Bur Logan City Cemetery, prob. near Lot 13, Block 27, Plat A.
Inger was previously married to Christian ELLEFSEN and had two children. These chidren were Ellef CHRISTIANSEN and Alf Martin CHRISTIANSEN.
From Eve Ermer, evesaccount@gmail.com:
"So first, my family is not Mormon, but I live about 6 miles from Joseph Smith’s birthplace, so knowing that I had a relative who “went to Utah with Brigham Young” meant more to me as a kid than it would have to some other random non-Mormon kid who was not from central Vermont.
The short version of the “family legend” is just that, that we had some relative on the Risør Norwegian side, who was Mormon and “went to Utah with Brigham Young.”
My sister and I had always assumed that this relative was a man, because of this story:
When our grandmother Agathe was a little girl back in Risør (she moved to the US as an adult), the family had visitors from America who stayed with them. They were the aunt and uncle of Agathe’s mother, Gunvor. The story from Agathe really says nothing about the aunt. Agathe was very young, and was very impressed with the uncle’s big beard! Noone in Norway was wearing a beard at that time. She was so impressed that she reached out to touch it. She overheard the adults (the men?) talking and asking him if he had many wives, and he calmly told them, no, only one. In another version of the story, Agathe said to this uncle (this story was told in English with a Norwegian accent) “oh uncle! Do you have many wives?” and the uncle chuckled and said to Agathe, “no Agathe, only one.” ?
Well, that is it, the whole story. So the aunt didn’t really make an impression on young Agathe, she probably just blended in with the other female relatives, but this older man, coming all the way from America! and with a big beard! did. She was also comfortable enough with this stranger to reach out and touch his beard. The story was that these visitors were very nice. And this is all my sister and I knew until fairly recently when I started putting together our family tree.
Which was when I discovered that Christian Larsen, whose name we had not previously known, had not one, but several wives, and that I was related to two of them. And that I was not related to Christian Larsen.
Agathe was born in 1888, so this story must have taken place in the early 1890s, maybe when she was 3 or 4 or so. Both Inger Margaretha and Ingeborg Louisa were alive then, so I am not sure which of the aunts this was who visited. I have looked, but not too hard. Records of Norwegians LEAVING the US, and returning to Norway, are not as easy to find as those traveling the other way. But maybe there is something about them coming back to the US. Not sure what port non-immigrant Utah residents would use when traveling. Probably not New York.
But I am pretty sure that Christian Larsen was this visitor to Risør as an older man in the 1890s, and was excited to find that photo that someone had on ancestry.com, of an older man with a beard!"
History of Inger Margretta Peterson
Written BY
Clifford H. Edwards
A Great Grandson
Inger Margretta Peterson was born 7 July 1836 in Oster Risor, Christiansand, Norway, a little island off the coast of Norway. Her father died when she was a child. Not too many years after this her mother died of tuberculosis. Being an orphan at she lived with and did housework for a family by the name of Ellefsen. She fell in love with and married their son Christian Ellefsen 8 March 1959. He was a fisherman.
Their first child Ellef was born 19 June 1859 in Oster Risor, Norway. A second son, Alf Martin was born 1 August 1861 in Oster Risor, Norway. On 30 November 186, Christian Ellefsen, along with his father and brother were drown while fishing. Then on 10 March 1862 her youngest son, Alf Martin, died 11 March 1862.
A short time after the death of her husband and son she met with the Mormon missionaries. She was converted and was baptized 22 July 1862. Four months after Alf Martin’s death she sold her home and most of her possessions to buy passage for herself, a Sister Torgensen, and several others to sail to America and then travel overland to Utah. They were six weeks on the ocean. She and her son Ellef managed the voyage well. She was called upon to help others, some of whom died on the voyage.
They sailed up the Mississippi River to Omaha, Nebraska. There she bought a wagon, oxen and a cow. She loaded a stove and chests containing some of her best clothing and valuable things. She walked every step of the way to Utah, letting her friend Sister Torgenson ride. On their way, the road become so impassible she had to unload her chests and discard some of her possessions.
On the trail to Utah she once became very ill and had to remain behind the rest of the wagon train. During this episode nine Indian braves rode up on their horses. Initially they circled her and had a discussion about what to do. Eventually they left. Inger’s prayers were answered.
When she arrived in Utah she traveled to Spring City, Sanpete County where she joined her sister-in-law, Ingerbor Ellefsen Larsen, the second wife of Christian John Larsen. She became Christian John’s third wife, 9 December 1863. They were married in the Salt Lake City Endowment House. On 16 October 1864 her son Elif Eliffsen died at Spring City.
Inger was small in stature with brown hair and hazel eyes. While in Spring City she had two children. The first was a girl, Magdalene, who was born 19 September 1864 and died 4 October 1865 at the age of 11 months. The second child was a boy, David Ellef, who was born 1 July 1866. He lived until 19 July 1940 and was married to Mary Alice Smith.
Three more children were born after Christian John and Inger moved to Logan, Utah. My grandfather, Almartin was born 25 December 1868. Inger had been settled by her husband in the mouth of Logan Canyon, far away from neighbors where she ran the toll bridge. She had to be ready to operate the toll any time of day or night. She collected 35 cents for each crossing. When Almartin was born, Inger was alone. The next day she sent her 2 ½ year old son, David, to the neighbors for help.
The second child to be born after moving to Logan was Joseph Franklin. He arrived 4 October 1870. He was never married. Finally, Alexander Willard was born, 28 Jan 1877. As a toddler, Willard was saved from drowning in the Logan River while he, Almartin, and his mother were crossing a bridge. Their dog hurried to pass them and knocked Willard into the river. Almartin, who was 8 or 9 years old at the time dove into the river and saved Willard just before he went over the dam. Willard later became a patriarch in the Franklin Stake. He lived in Fairview, Idaho at the time. He gave patriarchal blessings to myself and my brothers.
In her isolated situation, Inger had to rely on her children as well as her own faith and ingenuity. On one occasion one of the children became very ill and suffered considerable pain. She laid her hands on his head and prayed for the pain to abate and for her son to be healed. Before she had finished praying the child went to sleep and slept soundly all night. In the morning he was well. She had a strong testimony and was very active in the Church. She served as a Relief Society teacher for many years. Her husband, Christian John served in various church calling. Earlier as a missionary he was a conference president in Norway as well as Denmark. After moving to Utah he served as a bishop’s counselor, bishop, temple ordinance worker, and stake patriarch. At the time of his death he had given 800 patriarchal blessings. In 18 Sept 1912 Christian John, then age 81, married a fourth wife. With four families and demanding callings in the Church, each of his wives obviously had to take on many responsibilities on their own. He had 19 children plus two adopted sons.
In the spring of 1893 Inger moved her family to Cove, Utah. She remained there until about 1900 when she moved back to Logan. Christian John’s first wife Barbara Dorthea had just died. During the final 10 years of her life, Inger had a more comfortable existence. Her children and grandchildren fondly remember visits by her and Christian John. They traveled by horse and buggy. It is reported they were proud of their horse with a colt running at her side. Christian John sported a mustache and small beard on his chin and usually wore a cream-colored duster over his dark suit. Inger wore a black ankle length dress and black bonnet. She was an unusually caring person and in particular gave attention and love to the children. Inger died 19 August 1910 in Logan and is buried in the Logan Cemetery.
