Jens Nielson

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Jens Nielson (April 26, 1821 – 1906) was a Mormon pioneer, a community leader, and an early settler in the western United States. He traveled with the Mormon handcart pioneers to Salt Lake City under Captain James G. Willie and helped settle several towns, including Bluff, Utah, where he served as a bishop for 26 years.

Nielson was born on the Danish island of Laaland to Niels Jensen and Dorthea Margrethe Thomsen. He grew up in Aarhus, where he owned land and livestock and worked hard.

He met the LDS Church in 1852 and was baptized with his family on March 29, 1854. After serving as a missionary in Laaland, he and his wife Elsie, their young son, and a girl named Bodil left Denmark to settle in Utah. They joined the Willie handcart company. On the journey over Rocky Ridge, Jens became frostbitten and could hardly walk. His wife Elsie urged him to ride, but she pulled the cart to help him survive. The crossing took a heavy toll: their young son and Bodil died in the snow, and Jens’s feet were permanently damaged, leaving him with a limp.

In Utah, Nielson became a leader in southern Utah. He helped found Cedar City and Bluff and served as a bishop in Bluff for many years. He also worked as a translator for Native Americans in San Juan County. He died in 1906 while still serving as bishop and is buried on Cemetery Hill above Bluff. One of his houses in Bluff still stands and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.