Stephen Jensen Beck & Inger Kirstine Jacobsen Beck

Stephen Jensen (Jacobsen) Beck & Inger Kirstine Jacobsen (Emory's Great Grandparents)

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, …the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted among the hills, and all nations shall flow into it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of this ways, and we will walk in his paths…”
Isaiah 2:2-3

The oldest of fifteen children, Stephan Jensen (Jacobsen) Beck was born November 16, 1818 at Saltum, Proestegaard Hjarring, Denmark, to Dorthe Marie Christiansen and Jacob Stephansen Beck, a schoolteacher and Lutheran parish clerk.

We know little of Stephan’s early life. As he matured he became a “large, strong,” man, generous and industrious. On the 9th of April 1848, when he was thirty, he married Inger Kirstine Jacobsen. Born in Alstrup, Aalborg, Denmark, on the 15th of February 1827, Kirstine was one of three children born to Kirsten Marie Jensdatter (Jensen) and Peder Jacobsen. Stephan, a very fine carpenter and cabinet maker, was from a tradesman’s family and she was not – though a beautiful and intelligent girl – and Stephan was criticized for marrying out of his “social stratum.” Stephan’s father was well to do. Each Christmas he invited his married children and their families to come to his large home for a “whole month of feasting and rejoicing.”

Within ten years of the Beck’s marriage, a series of events began that were to emphatically (and eternally) change not only their lives but also those of their descendants for many generations.

Sent by President Brigham Young from Salt Lake City, Utah, “Apostle Erastus Snow of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his associates established themselves permanently as the founders of the Scandinavian Mission; the first branch of the mission was organized in Copenhagen in September of 1850 and then attention was paid to the city of Aalborg… The missionaries there met with considerable opposition in the beginning and in 1851 the Saints were subject to much persecution and mobbing. On one occasion their meeting hall was almost destroyed and many were ill treated by the mob. Nearly all the windows in the private dwellings of the Saints were broken.” In spite of this resistance, however, the Aalborg branch was organized in November of 1850 and “was for many years one of the most flourishing in Europe.”

The following November the Aalborg Conference of the Scandinavian Mission, containing the “Aalborg, Bronderslev, Frederikshavn and Hjorring branches,” came into being. The city of Aalborg, “had about 20,000 inhabitants in 1850” The population has grown significantly. Land and methods and industries have improved and today, a century and a half later, “Danish fields and villages are laid out in geometric patterns in the Tutland region along the North Sea Coast. The intensely cultivated fields radiate out from cozy villages. The rest of Scandinavia does not have Denmark’s fertile soils, but all Scandinavian countries share the Danish tradition of painstakingly frugal employment of the land to raise quality livestock and dairy cattle, grains and vegetables.”

With the organization of the Aalborg Conference and the translation of the Book of Mormon in to the Danish language (also in 1851) the stage for the Beck drama was set and many changes of scenery were to follow. Kirsten listened attentively to the missionaries. A diligent student of the Bible, she was the first to be converted and urged her husband and sons to accept the new faith. On February 26, 1857, Stephan, Kirstine, and their eldest sons, Jacob and Peter who were 9 and 7 at the time, walked “four miles in the cold and snow” to a place where ice was broken for their baptisms.

Stephan “did well in his carpenter trade” in Denmark but had a strong desire to be with other members of the Church in the United States. With money he had saved and sums he borrowed from the Perpetual Emigrating fund and from his brother Christian, Stephen, Kirstine and their family joined a starting company of 210 Saints headed by a Jens Christian Anderson Weibye and because of our present knowledge of the subsequent ocean voyage and overland trek is much greater than it otherwise would be.

Jens kept the records, handled the money, and kept everyone informed of the preparations. He also cut out canvas for tents, leather for suitcases and material for sleeping bag covers and bags, which the emigrants could then sew together. He helped obtain water casks and tin ware for eating purposes. They did not intend to leave Denmark unprepared.

“More emigrants left Scandinavia for Zion in 1862 than in any other year, a total of 1,556.” It is also interesting to note from the complete list of ships carrying emigrants from Europe during April and May of 1862 that a total of 3,589 Latter-day Saints sailed from Hamburg, Liverpool and Le Havre – all landing in New York Harbor. Most of the survivors of these groups joined with emigrants from other areas to make a total of 5,536 Saints to leave Florence, Nebraska, that summer in anticipation of reaching the Salt Lake Valley before the winter began.

The steamer “Albion” sailed from Aalborg on April 6, 1862, with (the Beck’s and) over 400 Saints…(Were they celebrating the organization of the Church exactly 32 years before?)” The ship reached Kiel in Holstein on the eve of the 7th… The journey was then continued April 8th to Altona (port) and Hamburg… In the evening the emigrants went on board the “Franklin” which was anchored in the Elbe River waiting for them and other passengers.

Jens gives the following account:
“We went on board the ‘Franklin’ in the evening of Tuesday (April 8th) and I was appointed to locate the emigrants in their bunks below deck. These
bunks, 160 in number, were so wide that three persons could easily have room in one of them side by side. After getting our baggage in order, we received our rations of provisions. These consisted of beef, pork, peas, beans, potatoes, pearl
barley, rice, prunes, syrup, vinegar, pepper, coffee, tea, sugar, butter, rye bread, sea biscuits, water, flour, salted herring, salt, and oil (for the lamps). We lighted 11 lanterns every night, 6 of which belonged to the ship and 5 to the emigrants. We hired an extra cook in Hamburg for 90 rigsdaler (dollars), and besides him two of our brethren served as assistant cooks. We thus had our dinners nicely cooked in about the following routine, viz.,
Sunday we had sweet soup
Monday, pea soup
Tuesday and Wednesday, rice
Thursday, pea soup
Friday, barley mush
Saturday, herring and potatoes”
The “Franklin” was a large American sailing vessel operated by Captain Robert Murray. The ship set sail on April 15, 1862, from Hamburg with 413 emigrating Saints. They were under the charge of Christian August Madsen, an Elder returning home. On board the ship the company was organized into eight districts. Jens F. Mortensen was appointed baggage master; Anthon H. Lund, interpreter; and Christian Anderson, captain of the guard.

Jens continues:
“Some of the emigrants carried the measles with them from home and the disease soon spread to all parts of the ship so that no less than 40 persons, mostly children, were attacked at once. Many of the emigrants were also suffering with diarrhea, which caused very much weakness of body. We lost the appetite for sea biscuits but learned to soak them in water or tea from 8 to 12 hours, which softened them so that they could become more palatable. The sick were served twice a day with porridge made from barley, rice or sago, and almost every day pancakes could be had by the hundreds for the sick who could not eat the ‘hard tack’ (sea biscuits). Wheat bread was also baked for some of the old people.”
“We held a council meeting every night and the sanitary conditions of the ships apartments were attended with great care. Three times a week the decks were washed and twice a week the ship was thoroughly fumigated by burning tar. A spirit of peace prevailed and very few difficulties occurred. The captain and crew were good-natured and obliging, and so were the cooks who even served the sick when they were not on duty.”
“We held at times meetings of worship on the upper or lower decks and every morning at 5 o’clock the signal for rising was given by the clarinet, or accordion. At 7 am and 9 pm a similar signal was sounded calling the Saints to assemble in their several districts for prayer. Most every day we amused ourselves a short time by dancing on the deck to music played by some of our brethren or members of the crew. We could thus have had an enjoyable time had it not been for the sorrow occasioned by the many sick and dying among us on account of the measles.”
“Up to this date (May 27th) 3 adults and 43 children under eight have died, nearly all from the measles. During the last few days the chicken pox has also broken out among us and four cases have already developed.”

The bodies of those who died were wrapped in canvas or burlap, weighted and dropped overboard – an agonizing experience. On of Stephan’s sons, Peter, later said: “I was a young, inexperienced and homesick boy. And the impression upon my mind caused by this gruesome sight will never be erased from my memory.”

Jens reports further:
“We have had head winds most of the time; otherwise we could have been in New York before now for the ‘Franklin’ is a first-class ship. We have been very little troubled with sea sickness.”
“On Thursday, May 29th, in the forenoon, the ‘Franklin’ arrived at New York. The emigrants were placed on a transport steamer to be landed at Castle Garden, but on arriving at the wharf they were not permitted to go ashore because of some cases of measles yet existing among them. After 18 of the sick had been taken to the hospital, the rest were returned to the ‘Franklin” and there remained on board two more nights and a day. Finally, on May 31st, they were landed at Castle Garden where they were met by Elders Charles C. Rich (of the Council of the Twelve), John Van Cott and other Brethren.

The Beck’s were listed in the “Franklin” Roster as:
Name Age Actual names and ages
Steffen Jensen Beck 35 Stephan Jensen Beck 44
Inger Kirstene Beck 32 Inger Kirstine 35
Jacob Seffensen Beck 11 Jacob Stephansen 13
Peder Jacobsen Beck 9 Peter Jacobsen 11
Christen Jacobsen Beck 4 Christian Mathias 6 Theodor Jacobsen Beck infant Theodore 2
Steffen Jacobsen Beck 3 Stephen 5

So Stephan and Kirstine had started out with five sons. Kirstine, though tired and worn, presented him with yet another during the voyage. Jens recorded the birth thus:
“Tuesday, the 22 (of May) at 6 o’clock in the morning Brother Steffen Jensen Beck’s wife of Aalborg Conference gave birth to a son after one hour’s sickness who was named Christian August Baek. It took place
very quietly.”
(There is a discrepancy as to the date of August’s birth. The family group sheet lists is as May 24.)

There was also another entry in Jens’ diary:
“June 13: Steffen Jensen’s Beck’s of Aalborg, Chr. August 1/6 year old ‘svaekkelse’ (a weakening or wasting away)”
(This Weibye record indicates August’s death after the ocean voyage. Beck’s, SFB, alludes to an ocean burial and the Family Group Sheet lists death while “Crossing Atlantic.)

Among the 48 persons who died in the ‘Franklin’ company during the voyage was Brother Jens Andersen from Veddum, Aalborg Conference, who, with his own means had assisted 60 or 70 poor saints to emigrate. He died on the North Sea on April 25th soon after the ship had left Cuxhaven…In all 62 of the company died between Hamburg and Salt Lake City.

“Then they set out on foot through the streets of New York for the train station past jeering observers. Jens noted the children who pointed at them and hooted, ‘Jews! Jews! Jews!’ Many immigrants of the time were received less warmly than they might have expected on America’s shores”

They left “New York, May 31st at 9 pm by extra railway train to Albany where they arrived the next morning. (June 1st). From there the journey was continued by train via Syracuse, Rochester, Niagara, Windsor, Detroit, and Chicago to Quincy, Illinois, and thence by steamboat across the Mississippi river to Hannibal, Missouri, and again by train to St. Joseph, Missouri, where they arrive June 6th. The following day they boarded the steamboat, ‘Westwind’ and left St. Joseph at 10 pm… The company arrived at Florence, Nebraska, on Monday, June 9th at 10 pm.” “Enroute they marveled at the Missouri (River), casually sweeping trees and other objects downstream.”

On Tuesday, June 10th the emigrants pitched their tents a short distance north of Florence, and again marveled at a display of thunder, lightening and rain: “We Danes have never seen such a storm, for the sky was almost like an ocean of fire.” Here orderly arrangements were made for wagons, oxen, food, and other necessities. Jens helped emigration agent Joseph W. Young record the provisions each person received – not only such expected items as flour, dried apples, and axle grease, but also glasses to protect the eyes from the dust on the trail, something undoubtedly welcome a month later when the trail was so dusty that one could not see the third wagon ahead or behind.

The Beck’s left Florence with The Christian August Madsen Company “composed of 264 persons, 40 wagons, 14 horses, 174 oxen, 99 cows, 37 heifers, 7 calves, 6 dogs, and 10 chickens, and brought along 22 tents, 32 cooking stoves, 5 revolvers and 37 rifles. Hans C. Hansen was captain of the guard and Jens C. A. Weibye secretary for the company, which was divided into six divisions with the following brethren as captains: Soren Larsen, Jens C. A. Weibye, Niels Mortensen (Lynge), Thomas Lund, Lauritz Larsen and Chr H. Cron. They joined another company in charge of Elder Ola N. Liljenquist, and Elder John Van Cott was placed as general leader of both companies, which broke camp at Florence July 14, 1862. The Liljenquist company counted about 40 wagons with it quota of persons, animals, etc… The first few days some difficulty was experience as the oxen, who were not used to Scandinavian orders and management, would often follow their own inclination to leave the road and run away with the wagons, but after some practice on the part of their inexperienced teamsters, the difficulty somewhat disappeared. The journey from Florence was via Elkhorn River, Loup Fork, Wood River, Willow Lake, Rattlesnake Creek, Fort Laramie, Upper Platte Bridge, Devils Gate, South Pass, Green River, etc.

“Capt. Chr. A. Madsen advised us to take along several needful articles, which we did, and we were well organized when we began the journey from Florence. To begin with, we traveled only a few miles each day, which was a good thing for us, who were unaccustomed to drive oxen. We generally had good campgrounds and only occasionally we had to camp where we could not obtain water. As a rule there was an abundance of grass for the oxen, and at times also sufficient fuel to be found, but a great part of the way the sisters had to content themselves with cooking over fires made from sunflower stems and buffalo chips. Nearly all able-bodied men and women had to walk most of the way; some of the rode in the wagons only across the larger rivers, while they would wade across the smaller streams like the men. Sometimes the women and children were carried across the streams by the men when it was feared the oxen could not pull the wagons with their heavy loads. We did exactly what our leaders told us to do, and consequently everything went well for us, for we could not read in books how and what to do, either on the voyage across the ocean (which took 51 days) or on the journey across the plains. (which lasted 71 days). On the journey across the Plains, the weather was generally fair and a good spirit prevailed among us. The health of the company was also good as a rule and only one death occurred on the Plains. We always kept up a guard and lost but a few head of cattle.”

“Fair” Beck records that the Beck’s “had walked the long distance to Utah. No one rode in the wagons that was able and big enough to walk. The boys had walked the entire distance barefooted and often their feet were very sore.

While most of the groups of wagons rotated positions during the trek, Jen’s ten were to remain near the front so that he could have time to write in his journal in the evenings. Captain Christian A. Madsen felt it important that a good record be kept of the journey. That observant journal is detailed without being tedious. Jens described the events of the trip, the scenery, and their campsites. He even recorded the hour and minute they arrived at landmarks and drew simple sketches of them. He described the unruliness of new oxen, the immigrants gift-giving and trading with friendly Indians, and a rather mild grasshopper infestation. (Here there are about 5 grasshoppers so every four square feet). Rather than crossing over to the south side of the Platte River at Fort Laramie, as the Pioneer company of 1847 had done, and then crossing it again at present day Casper, this company continued on the north side of that river, according to Jen’s diary.

Only one person died between Florence and Salt Lake City, and the trip came to a happy end when Danish Saints met the company in Parley’s Canyon with greetings and fruit from Zion. As they reached the City September 23, 1862 many of their acquaintances welcomed them.
What a trip!
But their joys – and their suffering – were not yet over.

The Beck’s remained only a short time in Salt Lake City. They were sent on to Lehi by the Church authorities with others of the same where they lived in a small adobe house with a dirt roof located in the southern part of the town. Want and weariness continued to follow them. They were homesick and often hungry. They were lonely, not being able to speak the English language well enough to communicate their needs. There was little work for even a good carpenter and Stephan found it hard to feed his family. Too proud to ask for food they often walked to Utah Lake to catch fish. Cutting willow branches from which they wove baskets, they went from door to door in an effort to sell them but the townspeople rarely had money with which to buy – even those who wanted to help – even their Bishop. At one time they gleaned in one of the fields of a farmer hoping to get enough wheat to grind for bread but the owner came along, put it on his load and hauled it away.

But their blessings continued. In January of 1865 the Beck’s welcomed another son named John. That year, again answering a call to help build up a new territory, they moved to Alpine which was about seven miles up the Lehi Creek bed. Here, on the north side of the creek and near a bridge, which crossed into the town, Stephan commenced building a home. As they watched him work, it did not take the townspeople long to recognize his skill and he was called upon to assist building many of their homes and barns, a number of which may still be seen today.

Kirstine was an excellent seamstress. She made clothing for her family and sewed for the neighbors, even making suits for men. She raised canaries and sold them. She was a lover of good books and obviously happy when she could find the time to read. Kirstine subsequently became embittered toward members of the church in Alpine. Though her name was never taken from the records, she began walking a distance of six miles to attend services in the American Fork Presbyterian Church.

Stephan was made happy when, in 1866, a sister, Lucy, and two brothers came from Denmark. Lucy became a resident of Sanpete County abut the brothers remained in Alpine and made their homes there. Frederic was a mason and Christian a farmer. The three Beck brothers soon came to be known as “Carpenter Beck, Mason Beck and Farmer Beck.” They were the main builders of the first meetinghouse and many other structures.

Finally, Stephan was able to build himself one of the most beautiful homes in Alpine. A long house with a lean-to the full length of the back and a porch the full length of the front, it was an ideal family home. In the upstairs he included a carpenter shop. Here he built cupboards, tables, chairs and other furniture. There were no stores from which to purchase furniture at that time so Carpenter Beck was kept busy. He also built coffins for many he had known and some he had not known, building well but charging little. His house, still standing but probably soon to be razed to make room for a commercial building since it now is in a business area, was of distinctive architecture, the idea for which he probably brought from Denmark.

Stephan planted his ten acres with fruit trees, grain and a garden. Almost everything the family ate was grown on their land. He had a painted carriage with two seats back-to-back. His horse was white – and so was the little dog that rode with him on the front seat.

Stephan held a number of public jobs and carried the mail from American Fork to Alpine. Rain or shine, people congregated on the front porch of the “Post Office” (some say this was part of the old Co-Op Store) and watched for “Brother Beck” to come around the corner at the end of Main Street with the mail. He was so dependable and punctual one could set his watch, almost by arrival and departure times.

Good times continued and in 1868 Stephan and Kirstine were blessed with their last son, Daniel; and then, in 1871, at last! a daughter, Laura. By this time they were able to afford schooling and music lessons. They delighted in providing a piano and violins; and later, talented violinists for programs and dances in Alpine and numerous other towns. They were obviously happy when their two youngest could attend Brigham Young Academy study under Dr. Karl G. Maeser, often referred to as the “Father of Utah Education.”

Does Dame Fortune hand out hardships and near-breaking struggles to folks she wants to succeed? The Beck’s did not give one so capricious the credit but thanked, each day, a Higher Power.

Years went by. They worked and they worshipped – but sometimes they mourned. Sadness also must be experienced. After launching out in the field of education (he had been the County Superintendent of Schools in Beaver, Utah) and while he was postmaster, Daniel, their youngest son, died in that city in November of 1897. Stephan and Kirstine were comforted by his worthwhile achievements and in the continued association and accomplishments of their seven remaining children. Laura was to teach school for fifty-three years, being well trained in a profession her parents had hardly known.

Stephan attended Church regularly. In his last years, because he was hard of hearing, he sat near the pulpit in an old fashioned armchair called a “congress chair.”

Stephen was rather strict. Still, boys will be boys… At one time two of his sons with their friends built a dugout under the creek bridge. Here they had a roughly put-together table and chairs – and played cards. Stephan caught them. He could work up a good Danish temper when angry and this time he was angry all over. After his discovery of this “evil” he stormed in to Kirstine and said: “You wait. I’ll fix that!” Spring came and also the high water under the bridge. The boys were not pleased when Stephan dumped everything in their hideaway, cards included into the rushing stream. And that was that.

In the last years, he lived, “Stebbin” – as Kirstine affectionately called him – built a casket for himself. It was beautiful, probably the best of his carpentering career. When it was finished he laid himself in it to make sure it fit. It was waiting, then, on October 13, 1903. Having been feeble for some time and unable to leave the house, he sat in his armchair and ate the breakfast Kirstine had prepared for him. Then, he was putting on his shoes. One fell to the floor…Within six weeks he would have been eighty-five.
His grandson, Stephen Feramorz Beck, used this quotation in tribute to him:
“Men are of two kinds. And he
Was of the kind I’d like to be.
Some preach their virtues, and a few
Express their lives by what they do.
That sort was he.”

Kirstine lived in American Fork with her son John, and his family after Stephan’s death. She died on May 11, 1911, at the age of eighty-four.

We look back – and up! – to these stalwarts with a profound admiration and gratitude not elicited through inheritance or bloodlines but through their own talents, drive and ambition. The common denominators of their lives and their accomplishments were perseverance, faith, and trust in the Almighty. Those qualities helped mightily in the building up of Zion.

“In living our lives let us not forget that the deed of our fathers and mothers are theirs, not ours; that their works cannot be counted to our glory; that we claim no excellence and no place because of what they did; that we must rise by our own labor, and that labor failing we shall fall.
“We have no honor, no reward, no respect, nor special position or recognition, no credit because of what our fathers were or what they wrought. We stand upon our own feet in our own shoes.
“There is no aristocracy of birth in this Church; it belongs equally to the highest and the lowliest.”
- J. Reuben Clark, Jr. (Apostle)