Item Detail
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Bjork, Eva Charlotta Anderson
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1852-1901
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MSS 888
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Eva's Diary 1884 and William Bjork's Biograpphy
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Eva Charlotta Anderson Bjork was born 31 March 1852 in Julita, Sodermanland, Sweden to Anders and Catharina (Andersson) Ericsson. She became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and migrated with other Saints from Sweden to Utah in 1884. Eva moved to Grantsville, Utah where she met William Bjork. She later married him as a second wife in the order of polygamy on 12 August 1885 in the Logan Temple. The Bjork family moved to the Provo Bench (later Pleasant Grove, Utah) where William and Eva had at least four children, though only two survived- Velma born 5 January 1890 and Beatrice born October 18, 1892. Eva remained in Pleasant Grove for the rest of her life where she died on 20 December 1901.
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This collection is composed of two sets of papers. The first set is a six page photocopied diary of Eva's emigration from Sweden to Utah. The handwriting is easily read. She explains each step of the journey, giving times and prices for each portion of the trip. She leaves from Copenhagen, Denmark, continues to England, and then lands in New York, New York. She continues to Utah by train, and explains the scenery as she travels. She thinks America is a beautiful place with plenty of big open country. She also mentions how the mountains are just like the pyramids in Egypt. She views the land as inspiring and is pleased with her surroundings. She gets re-baptized when she arrives in Utah, as many other Saints had done. The second set of papers is a biography published in 1930 about Eva's husband William Bjork. It is twelve pages long, photocopied, and handwritten fairly legibly. William was born 6 April 1837 in Sweden. He joined the Latter-day Saints and worked for the railroad so he could earn enough money to emigrate from Sweden to Utah in 1868. He was the first in his family to immigrate, so he worked in the United States to earn enough money to bring the rest of his family. Details of his journey from Sweden to Utah are discussed. William married his first wife Augusta Gustava Anderson on 29 December 1868 and later married a second wife in polygamy, Eva Charlotta Anderson. They settled in several different locations in Utah where he worked on and off for the railroad. He acted as foreman for the joining of the transcontinental railroad at Promontory, Utah. William continued working on the railroad for a large portion of his life; he was also the first state worker in genealogy. He died on 3 June 1928, following the deaths of both of his wives. Brigham Young, John R. Murdock, and Amasa Lyman are mentioned in the history.
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1886-1950