My Great-grandfather

The Life of Marinus Lund

Mormon Pioneer

Came to Utah in 1853

Written by Jane Lund Armistead

His daughter

Of Camp Battle Creek

Of Daughters of Utah County

Of North Utah County

Pleasant Grove, Utah

Edited by Lorna Lund Collins

Marinus Lund was born in Aalborg, Denmark on May 7, 1849. He was the third son of Paul Diderich Soltoft Lund and Anna Marie Sorenson Larson.

He came to America with his parents and two brothers in 1853. They were converts to the Church of .Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They embraced the Gospel as taught by the traveling missionaries of the church. He was four year's old when his folks landed in America.

His father was quite wealthy, being a merchant in Denmark. He sold his store and prepared for their journey, leaving many relatives and friends, who were angry with him for joining this unpopular Mormon Church. He also was interested in registered livestock and was bringing some to America. He brought six large trunks filled with bolts of expensive materials, lovely linens, bedding, and silverware.

While crossing the ocean, a terrible storm came up. It threatened to capsize the sailing ship. It was necessary to throw these trunks overboard to relieve the weight of the ship, thus avoiding a shipwreck. He managed to save some cattle and brought them to America. He suffered a great financial loss in losing his belongings. Many of the passengers were very seasick all the way across. But no one died,

After they landed in in America, they traveled to Spring City. They did not stay there very long. They left and went to Ephraim in 1853 and 1854 because of the Indians being so troublesome. It was an order from President Brigham Young. Before moving back to Spring City, their fourth son, Joseph Paley, was born on February 7, 1855.

When they came back, they purchased a lot on Main Street and built an adobe house.

Father was four years old when they arrived at Spring City, but as he got older, he helped his father and brothers haul timber from the canyon, make fences and break up land for farming, as his father had bought some farm land west of the depot. They raised grain, potatoes, and corn for food and also for his cattle. They also raised pigs and chickens.

The boys were town herders and hired out to herd peoples’ cattle. They took them to the foothills in the morning and returned them in the evening. They were appointed guard duty to watch the cattle and give warning if any Indians were skulking around.

A, few years later, the oldest boys were mustered into the Militia service to protect the settlers from attacks by the Indians. While Father, not old enough to join, stayed home and helped his parents.

Father and his brothers attended school in a large one-room rock building located on Main Street.

In 1872, Father, age twenty-three, married Mary Jane Ashworth, age seventeen, by slipping away and being married by Justice of the Peace, George Brough, Sr. Abe Acord and wife Nancy were witnesses.

They rented a house and started a new life together He was old enough to take responsibility and do a man’s job. With his brothers, he hauled lumber from sawmills in Black Canyon. They also worked in the sawmills during the spring and summer months. In the fall, he would harvest the crops and cure pork for meat during the winter.

He and Mother enjoyed dancing with only an accordion or fiddle to furnish the music. They had a jolly good time with their friends.

Then there were home dramatic plays, which provided good entertainment. They also attended husking bees and honey and molasses candy pulls.

On June 2, 1873, they went to Salt Lake by wagon and were married in the Endowment House.

On April 30, 1873, their first child was born, but it only lived two days. [This was a son, whose name was probably Adolphus or Dolphin Eugene.]

In the summer when the family was small, for a vacation, Mother would go to the canyon and cook for Father while he cut wood for fuel. Coal wasn't used much in those days.

As time went on and the family became larger, more food and clothing were necessary. [Lilly May 6 Jun 1874, Marinus DeLoss 12 Jun 1876, Sarah Edith 31 Jul 1876, Edward Paul 28 Jun 1880, Arthur Atwell 26 Oct 1881, Claude Melvin 6 Aug 1883, Don Clement 24 Jan 1885, Henry Ramsbottom 31 May 1886] Industries or trades of any kind were not available to the people at that time. Father had a herd of cattle and a few horses. He was told to take them: to Emery County as it was wonderful grazing country.

One day in the spring, when the children were quite small, they put their belongings in a wagon and were on their way. It was a very rough, narrow road with large boulders. They had to lift the wheels over them at times. The streams were swollen and dangerous to cross

At last, they came to the place called Muddy. They lived in a wagon box und cooked out in the open. Father built a log cabin later on. Father was very handy with the saw and hammer. They took their cattle and extra horses along with them.

After staying: here on the Muddy a few years, Father decided it wasn't such a good idea moving there. His cattle and horses began to disappear one by one. Finally, they couldn't stand it any longer.. He put his family in the wagon and left most everything in the log cabin. He locked the door, hung the key over the door and returned to their home in Spring City. He was more discouraged than ever before.

In the spring of 1887, Father thought if they went to Nevada, he might make a good living on a ranch putting up hay. They prepared two wagons and provisions. He put one barrel of water on each side of the wagons. Water would be very scarce going through the desert. It took them, four days to make the trip, as they had to travel quite slowly driving the cattle along. When they came to Deseret, they filled the barrels with water and whenever they came to water, the barrels were refilled.

The road was rough all the way, going through very rugged canyons and winding roads much like a cow trail.

It was necessary to camp twice after leaving Deseret. The older boys took turns driving the cattle on their ponies.

They reached the Hampton ranch at last, very tired, weary, and dusty from such a long, exhausting journey.

Father began to work as soon as he and his wife and children settled. This ranch was very large with plenty of hay to get up and cattle to take care of. He also had a freight wagon, which carried vegetables and meat to Peoche, Eureka, Ely, and Oseola.

They met some nice people, such as the Clays, Shoemakers, and Bakers, who became very dear friends of the family. The Clays and Shoemakers lived in Garrison.

The next year, 1888, the family moved on to the Clover Spring Ranch in White Pine County. Mother wasn't very well, so Father hired an Indian squaw to help with the work. The washing was done on a washboard in a tub, then boiled in a large iron kettle over a fire on the ground. Mother was a very clean and tidy person, much like her mother. No matter where she lived, her clothes had to be clean and white.

While here, her mother came to visit the family. Grandmother came as far as Deseret by train, and her two grandsons met her with a covered wagon and took her back on the long rough road to Nevada.

On May 12, 1888, I, Jane Lund (Armistead), was born to Marinus and Mary Jane Ashworth Lund. I was the tenth child and the only one born out of the state of Utah.

Mother was so happy to have her mother with her at this time, being so far away from all her relatives and friends. Two firefighters, Thomas James and James Adamson from Pleasant Grove, camped at the ranch the night Mother was confined.

One year passed. Mother came back to Spring City in 1889, in the same wagon, over the same rough roads that took her to Nevada. She came to visit her mother and relatives. She left her family in the care of their father. The girls, [Lilly] May and [Sarah] Edith, were to keep house and cook for the ten of them. Father was still working on the ranch when not firefighting.

On May 14, 1890, her eleventh child, a son, George Willard, was born in Grandmother Ashworth’s log cabin. After resting and visiting for two months, Mother returned to her family in Nevada.

The family moved back to their home in the spring of 1892, bringing everything they had with them.

On August 8, 1892, another son was born and named Darwin Travis. Mother and baby got a long wonderfully.

The long trips were very hard on Mother as well as the children. Not much was gained by moving about. As the saying goes, "A rolling stone gathers no moss.” A true saying.

It was hard on Father, too, and he tried to do his duty and make a living for them.

Through all their trials and hardships, Mother never complained. She made the best of everything.

As the years went by, they grew better off financially. Mother could smile her tears away, and her lovely spirit endeared her to the many friends who knew her. They called her Molly. Their home was the gathering place for their friends.

The next year another son was born on December 9, 1893. The baby, Er Rupert, was healthy, but something was wrong with Mother. She became very ill. Three days later, on December 12, 1893, she passed away. She had given birth to thirteen children, twelve of whom survived. Her husband, mother, and sister also survived her.

Before she died, she requested that Mrs. Margaret Christiansen should have the baby. Father would not consent for them to adopt him. *Grandmother was to raise the boy who was born in her home.

On April 11, 1893, their daughter, [Lily] May, had married Eugene Allred. Her sister, [Sarah] Edith was left to work and care for the rest of this large family.

I went to Pleasant Grove to live with my father’s brother, Lewis [Louis] P. Lund, and his family.

Losing my mother was a terrible blow to my father. He was left with a large family to raise, but my sister, [Sarah] Edith, became like a mother to the children.

Less than a year later [24 Nov 1894], Father married Georgiana Lambert Allred. [She already had five children from a previous marriage: Effie Mary Ann Allred 15 Nov 1878, Louie Georgiana Allred 11 Dec 1880, Nellie Faith Allred 1 Jan 1884, Delva Louisa Allred, Ethel Avelia Allred 7 Feb 1890]. On 30 Jun 1895[, she gave birth to a son, Veo. On 10 Apr 1899, they had a daughter, Faun. On 28 Sept 1901, she gave birth to twins, Hollis and Collis. Hollis died at two months of age, on 7 Nov 1901, and is buried in the cemetery in Spring City near his parents.]

Marinus Lund died on June 10, 1922. [He was buried in the Pioneer Cemetery in Spring City next to Mary Jane, his first wife.]

*[Jane’s grandmother, raised three-year-old George Willard Lund, who was born in her cabin, not Er Rupert, the youngest child.]