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Christian Hans Monson - brief life history

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/KWNR-1YS

Av: Hazel Kofoed



A Narrative of the Life of Christian Hans Monson
Source: History by Hazel Kofoed, a granddaughter of Christian Hans Monson.
Christian Hans Monson (originally Monsen) was born 16 June 1837 in Fredrikstad, Norway. He was the son of Hans Monsen and Berte Nilsdatter (anglicized as Bertha Nielson), whose family consisted of two sons, Niels and Christian Hans, and three daughters, Ann, Elizabeth, and Marem.
Hans Monsen was at one time warden of the old state prison at Fredrikstad. During his term of office in the year of 1851, there were three Mormon missionaries imprisoned for preaching the gospel in Norway. These missionaries remained so long that the warden became indifferent regarding them and in due time became a little careless in his duty and allowed his son Christian to carry food into the cells for the missionaries.
It seems that young Christian was by nature rather inquisitive and due to his frequent visits, he soon became rather intimate with the missionaries and was finally converted by them to the divine mission of Joseph Smith, the Prophet. So strongly was he impressed with the testimonies borne by the servants of God to him, and the testimony he had received through diligent prayer to the Lord, that he finally requested the elders to baptize him.
Obviously, this could not be done while they were in prison. They requested their young convert to be patient until their prison term had expired, but this did not satisfy him. Finally he suggested that he get the keys some night and let them out long enough to perform the ordinance of baptism and the laying on of hands for the reception of the gift of the Holy Ghost, and thus confirm him a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When this was done, they returned to their cells and he locked them in again.
Later, the missionaries, having served out their sentence, were released from prison. But the conversion of the boy, who was only fourteen years of age, still remained a secret, at least as far as his parents were concerned. However, he soon told them the news, he was so happy in the fact that he firmly believed, that God in answer to his prayers, had opened the way for him to hear God’s servants proclaim the everlasting gospel as revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith. He confided to his father the story of the knowledge he had received, and the consequent ordinance which had been performed for and in his behalf by the elders.
Christian was sorely disappointed regarding the reaction of his father. Instead of kind expressions of interest and approval of the research made by his youngest child, his father seemed to have lost sight of everything that savored parental love, and allowed the spirit of the adversary to take possession of him. While under that influence, he administered a severe punishment on his son and ordered him to leave home and never return again.
Upon leaving his home, where he left his parents, his brother and sisters, he went to the city of Drammen, Norway. He there entered the employ of a contractor as an apprentice in carpenter and joiner. He took an elementary course in architecture. In these branches he served six years as an apprentice, for which he received his food and clothing. His employer, however, permitted him to make small trinkets, such as work boxes; these he sold as best he could and from this source he made a little money, which he saved, in hope that at some future time he would be able to emigrate to Zion.
Early in the spring of 1857, he arranged to emigrate, working his passage across the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The company of emigrants with which he sailed left Liverpool, England, 25 April 1857 on the sailing ship Westmoreland. There were 544 Saints, mostly Scandinavian, under the direction of Mathias F. Cowley.
They arrived in Philadelphia on 31 May 1857 and went from there to Iowa City by train, reaching there 9 June 1857. Here the emigrants were divided into two companies under the direction of Brother Cowley, the Scandinavian Saints going with a handcart company under the direction of Christian Christiansen. During their journey across the plains, they had food shortage, sickness, and hardships. Both companies arrived in Salt Lake City on 15 September 1857.
At that time, the US Army under Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston was on its way to Utah on the Oregon route across the plains, which was on the opposite side of the Platte River from the trail used by the Mormon emigrant train. In September, Governor Brigham Young declared Utah under martial law, and forbade the army troops entering Utah. Men were enlisted to go to the mountain passes to keep them from entering the valley. Christian was sent into Echo Canyon as a guard. After his guard duty was over, he located in Lehi, Utah.
Brigham Young met with Governor Alfred Cumming, and a satisfactory understanding was had. The army entered the valley peacefully, and Christian received some employment occasioned by the army troops coming into the Salt Lake Valley. He cut cord-wood and was paid with real United States greenbacks. In 1860, when Cache Valley was being settled, Christian was called by the Church authorities to move to Logan, where he could assist with his trade in building homes and other buildings for the pioneers in the valley. Several buildings still remain that he built. Among them is the building occupied by the First National Bank of Logan, which was built for ZCMI. He purchased from the Taylor Romney Lumber Company, in Salt Lake City, a planing machine that was brought across the plains by ox team, and set it up in Logan, Utah.
In 1878, he was called to fill a mission in Sweden, and while there he went back to see his old home in Norway and visit his people, but was not received very kindly. He finished his mission in Sweden, returning home in 1880.
He was called to help build up Richmond, Utah, and Franklin, Idaho. In 1889, he built and operated a sawmill in Franklin. He lived there until his death on September 23, 1896, leaving a very large family.
He was the second man to own and operate a sawmill in Utah. He helped to build the St. George Temple, Manti, Logan, and Salt Lake Temples.
Last Changed: May 14, 2019

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Benjamin Arnesen