Morgan Pioneer History Binds Us Together Emigration of Peter (Sorensen) Peterson in 1861 The following data is assembled as reported by Mrs. Lovina Peterson Young, a daughter of Peter (Sorensen) Peterson, to Mr. Baltzar W. Peterson. Peter (Sorensen) Peterson was an L.D.S. convert and emigrant of 1861. Peder (Peter) Sorensen was born to Soren Pedersen and Ane Margrethe Baltzersen Pedersen on May 5, 1841. He was bom in Virring, Fruering, Aarhus, Denmark. After immigration to Utah, the children of Soren and Ane Margrethe changed their surname to Peterson, sometimes using both surnames Sorensen and Peterson. Peter (Sorensen) Peterson, nearing the age of twenty-one years, and due for extended service in the Danish Regular Army, there being much talk of another war with Germany at that time (1861), was advised by his father, Soren Pedersen- Dalsgoar, to join the L.D.S. Church and emigrate to America and Utah, where his older sister, Karen (Sorensen) Peterson, had come in 1859. Consequently, Peter was baptized into the L.D.S. Church on March 6,1861, and emigrated to Utah that same year. At this point in the history, Baltzar quotes from History of Scandinavian Mission, by Andrew Jensen, and states that he believes the company described is the one that Peter traveled with. The quote follows: "On May 9,1861, 565 Scandinavians (373 Danes, 182 Swedes, and 64 Norwegians) sailed from Copenhagen, Denmark, on the steamer, Waldemar. They arrived at Kiel on the morning of May 10. Then, by special train to Altona, the company was divided into two parts, one of 400 Saints immediately boarded the steamer Brittania and departed for Hull, England, about 3:00 p.m. the same day. They arrived at Hull on May 12. "The second division (169 souls), having been quartered in a large hall overnight, left Hamburg on May 11 at about 3:00 p.m. by steamer Eugenia, and arrived at Grimsby, England, on the morning of May 13. The captain of this vessel treated the Saints with all due respect and kindness, while the opposite was the case on the steamer Brittania. The two companies Peter Peterson again joined at Grimsby; and on the morning of May 14, they were dispatched by a special train to Liverpool, where they arrived about 2:00 p.m. Two hours later, they were placed on board the ship Monarch of the Sea, the largest vessel that had carried L.D.S. Saints across the Atlantic up to that date. This company of Saints was also the largest to cross the sea on one ship up to that date. "On May 16, the company was organized with Elder Jabez Woodard as president, and Hans Olin Hansen and Niels Wilhelmsen as counselors. At 11:00 a.m. on May 16, the great vessel lifted anchor and began its voyage. The voyage was a successful one, and conditions were quite favorable. There were some inconveniences because of the extra large number aboard. Each family could only have access to cooking ranges five times each week. The children had milk, the sick had wine and beer, and adults had boiled sago. "From Copenhagen to New York, there were nine persons (most of them children) who died; fourteen couples were married (eleven Scandinavian), and there were four births on board during the crossing. "The voyage was successful, the weather being quite favorable, but with two days of wind. Large icebergs were passed among, one of which was estimated to be about 200 feet above the water line. On June 19, they arrived at New York, and we lodged at Castle Gardens. The Apostle Erastus Snow, who happened to be in New York at the time, spoke to the Scandinavians in the Danish language. "From New York to Florence, Nebraska, the company traveled part of the way in two divisions. The first division arrived at Florence on July 1, and the second division arrived at Florence on July 2. The route taken was about the same as the year before (via Dunkirk, Cleveland, Chicago, Quincy, St. Joseph on the Missouri River). At Florence, most of the Scandinavian emigrants, assisted by the Church ox-teams, crossed the plains in Captain John R. Murdock's Company. They left Florence, Nebraska, early in July and arrived in Salt Lake City on September 12,1861. "The rest of the emigrants (those who possessed sufficient means to help themselves) left Florence a few days later under Captain Samuel Wooley with about sixty ox teams. They arrived in Salt Lake City on September 22,1861." Peter Peterson reached Utah on September 12, 1861. Peter lived at first in Centerville with his sister, Karen, and her husband, Lars Peter Rasmussen. By