Carl Christian Amussen (May 20, 1825 – October 29, 1902), also referred to as Carl Christian Asmussen, and with Carl at times spelled Karl, was

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

's first jeweler. Karl Amussen, the third son of Danish sea captain Karl Asmussen and his wife Petra Asmussen née Johansen, was born in

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a Danish seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark. In 2025, the ...

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

just outside

Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the Øresund strait. The Øres ...

on May 20, 1825. Not wishing to follow in his ancestor's footsteps, Amussen apprenticed as a watchmaker, jeweler and dentist. His skill in jewelry-making was so great that he spent some time as court jeweler to the

Czar of Russia This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. The list begins with the semi-legendary prince Rurik of Novgorod, sometime in the mid-9th century, and ends with Nicholas II, who abdicated in 1917, and was executed with his fa ...

. Additionally he was involved in that trade in Great Britain, Russia and Australia and circumnavigated the globe twice over the course of his lifetime. In 1857 Amussen moved to

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand where he opened a jewelry store. It was there in 1864 he learned of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) from reading Parley P. Pratt's pamphlet ''The Voice of Warning''. The stamp on the booklet noted that it had been published in

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, c ...

. Assuming that that was the headquarters of the church, he travelled to Liverpool. On arrival he was informed that the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were actually in SLC, Utah. While in Liverpool he was taught more about the gospel and was later baptized into the LDS Church by Elisha H. Groves in 1864 and in 1865 moved to

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

. Amussen was then called to serve a mission in New Zealand where he organized an LDS congregation in Kaipoi.''Deseret News Church Almanac'', 2010 Edition, p. 540. In 1868 Amussen returned to Salt Lake City where he met

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

and, upon Young's advice, purchased land on Main Street where he built a jewelry store. He brought supplies via covered wagon and the mirrors that once adorned his store were later used in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a Temple (LDS Church), temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

.. The Amussen Building, designed by pioneer architect William Harrison Folsom, was the first fire-proof building in the Utah Territory. It was constructed of sandstone with a slate roof, cement basement and pane glass windows. The two-story store towered over the surrounding one-story adobe structures and remains standing to this day as a testament to its sound construction. Amussen was also connected with the early American department store,

Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution (ZCMI) was an American department store chain. It was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 9, 1868, by Brigham Young. For many years it used the slogan, "America's First Department Store." Histor ...

and the

Utah-Idaho Sugar Company The Utah-Idaho Sugar Company was a large sugar beet processing company based in Utah. It was owned and controlled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its leaders. It was notable for developing a valuable cash crop ...

. Amussen served two missions for the LDS Church in Denmark and also later served a mission in Australia. He was ordained a Seventy by

Joseph Young __NOTOC__Joseph Young (April 7, 1797 – July 16, 1881) was an early convert to the Latter Day Saint movement and was a missionary and longtime general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was an elder br ...

. After Amussen retired from the jewelry business he invested in real estate in

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census recorded the population at 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Ca ...

and owned business properties in the center of Logan. He was a polygamist with three wives: Anna K. Nielsen, and sisters Martha McIsaac Smith and Barbara McIssac Smith. Amussen had 18 children by his three wives. His youngest child, Flora Amussen, born in 1901, married LDS Church president

Ezra Taft Benson Ezra Taft Benson (August 4, 1899 – May 30, 1994) was an American farmer, government official, and religious leader who served as the 15th United States Secretary of Agriculture during both presidential terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower and a ...

. For the last several years of his life Amussen resided in Logan, where his son Carl S. Amussen was later a prominent car dealer in the 1910s.

Notes

References

Sheri L. Dew Sheri Linn Dew (born November 21, 1953) is an American author, publisher, the executive vice president of Deseret Management Corporation, and chief executive officer of the Deseret Book Company, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dew has al ...

. ''Ezra Taft Benson: A Biography''. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1987) p. 67-69. *
Noble Warrum, Charles W. Morse and W. Brown Ewing. ''Utah Since Statehood''. (Chicago and Salt Lake City:S. J. Clark, 1920) Vol. 4, p. 398.
*''Church News'', August 22, 1992.
Article on Amussen building with bio of Amussen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amussen, Carl Christian 1825 births 1902 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries Converts to Mormonism Danish emigrants to New Zealand Danish emigrants to the United States Danish Latter Day Saints Danish Mormon missionaries Mormon missionaries in Australia Mormon missionaries in Denmark Mormon missionaries in New Zealand People from Køge Municipality People from Logan, Utah Seventies (LDS Church)