Over the last five months I've been digging into the John Larson mystery. I've procrastinated posting about it, hoping to have the the mystery completely solved and the loose ends tied up, but as things usually turn out, it became more complicated than that. I also found plenty of sadness in their lives and have been waiting to find more redemptive experiences so I could display the story in a hopeful way - one that comes full circle. Well, life is complicated, messy, and often we can't see the happy ending yet, so why should I wait to tell their story? As I continue to research I will continue to share, but in the meantime I might as well jump in and write about it now, and I think we may together through our own lives and experiences find redemption in the long-term story of the Larson/Raleigh family.
As I left off with the last John Larson post, we have some Mormon Swedish roots. But were those Mormon Swedes who immigrated to Utah polygamists too? I was trying to figure it out. I am related to John Larson through my father, whose father is: Ken Raleigh Sr --> Leona May Larson --> Oscar Nephi Larson --> John Larson. So, John is my great-great-great grandfather. Who was he? Why did his great-grandson Ken Raleigh live such a troubled life? Why did his granddaughter Leona May struggle so much too? (More on her in a later post). What are the names of my ancestors going back further into Sweden? I feel like moving backwards in history would help me answer some questions.
Rather than confuse you with the complex research process I went through, let me tell you a story:
There was a man and woman named Johan Larsson and Carolina Molander who had a daughter named Martha Carolina. They lived in southeastern Sweden in the mid 1800s.
(above: household record of the family)
in 1856, their daughter Martha dies at one and a half years old. Around the time of this tragic event, it appears her parents have joined the Mormons.
(A note from the family's state church record dated June 12, 1857. Still trying to completely translate this, but it says something at the very end to the effect of "...to be Mormons" and another column notes they moved to a city called Norrköping in 1857.)
Joining the Mormon church wasn't an easy thing to do in Sweden at that time. You could be publicly shamed by your former church and even thrown in jail by the government. To strengthen the idea they joined the Mormons, I found a record of a Johan and Caroline Larsen who sailed to Utah with a company of Saints in 1858 whose ages match the Swedish couple above. I want to assume all these Swedish records are of our Larsons, but there are some date discrepancies with the records of our Larsons once they got to Utah. As I'm learning, real genealogists cannot do too much assuming. I'm pretty confident the proof will eventually come as I keep chipping away at it, and then we can more confidently add to our Swedish line further back into Sweden.
Where our story confidently continues is in Utah. Between 1861-1863, John married two sisters who hailed from Sweden as well - Anna Helena and Caroline Ramstrom, who is our ancestor. I finally figured this out from a divorce record I got a hold of last April through the Utah State Archives. Whether John was married to all three women was my mystery - and it has been solved! John was a polygamist but it wasn't pretty. After the marriages, the two Ramstrom sisters lived in a home in the village of Brighton while his first wife lived at 200 N, between 200 and 300 W in Salt Lake City. At least ten children were born to John during those first 20 years in Utah - three surviving from first wife Caroline O., and seven from third wife Caroline R. First wife Caroline O. and family actually lived in the 19th ward during the time that Alonzo Hazleton Raleigh was bishop (1856-1877). Alonzo is also our ancestor! A lot more about him will be coming because I am so interested in digging more into his story. Our Larson and Raleigh lines seem to first collide during the twenty years the Larsons lived in the 19th ward, but in 1924, Alonzo Raleigh's grandson Harold James Raleigh married John and Caroline Ramstrom's granddaughter Leona May Larson (Ken Raleigh Sr.'s parents). There is more significance to the Raleigh/Larson connection than I think we realize. In the spring/summer of 1876, as Alonzo H Raleigh was dealing with the divorce of his wife Caroline Lucy Curtis, two of John Larson's wives were divorcing him.
(July 22, 1876 Salt Lake Tribune, p. 4)
The
divorce record between John and first wife Caroline O. (referred to in the article above) goes into a little more detail about her physical abuse and even threats to her life by John. Polygamy was often difficult to live for those early members of the church, but the abuse in this case was not the norm based on records and the history I've read. It is tragic and inexcusable. First wife Caroline O. struggled emotionally and mentally the rest of her life, ending up at the Provo Asylum (now called Utah State Hospital). Her hospital records state that she experienced sudden physical attacks on others and hallucinations that her children were being ill-treated. The record attributes her mental state to family troubles and that it began in 1876 - which is the year she divorced John.
Such a sad story - but what happened to the other wives and his children? I have bits and pieces of information which I hope to share. I just feel grateful to have had the life I've had, coming from the abusive generations which preceded me. Every person has the power, most effectively through Christ, to overcome abuse and trauma to break negative family patterns. Our family lives have gotten dramatically better, thanks in large part to the religious observance and teachings of our grandmother, Barbara Hatch Furse, to her children.
In 1856, 23 year-old William Woodward (Barbara Hatch --> Spencer Hatch --> Marinda Woodward --> William Woodward) was traveling home from a mission to England and because of the timing, he ended up traveling home with the James G. Willie Company. He helped build handcarts, was appointed as leader of a group of hundred and served as clerk for the company from October 1 until arrival in Salt Lake Valley, writing for a time in the official journal for the journey. William Woodward spoke and preached at evening gatherings and dealt first-hand with leading and watching over the sick, dying, dealing with the dead and all the stresses of that journey. They arrived in Salt Lake City on Sunday, November 9, 1856. William recorded in his journal “we were dirty & lousy, body lice by the hundreds were on our people.” (source)
