Peter and Toline Christensen Martinsen

Peter Martinsen

Emma Martinsen Anderson's father was Peter Martinsen. He was born 7 February 1845 in Royken, Buskerud, Norway to Martin Tallaksen and Petronelle Pedersdatter. While growing up his parents were quite poor. Most people in Norway married while in their 20s and chose a mate from their own community. Peter probably met his future wife, Toline Christensen [Christendatter] while they were working as farmer laborers. They married in 1865 in the Lutheran church--the state church of Norway.

Toline Christendatter Martinsen

Toline was born 7 April 1838 in Asker, Akershus, Norway, the daughter of Christen Zachariasen and Kristina Jorgensen. [A Norwegian child is given a first name and what is called a patronymic name, which consists of a father's first name with an appended "sen" for son of or "datter" for daughter of.]

Peter and Toline lived better than his parents during their early marriage, but economic conditions in Norway in the 1870s were very hard. Peter or Peder met the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1871 and was baptized in Drammen, Norway 27 June 1871. Toline was baptized one month later. The family left Norway to join the body of LDS saints in Utah in June of 1876. They began their journey by traveling to Copenhagen, Denmark then on to Hull, England and then by train to Liverpool where they board the ship Idaho.

After the Peter, Toline and their three oldest children arrived in New York, they boarded the transcontinental railroad to Utah. The family then settled in Ephraim, Utah where my great, great grandmother, Emma was born in 1877.

From Ephraim, the family moved to Greenwich and Koosharem, Utah in Grass Valley. It was in Koosharem that Peter and a neighbor built a saw mill on Seven Mile Creek north of Fish Lake. Peter was an excellent carpenter and cabinet maker and built houses and furniture.


In 1884 Peter got a mission call to serve for the Church in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Peter was not well after he returned from his mission, but three years after his return, his wife Toline died suddenly on 25 February 1889, and then he died 17 days later on 14 March 1889. Both are buried in the Koosharem Cemetery. The couple left behind a very young family to provide for themselves--the youngest being just 5 years old.

Peter and Toline were the parents of:

Charles 1865
Pauline 1868 - died at age 4
Karen 1870
Tallak 1873 - died age 1
Pauline 1875
Emma 1877
Theresa 1880 - died one month
Joseph Peter 1882 - died 4 months
George Henry 1884