A Tennant Family

Maria Christina Jacobsen Housley was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, 6 April 1845. She was the daughter of Jorgen Jacobsen, who was born in Svrrup Mill (Feyn) Odense County Denmark, on 20 Jan 1815; and Bertha Kristine Petersen, who was born in Vedberks, District of Sol and Copenhagen Amt. Denmark, on the 16th of September 1821, the daughter of Hans Petersen and Ellen Catherine Strom.

Grandmother had one older brother, Hans, who was born 18 April 1844, and two younger; Christian, born 30 November 1846, and Ferdinand born 28 December 1848. Two younger sisters; Athalio Hedevine, born 21 March 1851,and Rastino Willardine, born 22 December 1853. All were born in Copenhagen Denmark.

Her parents were married 9 April 1843. They joined the Church of Jasus Christ of Latter-Day saints 28 September 1851. Her Father was ordained to the office of a teacher 2 May 1853, and a Priest 22 August of the same year.

Her father was an orchadist and lived on a rented place; containing a very comfortable house with several rooms, yard, and outbuildings, good orchards and gardens.In the year of 1854 with many of their friends they started their journey Zionward. My grandmother, at that time, was nine years old. She well remembered the day they left their dearly beloved home forever. On reaching the beach a man came to the carriage and tried his utmost to induce their father to leave his children in Denmark, even if he would go to Utah himself. The children were not able to describe their feelings while that man stood and pleaded with their father on the subject. The very thought of any one wanting to separate them from their parents was very exasperating.

It was only a short time until they boarded thc ship, an old vessel. They had only been started for a few minutes when the people began to be sick. This family was no exception. Part of the way the ship rocked so hard that it dipped water on the dock; this kept the men working very hard to keep the water pumped off. There was a great deal of sickness among the people of the vessel and a number of deaths.

After a long and tiresome journey over the ocean and across the Gulf of Mexico, then up the Mississippi River in a steam boat, this large group of Danish people landed in Kansas. Food hod boon scarce and they were very hungry. A man who lived there was very anxious to sell thorn some meat, so they bought some end cooked it and ate it. Being weak, all the company got sick and a lot of them died, among the dead were my grandmothers father, two brothers and two sisters. After they had eaten and became ill they learned that the pigs had had cholera and that the meat was poison. They could not buy coffins so they sewed their dead up in sheets and buried them the best they could under the circumstances. This left my grandmother, Maria, and Christian and their mother to continue the trip across the plains. My grandmother, Maria, was very sick nigh unto death, and her mother lost her mind. Those were sorrowful days.

After a few days delay (for this is all it took for the deaths and burials to take place) they were fitted out with oxen and cow teams, several yoke of oxen and two cows on load of each wagon in an independent company.

There were generally two families to each wagon and the two men would get on each side of the team and try to load them in the road. They had several stampedes for the Danes were not used to driving oxen and the oxen were not used to them. Not many of them, if any, had ever seen an oxen until now.

They saw a great many Indians and buffalo on their way. They got along nicely with the Indians, and killed some of the buffalo as they came along. They arrived in Salt Lake City in tho fall of 1851. They managed to get some potatoes which tasted better to them than anything they had ever eaten in their whole life before.

This family had a hard time to make a living. Christian went to work for a man named Jackson Allen in Spanish Fork, Utah, and my grandmother lived with an English family who had recently come from England by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Shipley. She was taken in by this family to be raised as one of their own. She remained with them for about three years. During this time they taught her to read and write and to speak the English language. They also taught her to do house work and to care for the family. Their children made all manner of fun of her peculiar language. She felt so badly about this that she prayed to the Lord and asked him to help her forget the Danish language, and she did forget it.

She met a young Englishman by the name of George Frederick Housley. He also lived in Draper and occasionally worked for the Shipley family. When she was about 14 years old they were married in Salt Lake City. They continued to live in Draper for about six years. On the 22 February 1862 they were sealed in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Four children were born to them in Draper, two boys and two girls.

From Draper they moved to Paradise, Cache County, Utah, where they purchased a small farm. Eight more children were born to them, one boy and seven girls. They were very poor financially and their children had but very little schooling. Most of them went to work while young to help provide a livelihood. The boys worked in the canyon cutting logs and hauling lumber.

She was a very good cook, some of her specialties which her family enjoyed most were "Noffat Dumplings" which were made from veal, pork, beef and onions chopped together then seasoned with salt and pepper. The dough was made with suet and wrapped around the meat and boiled.

"Danish Dumplings" - Heat one quart of milk in a skillet or heavy pan, stir while sifting in flour until thick. Remove from heat, cool, then add two eggs and a little baking powder. Dip by spoonfuls into boiling broth, cover and continue to boil for about fifteen minutes.

Then she also made some little cakes out of liver which she called "Faggots" . It was slightly boiled liver ground up with onions, seasoned with selt and sage. Make into little cakes by taking a spoonful and wrapping it in a square of leaf lard or lacy lard which comes from inside the pig. Fry just until the lacy lard is golden brown. And a "Yorkshire Pudding" -which was just eggs, milk, and flour stirred up together and baked in piping hot grease.

Grandmother was as active in the church as her health would permit. While her husband was away from home for some time she was without shoes. They think this was the cause of her having, rheumatic fever. She went to the Bishop and told him the condition. He gave her a pair of mens shoes which she was unable to wear. From this time on she had a weak heart and then dropsy. A lot of the time after her sixth or seventh child was born she was unable to walk, nevertheless she was quite cheerful and taught her children from the bed or a chair.

She passed away in March 1896 of dropsy at the age of fifty-one. After she was placed in the coffin she continued to bloat until her body burst. The undertaker tapped the coffin and set a bucket under it to catch the water. The bucket had to be emptied a time or two during the funeral.

Burial was in Paradise Cemetary beside her infant daughter who proceded her in death.