1. Jensine Marie Jensen

The first ancestor I studied was Jensine Marie Jensen, my Danish 3rd great grandmother. She was born in 1859 in Horsens, Denmark. Through her life she experienced many troubles and difficulties with joining the church, moving to Salt Lake, and dealing with persecution. Her story is particularly interesting to my study of the restoration and my own personal history because it involves polygamy.

Jensine Jensen grew up in Denmark with her sisters and parents. In Aug. 1873, she was baptized as a member of the LDS church with her mother. According to Jensine, "My mother suffered lots of abuse from my father on account of this new religion which she had embraced" (Family Search). Evidently, Jensine's mother, Inger Marie Jensen, fought for a divorce. However, their father, as well as an anti-Mormom priest, prevented her from leaving the destructive relationship.

Eventually, this persecution and the desire to join the saints in America, became too much. Jensine and her sister Annie left and gained temporary work with the help of a Mormon elder named Elder Jens Jensen. Eventually, Jensine's mother and the rest of her siblings left their father and prepared to leave for America. However, there was not enough money to bring all of the family along. Instead, Annie (then 17) and Jensine (then 15) were left alone in Denmark while the rest of the family sailed to America with Elder Jensen. This was a terrifying risk. They knew they would be separated from each other for a year or more across thousands and thousands of miles. They would pay room and board rent by working in the factory. Of this trial, Jensine said,

Jensine in her wedding dress, 1876  

"Just imagine what people have sacrificed for their religion. I've heard many say nowadays, when I have told about the sacrifices people made in the early days, 'What faith they had.' 'Don't you think it was poor judgment.' I don't know, but I do know the saints were counseled to go to Zion, and if the whole family couldn't go to a send a child or two, or the wife and the little ones, and the father remain to earn money and come as soon as possible, and many have done it and have never met again. Talk about faith in the Gospel. Who could have more than a poor widow, to send her offspring or as my dear mother did, leaving her two eldest children - and children we were. When she kissed me good-bye, she had the impression that she would never see me again, as I was always what they called delicate - not very strong." (History of Jensine Marie Jensen). 

Despite all opposition, the two sisters would make it to America on their own and see their family again. While crossing the ocean, Jensine's mother, Inger, married Elder Jens Jensen. They made it to Utah with the rest of their siblings safely. Through a large blessing, Annie and Jensine received money a couple of months later that was meant to help in the immigration of their mother. Instead, they used this money to cross the ocean by themselves. The two girls experienced sea sickness, crowded conditions, hunger, storm and disease while on the boat. However, they arrived in New York safely and rode by train to Salt Lake.

It was only two years later that Jensine was married to a man named Joseph Moulton. This is the origin of my Mother's maiden name 'Moulton'. After struggling to survive work in a new land, unable to properly speak English, Jensine and Annie were married. The details are a little lacking. However, both the sisters were married to Joseph Moulton on the 28th of Feb. 1876. Previous to his marriage to the two daughters, Joseph Moulton was married to his first wife Mary Elizabeth Giles. After the marriage, the group lived comfortably in a home for several years, with little discussion of any issues present at the time. Jensine was 17 years old when she was married.

Headed to Mexico. Around 1891

Later in the lives of Joseph, Jensine and their families, their life became more difficult. This was because of the laws rising against polygamy. Jensine's sister, who was also her sister-wife, Annie even had a nervous breakdown due to worry over this issue.
United States officers were arresting men practicing polygamy and placing them in jail. Jensine's son records, "Many times when I was just a few years old, I would wake up in some good friends home. They were good friends of my parents, and when these friends would hear of the marshals in town, our friends would carry us to their homes and hide us until the marshals left town. These were bad times, both for the parents and the children" (Family Search).

During this time, Joseph Jensen left for 'Old Mexico' in order to escape the law. After he arrived there, he sent for his family. The family then had to leave all that they had for a new land. This was a significant trial for Jensine, her sister, and their whole families. In Old Mexico, they were poor and hungry. Many children almost died. However, the family survived to later return to Utah. Back in Utah, and for the rest of their lives, Joseph Jensen displayed a preference for his first wife. He had two rooms built for Annie and Jensine and their children on the farmland. He lived with them no more. This hurt Jensine deeply because she felt as if she had been put to the side despite having never done anything wrong. This was not an isolated feeling. Jensine was not perfectly suited to polygamy and though she expressed a strong belief in it, she did struggle with it as a commandment.

Despite these negative feelings, the son of Jensine explained later that their father, Joseph Jensen, was not a bad man. He just needs to be understood. His first wife was his first love. According to Jensine and Joseph's son,

"We who have never lived in polygamy know little of what we would do if placed in their places. Perhaps many of us would do much worse than father has ever done. There are many in our church who do not believe in polygamy, but father still does. He has a right to his belief, I don't think any of us ever had a quarrel or bad feelings toward any of our half brothers and sisters, and I can truthfully say that blood was thicker than water, and they are very close to us.
We are very grateful for the kind good mother which God gave us, and we, her children, appreciate all she has done for us. We suffered much with her for many years. We are all thankful for the privilege we have had of helping our dear mother, and sharing her sorrow with her. Her memory will live on with us, and may we strive at all times to live up to the standard set by our mother." (History of Jensine Marie Jensen). 

Despite the difficulty of the commandments which Jensine Marie Jensen was given, she had faith in the promises of the prophets and the restoration of the gospel. She had the faith to travel across an ocean and live in a polygamous setting, one which was very difficult for her. Despite all the struggles she went through, Jensine was always an example of faithfulness and devotion. For that reason, her story is a difficult, but still inspiring one for me. 

Works Cited:

"Jensine Marie Jensen." Free Family History and Genealogy Records - FamilySearch.org. Family Search, n.d. Web. <https://familysearch.org/tree/person/KWZM-KWD/memories>.

Jensen, Jensine. "History of Jensine Marie (Mary) Jensen." Free Family History and Genealogy Records - FamilySearch.org. Family Search, n.d. Web. <https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/530269?returnLabel=Jensine%2BMarie%2BJensen%2B%28KWZM-KWD%29&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffamilysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2FKWZM-KWD%2Fmemories>.