Ancestors from Denmark

My paternal great grandmother, Eliza Lucinda “Cindy” Smith Chidester, has crossed my mind a few times lately. I have focused a lot on my mom’s German and Czech ancestors, and it’s intriguing to me to learn about Eliza’s Danish ancestors – I have no experience at all in research in Denmark, and their names and naming patterns are different than other cultures that I’m used to. So I thought I’d look a little closer at my Danish ancestors.

My great grandmother, “Cindy,” died just before I turned three years old, and I’m not sure how often I was able to visit with her while she was alive, but my mom always told me that we seemed to have a special connection. Her parents were William Smith and Mary Moss. William Smith was born in Fountain Green, Utah in 1864 and Mary Moss was born in Washington, Utah in 1865.

William Smith was the oldest son of Jorgen Christiansen Smith and Mette Marie Villardsen Johannesen. Jorgen and Mette had 12 children: William, Maria, Ane Christine, Mary Christine, James Andrew, Evadine Magdaline Margretha, Ane Laurine, Adlaida Smith, Eliza, Catrine Elise, John Christian, and Constantine Smith. Jorgen Christiansen Smith was born in 1823 in Fasted, Sondre-Hygum, Haderslev, Denmark, the 7th of 8 children of Christian Andreassen and Maren Jensen Svane. Mette Marie Villardsen Johannesen was born in 1841 in Norre Halen, Biersted, Ålborg, Denmark, the 4th of 8 children of Johannes Villardsen and Ane Christina Christensen. After moving to the United States, Jorgen and Mette were married on 21 Feb 1863 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Jorgen died in 1908 in Thurber (now Bicknell), Utah and Metter died in Torrey, Utah in 1925.

And Mary Moss was the 5th child of Stephen Moss and Elsie Marie Iverson. Stephen Moss and Elsie Marie Iverson had 12 children: Annie Christina Moss, Jeppe Iver, Holger, Martin Harris, Mary, Andrew Daniel, Ada, Emma, Orinda, Joseph Reinhart, Clarinda, and Malinda Moss. Stephen Moss was born in 1825 in Overglud, Glud, Vejle, Denmark, the son of Holger Moss and Karen Sorensen. And Elsie Marie Iverson was born in 1829 in Vestbirk, Østbirk, Skanderborg, Denmark, the 3rd of 6 children of Jeppe Iverson and Anna Christina Mortensen. After coming to the United States, Stephen and Elsie were married on 31 Dec 1856 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Stephen died in 1881 in Richfield, Utah and Elsie died in 1920 in Torrey, Utah.

I would like to know more about my Danish ancestors, as all of this information that I have about them came from my paternal grandmother’s genealogy file. I would love to find stories or pictures of these ancestors. I cherish the photographs of my ancestors that I have been able to collect, and I have a copy of at least one photo of each of my great, great grandparents except William Smith and Mary Moss – I only have a handful of pictures of my great grandmother, Eliza Lucinda Smith Chidester, and I have never seen a picture of her parents, William and Mary (so if any of you relatives out there happen to have pictures of any of these family members, I would be very grateful for any copies that you would be willing to share). The one thing I do have is a life sketch written by my great grandmother, Eliza Lucinda Smith Chidester. (Actually, my dad has it). But I was able to read through her handwritten life story and type it out, so I will post that too.  She did mention her grandpernts in her life story, but I'm interested to know more about their lives -- why did they come to the United States from Denmark and how were their lives different before and after they came, what roles did the LDS church play in their lives, and what were their families like?

Photographs:
Eliza Lucinda Smith and her husband, James Parker Chidester
and
Eliza Lucinda Smith Chidester with her youngest children: twins, Mary Jean and John Leo Chidester (my paternal grandfather).