the following history is taken from the book "They Followed Their Faith" (Christian Sorensen Family History) with Helen Read, Editor and Owen Stewart, Publisher
Chreston was born in the neighborhood of Frederikshaven, the most northern harbor in Denmark in Arling Sogn. He was the youngest child in a family of 14 children. His parents died early in the life of the boy, his father when he was 3 and his mother when he was about 10 years old.
This misfortune put Chreston in the hands of his aunt, who did the lad the best she could. They lived in a rural district where company for the boy was scarce. He helped his aunt care for a few geese (domesticated) kept on the bit of ground which they called their "Gaard". From the reports of Chreston in later years as told to his own children, the goose herding was no snap for a child, and he was none too successful as a herder.
Schools were primitive and far apart in the Northern part of the little kingdom of Denmark in that early day. He read the Danish well, but did not write. Early in his teens circumstances forced him to leave adopted aunt's home and seek employment, such as he could do , wherever an opportunity was afforded, usually on a large farm or "Horgaar", where nearly all ages could find something to do.
This was a rough life and a tough one, especially for a child. He showed the effects of rough treatment more or less all his life.
At a large ranch called "Rordal" he approached manhood. He spoke well of the ranch and the people who worked there. That he did his job or jobs well was evidenced throughout his life, in the fact that whatever he undertook to do for himself or others, regardless of pay or re numeration, he did masterfully and well. When he finished a job, whether about the home or on the farm, whether for himself or others, he did it well and would not leave the job until well done.
It was in Rordal that he met a modest and delightful young lady, also employed on said farm. An affinity grew between them which became stronger with the passing years. They became lovers, which in due time resulted in marriage. This maiden which he wooed and wed, came from the north of the peninsula of Denmark.
In that section, a new religion emanating from the United States, was being preached by missionaries who had been sent there, among other places.
There was something fascinating about this religion as well as the ministers who taught it. This new cult won not a few followers, and in a short time much enthusiasm prevailed. Church branches were organized and many new converts joined, among which were the parents of the girl who later wedded the young man, Chreston Sorensen. Whether Chreston as aware of this fact does not appear, but his wife had been baptized and was a member before she knew Chreston Sorensen. Whether Chresten's conversion occurred earlier or later when the young couple was married and and frequented the gathering of the new Church is not known. With these gatherings, some opposition arose, and the greater the number of new converts, the greater the notoriety of the new cult and the greater the opposition on the part of the general public, until the opposition became strong and turned into persecutions.
It became quite unpopular to be seen in the company and association of the new Church. In fact, the large farm where they both worked had many employees, all of whom shunned and belittled this young couple. The result of which persuaded them to leave the ranch, but then what?
The missionaries from the United States persuaded the new Saints that in America were opportunities galore, a vast country with plenty of vacant ground, open to settlement and homemaking by anyone who cared to make the venture emigrating.
It should be noted that the parents of Christena Jensen, Jens Jensen and his wife Marianne Jensen, and two sons, Carl and Albinus Jensen were among the first converts in Northern Denmark to the new LDS Church. Two younger daughters, Johanna and Villirene (also recorded as Willerena) were later baptized when old enough.
When Spring work began, the Sorensens were ready to meet the challenge and would accept work of any kind or nature, they never debated the wage nor the kind of pay with their employers. They could do any kind of work incident to farming life at that time, from milking of a cow, driving a team, hauling hay, harvesting grain or even hauling muck from corrals. Thus went the summer, galloping by, and the autumn found them with food supply ample for the winter and some to spare, should circumstances require.