Jesperson Journey from Sellerup, Denmark, to Liverpool, England
Compiled by Wendy Kay Smith
The Jesperson family sold their farm and blacksmith shop for less than it was worth, but enough to pay for their journey and to help others come to Zion. They left Sellerup, Denmark, in early December and travelled to Copenhagen where they met with company of Saints, headed by Hans Peter Olsen, who were coming to Utah.
Jesperson
The group was met with protestors in Copenhagen who yelled obscenities at them while part of the group boarded a steamship for Kiel, Germany. One of the missionaries who was walking back to the mission home that night was assaulted. That night, Jens and Annie had a conversation that resulted in Annie having a mighty wrestle with God. I am sure that we have all had or will have similar wrestles with God.
“Annie. We need to talk.” Jens said. Pulling me gently aside, keeping his voice low, Jens began. “Annie this is just the beginning. Things can get a lot worse before we get to Zion. I need to know that you are strong and firm in your decision to go to America. I need to know that your testimony of faith is unshakeable and that you will not waver. If not, we need to go back. If you want to go back, I will go with you, but I want you to really ponder this situation, pray about it and let me know your decision.”
“No matter how hard I tried, sleep would not come. Rather than wake Jens, I climbed out of bed, wrapped myself with an extra blanket and walked out into the blackness of the star-filled night. I had to know with an absolute certainty that I believed. Was I willing to walk barefoot, if necessary, the face of this earth? Was I willing to stand up for the teachings that I had been taught of the Mormon Church? This decision, this knowledge would affect me and my children forever. I prayed and prayed. I looked into the vast heavens, and I pled for God’s guidance. I prayed that my faith would be unwavering.”
“I spent much of the next day in prayer, looking for a sign How could I be sure? I have to know, Heavenly Father. Am I courageous enough? Is my faith strong enough to guide me through all the trials? My answer was not a loud voice that filled the heavens but a voice I heard clearly in my mind. Remember, Annie. Remember the feeling you had on the spring day you were baptized? I walked into those waters with absolute certainty that this is the restored Church of Jesus Christ.” (1)
The next morning, the Eiderin pulled away from Copenhagen with the faithful, courageous Jesperson family aboard.
After arriving in Kiel, they took a train and a wagon to Gluckstadt, Germany, where they boarded the steamship SS Tounsit for the trip to Hull, England. After arriving in Hull, England, they took a train to
When the family finally reached Liverpool, England, on January 10, they were exhausted from their journey. Then tragedy struck. Twenty-two children and two adults in their company contracted cholera and died. Subsequently they had to wait and quarantine before they could board the Benjamin Adams and cross the ocean to America. One of the children that died was little Hans Madsen Jesperson who was one year and ten months old. He died January 15, 1854. None of the rest of the family contracted cholera at that time. Madsen was wrapped in a blanket and buried in a pauper’s field. How hard it must have been for Annie to bury her young son like that, but in her words “That gave me much sorrow, but I acknowledged the hand of God in it and bore my sorrow patiently.” (2)
Dec 1853
Left Sellerup, Denmark, for Copenhagen
Dec 26, 1853
Left Copenhagen, Denmark, for Kiel, Germany, aboard the steamship SS Eiderin
Dec 27–29, 1853
Arrived in Kiel, Germany, and travelled to Gluckstadt, Germany, via train and wagons
Jan 7, 1854
Left Gluckstadt, Germany, for Hull, En
Sources:
- Annie’s Journey: Denmark to Zion, Harleen Gross, pgs 73–74.
- “1880 Jubilee Letter by Annie Jesperson,” digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org > Annie Marie Madsen – Hansen, person ID KWVM-8P1 > Memories > Documents: accessed 27 December 2020).
- Photo of steamship Eiderin, “Saints on the Seas: A Maritime History of Mormon Migration 1830–1890,” pg 38.