Written and compiled by

Cora J. Wistisen

Lars Christian Johnson was born 12th of August 1843 at Gudum, Denmark.  He was the third son of Johan Peter Johannesen and Hedvig Sofie Jesen.  Lars’ father was a very religious man and thus it is not surprising that he joined the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints as soon as he heard the Gospel.  The baptism of most of the family took place on the 26th of December 1851.  Lars was baptized when he was 12 years old by an Elder Nielsen, a Seventy of the 39th quorum.  After this, Lars’ father was away on a number of missions for the Church.  Twice, before they moved to America, he was President of the Kjeldgaard district.  He endured much persecution, in these early days of the church, but he never wavered in his testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel and strived to instill this same testimony in his children.  He considered the birth of each of his sons a blessing from God.

On August 16, 1858, Lars cme home sick with scarlet fever, and in three weeks they had buried two of his brothers, Niels and Peter who had died from the disease.

Lars stayed home and helped his father who was a carpenter.  He learned many trades at school and became especially proficient as a taylor.  At the age of 20 in 1862 he came with his parents and three brothers, Joseph, Jens (James), Jens Christian to America.  The oldest brother Johannes was alone when he came to the land of promise, one year earlier in 1861.  The family came on the ship Franklin.  We were told that when they landed the family was penniless but they had faith that the Lord would provide.  In the station some men were counting money and after they had gone Lars walked over to where they had been sitting and found a $5.00 gold piece.  Now they had money to buy food and they could walk, if they had to, to Zion.

As recorded in Church History, from the Church Historian’s office records we found that the family joined the John Murdock company on 24 July 1862 at Florence, Nebraska, in the company of 700 people. Of that number 384 were Scandinavians and the remainder were English and Americans.  There were 65 wagons, arriving in Utah on the 27th September 1862.  The records gave the names of the parents with three brothers, Jens (Chris), Jens (James), Joseph and Lars.  Fourteen people died on the journey.  The train arrived in Great Salt Lake City on 27 September 1862.

Lars worked for some time in Salt lake City, where he met and married Rachel Arbon, a convert and a recent immigrant from England.  They were married 28 December 1865 in the Endowment House.  While here, they were blessed with two boys, Lars William and David.  They then moved to Richmond, Utah where his parents settled.

Lars was a tall man about 6ft 1 or 2 inches and weighed about 180 lbs.  He was an expert “Jack of all Trades”, a tailor by profession and a carpenter, bricklayer by necessity.  He was very jovial and could always see the funny and sunny side of life.  He took the greatest pleasure in saying something which might shock a person and then he would throw back his head and roar with laughter.  He was blessed with a remarkable voice and some say that when he was on a mission in Denmark, he could stand on the street corners and was heard two blocks away.  Wth this marvelous voice he loved to sing.  His favorite song was “High on the Mountain Top.”  (On the left is a picture of Rachel Arbon,; 1st wife of Lars C. Johnson)

At Richmond, five more children were born to this union; Elizabeth, Rachel, Sophia, Charles, and Fredrick.  When Fredrick was three months old his mother died on 26 December 1880 and was buried in a lonely grave in the Richmond Cemetery.  The baby was taken by the mother’s sister Louise Arbon Gooch, who nursed him with her own baby boy Lewis Gooch, until he was a year old.  At this time Fred’s grandpa and grandma Arbon took the two youngest children and Lars kept the four oldest children until Lars’ second marriage.  The grandparents raised Fredrick until he was nine years old, after which he went home to live for the first time until he was eleven.  Lars married Wilhelmina Elizabeth Christian Mickelsen, a young Danish woman who had previously been married and was the mother of a baby girl, Elmina, the year following his first wife’s death.  Elizabeth was always known as ‘Aunt Lizzie’ to her step children.  To this union four more children were born-Nora, John Christian, Arve Morrell, and Leo Peter.  She spent much of her last years in a wheelchair.  

During the winter of 1882 where some men were logging in the canyon east of Richmond, a snowslide covered them over.  Lars had loaned his team and harnesses to a young Danish man by the name of John A. Knudsen, who had used it to go logging with the man.  Mr. Knudsen lost his life and Lars lost his team.  Mr. Knudsen left a widow, Matilda, known as ‘Aunt Tildie’ and a small son, Christian.  She was a Danish girl who had not been in this country very long and was having difficulty mastering the language; for this reason she became quite dependent upon Lars.  Lars was also having difficulty, as now ‘Auntie Lizzie’ was not very well and was becoming more and more helpless day by day.  He needed a housekeeper and asked Aunti Tildie to come and help him, but she did not think it fitting and proper to come as a housekeeper.  As it was then lawful to have plural wives, Lars married Matilda and she became the mother of nine children, Andrew Anton, Louis, Hilva Diana, Lars Melvin, Berth Matilda, Joseph Osborne, Ruby, and LeRoy.  Soon after his marriage, polygamists were persecuted and the authorities came to Lars, warning him to give up one of his wives.  Lars went to the President of the Church and asked to be sent on a mission.  He received his call to fill a mission to the Scandinavian countries in 1889 and was set apart by Elder J.W. Taylor on March 4, 1889.  He labored in the Copenhagen and Aalborn districts, returning in October 1890.His ability as a missionary was outstanding.  He was endowed with a firm testimony of the Gospel and loved to proclaim its truth.  

While on his mission, his daughter Sophia became very ill with a leg infection from an injury she had received from a fall.  Lars sensed something was wrong at home and prayed earnestly about it. His good friend at home, Brother William Curr, received the message in a dream that he should go and administer to Sophia in place of her father. He did so and she recovered.  It was a testimony to her that the Lord had revealed to her father so far away from home that his daughter was sick and needed help.

When Lars returned home, he was called upon many times to administer to the sick.  It is said that he was blessed with the gift of healing.  The following story was told by Heber F. Johnson, a friend who spent his boyhood years in Richmond, and later moved to Bancroft, Idaho, owning and operating a flour mill there:  “When I was a young lad, a close relative of mine became very ill.  The family sent me for Brother Lars Johnson to come immediately to administer to her.  They feared the end was near but also felt that if only Brother Lars Johnson could lay his hands upon her she would be healed.  I found Brother Lars on a load of hay and delivered the message.  Contrary to my expectations Brother Lars received the news very calmly and slowly headed his team toward the sick person’s home.  Arriving at the gate, Brother Johnson climbed down slowly, tied up his team, and slowly entered the house, asking to wash his hands.  I could stand his unconcern no longer and finally asked him to please hurry or the lady might die before she could be administered to.  Brother Johnson said, “If the Lord wants her, nothing I can do will keep her; if he doesn’t she will still be with us.”  He administered to the woman and she was healed.  I learned a lesson in faith that day and realized that Brother Johnson had been silently praying for the woman’s life.”

Lars was not a wealthy man in worldly goods but he was a hard working man and for no reward did much to assist people who were less fortunate.  As a carpenter he built many homes in and around Richmond, making his own adobe brick, carving and fitting all the wood for windows and such.  As a tailor his ability was outstanding.  Before leaving on his mission, he fitted his family with new suits and dresses.  He traveled to Gransville, where Fred was living with his grandparents and sewed a new suit for him by hand.  Many times he was called upon to make complete burial clothes for the dead.  He also assisted in preparing the dead for burial, often making the coffins and grave markers.  Many of his markers are still in the Richmond Cemetery.  One of them marked his own grave until 1956 when the family purchased markers and had his name carved on it.  On visiting this cemetery, one is amazed at the texture of the cement used in the markers he made.  It was truly a thrill to feel the smoothness and see how white they have remained, even exposed to the weather.  He made an oblong mold rounded on one end and then covered with a white mixture which has surprisingly stood the test of time.

Being the father of such a large family, 20 in number, with two step children, he worked very hard to make a living and provide the bare necessities of life.  As the children grew up they did their part to help.  Many times the boys went to the canyon to help their father log.  Being boys they nicknamed him the ‘old lion’ and would try to mix play with work.  They soon learned however, that too much play would bring a loud ‘roar’ from the old lion.  Often as they played they kept a watchful eye on their father and when they sensed he was watching them, one boy would give the warning signal with a ‘get busy or the old lion will roar’.  They would then commence to laugh and work fast.  All of the family seemed to have a great sense of humor and enjoyed playing jokes on each other. 

As Sundays rolled around the boys would go as far as they could from the church if it was Fast Sunday or if Father was going to speak.  As Melvin later stated, “Dad talked too loud and it embarrassed us.  I could often hear him preach as I played downtown.”  (Picture of grave marker made by Lars C. Johnson still found in the Richmond, Utah Cemetery.  Until recent years one marked his own grave.  Due to lack of identification, the old marker was replaced with a new stone properly identifying the spot where he was interred.)

When Arve was a small child, tragedy struck and their small home burned down.  The family lived in a tent all that winter while their father and the boys built another home.

Books can be written on the lives of our early pioneers and how they sacrificed to help the west grow and the Church so that life for their posterity might be made easier.  The descendants of Lars Christian Johnson pay tribute to a very noble man.  May they prove worthy of their heritage.

On the back of the first page was the following poem by Longfellow

She is not dead, the child of our affection,

But gone unto that school

Where she no longer needs our poor protection,

And Christ himself doth rule.

There is no flock, however watched and tended,

But one dead lamb is there,

There is no fireside, howe’er defended,

But has one vacant chair!

The air is full of farewells to the dying,

And mournings for the dead.

Below the poem is a picture of Lars Christian Johnson, Matilda Madsen Knudsen Johnson, and Rachel Higginson in front of the old homestead.

Another picture is to the right of the Family of Lars and Rachel taken 28 September 1901 following the funeral of half-brother John, son of Lars and 2nd wife Elizabeth.  1st Row, left to right: Lars (father), Elizabeth J. Slaveson, Rachel J. Hogan, Sophia J. Higginson.  2nd Row, left to right: Lars, David, Charles and Frederick