A Norwegian sister, Mrs. Sarah A. Peterson, the wife of a well-known missionary, has remembrance next. She says:
"I was born in the town of Murray, Orleans county, N. Y., February 16, 1827. My parents, Cornelius and Carrie Nelson, were among the first Norwegians who emigrated to America. They left Norway on account of having joined the Quakers, who, at that time, were subject to much persecution in that country. In the neighborhood was quite a number of that sect, and they concluded to emigrate to America in a body. As there was no direct line of emigration between Norway and America, they purchased a sloop, in which they performed the voyage. Having been raised on the coast, they were all used to the duties of seamen, and found no trouble in navigating their vessel. They also brought a small cargo of iron with them, which, together with the vessel, they sold in New York, and then moved to the northwestern portion of that State, and settled on a wild tract of woodland. Eight years afterwards my father died. I was at that time six years old. When I was nine years old my uncle went to Illinois, whence he returned with the most glowing accounts of the fertility of the soil, with plenty of land for sale at government price. The company disposed of their farms at the rate of fifty dollars per acre, and again moved from their homes, settling on the Fox River, near Ottawa, Ill. Here, when fourteen years of age, I first heard the gospel, and at once believed in the divine mission of the prophet Joseph; but on account of the opposition of relatives, was prevented joining the church until four years later.
"In the spring of 1849 I left mother and home and joined a company who were preparing to leave for the valley. On our way to Council Bluffs I was attacked with cholera. But there was a young gentleman in the company by the name of Canute Peterson, who, after a season of secret prayer in my behalf, came and placed his hands upon my head, and I was instantly healed. Two weeks after our arrival at the Bluffs I was married to him. We joined Ezra T. Benson's company, and arrived in Salt Lake City on the 25th of October, and spent the winter following in the 'Old Fort.' In 1851 we removed to Dry Creek, afterwards called Lehi. My husband was among the very first to survey land and take up claims there. In 1852 he was sent on mission to Norway. During the four years he was absent I supported myself and the two children. In 1856 he returned, much broken in health because of his arduous labor and exposure in the rigorous climate of that country.
"In the fall of 1857 my husband added another wife to his family; but I can truly say that he did not do so without my consent, nor with any other motive than to serve his God. I felt it our duty to obey the commandment revealed through the prophet Joseph, hence, although I felt it to be quite a sacrifice, I encouraged him in so doing. Although not so very well supplied with houseroom, the second wife and I lived together in harmony and peace. I felt it a pleasure to be in her company, and even to nurse and take care of her children, and she felt the same way toward me and my children. A few years afterwards my husband married another wife, but also with the consent and encouragement of his family. This did not disturb the peaceful relations of our home, but the same kind feelings were entertained by each member of the family to one another. We have now lived in polygamy twenty years, have eaten at the same table and raised our children together, and have never been separated, nor have we ever wished to be."
Mrs. Peterson is the present very efficient President of the Relief Society at Ephraim, which up to date has disbursed over eleven thousand dollars.
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Here will also properly appear a short sketch of Bishop Hickenlooper's wife Ann, who made her way to Zion with the famous hand-cart company, under Captain Edmund Ellsworth. She had left home and friends in England in 1856, coming to Council Bluffs with the regular emigration of that year, and continuing her journey with the hand-cart company, as before stated From her journal we quote:
"After traveling fourteen weeks we arrived in the near vicinity of Salt Lake City, where President Young and other church leaders, with a brass band and a company of military, met and escorted us into the city. As we entered, and passed on to the public square in the 16th Ward, the streets were thronged with thousands of people gazing upon the scene. President Young called on the bishops and people to bring us food. In a short time we could see loads of provisions coming to our encampment. After partaking of refreshments our company began to melt away, by being taken to the homes of friends who had provided for them. I began to feel very lonely, not knowing a single person in the country, and having no relatives to welcome me. I felt indeed that I was a stranger in a strange land. Presently, however, it was arranged that I should go to live with Mr. Hickenlooper's people, he being bishop of the 6th Ward. After becoming acquainted with the family, to whom I became much attached, his first wife invited me to come into the family as the bishop's third wife, which invitation, after mature consideration, I accepted.
"I am now the mother of five children, and for twenty years have lived in the same house with the rest of the family, and have eaten at the same table. My husband was in Nauvoo in the days of the prophet Joseph, and moved with the saints from winter quarters to this city, where he has been bishop of the 6th Ward twenty-nine years, and of the 5th and 6th Wards fifteen years."
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