I was born 29th of February, year 1884 at Fort Herriman, Salt Lake County, Utah. My father and mother were Ferdinand Friis Hintze and Maria Sophie Jensen. Father was born 13 May 1854. He died the 9th of March 1928. Mother was born 2 October 1864 and died 15 August 1923. Father and mother were born in Denmark and came to this country as children.
I spent most of my life in Big Cottonwood or Holladay as it is known now. I was born when the Church was having a hard time to live some of the teachings of the Gospel as revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Namely polygamy. That is why I was born at Fort Herriman. No one was supposed to know about me. Mother was hiding and lived under the name of Jackson at this time.
We lived at about 7th West and 14th South. About the time I was about eight years old the feeling against the polygamists had died down some so we returned to Holladay in the old white house on 23rd East at about 4200 South. I was so well trained that when I saw a strange man coming out on the road I would run into the house and tell mother, she then would go to hide.
During this time my father spent much of his time in the mission field. It was either go on a mission or to jail because he had more wives than the government said he should have. I do not remember my father until I was six years old. I remember my mother helping me write letters to him while he was on a mission.
My grandparents on my mother’s side were very much opposed to mother marrying father. They lived about a half a mile from our place. When they would drive by our home and see me out in the yard they would pick me up to take me home and never say anything to mother. Mother said she would see them take me so she knew I would be well cared for, not wanting to have any trouble she did not try to stop them. They were very good to me, I being the oldest of their grandchildren in this country. I spent many happy days with them. I remember one day grandmother had made soup for dinner. As she was dishing the soup, she had a dipper that she dipped the soup from the stove to the table, I ran under her arm and knocked the dipper of hot soup on my head. I can remember they got the jar of honey and poured it on my head.
The first time I remember seeing my father I was staying with my grandparents. Father and mother sent Royal, my brother, to bring me home. He had a hard time to get me to go with him. He finally bribed me to come with him. He did not tell me why I was to come home with him until we were part way home. He did not want to let my grandparents know that father was home. This was the first I can remember my father.
Royal and I played together a lot. One time after the grain had all been harvested and was ready to be thrashed the next day, Royal and I got some matches, went to the stacked grain and made a little fire. It turned out to be a big one. All the grain went up in smoke and I got the credit. (Dad has said many times that it was not their intention to set the grain stack on fire, they just wanted a small fire to play with. What went wrong was that they chose the top of the grain stack to build their “small” fire on.)
One other time we were sent with some food to a sick aunt of Royal’s, he being the oldest was to carry it on the way. However, on the way he dropped it. He then gave it to me to carry to the house, so if anything in the package was broken I would get the credit for breaking it. We later learned it was some soup and the bowl was broken. We were told later that it was for our father that the food was for.
I grew up on a farm. I learned to ride horses, milk cows and do all kinds of farm work. In the wintertime we would get a long rope and tie it to the horse to go for a sleigh ride. I wish our children and grandchildren could enjoy some of the things I use to enjoy.
When I got old enough to go courting Father bought a nice rubber tired buggy for mother’s home, which I was allowed to use when father did not want it. He had another horse and buggy on Aunt Tilda’s place but mine was always the cleanest. I use to take our horse and buggy down to the canal and wash them. I liked to keep them both nice and clean.
My grandfather Jensen lived with us just before he died. He had been shot in the leg by a German during the German-Danish war. They never did take the bullet out. When he became old blood poison set in and he would say funny things. He said that he wanted to tell me something so mother and I went into his bedroom. He sent mother out of the room. Then he had me come kneel down by his bed, he put his arm around me, then he said, “Henry, marry a Danish girl then you will be alright.” I married a good fine American girl.
When I was 12 I was ordained a deacon. The deacons job was to get up early on Sunday morning, go to the meeting house and start the fires in the big stove that stood in the center of the meeting house so the building would be warm when it was time for Sunday school. We also had to keep the building clean. When I was fifteen years old I was ordained a teacher. I was assigned to go teaching with an older man. We used to hold a cottage meeting with each family. When I was 18 years old I was ordained a Priest. Up until this time Priests never administered the Sacrament, it was always done by the Elders, Seventys or the High Priests. Just after I was made a Priest a change was made in the Church and Priests were asked to administer the Sacrament.
As a young man I used to like to go to dances. I only went out with young ladies that came from the best homes, ones that I would not be ashamed to take with me in the best company. I used to drive to Salt Lake City and get the musicians for the dances for which I got a dance ticket. Then I would have to take them back to Salt Lake City after the dance. When I was 19 years old I left home and went to Park City to work in the mines. I stayed there long enough to make $100.00. I then came home and bought me some clothes. I was then called on a mission to Denmark. This was April 1904.
I lived in Holladay most of my life until I went on a mission in 1904. There were 11 children in mother’s family; Henry, Conrad, Heleman, Flora, Edna, Ruth, Mary, Leslie, Glenn, Reed and Annie. Reed and Annie died soon after birth. We lived on a farm. I liked farm work. We also had a dairy. We use to have to get up at two-thirty in the morning to milk the cows. We would then take the milk to Salt Lake City and sell it for five cents a quart.
I was ordained an Elder before I left for my mission. I left the twenty second of April 1904 on the Denver Rio-Grand rail road. We sailed from Boston to Liverpool, England, rode the train across the continent of England to the North Sea, then we sailed across the North Sea to Denmark. We arrived in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. I labored there in Copenhagen conference until 1906. I was then transferred to America to Boston and stayed there for two months helping father. He was there printing the Book of Mormon in the Turkish language. I then went to Chicago and labored in the Northern States mission. I spent much of my time in Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa. Two things happened there, one in Rock Island, Illinois. The saints were having an outing on the 24th of July. One of the young men brought a pistol with him. It was not supposed to be loaded with any bullets in it. One of the young ladies came up to me and said, “Elder Hintze, I am going to shoot you.” The gun went off. The bullet just missed the top of my head. We were all glad the Lord was with us. Lesson – never play with a gun that is supposed to be empty.
The other experience is one that has had a good influence on my life and all my children. There was a family living in Davenport, Iowa from Utah. The father’s name was John Howard. He was sick in bed and his wife had just had a new baby. There were some other small children. Being Mormons, no one was very willing to help them, so we Elders went to their home and helped. The good lady of the house was so grateful for what we did she wanted to do something. She said she had a little sister in Salt Lake City that I could have when I got home. She said I was to marry her, then come back and visit them. I arrived home from my mission first part of August 1906, got me a job until school started. I went to the U of U one year. While going to school I lived in the ward that this young lady lived in but I did not meet her until some time later. I went to Church one Sunday evening with Brother (my) Ferdinand. He was a member of that ward and he was also a member of the choir. He wanted me to join the choir with him. Who do you think was sitting just in front of us, none other than the young lady I was supposed to marry. This was the beginning. She was my sweetheart from then on and has been ever since. We were married 31 of October 1907 in the Salt Lake City, temple.
We have lived in Salt Lake City, Holladay, Tremountain, Box Elder County, Moapa, Nevada, Hinkley, Millard County, and Elberta, Utah Co. In all these places I stayed close to the Church and the Lord did bless us. In Elberta I was sustained the first Supt. of the Sunday school. A few years later I was sustained as second counselor to the presiding Elder, Oliver A. Penrod. When Elberta became a ward I was ordained the first Bishop with Carl Patton 1st Counselor and Arnold Barney as second counselor. I served as bishop for five years. While bishop we built the Elberta amusement hall which was also a chapel. I was released as bishop and sustained as Stake Sunday School Superintendent and also sustained as counselor in the Stake High Priests presidency. We were burned out twice in Elberta. The Lord was with us as no one was hurt in the fires. We also buried a baby boy, Wendell who was with us only six weeks.
We moved from Elberta to Taylorsville, Salt Lake County in 1935. After living here a short time, I was made Ward Work Director. Later I was sustained as superintendent of the Taylorsville Ward Sunday School with Rel Swenson and Vernal Holland as counselors. We served six years. I was then chosen a High Counselor in the Cottonwood Stake. When the stake was divided, I was sustained as one of the High Counselman in the North Jordan stake which was formed. Later we were divided and made the Taylorsville Stake. I was sustained there as the senior High Counselman, and held this position until I was released the latter part of 1961.
Mother and I have served in the Salt Lake Temple, being set apart in May 1951 and are still working there, a glorious privilege and blessing to us and to our wonderful family who we love dearly.
Nine sons and two daughters have come to bless our home – Harold, Eugene, Wayne, Jane, Henry, Alan, Keith, Lyle, Wendell, Janis, and Ray. I bear my testimony and thank them for their worthiness and leave my blessings with them.