Morgan Pioneer I iistary Binds Us Together TwUk Wk¥ mi'M —j*.-.. ".'' *^W Robert Hogg Jr. and jenetta Hogg Durrant (brother and sister) Robert Jr.'s sisters, but Robert and his wife, Mary Ann, were baptized and quickly made preparation to join the Saints in Utah. In that same year, they sailed from Liverpool to New York on the ship Idaho. They traveled by rail to the Salt Lake Valley. They settled in Morgan where they were active in the church organiza tion. Robert Jr. later fulfilled a mission to his native land. They built a home in Morgan City at 170 North 300 West. Five more children were born to them: Norman, George, Ann, Jemima, and Charles. On May 15, 1913, Mary Ann died. Robert died July 21, 1914, at the age of seventy-four. He and his wife are both buried in the South Morgan Cemetery. Robert Hogg ©© Maren Kersten Jensen Maren Kersten Jensen was bom March 11,1837 at Lonstruk, Jutland, Denmark. This daughter of the Danish peasantry grew to young womanhood in a community where everyone worked so they could eat and have a roof over their heads. To work was considered part of life; it was honorable; it was necessary. The village church was also a very real and important part of life. Here babies were christened, adolescents were confirmed and baptized and young couples were married and started on the most serious and responsible part of their lives. Later on, their funeral sermon was to be preached in the same building, and they were buried in the adjacent church yard. It had been this way for a long, long time. However, not everyone attended the church services and some did not wholly agree with the doctrines advocated by the preacher. The Danish were notably independent in their thinking. And so when the first Mormon elders came from America with their message of a new revelation and a gospel that was different in many ways - and still agreed substantially with their bibles. There were some in every parish who were willing to listen; Maren Kirsten Jensen was one of these. She attended their meetings. Here she experienced a feeling of friendliness which existed among those who believed. She felt the influence and peace of the spirit of the Lord. She heard the moving testimonies of confirming miracles in the lives of her neighbors. Sometimes the elders would talk of Zion, a place in America where the chosen of the Lord were to dwell together in righteousness. It was easy for Maren to hope and to believe in Zion while attending these meetings. Zion would be a wonderful place to live. And Zion was to be in America. Before the elders came, Maren had heard of America as a land of opportunity where there was a challenge and a reward for all and especially for the young people who were willing to work. Now i f she went there, she could be among those whose hearts had been touched and whose lives had been changed by the gospel message. And might there not be some young men among them of about her own age? The elders were urging all converts to gather in Zion at once. The church needed more people; there would be a shipload of converts leaving for America in the Spring. She decided she would go, but how? Maren had worked some as a dressmaker. She sold her sewing machine and everything she owned. This would barely pay the fare. Later she was able to arrange to work for a family of saints on the way, for her board. When it became known that Maren Jensen had been baptized into the Mormon Church, the peaceful world she had lived in was never the same. KM