Bolette Christine Kyhn (Bodil Kirstine or Bodild Kirstine) was born 4 February 1814 in Fredericia, Vijle, Denmark, a garrison town located in Fredericia municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighboring cities of Kolding and Vejle. She was christened on 17 March 1814 in Trinitatis Church, Fredericia, Vejle, Denmark. Bodil was 3rd of the ten children born to Hans Mehwis Kyhn (1791–1824?) and Anne Elisabetha Nielsdatter (1779–1842). Siblings; Anne Marie (1811–?), Hans Nielsen (1812–1812), Niels Hansen (1815–?), Catrine (1816–1816), Anna Catrine (1817–?), Hans Jergen (1819–1819), Anne (1821–1821), Hans Jorgen (1821–1822) and Hansine Wilhelmina (1824-1929). (Still verifying information on family).
At some point, Bodil received training as a nurse. She was married to Søren William Eriksen (1819–1872) on 16 June 1839 in Mørkholt, Gårslev, Holmans, Vejle, Denmark. Her husband, Soren, who was her junior by 5 years, was a bricklayer/mason by trade and a Captain in the Danish Army. They are the parents of six children; Anne Mette Eriksen (1839–1934), Erick Eriksen (1841–1899), Hans Eriksen Senior (1844–1924), Mette Kathrine Eriksen (1846–1932), Anna Maria Eriksen (1849–1907) and Maren Eriksen (1856–1930). In keeping with the Danish tradition, the last name of the children would have been Sorenson/Sorensen and some records identify them as such. Bodil and Soren and their family were tenants on the estate of Morkholt in the Garslev Parish. Morkholt is a farming area on the eastern border of the Jutland peninsula that extends inland from the Vejile Fiord.
The 1850 Census record lists the family living with Soren’s parents Erik & Mette Willumsen and the 1860 Census finds Soren & Bolette and their youngest 3 children living in Brusk, Vejle, Denmark. The 3 older children are living and working elsewhere.
The oldest daughter of Bodil & Soren, Anne Mette, was the first to leave home and roomed with a girl whose brother was a Latter-day Saints missionary. Anne learned about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and related what she had learned to her mother but Bodil cautioned her to not listen to such things. This was the family’s first introduction to the Church. It was not long before attitudes changed and the missionaries taught the family.
Bodil and Soren were both baptized into the church on 21 July 1861. During the 1860’s it appears that the family all joined the church. It was just a few years later when her daughter, Anne, left Denmark and immigrated to the United States. At the age of 23, Anne, who had a desire to join with the body of the church became the first of her family to immigrate to Utah. In May 1863, she left Denmark with Soren Hansen, his wife and their four children and they traveled with the missionaries. Later that year, her brother Erik who had been living in Norway with his wife and two children decided to take his family and follow his sister. Accompanied by other church members, they set sail for the United States and on to Utah as well.
During the following years the remaining Ericksen/Eriksen children grew up and Hans left for Sweden to serve a mission for the church and Mette Kathrine and Anna Maria were married and started families of their own. Leaving Maren, who was 7 years younger than Anna Maria the only one left at home.
As Bodil was nearing the age of 50 years, she started having trouble with her eyes, a condition later identified as Granulated Eyelids or Blepharitis. The doctor did not know how to treat this condition and leeches were put on her eyes to draw out the inflammation but unfortunately, this was unsuccessful and resulted in partial blindness or according to this account by her youngest daughter, Maren, resulted in Bodil losing both eyes. Maren was around the age of 6 years at the time and later related the following to her family members. "The doctors didn’t know how to treat things like that in those early days so they put leeches on her eyes to draw the inflammation out and it drew her eyes out of the sockets. One day, Bodil called Maren to her side and there was her mother with her eye hanging by a very thin thread on her cheek. She wanted Maren to cut it off with the scissors but her being so young, she was frightened and she couldn’t do it. Bodil took her own hand and pinched the thin cord that was holding her eye with her fingernails and it fell into her other hand. In a few days, the same thing happened to her other eye so she was blind the rest of her life. In spite of this, she did beautiful knitting. She could tell the size of the yarn by feeling it with her fingers and she could also tell by the smell if the yarn was white or black. If no one moved anything around in the room, she could make her way around by herself."
In 1872, Bodil and Soren decided to immigrate to the United States themselves. According to Maren, Hans sold his business, their home and all their belongings to buy their passage. After all the arrangements were completed, the next Sunday, Soren went to a nearby town to attend a church conference and a friend invited him to his home for dinner. It was during this visit that Soren came in contact with a Smallpox carrier. When he got home that night he sadly told Bodil, “You and Maren will go to Zion, but I won’t because I have been exposed to Smallpox.” He had indeed contracted the disease and as a result he died the 16th of May in 1872. It was shortly after their father died that Mette Katrine and Anna Maria and their families left for New Zealand so Bodil and Maren were left alone in Denmark.
Bodil, despite being recently widowed, decided to follow through with the arranged plans and she and her 16 year old daughter made the trip to America. Maren was left with the responsibility of caring for her 58 year old, blind mother. They left Denmark with the missionaries and a group of other church members. According to “A Compilation of General Voyage Notes”, “On Friday, Aug. 30, 1872, at 1 o'clock p.m., a company of 260 emigrating Saints sailed from Copenhagen, per steamer 'Cato'. On the 2nd of Sept. this company arrived at Hull, England, where the emigrants were served supper at Mr. Lazarus' hotel, and the following day they took a train to Liverpool, arriving there on the 3rd at 11 a.m. The sisters were at once conveyed by omnibus to the steamer 'Minnesota,' while the brethren assisted in the handling of the baggage. At 9 p.m. all went on board. The following day (Wednesday, Sept. 4th) the ship sailed from Liverpool, Elder Geo George W. Wilkins having charge of the company. No deaths occurred at sea, but the company was increased by the arrival of two babies. On board the ship Bodil and Maren traveled in steerage and Bodil became very ill. (Early steerage often housed hundreds of immigrants in one large room, often converted from cargo holds to hold what might have been described as human cattle. These potential new citizens were emigrants from many countries around the world who endured a journey unlike any other).
The ships doctor told Maren that her mother was going to die and would have to be buried at sea. Maren talked to some Elders of the church who were onboard the ship and they administered to Bodil and the other Saints held a prayer circle. Bodil’s condition improved although she was still ill the rest of the journey. At one point during the journey the ship encountered a fierce storm. This storm may have been the reason that Bodil was so sick. The following is an account of the voyage by one of the passengers, Rose Berry West . . . In the fall of 1872, on September 4, we sailed on the sailing vessel, Minnesota, under the able direction of George W. Wilkins for Utah along with 602 other Saints. At one time during the trip there was a severe storm on the ocean and the waves were so high they washed way over the deck. We all prayed though and landed safe in New York.
On 16 September 1872, the steamer anchored near Castle Garden (Ellis Island), New York, and the next day (Sept. 17th ) the emigrants went ashore. On arrival in New York Harbor, Maren went ashore and found a grocery store. She saw some ripe tomatoes and thinking that they were apples, she bought them. She had never seen a tomato before. She gave one to her mother to eat and as she took a firm bite of it, it spurted all over her face. Bodil was convinced that she had bitten into a rotten apple. On the 18th they boarded the train and traveled via Pittsburg, Chicago, Omaha, etc., to Salt Lake City, Utah. One child died on the train and was buried in Chicago. Halfway between Ogden and Salt Lake City the company was met by President Brigham Young, Elder Daniel H. Wells and other leading men, who immediately went through the cars, bidding their brethren and sisters from afar a hearty welcome to Zion. On their arrival in Salt Lake City, Sept. 26, 1872 the emigrants were taken to the Music Hall, where a sumptuous dinner was awaiting them. In course of the two following days the company was dissolved, friends and relatives taking the newcomers to temporary homes.
Bodil and Maren traveled on from New York to Utah to the home of her daughter, Anne Mette Madsen in Willard, Utah. Bodil was left in Anne’s care and Maren left to seek employment. After Hans completed his mission he too immigrated to America and joined the family in Willard, Utah. On June 23 1873, Bodil was able to go to Salt Lake City, Utah and enter into the Endowment house where she received her endowments and was sealed for time and all eternity to her husband, Soren. After Maren was married, Bodil again went to live with her and then later lived with her son Hans and his wife Karen in Weston, Idaho. She spent her remaining twenty-nine years visiting and being cared for by her family where she helped tend her grandchildren and assisted with household chores to the best of her ability. She was 87 years of age when she passed away on 5 May 1901 in Weston, Franklin, Idaho.
She was living with her son Hans and his wife at the time. Bodil was laid to rest in the Weston City Cemetery. Sexton Record: B 148, 3
*According to one account, in New York, after Bodil bit into the tomato, she became sick and their travel was delayed but if that was not the case the above account concerning their travel from New York to Utah would be accurate. It does not make sense to me that they left the company that they were traveling with at that time. I assume that neither Bodil or Maren spoke much if any English and for a blind and widowed mother and her 16 year old daughter to leave the safety of the group to stay in New York and forego all the travel arrangements that were already made, Bodil would have had to been on her death bed. I have my doubts that biting into a tomato and having it spurt on your face would have caused something so dire and I feel like they made the trip to Utah with the rest and arrived in Salt Lake City on September 26th. Bodil lived for 29 years after arriving in America so my thinking is that she was not that frail. However, just my thoughts. Biography compiled by 3rd Great-granddaughter, Lorraine Simmons.
At some point, Bodil received training as a nurse. She was married to Søren William Eriksen (1819–1872) on 16 June 1839 in Mørkholt, Gårslev, Holmans, Vejle, Denmark. Her husband, Soren, who was her junior by 5 years, was a bricklayer/mason by trade and a Captain in the Danish Army. They are the parents of six children; Anne Mette Eriksen (1839–1934), Erick Eriksen (1841–1899), Hans Eriksen Senior (1844–1924), Mette Kathrine Eriksen (1846–1932), Anna Maria Eriksen (1849–1907) and Maren Eriksen (1856–1930). In keeping with the Danish tradition, the last name of the children would have been Sorenson/Sorensen and some records identify them as such. Bodil and Soren and their family were tenants on the estate of Morkholt in the Garslev Parish. Morkholt is a farming area on the eastern border of the Jutland peninsula that extends inland from the Vejile Fiord.
The 1850 Census record lists the family living with Soren’s parents Erik & Mette Willumsen and the 1860 Census finds Soren & Bolette and their youngest 3 children living in Brusk, Vejle, Denmark. The 3 older children are living and working elsewhere.
The oldest daughter of Bodil & Soren, Anne Mette, was the first to leave home and roomed with a girl whose brother was a Latter-day Saints missionary. Anne learned about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and related what she had learned to her mother but Bodil cautioned her to not listen to such things. This was the family’s first introduction to the Church. It was not long before attitudes changed and the missionaries taught the family.
Bodil and Soren were both baptized into the church on 21 July 1861. During the 1860’s it appears that the family all joined the church. It was just a few years later when her daughter, Anne, left Denmark and immigrated to the United States. At the age of 23, Anne, who had a desire to join with the body of the church became the first of her family to immigrate to Utah. In May 1863, she left Denmark with Soren Hansen, his wife and their four children and they traveled with the missionaries. Later that year, her brother Erik who had been living in Norway with his wife and two children decided to take his family and follow his sister. Accompanied by other church members, they set sail for the United States and on to Utah as well.
During the following years the remaining Ericksen/Eriksen children grew up and Hans left for Sweden to serve a mission for the church and Mette Kathrine and Anna Maria were married and started families of their own. Leaving Maren, who was 7 years younger than Anna Maria the only one left at home.
As Bodil was nearing the age of 50 years, she started having trouble with her eyes, a condition later identified as Granulated Eyelids or Blepharitis. The doctor did not know how to treat this condition and leeches were put on her eyes to draw out the inflammation but unfortunately, this was unsuccessful and resulted in partial blindness or according to this account by her youngest daughter, Maren, resulted in Bodil losing both eyes. Maren was around the age of 6 years at the time and later related the following to her family members. "The doctors didn’t know how to treat things like that in those early days so they put leeches on her eyes to draw the inflammation out and it drew her eyes out of the sockets. One day, Bodil called Maren to her side and there was her mother with her eye hanging by a very thin thread on her cheek. She wanted Maren to cut it off with the scissors but her being so young, she was frightened and she couldn’t do it. Bodil took her own hand and pinched the thin cord that was holding her eye with her fingernails and it fell into her other hand. In a few days, the same thing happened to her other eye so she was blind the rest of her life. In spite of this, she did beautiful knitting. She could tell the size of the yarn by feeling it with her fingers and she could also tell by the smell if the yarn was white or black. If no one moved anything around in the room, she could make her way around by herself."
In 1872, Bodil and Soren decided to immigrate to the United States themselves. According to Maren, Hans sold his business, their home and all their belongings to buy their passage. After all the arrangements were completed, the next Sunday, Soren went to a nearby town to attend a church conference and a friend invited him to his home for dinner. It was during this visit that Soren came in contact with a Smallpox carrier. When he got home that night he sadly told Bodil, “You and Maren will go to Zion, but I won’t because I have been exposed to Smallpox.” He had indeed contracted the disease and as a result he died the 16th of May in 1872. It was shortly after their father died that Mette Katrine and Anna Maria and their families left for New Zealand so Bodil and Maren were left alone in Denmark.
Bodil, despite being recently widowed, decided to follow through with the arranged plans and she and her 16 year old daughter made the trip to America. Maren was left with the responsibility of caring for her 58 year old, blind mother. They left Denmark with the missionaries and a group of other church members. According to “A Compilation of General Voyage Notes”, “On Friday, Aug. 30, 1872, at 1 o'clock p.m., a company of 260 emigrating Saints sailed from Copenhagen, per steamer 'Cato'. On the 2nd of Sept. this company arrived at Hull, England, where the emigrants were served supper at Mr. Lazarus' hotel, and the following day they took a train to Liverpool, arriving there on the 3rd at 11 a.m. The sisters were at once conveyed by omnibus to the steamer 'Minnesota,' while the brethren assisted in the handling of the baggage. At 9 p.m. all went on board. The following day (Wednesday, Sept. 4th) the ship sailed from Liverpool, Elder Geo George W. Wilkins having charge of the company. No deaths occurred at sea, but the company was increased by the arrival of two babies. On board the ship Bodil and Maren traveled in steerage and Bodil became very ill. (Early steerage often housed hundreds of immigrants in one large room, often converted from cargo holds to hold what might have been described as human cattle. These potential new citizens were emigrants from many countries around the world who endured a journey unlike any other).
The ships doctor told Maren that her mother was going to die and would have to be buried at sea. Maren talked to some Elders of the church who were onboard the ship and they administered to Bodil and the other Saints held a prayer circle. Bodil’s condition improved although she was still ill the rest of the journey. At one point during the journey the ship encountered a fierce storm. This storm may have been the reason that Bodil was so sick. The following is an account of the voyage by one of the passengers, Rose Berry West . . . In the fall of 1872, on September 4, we sailed on the sailing vessel, Minnesota, under the able direction of George W. Wilkins for Utah along with 602 other Saints. At one time during the trip there was a severe storm on the ocean and the waves were so high they washed way over the deck. We all prayed though and landed safe in New York.
On 16 September 1872, the steamer anchored near Castle Garden (Ellis Island), New York, and the next day (Sept. 17th ) the emigrants went ashore. On arrival in New York Harbor, Maren went ashore and found a grocery store. She saw some ripe tomatoes and thinking that they were apples, she bought them. She had never seen a tomato before. She gave one to her mother to eat and as she took a firm bite of it, it spurted all over her face. Bodil was convinced that she had bitten into a rotten apple. On the 18th they boarded the train and traveled via Pittsburg, Chicago, Omaha, etc., to Salt Lake City, Utah. One child died on the train and was buried in Chicago. Halfway between Ogden and Salt Lake City the company was met by President Brigham Young, Elder Daniel H. Wells and other leading men, who immediately went through the cars, bidding their brethren and sisters from afar a hearty welcome to Zion. On their arrival in Salt Lake City, Sept. 26, 1872 the emigrants were taken to the Music Hall, where a sumptuous dinner was awaiting them. In course of the two following days the company was dissolved, friends and relatives taking the newcomers to temporary homes.
Bodil and Maren traveled on from New York to Utah to the home of her daughter, Anne Mette Madsen in Willard, Utah. Bodil was left in Anne’s care and Maren left to seek employment. After Hans completed his mission he too immigrated to America and joined the family in Willard, Utah. On June 23 1873, Bodil was able to go to Salt Lake City, Utah and enter into the Endowment house where she received her endowments and was sealed for time and all eternity to her husband, Soren. After Maren was married, Bodil again went to live with her and then later lived with her son Hans and his wife Karen in Weston, Idaho. She spent her remaining twenty-nine years visiting and being cared for by her family where she helped tend her grandchildren and assisted with household chores to the best of her ability. She was 87 years of age when she passed away on 5 May 1901 in Weston, Franklin, Idaho.
She was living with her son Hans and his wife at the time. Bodil was laid to rest in the Weston City Cemetery. Sexton Record: B 148, 3
*According to one account, in New York, after Bodil bit into the tomato, she became sick and their travel was delayed but if that was not the case the above account concerning their travel from New York to Utah would be accurate. It does not make sense to me that they left the company that they were traveling with at that time. I assume that neither Bodil or Maren spoke much if any English and for a blind and widowed mother and her 16 year old daughter to leave the safety of the group to stay in New York and forego all the travel arrangements that were already made, Bodil would have had to been on her death bed. I have my doubts that biting into a tomato and having it spurt on your face would have caused something so dire and I feel like they made the trip to Utah with the rest and arrived in Salt Lake City on September 26th. Bodil lived for 29 years after arriving in America so my thinking is that she was not that frail. However, just my thoughts. Biography compiled by 3rd Great-granddaughter, Lorraine Simmons.
Bolette Christine Kyhn (Bodil Kirstine or Bodild Kirstine) was born 4 February 1814 in Fredericia, Vijle, Denmark, a garrison town located in Fredericia municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighboring cities of Kolding and Vejle. She was christened on 17 March 1814 in Trinitatis Church, Fredericia, Vejle, Denmark. Bodil was 3rd of the ten children born to Hans Mehwis Kyhn (1791–1824?) and Anne Elisabetha Nielsdatter (1779–1842). Siblings; Anne Marie (1811–?), Hans Nielsen (1812–1812), Niels Hansen (1815–?), Catrine (1816–1816), Anna Catrine (1817–?), Hans Jergen (1819–1819), Anne (1821–1821), Hans Jorgen (1821–1822) and Hansine Wilhelmina (1824-1929). (Still verifying information on family).
At some point, Bodil received training as a nurse. She was married to Søren William Eriksen (1819–1872) on 16 June 1839 in Mørkholt, Gårslev, Holmans, Vejle, Denmark. Her husband, Soren, who was her junior by 5 years, was a bricklayer/mason by trade and a Captain in the Danish Army. They are the parents of six children; Anne Mette Eriksen (1839–1934), Erick Eriksen (1841–1899), Hans Eriksen Senior (1844–1924), Mette Kathrine Eriksen (1846–1932), Anna Maria Eriksen (1849–1907) and Maren Eriksen (1856–1930). In keeping with the Danish tradition, the last name of the children would have been Sorenson/Sorensen and some records identify them as such. Bodil and Soren and their family were tenants on the estate of Morkholt in the Garslev Parish. Morkholt is a farming area on the eastern border of the Jutland peninsula that extends inland from the Vejile Fiord.
The 1850 Census record lists the family living with Soren’s parents Erik & Mette Willumsen and the 1860 Census finds Soren & Bolette and their youngest 3 children living in Brusk, Vejle, Denmark. The 3 older children are living and working elsewhere.
The oldest daughter of Bodil & Soren, Anne Mette, was the first to leave home and roomed with a girl whose brother was a Latter-day Saints missionary. Anne learned about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and related what she had learned to her mother but Bodil cautioned her to not listen to such things. This was the family’s first introduction to the Church. It was not long before attitudes changed and the missionaries taught the family.
Bodil and Soren were both baptized into the church on 21 July 1861. During the 1860’s it appears that the family all joined the church. It was just a few years later when her daughter, Anne, left Denmark and immigrated to the United States. At the age of 23, Anne, who had a desire to join with the body of the church became the first of her family to immigrate to Utah. In May 1863, she left Denmark with Soren Hansen, his wife and their four children and they traveled with the missionaries. Later that year, her brother Erik who had been living in Norway with his wife and two children decided to take his family and follow his sister. Accompanied by other church members, they set sail for the United States and on to Utah as well.
During the following years the remaining Ericksen/Eriksen children grew up and Hans left for Sweden to serve a mission for the church and Mette Kathrine and Anna Maria were married and started families of their own. Leaving Maren, who was 7 years younger than Anna Maria the only one left at home.
As Bodil was nearing the age of 50 years, she started having trouble with her eyes, a condition later identified as Granulated Eyelids or Blepharitis. The doctor did not know how to treat this condition and leeches were put on her eyes to draw out the inflammation but unfortunately, this was unsuccessful and resulted in partial blindness or according to this account by her youngest daughter, Maren, resulted in Bodil losing both eyes. Maren was around the age of 6 years at the time and later related the following to her family members. "The doctors didn’t know how to treat things like that in those early days so they put leeches on her eyes to draw the inflammation out and it drew her eyes out of the sockets. One day, Bodil called Maren to her side and there was her mother with her eye hanging by a very thin thread on her cheek. She wanted Maren to cut it off with the scissors but her being so young, she was frightened and she couldn’t do it. Bodil took her own hand and pinched the thin cord that was holding her eye with her fingernails and it fell into her other hand. In a few days, the same thing happened to her other eye so she was blind the rest of her life. In spite of this, she did beautiful knitting. She could tell the size of the yarn by feeling it with her fingers and she could also tell by the smell if the yarn was white or black. If no one moved anything around in the room, she could make her way around by herself."
In 1872, Bodil and Soren decided to immigrate to the United States themselves. According to Maren, Hans sold his business, their home and all their belongings to buy their passage. After all the arrangements were completed, the next Sunday, Soren went to a nearby town to attend a church conference and a friend invited him to his home for dinner. It was during this visit that Soren came in contact with a Smallpox carrier. When he got home that night he sadly told Bodil, “You and Maren will go to Zion, but I won’t because I have been exposed to Smallpox.” He had indeed contracted the disease and as a result he died the 16th of May in 1872. It was shortly after their father died that Mette Katrine and Anna Maria and their families left for New Zealand so Bodil and Maren were left alone in Denmark.
Bodil, despite being recently widowed, decided to follow through with the arranged plans and she and her 16 year old daughter made the trip to America. Maren was left with the responsibility of caring for her 58 year old, blind mother. They left Denmark with the missionaries and a group of other church members. According to “A Compilation of General Voyage Notes”, “On Friday, Aug. 30, 1872, at 1 o'clock p.m., a company of 260 emigrating Saints sailed from Copenhagen, per steamer 'Cato'. On the 2nd of Sept. this company arrived at Hull, England, where the emigrants were served supper at Mr. Lazarus' hotel, and the following day they took a train to Liverpool, arriving there on the 3rd at 11 a.m. The sisters were at once conveyed by omnibus to the steamer 'Minnesota,' while the brethren assisted in the handling of the baggage. At 9 p.m. all went on board. The following day (Wednesday, Sept. 4th) the ship sailed from Liverpool, Elder Geo George W. Wilkins having charge of the company. No deaths occurred at sea, but the company was increased by the arrival of two babies. On board the ship Bodil and Maren traveled in steerage and Bodil became very ill. (Early steerage often housed hundreds of immigrants in one large room, often converted from cargo holds to hold what might have been described as human cattle. These potential new citizens were emigrants from many countries around the world who endured a journey unlike any other).
The ships doctor told Maren that her mother was going to die and would have to be buried at sea. Maren talked to some Elders of the church who were onboard the ship and they administered to Bodil and the other Saints held a prayer circle. Bodil’s condition improved although she was still ill the rest of the journey. At one point during the journey the ship encountered a fierce storm. This storm may have been the reason that Bodil was so sick. The following is an account of the voyage by one of the passengers, Rose Berry West . . . In the fall of 1872, on September 4, we sailed on the sailing vessel, Minnesota, under the able direction of George W. Wilkins for Utah along with 602 other Saints. At one time during the trip there was a severe storm on the ocean and the waves were so high they washed way over the deck. We all prayed though and landed safe in New York.
On 16 September 1872, the steamer anchored near Castle Garden (Ellis Island), New York, and the next day (Sept. 17th ) the emigrants went ashore. On arrival in New York Harbor, Maren went ashore and found a grocery store. She saw some ripe tomatoes and thinking that they were apples, she bought them. She had never seen a tomato before. She gave one to her mother to eat and as she took a firm bite of it, it spurted all over her face. Bodil was convinced that she had bitten into a rotten apple. On the 18th they boarded the train and traveled via Pittsburg, Chicago, Omaha, etc., to Salt Lake City, Utah. One child died on the train and was buried in Chicago. Halfway between Ogden and Salt Lake City the company was met by President Brigham Young, Elder Daniel H. Wells and other leading men, who immediately went through the cars, bidding their brethren and sisters from afar a hearty welcome to Zion. On their arrival in Salt Lake City, Sept. 26, 1872 the emigrants were taken to the Music Hall, where a sumptuous dinner was awaiting them. In course of the two following days the company was dissolved, friends and relatives taking the newcomers to temporary homes.
Bodil and Maren traveled on from New York to Utah to the home of her daughter, Anne Mette Madsen in Willard, Utah. Bodil was left in Anne’s care and Maren left to seek employment. After Hans completed his mission he too immigrated to America and joined the family in Willard, Utah. On June 23 1873, Bodil was able to go to Salt Lake City, Utah and enter into the Endowment house where she received her endowments and was sealed for time and all eternity to her husband, Soren. After Maren was married, Bodil again went to live with her and then later lived with her son Hans and his wife Karen in Weston, Idaho. She spent her remaining twenty-nine years visiting and being cared for by her family where she helped tend her grandchildren and assisted with household chores to the best of her ability. She was 87 years of age when she passed away on 5 May 1901 in Weston, Franklin, Idaho.
She was living with her son Hans and his wife at the time. Bodil was laid to rest in the Weston City Cemetery. Sexton Record: B 148, 3
*According to one account, in New York, after Bodil bit into the tomato, she became sick and their travel was delayed but if that was not the case the above account concerning their travel from New York to Utah would be accurate. It does not make sense to me that they left the company that they were traveling with at that time. I assume that neither Bodil or Maren spoke much if any English and for a blind and widowed mother and her 16 year old daughter to leave the safety of the group to stay in New York and forego all the travel arrangements that were already made, Bodil would have had to been on her death bed. I have my doubts that biting into a tomato and having it spurt on your face would have caused something so dire and I feel like they made the trip to Utah with the rest and arrived in Salt Lake City on September 26th. Bodil lived for 29 years after arriving in America so my thinking is that she was not that frail. However, just my thoughts. Biography compiled by 3rd Great-granddaughter, Lorraine Simmons.
At some point, Bodil received training as a nurse. She was married to Søren William Eriksen (1819–1872) on 16 June 1839 in Mørkholt, Gårslev, Holmans, Vejle, Denmark. Her husband, Soren, who was her junior by 5 years, was a bricklayer/mason by trade and a Captain in the Danish Army. They are the parents of six children; Anne Mette Eriksen (1839–1934), Erick Eriksen (1841–1899), Hans Eriksen Senior (1844–1924), Mette Kathrine Eriksen (1846–1932), Anna Maria Eriksen (1849–1907) and Maren Eriksen (1856–1930). In keeping with the Danish tradition, the last name of the children would have been Sorenson/Sorensen and some records identify them as such. Bodil and Soren and their family were tenants on the estate of Morkholt in the Garslev Parish. Morkholt is a farming area on the eastern border of the Jutland peninsula that extends inland from the Vejile Fiord.
The 1850 Census record lists the family living with Soren’s parents Erik & Mette Willumsen and the 1860 Census finds Soren & Bolette and their youngest 3 children living in Brusk, Vejle, Denmark. The 3 older children are living and working elsewhere.
The oldest daughter of Bodil & Soren, Anne Mette, was the first to leave home and roomed with a girl whose brother was a Latter-day Saints missionary. Anne learned about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and related what she had learned to her mother but Bodil cautioned her to not listen to such things. This was the family’s first introduction to the Church. It was not long before attitudes changed and the missionaries taught the family.
Bodil and Soren were both baptized into the church on 21 July 1861. During the 1860’s it appears that the family all joined the church. It was just a few years later when her daughter, Anne, left Denmark and immigrated to the United States. At the age of 23, Anne, who had a desire to join with the body of the church became the first of her family to immigrate to Utah. In May 1863, she left Denmark with Soren Hansen, his wife and their four children and they traveled with the missionaries. Later that year, her brother Erik who had been living in Norway with his wife and two children decided to take his family and follow his sister. Accompanied by other church members, they set sail for the United States and on to Utah as well.
During the following years the remaining Ericksen/Eriksen children grew up and Hans left for Sweden to serve a mission for the church and Mette Kathrine and Anna Maria were married and started families of their own. Leaving Maren, who was 7 years younger than Anna Maria the only one left at home.
As Bodil was nearing the age of 50 years, she started having trouble with her eyes, a condition later identified as Granulated Eyelids or Blepharitis. The doctor did not know how to treat this condition and leeches were put on her eyes to draw out the inflammation but unfortunately, this was unsuccessful and resulted in partial blindness or according to this account by her youngest daughter, Maren, resulted in Bodil losing both eyes. Maren was around the age of 6 years at the time and later related the following to her family members. "The doctors didn’t know how to treat things like that in those early days so they put leeches on her eyes to draw the inflammation out and it drew her eyes out of the sockets. One day, Bodil called Maren to her side and there was her mother with her eye hanging by a very thin thread on her cheek. She wanted Maren to cut it off with the scissors but her being so young, she was frightened and she couldn’t do it. Bodil took her own hand and pinched the thin cord that was holding her eye with her fingernails and it fell into her other hand. In a few days, the same thing happened to her other eye so she was blind the rest of her life. In spite of this, she did beautiful knitting. She could tell the size of the yarn by feeling it with her fingers and she could also tell by the smell if the yarn was white or black. If no one moved anything around in the room, she could make her way around by herself."
In 1872, Bodil and Soren decided to immigrate to the United States themselves. According to Maren, Hans sold his business, their home and all their belongings to buy their passage. After all the arrangements were completed, the next Sunday, Soren went to a nearby town to attend a church conference and a friend invited him to his home for dinner. It was during this visit that Soren came in contact with a Smallpox carrier. When he got home that night he sadly told Bodil, “You and Maren will go to Zion, but I won’t because I have been exposed to Smallpox.” He had indeed contracted the disease and as a result he died the 16th of May in 1872. It was shortly after their father died that Mette Katrine and Anna Maria and their families left for New Zealand so Bodil and Maren were left alone in Denmark.
Bodil, despite being recently widowed, decided to follow through with the arranged plans and she and her 16 year old daughter made the trip to America. Maren was left with the responsibility of caring for her 58 year old, blind mother. They left Denmark with the missionaries and a group of other church members. According to “A Compilation of General Voyage Notes”, “On Friday, Aug. 30, 1872, at 1 o'clock p.m., a company of 260 emigrating Saints sailed from Copenhagen, per steamer 'Cato'. On the 2nd of Sept. this company arrived at Hull, England, where the emigrants were served supper at Mr. Lazarus' hotel, and the following day they took a train to Liverpool, arriving there on the 3rd at 11 a.m. The sisters were at once conveyed by omnibus to the steamer 'Minnesota,' while the brethren assisted in the handling of the baggage. At 9 p.m. all went on board. The following day (Wednesday, Sept. 4th) the ship sailed from Liverpool, Elder Geo George W. Wilkins having charge of the company. No deaths occurred at sea, but the company was increased by the arrival of two babies. On board the ship Bodil and Maren traveled in steerage and Bodil became very ill. (Early steerage often housed hundreds of immigrants in one large room, often converted from cargo holds to hold what might have been described as human cattle. These potential new citizens were emigrants from many countries around the world who endured a journey unlike any other).
The ships doctor told Maren that her mother was going to die and would have to be buried at sea. Maren talked to some Elders of the church who were onboard the ship and they administered to Bodil and the other Saints held a prayer circle. Bodil’s condition improved although she was still ill the rest of the journey. At one point during the journey the ship encountered a fierce storm. This storm may have been the reason that Bodil was so sick. The following is an account of the voyage by one of the passengers, Rose Berry West . . . In the fall of 1872, on September 4, we sailed on the sailing vessel, Minnesota, under the able direction of George W. Wilkins for Utah along with 602 other Saints. At one time during the trip there was a severe storm on the ocean and the waves were so high they washed way over the deck. We all prayed though and landed safe in New York.
On 16 September 1872, the steamer anchored near Castle Garden (Ellis Island), New York, and the next day (Sept. 17th ) the emigrants went ashore. On arrival in New York Harbor, Maren went ashore and found a grocery store. She saw some ripe tomatoes and thinking that they were apples, she bought them. She had never seen a tomato before. She gave one to her mother to eat and as she took a firm bite of it, it spurted all over her face. Bodil was convinced that she had bitten into a rotten apple. On the 18th they boarded the train and traveled via Pittsburg, Chicago, Omaha, etc., to Salt Lake City, Utah. One child died on the train and was buried in Chicago. Halfway between Ogden and Salt Lake City the company was met by President Brigham Young, Elder Daniel H. Wells and other leading men, who immediately went through the cars, bidding their brethren and sisters from afar a hearty welcome to Zion. On their arrival in Salt Lake City, Sept. 26, 1872 the emigrants were taken to the Music Hall, where a sumptuous dinner was awaiting them. In course of the two following days the company was dissolved, friends and relatives taking the newcomers to temporary homes.
Bodil and Maren traveled on from New York to Utah to the home of her daughter, Anne Mette Madsen in Willard, Utah. Bodil was left in Anne’s care and Maren left to seek employment. After Hans completed his mission he too immigrated to America and joined the family in Willard, Utah. On June 23 1873, Bodil was able to go to Salt Lake City, Utah and enter into the Endowment house where she received her endowments and was sealed for time and all eternity to her husband, Soren. After Maren was married, Bodil again went to live with her and then later lived with her son Hans and his wife Karen in Weston, Idaho. She spent her remaining twenty-nine years visiting and being cared for by her family where she helped tend her grandchildren and assisted with household chores to the best of her ability. She was 87 years of age when she passed away on 5 May 1901 in Weston, Franklin, Idaho.
She was living with her son Hans and his wife at the time. Bodil was laid to rest in the Weston City Cemetery. Sexton Record: B 148, 3
*According to one account, in New York, after Bodil bit into the tomato, she became sick and their travel was delayed but if that was not the case the above account concerning their travel from New York to Utah would be accurate. It does not make sense to me that they left the company that they were traveling with at that time. I assume that neither Bodil or Maren spoke much if any English and for a blind and widowed mother and her 16 year old daughter to leave the safety of the group to stay in New York and forego all the travel arrangements that were already made, Bodil would have had to been on her death bed. I have my doubts that biting into a tomato and having it spurt on your face would have caused something so dire and I feel like they made the trip to Utah with the rest and arrived in Salt Lake City on September 26th. Bodil lived for 29 years after arriving in America so my thinking is that she was not that frail. However, just my thoughts. Biography compiled by 3rd Great-granddaughter, Lorraine Simmons.
Bio by: N Sharpe
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