It was a lovely day in the Spring of 1886 when Josephine and Erik woke up in their respective beds in Stockholm for the very last time. They were both 31 yrs-old. Josephine left her job as a "tvätterska" or laundress. Erik had been a "skomakare gesällen" for the past 9 years. He probably found no reason to jump through all the required hoops to become a master shoemaker since that designation would be meaningless in America.
Josephine and Erik would have made their way to Central Station in Stockholm, independently, Josephine from 50 Kammakargatan and Erik from 46 Timmermansgatan.
Central Station would have looked a lot different for them than it did for us.
It was all very orchestrated and planned out. Mormon emigrants seldom traveled alone. Emigrant companies were formed and travel arrangements were made well in advance to keep the passengers as safe and secure as possible. Josephine and Erik would have boarded a train bound for Göteborg. This would be the first of many train rides, ship voyages, and transfers they would make over the next several weeks. If there were "Utah missionaries" returning home from the Stockholm Conference, as well as other Mormon emigrants like Josephine and Erik, many of them may have started the journey from Stockholm together.
They would have had to transfer from Göteborg Central Station to the Port of Göteborg where a ferry would transport them to Copenhagen. In Copenhagen they would have gathered with the rest of the Scandinavian Saints traveling to America. In this company, 290 Scandinavian emigrants and 11 returning missionaries sailed from Copenhagen, Denmark on 21 June 1886 on the Steamship Otto. They were four days aboard ship.
From Andrew Jensen's Book History of the Scandinavian Mission:
Josephine and Erik would have made their way to Central Station in Stockholm, independently, Josephine from 50 Kammakargatan and Erik from 46 Timmermansgatan.
Central Station would have looked a lot different for them than it did for us.
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| Stockholm Central Station in 1886 |
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| Stockholm Central Station in 2019 |
It was all very orchestrated and planned out. Mormon emigrants seldom traveled alone. Emigrant companies were formed and travel arrangements were made well in advance to keep the passengers as safe and secure as possible. Josephine and Erik would have boarded a train bound for Göteborg. This would be the first of many train rides, ship voyages, and transfers they would make over the next several weeks. If there were "Utah missionaries" returning home from the Stockholm Conference, as well as other Mormon emigrants like Josephine and Erik, many of them may have started the journey from Stockholm together.
They would have had to transfer from Göteborg Central Station to the Port of Göteborg where a ferry would transport them to Copenhagen. In Copenhagen they would have gathered with the rest of the Scandinavian Saints traveling to America. In this company, 290 Scandinavian emigrants and 11 returning missionaries sailed from Copenhagen, Denmark on 21 June 1886 on the Steamship Otto. They were four days aboard ship.
From Andrew Jensen's Book History of the Scandinavian Mission:
"The voyage across the north Sea was quite stormy, a brisk wind blowing against the ship most of the way; consequently, seasickness became quite general, yet good cheer prevailed among the emigrants, who were not seasick, and they passed the time singing songs of Zion and associating pleasantly together. Having safely arrived in the Humber River, the emigrants landed at Hull early Friday morning (June 25th) and continued the journey the same day by rail to Liverpool. . ."
By this time, I have no doubt, Josephine and Erik should have been among those "associating pleasantly together."
Between 1852 and 1894, over 24,000 Scandinavian Mormons traveled to Utah through England. A 15 yr-old LDS youth who traveled in 1888 described the Hull-Liverpool train on which he rode:
Nearly 90,000 Mormon converts migrated through Liverpool to the US during the nineteenth century. Liverpool served as headquarters for both the European and British Missions, creating an additional reason to focus migration efforts from Liverpool rather than London. It was in Liverpool, especially, where traveling with a company of Mormon emigrants had its definite advantages.
By mid-nineteenth century, Liverpool was the most active international port of emigration in the world. It was considered a sailor's paradise. One historian wrote, "Dockside pubs were everywhere . . . the sailors spent their few days' leave and their hard-earned money on beer, women and song. Prostitutes roamed the streets and solicited the mariners." Nathaniel Hawthorne was Liverpool's American consul in the mid-nineteenth century (and the famous New England writer). He was quoted as describing Liverpool this way:
The church's agent stationed in Liverpool knew exactly when a group of emigrants was due to arrive, and, if possible, he would pre-arrange for them to board their trans-Atlantic ship immediately upon arrival. If the timing didn't quite work out, he would make local sleeping arrangements which were clean and safe. In this particular case, Erik and Josephine's train from Hull would have arrived in Liverpool on Friday and their ship sailed on Saturday. The emigrants would have been led to local housing or have been taken directly to the ship to spend the night prior to departure. (More information about Mormon migration through Liverpool here and here.)
Brent and I spent a very lovely day on the docks of Liverpool in October 2017. I stood at the edge of the dock above the water, looking down the mouth of the Mersey River as it opened up to an endless sea, and wondered what it would have been like for 17 of my Swedish, English, and Irish ancestors to board their respective ships to begin an adventure from which they would never return.
Between 1852 and 1894, over 24,000 Scandinavian Mormons traveled to Utah through England. A 15 yr-old LDS youth who traveled in 1888 described the Hull-Liverpool train on which he rode:
"The passenger trains were different than any I had seen before. The coaches were divided into compartments that would accommodate from 6 to 8 passengers; they would be locked in. A running board on the outside of the train that the conductor used to go from compartment through the whole train, I thought it a practical way to check all passengers without disturbing those already checked."It was 140-miles from Hull to Liverpool and could take up to 7 hours depending on the exact route. They would have seen beautiful and varied English countryside if they traveled by daylight. Upon their arrival at Lime Street Station in Liverpool, they would have been met by a Mormon travel agent stationed in Liverpool as well as agents of the shipping company to guide them to the next portion of their journey.
Nearly 90,000 Mormon converts migrated through Liverpool to the US during the nineteenth century. Liverpool served as headquarters for both the European and British Missions, creating an additional reason to focus migration efforts from Liverpool rather than London. It was in Liverpool, especially, where traveling with a company of Mormon emigrants had its definite advantages.
By mid-nineteenth century, Liverpool was the most active international port of emigration in the world. It was considered a sailor's paradise. One historian wrote, "Dockside pubs were everywhere . . . the sailors spent their few days' leave and their hard-earned money on beer, women and song. Prostitutes roamed the streets and solicited the mariners." Nathaniel Hawthorne was Liverpool's American consul in the mid-nineteenth century (and the famous New England writer). He was quoted as describing Liverpool this way:
"Women nursed their babies at dirty breasts. The men were haggard, drunken, care-worn, and hopeless, but patient as if that were the rule of their lives. Tithebarn Street was thronged with dreadful faces - women with young figures but with old and wrinkled countenances, young girls without any maiden neatness, barefooted, with dirty legs. Dirty, dirty children, and the grown people were the flower of these buds, physically and morally.
"The people are as numerous as maggots in cheese; you behold them, disgusting, and all moving about, as when you raise a plank or log that has long lain on the ground, and find many vivacious bugs and insects beneath it."Historian Terry Coleman wrote of naive emigrants traveling alone or in a small group who arrived from all parts of Europe and who had to be continuously on their guard to avoid thieves, pickpockets, and scoundrels who lay in wait to take advantage of them. He wrote:
"Before the emigrants even got on board ship they had to have dealings with ship brokers, otherwise known as emigration agents or recruiters; with runners, otherwise called crimps, touts, and man-catchers; with boarding-house keepers, who overcharged them and delayed them as long as they had money to pay for more lodging; and the keepers of spirit vaults and provision stores, who sold them bad food and drink at high prices. Runners were almost always boarding-house keepers, and boarding-house keepers often ran spirit vaults or food shops on the side. It was all confused and disorderly, and almost always a racket. Each man took his cut, and the first and biggest cut went to the broker. . . . As a policeman put it, there was a general impression that the emigrants were defrauded from the day they started from their houses. There was no remedy."Liverpool did have its upside. Other historians reported that the "harbor is six miles long, constantly filled with ships from every country of the world," and "the shipping of Liverpool, it is like a dense forest for miles and the steamers running up and down the river and every moment which is pretty to behold. Some very splendid vessels here."
The church's agent stationed in Liverpool knew exactly when a group of emigrants was due to arrive, and, if possible, he would pre-arrange for them to board their trans-Atlantic ship immediately upon arrival. If the timing didn't quite work out, he would make local sleeping arrangements which were clean and safe. In this particular case, Erik and Josephine's train from Hull would have arrived in Liverpool on Friday and their ship sailed on Saturday. The emigrants would have been led to local housing or have been taken directly to the ship to spend the night prior to departure. (More information about Mormon migration through Liverpool here and here.)
Brent and I spent a very lovely day on the docks of Liverpool in October 2017. I stood at the edge of the dock above the water, looking down the mouth of the Mersey River as it opened up to an endless sea, and wondered what it would have been like for 17 of my Swedish, English, and Irish ancestors to board their respective ships to begin an adventure from which they would never return.
Steerage class, whose passengers are housed in the hull of the ship, was the lowest and most inexpensive way to travel. Most, if not all, Mormon emigrants traveled in steerage.
Traditionally, sickness and disease thrived among the steerage passengers who were crammed into very tight quarters. Wooden beds, known as berths, were stacked 2-3 high, sometimes with two people sharing single berths and up to four squeezed into a double. The only ventilation was provided by hatches to the upper decks, which were locked tight during rough seas and storms. Since the only bathrooms were located above deck, passengers trapped below during stormy weather were forced to urinate and defecate in buckets, which would overturn in the churning waves. The stench was unbearable.
Food was in constant shortage. Some ships required passengers to bring their own meager provisions, while others provided only minimum rations meant to keep passengers from starving. A lack of clean drinking water and rancid food resulted in rampant bouts of dysentery.
The Carriage of Passengers Act of 1855 alleviated the overcrowding and filth somewhat. It specified that every steerage passenger should have 18 square feet of "clear space"; it listed detailed provision that must be stocked for every ship, arriving as well as departing from America; and most importantly, it required ventilators to "carry off the foul air" from the stifling steerage hold. All decks and passenger compartments were required to be constructed in such a way as to allow for regular swabbing and disinfecting, and a physician and "hospital" were required on board each ship. The law also called for at least one bathroom per 100 passengers. And, to help ensure compliance, the law stated that captains would be fined $10 (approx. $273 today) for every passenger who died "by natural disease" during the voyage.
In 1879, when a journalist traveling from New York to Liverpool first stepped into the steerage compartment, he wrote, "Words are incapable of conveying anything like a correct notion of the kind of den in which I stood among 60 fellow passengers. . . The stench, combined with the heat, was simply intolerable."
Another writer, taking the reverse journey from Liverpool to New York in 1888 described the food served in steerage as barely edible and only when respite from seasickness allowed one to eat. Steerage passengers were required to bring their own cutlery and dishes and, washing up was equally nauseating.
"The galley cook filled a tub with hot water on the lee deck close by the rail," she wrote. "About this we stood in circles six deep waiting for a chance to rinse our platters. When my turn arrived the water was cold and diversified with archipelagoes of potato and meat."
We visited the Mersey Maritime Museum which is located near Albert Dock in Liverpool. The lower level is dedicated to European emigration and houses a gallery display of life on board an immigrant ship as a steerage passenger. The sights - as well as the sounds - (minus the repugnant smell, thank goodness) attempted to replicate the experience.
Food was in constant shortage. Some ships required passengers to bring their own meager provisions, while others provided only minimum rations meant to keep passengers from starving. A lack of clean drinking water and rancid food resulted in rampant bouts of dysentery.
The Carriage of Passengers Act of 1855 alleviated the overcrowding and filth somewhat. It specified that every steerage passenger should have 18 square feet of "clear space"; it listed detailed provision that must be stocked for every ship, arriving as well as departing from America; and most importantly, it required ventilators to "carry off the foul air" from the stifling steerage hold. All decks and passenger compartments were required to be constructed in such a way as to allow for regular swabbing and disinfecting, and a physician and "hospital" were required on board each ship. The law also called for at least one bathroom per 100 passengers. And, to help ensure compliance, the law stated that captains would be fined $10 (approx. $273 today) for every passenger who died "by natural disease" during the voyage.
In 1879, when a journalist traveling from New York to Liverpool first stepped into the steerage compartment, he wrote, "Words are incapable of conveying anything like a correct notion of the kind of den in which I stood among 60 fellow passengers. . . The stench, combined with the heat, was simply intolerable."
Another writer, taking the reverse journey from Liverpool to New York in 1888 described the food served in steerage as barely edible and only when respite from seasickness allowed one to eat. Steerage passengers were required to bring their own cutlery and dishes and, washing up was equally nauseating.
"The galley cook filled a tub with hot water on the lee deck close by the rail," she wrote. "About this we stood in circles six deep waiting for a chance to rinse our platters. When my turn arrived the water was cold and diversified with archipelagoes of potato and meat."
We visited the Mersey Maritime Museum which is located near Albert Dock in Liverpool. The lower level is dedicated to European emigration and houses a gallery display of life on board an immigrant ship as a steerage passenger. The sights - as well as the sounds - (minus the repugnant smell, thank goodness) attempted to replicate the experience.
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| SS Nevada |
In addition to the Scandinavian passengers and missionaries, 101 British emigrants, 17 Norwegian emigrants, and 7 additional returning missionaries joined the company. Returning Elder Christian F. Olsen was placed in charge with counselors L. John Nuttal and R. S. Collett. They departed Liverpool on Saturday, June 26th. That particular day was Midsommar in Sweden, and it would be the first of every year thereafter that Josephine and Erik would not celebrate the longest day of the year in their native country.
From Andrew Jensen's Book History of the Scandinavian Mission:
". . .the emigrants boarded the steamship 'Nevada,' which sailed from Liverpool Saturday, June 26th. During the voyage across the Atlantic two children, belonging to Danish Saints, died and were consigned to a watery grave. As they had been sick almost from the beginning, their demise was not altogether unexpected. A little girl from Copenhagen died July 6th, of long trouble and the same evening a lame sister (Andreasen) from Copenhagen, Denmark, was stricken with apoplexy, which ended her life. One of the stewardesses in the employ of the steamship company was also stricken with a fit of apoplexy and died on the 6th, and her remains, like the others, were lowered into the depths of the sea. Such mortality among Latter-day Saint emigrants was something very unusual in the history of the emigration of recent years. Otherwise the condition among the Saints on board during the voyage was good. Union and peace prevailed and the Saints were willing to abide by the counsel given them by those in charge. A number of meetings were also held on board. The 'Nevada' arrived in New York July 7."
They were 12 days aboard ship. Is this when the
romance blossomed? Was he hopelessly smitten when he gazed upon her fair skin as it glistened from the gentle spray of salt water? Following evening
prayer, did they steal a few moments alone above deck, walking hand-in-hand by
the clouded light of the moon and basking in the glow of the glittering stars
above? Did they whisper to each other their innermost hopes and dreams for the
future, secretly wishing they would forever be part of each other's future
reality? Did they balance themselves precariously on the ship's
bow, her arms out-stretched and his wrapped firmly around her waist in a
loving embrace as he enthusiastically proclaimed to the endless sea and to all of God's creatures within the sound of his voice, "I'M
KING OF THE WORLD"? Did they splash in the pool and sunbathe on the Lido
deck while Julie the activities director reserved them a 10:30 time slot for
shuffleboard? (OK sorry I got a little carried away for a moment there. It
won't happen again.)
They were no longer Swedish emigrants - they were immigrants preparing to enter a strange, new land brimming with opportunity and religious freedom. Upon disembarkment on the southern tip of Manhattan, the travelers were processed through the immigration center known as Castle Garden. (The newly acquired Statue of Liberty was in the early stages of being reassembled, a process which would not be completed until October.)
The immigration process was not yet as lengthy and disconcerting as it would become in later years for many who passed through Ellis Island where families were split, the ill were indefinitely quarantined, and one's family name could be erased in a moment. Officials at the less-bureaucratic Castle Garden let almost anyone in. There was no intimidating round of questions, no sophisticated detention center, and being rejected from the country, while it did happen, was rare.
The facility was surrounded by vendor-stands selling moldy and rotten goods, such as apples and sausages, to whomever would buy them. A recipe used by one lemonade stand consisted of molasses, vinegar, and water, with a few decayed lemon rinds "to deceive the keen eye of the observer." A piece in The New York Tribune reported, "These vendors were emblematic of what Castle Garden was most notorious for to those who knew it best: not the immigrants themselves, but an economy of frauds and scammers who exploited them."
The reporter described the interior of the station as crowded and unpleasant. The circulation of air in Castle Garden, a stone rotunda once used as a fort, was non existent. "A deadening, stifling smell," the reporter wrote, "greets the nostrils as you enter the hall, almost overpowering." He detected a foul mixture of scents: boiled butter, rancid cheese, onions, and herring. The floor, though swept once a day, "was a sink of filth, and unfit for human beings as a place of occupation." Jenny Lind, a Swedish opera singer who sang at Castle Garden back when it was a concert hall, would be sick to see her countrymen "herded together like sheep in a July sun," he wrote. (more here.)
One returning missionary traveling with the company wrote, "The emigrants were subjected to the most rigid questioning and examination by the officers at Castle Garden, because they were 'Mormons.'" In the early 1870s reporter Louis Bagger visited the facility and came away with this impression: "Slowly, one by one, the new-comers passed the two officers whose duty it is to register every immigrant's name, birthplace, and destination in a large folio - a work that is often rather more difficult than it would first appear to be. . . . the officer in charge must be able to speak and understand nearly every language under the sun. . ."
The immigration process was not yet as lengthy and disconcerting as it would become in later years for many who passed through Ellis Island where families were split, the ill were indefinitely quarantined, and one's family name could be erased in a moment. Officials at the less-bureaucratic Castle Garden let almost anyone in. There was no intimidating round of questions, no sophisticated detention center, and being rejected from the country, while it did happen, was rare.
The facility was surrounded by vendor-stands selling moldy and rotten goods, such as apples and sausages, to whomever would buy them. A recipe used by one lemonade stand consisted of molasses, vinegar, and water, with a few decayed lemon rinds "to deceive the keen eye of the observer." A piece in The New York Tribune reported, "These vendors were emblematic of what Castle Garden was most notorious for to those who knew it best: not the immigrants themselves, but an economy of frauds and scammers who exploited them."
The reporter described the interior of the station as crowded and unpleasant. The circulation of air in Castle Garden, a stone rotunda once used as a fort, was non existent. "A deadening, stifling smell," the reporter wrote, "greets the nostrils as you enter the hall, almost overpowering." He detected a foul mixture of scents: boiled butter, rancid cheese, onions, and herring. The floor, though swept once a day, "was a sink of filth, and unfit for human beings as a place of occupation." Jenny Lind, a Swedish opera singer who sang at Castle Garden back when it was a concert hall, would be sick to see her countrymen "herded together like sheep in a July sun," he wrote. (more here.)
One returning missionary traveling with the company wrote, "The emigrants were subjected to the most rigid questioning and examination by the officers at Castle Garden, because they were 'Mormons.'" In the early 1870s reporter Louis Bagger visited the facility and came away with this impression: "Slowly, one by one, the new-comers passed the two officers whose duty it is to register every immigrant's name, birthplace, and destination in a large folio - a work that is often rather more difficult than it would first appear to be. . . . the officer in charge must be able to speak and understand nearly every language under the sun. . ."
Once they passed through immigration Erik boarded a train bound for Utah. Josephine, however, did not. One family story attributes this to the fact that she was too ill to travel. Another reports that she stayed behind to work for John W. Young in Milford, Connecticut. Both could actually be true. In either case, she stayed behind for about a year.
From Andrew Jensen's Book History of the Scandinavian Mission:
And I guess I didn't know Erik had planned on settling in Ogden? Or maybe he wasn't meeting a sponsor so he stayed put until he could ask around to know where would be the best place to set up shop?"The railroad journey was commenced from Jersey City and at Philadelphia, 12 persons were added to the company, increasing the total number of the emigrants and returning Elders to 427 souls. Traveling via Chicago and Omaha, the company arrived in Ogden, Utah, Monday afternoon, July 10th, and those who were destined for the southern settlements reached Salt Lake City the same night."
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| Territorial Inquirer, 13 July 1886 |
According to their future son, John (my grandfather), Erik soon settled in Cedar City, making ready a home for his future bride. Josephine arrived on May 9, 1887. The very next day, on May 10, 1887, "Erick" and "Josephina" were pronounced man and wife.
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