with interment in Ogden City cemetery under direction of Lindquist and Sons Mortuary. Mr. Westergard was born in Denmark, May 14, 1845, a son of Christian and Anna Jensen Westergard. He came to America with his mother, crossing the plains with one of the last ox-team trains and arriving in Ogden in the fall of 1868. He went to work on construction of the Union Pacific Railroad Co. He married Mary Holst in Omaha in 1871 and she died in 1885. Mr. Westergard worked for the railroad many years finally moving to Farr West where he was a farmer and blacksmith until 1911, when he came here. He married Mary Lewis in 1919. He was a high priest in Ogden LDS stake. [Many survivors of sons and daughters are then listed in detail.]" Obituary in Ogden paper for Friday, Dec. 22, 1933, copy in posession of Kerry Petersen.

      2. "Ogden - Funeral services for James Christian Westergard, 88, who died Thursday at 2:30 a.m. at the family home, 1950 Jackson avenue, will be conducted Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the LDS 20th ward chapel, with interment in Ogden City cemetery under direction of Lindquist and Sons Mortuary. Mr. Westergard was born in Denmark, May 14, 1845, a son of Christian and Anna Jensen Westergard. He came to America with his mother, crossing the plains with one of the last ox-team trains and arriving in Ogden in the fall of 1868. He went to work on construction of the Union Pacific Railroad Co. He married Mary Holst in Omaha in 1871 and she died in 1885. Mr. Westergard worked for the railroad many years, finally moving to Farr West where he was a farmer and blacksmith until 1911, when he came here. He married Mary Lewis in 1919. He was a high priest in Ogden LDS stake. In addition to his widow, seven sons and daughters survive, Mrs. Heber Holland, Garfield, Idaho; Peter Westergard, Iona, Idaho; Mrs. Homer Randall, Bybee, Idaho; James W. Westergard, Jr., Idaho Falls, Idaho; Arthur Westergard, Roberts, Idaho; John Westergard, Salt Lake; Mrs. H.C. Westergard, Farr West; also 36 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren." Salt Lake Tribune, Fri., 22 Dec 1933, p. 20.

      3. "Ogden. - James Christian Westergard, 88, died Friday at the family home, 1950 Jackson avenue. He was born in Denmark, May 14, 1845, a son of Christian and Anna Jensen Westergard. He came to America with his mother in 1868, crossing the plains by ox team. He had been employed by the Union Pacific railroad. He married Mary Holst in Omaha, in 1871, and she died in 1885. In 1919 he married Mary Lewis. He was a member of the Church and a high priest in Ogden stake. Surviving are his widow and the following sons and daughters: Mrs. Homer Randall, Bybee, Idaho; James W. Westergard, Jr., Idaho Falls, Idaho; Arthur Westergard, Roberts, Idaho; John Westergard, Salt Lake; Mrs. H.C. Westergard, Farr West, 36 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Sunday, Dec. 24, at 1:30 p.m. in the Twentieth ward chapel, with interment in the Ogden city cemetery." Deseret News, Fri., Dec. 22, 1933, p. 7.

      SOURCES_MISC:
      1. Will/Probate; Ogden, Weber, UT (Lists children but not which from which marriage); Copies in possession of Kerry Petersen.

      2. Per gedcom dated 6 Jan 1999 of Wayne Westergard, 785 W 1300 South, Woods Cross, Utah 84087, phone 801-295-2906.

      3. Archive Record Family Group Sheet submitted by Fermen J. Westergard, 2059 Van Buren Ave., Ogden Utah 84403 copy of which is in possession of Kerry Petersen. He references: "Film 9025 9024 Census paper 1840, 1845, 1850, 1855, and Fam. Rec.

      4. From Family Group Sheet in LDS Archives for Westergard, James Christian submitted by Iris Westergard, Route 3, Box 99, Idaho Falls, ID 83401.