Introducing the James Adolph Thomsen Family

James (Jens) Adolph Thomsen is my great-great grandfather.  This is the story of how he came to the United States.  Jens was born 22 October 1860 in Aaby, Aarhus, Denmark.  In 1863 at the age of 2, he immigrated to the United States with his parents, Hans Adolph Thomsen and Karen Sorensen.  Hans and Karen had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1861, and they wanted to gather with the Church in America. Hans was 28 and Karen was 29 when they emigrated.  Hans was a farmer.  In addition to 2-year old Jens, they had 7-year old Mette Marie, 4-year old Ane Marie, and infant Sophie.  Jens was the only child in the family to survive the journey.

The family most likely joined the Aalborg, Denmark Conference of the Church in their immigration.  The Aalbrog Conference left Aalborg, Denmark on April 30th and sailed to Kiel, Holstein, Germany.  The Conference went by train to Altona on the Elbe River (Hamburg) .  From Hamburg, the Conference went to Grimsby, England by boat, and then to Liverpool by train.  They sailed on the B.S. Kimble to New York City from Liverpool among 654 Mormon converts.  After six weeks, the Kimble arrived in New York on June 15, 1863 

Others on the ship went to St. Joseph, Missouri by train that same evening, and then went to Florence (Winter Quarters), Nebraska by flat boat.  The Thomsen family took a steamboat up the Missouri River to Florence.  The baby Sophie died on June 28 while they were in Florence.  They travelled from Nebraska to Utah as part of the John F. Sanders Company.  Some Background on John F. Sanders.  The Sanders Company had a train of 50 ox-driven wagons to carry the belongings and supplies for the immigrants.  The Company left Florence on July 6, 1863.  Ane Marie died 200 miles later on July 22 near Sandy Bluff (I don't know where that is, but 200 miles later is somewhere in Nebraska).  They arrived in Salt Lake City on September 5, 1863.  Mette Marie died between Salt Lake City and Lehi, and was buried on September 7, 1863.  The Thomsen family had lost three of four children.  Their three losses were among 60 children who died in this company.

Hans, Karen and James settled in Sanpete County, Utah.  First they lived in Fountain Green where Hans and Karen had another daughter Anne Mette in 1864.  In 1866, they were joined by another daughter Karline in Monroe, Sevier County, Utah, 90 miles south of Fountain Green.  Karline died after just two months.  By 1869, the family had returned to Sanpete County and was living in Spring City, Utah.  They had another daughter there in 1869, and then three sons there in 1872, 1874, and 1878. 



Map of Sanpete County, Utah

 I don't have the story, but it looks like James met his future wife Sarah Etta Mortenson in Spring City, because she was born there in 1873.  Sarah's family moved 600 miles south to Alpine, Apache County, Arizona sometime between 1879 and 1881.  James and Sarah were married in Alpine on 5 December 1889.  His parents also moved south sometime between 1878 and 1892.  Karen died on 19 September 1892 at Pratt Ranch in Cave Valley, Chihuahua, Mexico. Hans died on 8 July 1904 in Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.



A. Alpine, Apache, Arizona

B. Luna, Socorro, New Mexico

C. Colonia Juarez, Mexico

D. Elfrida, Cochise, Arizona



James and Sarah had a daughter in Alpine in 1891.  By 1893 they had moved 170 southeast to Luna, Socorro, New Mexico where they had a daughter, followed by a son in 1895 and another in 1897.  By 1900, they lived 300 miles southeast of Alpine, AZ in Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.  By 1903 they had a daughter in Oaxaca, Sonora, Mexico.  I have 12 children listed for them.  

Map of Mormon Colonies in Mexico

 James passed away on 29 Oct 1926 in Manti, Sanpete, Utah, USA. He is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetary.  Sarah passed away on 26 November 1957 in Elfrida, Cochise, Arizona.