1900 - 1964 (63 years)
-
Name |
Andrew Frederick Jessen |
- Andrew Frederick became a missionary.
|
Born |
28 Oct 1900 |
Queensland, Australia |
- Birth Registration
JESSEN, Andrew Frederick: Birth: 28.10.1900: Father: Andrew Frederick: Mother: Matilda Christina BUNDESEN Reg No 1900/C8384 [Queensland Birth Register]
|
Gender |
Male |
Arrival in Aust |
10 Feb 1931 |
From Columbo to Brisbane and Worroolin, Queensland |
Arrivals
Passenger
JESSEN, Andrew Frederick, Mr
Ship /Aircraft Name: NARKUNDA
Port of embarkation: Colombo
Port of disembarkation: Brisbane
Date of arrival: 10 Feb 1931
Arrivals
Passenger
JESSEN, Juanita, Mrs.
Ship /Aircraft Name: NARKUNDA
Port of embarkation: Colombo
Port of disembarkation: Brisbane
Date of arrival: 10 Feb 1931
(National Archives of Australia)
S.S. NARKUNDA, from London, arriving at Freemantle, 10 Feb 1931
Commonwealth of Australia
Quarantine Service
JESSEN, Mr Andrew Frederick, second class, from Columbo to Brisbane, destination, Wooroolin, Kingaroy Line, Queensland
JESSEN, Mrs Juanita, second class, rom Columbo to Brisbane, destination, Wooroolin, Kingaroy Line, Queensland
Commonwealth of Australia, Quarantine Service)
|
Arrival in Aust |
19 Apr 1938 |
From Colombo, Ceylon to Brisbane, Queensland |
Passenger
JESSEN, Andrew, MR.
Ship/Aircraft Name: Strathallan
Port of embarkation: Colombo
Port of disembarkation: Brisbane
Date of arrival: 19 Apr 1938
Passenger
JESSEN, Juanita, MRS.
Ship/Aircraft Name: Strathallan
Port of embarkation: Colombo
Port of disembarkation: Brisbane
Date of arrival: 19 Apr 1938
Passenger
JESSEN, Ronald, Master
Ship/Aircraft Name: Strathallan
Port of embarkation: Colombo
Port of disembarkation: Brisbane
Date of arrival: 19 Apr 1938
(National Archives of Australia)
S.S. Strathallan, 19 Apr 1938 at Freemantle from London
Commonwealth of Australia
Quarantine Service
Jessen, Mr Andrew, tourist, from Columbo to Brisbane, destination, Wooroolin, Kingaroy Line, Queensland
Jessen, Mrs Juanita, tourist, from Columbo to Brisbane, destination, Wooroolin, Kingaroy Line, Queensland
Jessen, Master Ronald, tourist, from Columbo to Brisbane, destination, Wooroolin, Kingaroy Line, Queensland
(Commonwealth of Australia, Quarantine Service)
Name: Master Ronald Jessen
Departure Place: London, United Kingdom
Arrival Date: 19 Apr 1938
Arrival Place: Fremantle, Western
Australia
Vessel: Strathallan
(Fremantle, Western Australia, Passenger Lists, 1897-1963 Australia) |
Personal |
22 Jun 1938 |
Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, Queensland |
NETHERBY
NETHERBY, June 17.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Jessen junior, and son from Ceylon, and Mrs. Shannon, Roma, were recent visitors to their aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. S. Jessen. "Riverview."
Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, Queensland, Wednesday, 22 June 1938 |
Arrival in Aust |
8 Jun 1948 |
From Columbo to Sydney, New South Wales |
Passenger
JESSEN, Andrew Frederick, Mr
Ship/Aircraft Name: STRATHAIRD
Port of embarkation: Colombo
Port of disembarkation: Sydney
Date of arrival: 08 Jun 1948
Arrivals
Passenger
JESSEN, Juanita, Mrs.
Ship /Aircraft Name: STRATHAIRD
Port of embarkation: Colombo
Port of disembarkation: Sydney
Date of arrival: 08 Jun 1948
Passenger
JESSEN, Ronald Frederick, Master
Ship/Aircraft Name: STRATHAIRD
Port of embarkation: Colombo
Port of disembarkation: Sydney
Date of arrival: 08 Jun 1948
S.S. STRATHAIRD arrival Freemantle on 8 Jun 1948 from London
Commonwealth of Australia
Quarantine Service
Jessen, Pastor Andrew Frederick, Columbo to Sydney, address at destination in Australia, C/o Mrs. A.F. Jessen, Wooroolin, Queensland
Jessen, Mrs Juanita, Columbo to Sydney, address at destination in Australia, C/o Mrs. A.F. Jessen, Wooroolin, Queensland
Jessen, Master Ronald Frederick, Columbo to Sydney, address at destination in Australia, C/o Mrs. A.F. Jessen, Wooroolin, Queensland
(Fremantle, Western Australia, Passenger Lists, 1897-1963, National Archives of Australia) |
Departure |
19 Aug 1948 |
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
Andrew Frederick Jessen, aged 47, travelled on the Ship R.M.M.S. Aorangi with his wife Juanita and his son Ronald Frederick.
The Ship Aorangi departed from Sydney, Australia on the 19 Aug 1948 and arrived in Vancouver/Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on 10 Sep 1918. The family travelled third class.
The ship called in to Hawaii on 4 Sep 1948 and the Jessen family were granted shore leave.
Andrew Frederick Jessen was going to the General Conference of Seventh Day Adventists at Tacoma Park, Washington, where the family planned to stay for 6 months. Andrew paid the tax for the boarder crossing from Canada for himself and Juanita. Ronald was exempt.
Border Crossings from Canada to U.S. 1895 -1956
Name: Andrew Frederick Jessen Arrival Date: 10 Sep 1948 Age: 47 Birth Date: abt 1901 Gender: Male Ship Name: Aorangi Port of Arrival: Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Port of Departure: Sydney, Australia
Honolulu, Hawaii, Passenger Lists, 1900 -1953
Name: Andrew Federick Jessen Age: 47 Gender: Male Birth Year: abt 1901 Port of Departure: Sydney, Australia Departure Date: 19 Aug 1948 Ship: Aorangi Port of Arrival: Honolulu, Hawaii Arrival Date: 4 Sep 1948 Ethnicity/Race/Nationality: British (English)
Canadian Australian Line
Sailings August 1948-December 1949 (issued June 4, 1948) for:
Aorangi
Ports of call:
Vancouver, Victoria, Honolulu, Suva, Auckland, Sydney
The Aorangi (17,491 grt, 600 ft. long) was delivered in 1924 to the Union Line of New Zealand.
She was transferred in 1931 to the Canadian Australasian Line, a company formed jointly
by the Union Line and Canadian Pacific to operate the transpacific service between Australia/New Zealand and Canada.
She was sold for scrap in 1953.
The ship was named after Mount Aorangi, a mountain on New Zealand's South Island. Aorangi is from the Maori language 'cloud in the sky'
During the World War Two the Aorangi was used to transport New Zealand and Australian Troops and for many other purposes by the British Ministry of War Transport.
After being returned to her owners in May 1946, she was reconditioned at Sydney and resumed service in August 1948 with accommodation for 212-1st, 170-cabin and 104-3rd class passengers for the Vancouver - Australia service. The service was plagued by union problems among the stewards and seamen. Because of demands for higher wages, the liner operated at a loss, but aided by subsidies from the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian governments the ship remained in service until June, 1953. The Aorangi's last voyage from Vancouver for Australia commenced on 14th May 1953.
The liner was retired that summer and arrived in Dalmuir, Scotland late in July 1953 for scrapping.
|
Arrival |
15 Mar 1949 |
Southampton, England, from New York |
Ship, H.M.S. Queen Elizabeth
Port of Arrival: Southampton, 15 Mar 1949, from New York
Jessen, F.J., transit to India, Missionary, India
Jessen, Junita, transit to India, Missionary, India
Jessen Ronald F., transit to India, Student, India
(Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960) |
Personal |
15 Aug 1951 |
Eastern Tidings, POONA, INDIA |
MEET OUR WORKERS!
Pastor A. F. Jessen, one of Australia's sons, came to Ceylon as a
colporteur in 1923 and placed hundreds of the book "Daniel and the Revelation" in Ceylon homes.
During his many years of service
in the Southern Asia Division, Pastor Jessen has served as principal of
two of our schools-Kottawa High
School, Ceylon, and Kottarakara
High School, Travancore. He has also
been superintendent of the Ceylon
Union Mission from 1941-1945; the
North Malayalam Mission from 1946-
1949; and from 1949 to the present
he has been president of the South
Kerala Mission and principal of the
Kottarakara. High School.
Pastor Jessen says their aim is to
double the membership of the mission as soon as possible.
(Eastern Tidings, POONA, INDIA, AUGUST 15, 1951) |
Personal |
4 May 1954 |
The Youth Instructor/ The Times of India. |
PRIEST REPORTED
DEAD IS ALIVE
Pak Rail Crash
By A Staff Reporter
A Minister of the Seventh Day
Adventist Church in India, who
was reported to have been killed
in the Jhimpur rail crash, 75
miles from Karachi, has actually
escaped from a flaming compartment and reached Bombay by air.
He is Pastor A. F. Jessen,
President of the North-Western
India Union Mission, who was
referred to in a news agency
message from Karachi as a
"European priest", who refused
to to leave his compartment stating: "I am safe. I shall come with my companions who are in trouble."
Pastor Jessen stated in Bombay on Saturday, just before leaving for Poona: "I was able to save the man (an electrical engineer in the Pakistan Air Force)
I was trying to extricate. I es-
caped by the Providence of God
without a scratch or a bruise."
The pastor stated that he found
the electrical engineer, his companion in a second-class compartment, crushed under a seat a few moments after the crash had occurred. He tried to extricate the engineer, but found it
"impossible" to remove the heavy
weight of "debris" which had fallen on him.
Pastor Jessen said he then offered a prayer and made another attempt to extricate him and succeeded in doing so. By that time flames were all around them, but they managed to climb out
of the burning compartment.
(The Youth Instructor, May 4, 1954)
The newspaper clipping is from
the Times of India. |
Accident |
4 May 1954 |
The Youth Instructor, Seventh Day Adventist Journal |
Without a Scratch
By A. F. JESSEN
MY FIRST visit to Pakistan was four days than one person has brief. But I lived more in those a right to expect in a lifetime. The express I had boarded at Multan, more than five hundred miles up the Indus River, was speeding through the night toward Karachi, at the river's mouth. There were two railway tracks. On one was our train, having eleven cars pulled by a large Diesel engine. On the other was an oil freight, with from fifteen to twenty loaded tank cars coming north from Karachi. At a curve on the line the freight had been derailed, and one tanker had evidently come across our track or close to it. Our engineer could not see the danger in time. That is how I came to be in the news.
God had been preparing me for this experience at the pleasant constituency meeting held at our Roorkee Secondary Boarding School. For six enjoyable days some one hundred of us had met together in this beautiful spot, from which we had a glorious view of the majestic snow-clad ranges of the Himalayas.
Meanwhile, a need arose over in Pakistan calling for one of the division
officials to make a visit, but because none of them could complete their passport requirements in time, I was sent across the border to bring back a report.
Crossing over from Amritsar, I arrived
at our Pakistan headquarters in Lahore on the afternoon of January 18. It was a cold, wintry day, and the rain was falling steadily. That evening Pastor Alexander drove me out thirty-five miles to his school at Chuharkana, where his acres of wheat were giving promise of a good harvest.
Up early the following morning, we
reached Lahore in time to meet our appointment with a bishop whose hospital
and church at Multan, I was to inspect
with a view to purchasing. Then 240
miles by bus brought me to the large city of Multan late at night. Next morning, the twentieth, I was shown the hospital and cathedral, and had made copious notes concerning them.
That afternoon I boarded the express
passenger train for Karachi. In my
second-class compartment were five very
congenial Pakistani fellow passengers.
The afternoon passed very pleasantly, and at 10 P.M., after an enjoyable game with the lively six-year-old daughter of the chief veterinary surgeon of Pakistan, we said our good nights and retired to our berths for sleep; mine happened to be an upper berth.
About five-thirty in the morning I was
awakened by a jolt, and the carriage had
a crazy motion. There were smashing
sounds outside, and I was immediately
aware that it was a wreck. I earnestly entreated the Lord to save me, and then I lay waiting a few seconds. Then followed a tremendous impact, and a few horrible screams. I seemed to be gently moved from one position to another. I did not hit anything at any time during the crash. Just before the final impact I was turned face downward. I drew up my legs and hunched my back, and wondered whether God wanted me saved; if not, would death be instantaneous, or would I be pinned down with a mangled body?
The final crash came and still I was not
thrown against anything-nothing struck
me. I thankfully said, "Lord, you have
saved me."
Then I felt water flowing over me; it
was soon up to my waist. (I found out
later it was Diesel oil.) I thought we must have fallen into a river, and I wondered whether I was safe yet. Then there were shouts of "Fire, fire!"
I was lying about three feet under the debris. My bunk was over me, and I was lying on a mass of smashed planks, yet I was not in discomfort. I pushed upward, and my bunk moved; then, pushing aside, broken boards, I came out on top, without a scratch or a bruise.
Our train had been traveling between fifty and sixty miles an hour when it
struck the derailed oil freight. Our engine and first car, a third class, jumped the tracks, and were standing at an angle of about twenty-five degrees at the bottom of a seven-foot embankment. Our oil tanker was then evidently pushed across the track, and the second car crashed into it.
It was crushed and twisted all out of
shape, making a mass of wreckage about
fifteen feet high. The third car, in which I was, was smashed into more than a thousand pieces. It was just a shapeless mass of broken planks, with the tubular oil tank, about fifteen feet long, on top of it, and the Diesel oil flowing all over it. Within four minutes of the crash, the smashed cars, with well over a hundred people in them, were a blazing inferno.
Immediately on impact the oil tanker
had caught fire, and the flames by this
time were more than forty feet high.
There was a terrible roar from the burning. A biting cold wind blew the flames over my head as they came closer and closer. I heard someone screaming for help, and there about three feet under the wreckage was one of my traveling companions, pinned down, with a chain pressing on his throat and broken planks over him so that he could not move. I did my best to lift the wreckage, but could not.
I shouted for help, and finally a man
came, and together we tried to lift, but
in vain. The man then ran away, because
the fire was just upon us. My friend who
was pinned down, Mr. Abbasi, an electrical engineer in the Royal Pakistan Air Force, begged of me not to leave him to be burned up. I called upon God to help me lift that wreckage, and when I bent down to lift. Someone lifted with me, and we were able to lift high enough to set Mr. Abbasi free. He flung his arms round me, crying, "You have saved my life;
you have saved my life."
The flames were right upon us, but my
oil-soaked trousers did not catch fire,
neither were we scorched. Hand in hand
my friend and I ran away from the flames.
I excused myself from my companion, and
went about fifty yards away behind a
grove of cactus. There I thanked the Lord for caring for me so wonderfully, and I rededicated my life to His service. It was less than five minutes from the time of the first impact until my compartment was completely enveloped in flames.
At bedtime the night before, my traveling companions were getting into their pajamas, and I had mine ready, but decided that since we would reach Karachi about daylight, I would sleep in my trousers, shirt, and socks. Later in the night it was very cold, though I was covered with two blankets, so I got up and put on my sweater. Therefore, though all my belongings were destroyed by the fire, I had something to wear that day.
Several persons, who had been traveling
in a part of the train that was undamaged and who had lost relatives in those smashed cars, could not control their grief, and above the roar of the flames could be heard their grief-stricken wailing. One railway employee who was working on the train had his wife and four children in the ompartment adjoining ours. They were all destroyed in that terrible fire.
Those in the compartment to the rear of ours were also destroyed. The angel of the Lord was about those of us who were in the center compartment. I did not see one dead body. All had been burned up in that terrible fire, which continued for many hours. One oil tanker
after another burst and spilled its contents over an area of several hundred square yards, feeding that awful fire.
The breakdown special took us away
from the scene of the accident about one
o'clock in the afternoon, and we arrived
in Karachi about four-thirty. After registering with the railway authorities I went to the railway telegraph section to send telegrams to my wife in Bombay and to Division President R. H. Pierson in Poona. After payment I had seven annas left.
Feeling ashamed to proceed any farther
without having a shave and getting some
of the grime wiped off my face, I found a barber who demanded eight annas for a
shave. Being short one anna, I had to
bargain with him to accept what money
I had. An interchange of words brought
the desired result, and soon I was in a
taxi on my way to our mission hospital.
The young woman at the desk wondered
at the audacity of the disreputable-looking man (oil-soaked trousers, dirty shirt, and no shoes) who asked for Rs. 2/4 to pay his taxi fare. It was not many minutes later that K. S.
Brown and N. R. Fouts drove me down-
town to purchase needed articles of attire.
With passport burned and no return
voucher for my flight back to Bombay, the situation might well have proved to be a difficult one, but the Lord continued to watch over His own, and by ten-thirty on the twenty-second I was in possession of an emergency passport and a ticket for the flight home. I left Karachi at one-thirty and by four-thirty the Viking landed in Bombay, where loved ones were waiting to meet the plane.
We were surprised when the following
account appeared in the Times of India
the next day:
"Tales of human fortitude and tragedy
have been pouring in in the wake of the
disaster.
"A veterinary surgeon, who was traveling by the ill-fated train, narrated a story of a European priest, who chose death to save his companions.
"The surgeon said, after having been
extricated from the wreckage along with
his six-year-old daughter, that he heard
shouts of "help, help!" from an adjacent
compartment, and he recognized the voice
as that of the European priest whom he
knew.
He asked the priest to come out, but
the priest was heard to say, "I am safe. I shall come with my companions who are in trouble."
"Meanwhile the flames enveloped the
entire compartment, and that was the last that was heard of the priest."
Well, the one referred to as the "European priest" was I, and when we notified the reporter of the paper that the one reported dead was alive and unhurt, the following article was inserted the next day:
"A Minister of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in India, who was reported to have been killed in the Jhimpur rail crash, 75 miles from Karachi, has actually escaped from a flaming compartment and reached Bombay by air.
"He is Pastor A. F. Jessen, President of
the Northwestern India Union Mission."
"The pastor stated that he found the
electrical engineer, his companion in a
second-class compartment, crushed under
a seat a few moments after the crash had
occurred. He tried to extricate the engineer, but found it "impossible" to remove the heavy weight of "debris" which had fallen on him.
"Pastor Jessen said he then offered a
prayer and made another attempt to extricate him and succeeded in doing so By that time flames were all around them, but they managed to climb out of the burning compartment."
I have tried to imagine how the angel
of the Lord protected me from bumps and
bruises, apart from death; for though all in my compartment were saved, they were badly cut and bruised. It is not possible to understand, but I am so thankful to be spared for further service!
(The Youth Instructor, May 4, 1954
|
Arrival |
16 Sep 1954 |
New York |
New York Passenger Lists, 1820 - 1957
Name: Andrew Jessen Arrival Date: 16 Sep 1954 Estimated birth year: abt 1900 Age: 54 Gender: Male Port of Departure: Southampton, England Place of Origin: Australia Ethnicity/Race/Nationality: Australian: Ship Name: Ile de France: Port of Arrival: New York, New York Line: 12 Microfilm Serial: T715 Microfilm Roll: T715_8508 Page Number: 174
Name: Juanita Jessen Arrival Date: 16 Sep 1954 Estimated birth year: abt 1895 Age: 59 Gender: Female Port of Departure: Southampton, England Place of Origin: Australia Ethnicity/Race/Nationality: Australian Ship Name: Ile de France: Port of Arrival: New York, New York Line: 13 Microfilm Serial: T715 Microfilm Roll: T715_8508 Page Number: 174
Departure from Southamption, England on 11 Sep 1954. The Ile de France arrived in New York, New York on 16 Sep 1954
He was listed as a tourist travelling with his wife Juanita. Their home is listed as Box 1025, Collegedale, Tennessee
[Source: Passenger List of the Ile de France]
Ile de France
Gross tonnage: 43,153 (1927), 44,356 (1949)
Length: 791 feet
Width: 92 feet
Machinery: Steam turbines geared to quadruple screw
Speed: 24 knots
Capacity: 670 First, 408 Cabin, 508 Third (1927); 541 First, 577 Cabin, 277 Tourist (1949)
Built: Chantiers de l'Atlantique Shipyard, St. Nazaire, France, 1927
Demise: Scrapped in Osaka, Japan, 1959
|
Personal |
31 Mar 1955 |
The Madisonian, Madison College, Tennessee |
Missionary Studies
Madison Food Plant
Elder A. F. Jessen, for more than thirty years a missionary to India and most recently president of the Northwestern Union in the Southern Asia Division, has been spending some time at the Food Factory studying the manufacture of Madison Foods. Upon returning to India Elder Jessen plans to establish small food factory units throughout his union. Because of the abundance of soy beans and peanuts grown
in his country, these factories will
specialize in the manufacture of soy milk, soy cheese, and Not-Meat.
The Food Factory workers have greatly enjoyed Elder Jessen's presence with them, especially his stories of elephants and life in India. Many will recall an experience of Elder Jessen's which was publicized by the press about a year ago.
While he was traveling by train through Pakistan, a collision occurred, setting the coaches on fire. Elder Jessen miraculously rescued a fellow traveler who was pinned beneath the wreckage by
lifting the very heavy iron from him, thus releasing him. Both escaped a horrible death.
Vol. 3
The Madisonian, Madison College, Tennessee, March 31, 1955 |
Personal |
1 May 1958 |
Southern Asia Tidings, POONA, INDIA |
Pastor A. F. Jessen, Principal of
Lowry Memorial High School
reports an excellent progress and
bright prospects for the future of
our health food industry in the
school.
(Southern Asia Tidings, POONA, INDIA, MAY 1, 1958) |
Arrival |
7 Nov 1960 |
From Brisbane, Australia to London, England |
Sea Arrival Card
Jessen, Andrew Frederick, date of arrival at London, England, United Kingdom, 7 Nov 1960, last permanent address, India, intended next permanent address, USA, intended length of stay in the United Kingdom, three weeks.
(UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960)
Jessen, Juanita, date of arrival at London, England, United Kingdom, 7 Nov 1960, last permanent address, India, intended next permanent address, USA, intended length of stay in the United Kingdom, three weeks.
(UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960)
|
Departure |
25 Nov 1960 |
From Southampton England |
Name: Andrew Frederick JESSEN Date of departure: 25 November 1960 Port of departure: Southampton Date of Birth: 28 October 1900 Age: 60 (calculated from DOB) Marital status: Married Sex: Male Occupation: Missionary Country of birth: : Last country of residence: India: Intended country of residence: U S A: UK address: 207 SELHURST RD STH NORWOOD LONDON S E 25 Passenger recorded on: Sea departure card
Name: Juanita JESSEN Date of departure: 25 November 1960 Port of departure: Southampton Date of Birth: 18 February 1895 Age: 65 (calculated from DOB) Marital status: Married Sex: Female Occupation: Missionary Country of birth: Ceylon: Last country of residence: India: Intended country of residence: U S A: UK address: 207 SELHURST RD STH NORWOOD LONDON SE 25: Passenger recorded on: Sea departure card
Ship: Queen Elizabeth
Master's name: D. M. Maclean
Wgere Bound: New York, USA
|
Profession, Description |
1923 - 1964 |
Ceylon, India and United States of America |
Ordained Minister of the Seventh Day Adventist Church and Missionary |
Died |
19 Oct 1964 |
University of California Hospital, San Francisco, California, USA |
- CALIFORNIA DEATH INDEX
JESSEN, Andrew F. Birth Date: 28.10.1901: Mothers Maiden Name. Bunderan: Death Place: San Francisco 90: Death Date: 19.10 1964: Age 64 years
Andrew F Jessen
California Death Index
Name Andrew F Jessen
Event Type Death
Event Date 19 Oct 1964
Event Place San Francisco, California, United States
Birth Date 28 Oct 1900
Birthplace Rest Of World
Gender Male
Mother's Name Bunderan
("California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch)
|
Obituary |
30 Nov 1964 |
Pacific Union, Recorder, Vol 64, Angwin, California |
JESSEN, Andrew Frederick was born Oct. 28, 1900, Queensland, Australia; and died in Martinez, Calif., Oct. 19, 1964. As a book salesman he worked his way through Australasian Missionary College. Elder Jessen served as colporteur, principal, and minister in India, as well as building a food factory that is still in buisness. The Jessens came to Martinez on retirement in 1960, and he served as a pastor until his death. Survivors: wife, Juanita; , Ronald; two grandchildren; 2 brothers and five sisters.
(Pacific Union, Recorder, Vol 64, Angwin, California, November 30, 1964, No.20., Official Organ of the Pacific Union Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventists) |
Obituary |
Dec 1964 |
Ingathering, Southern Asia Tidings, Poona, India |
Until The Day Break
JESSEN, Andrew Frederick was born Oct. 28, 1900, Queensland, Australia and died Oct. 19, 1964 at the University of California Hospital, San Francisco. Calf., USA., ten days following surgery. In 1925 he was united in marriage to Juanita Lisboa-Pinto. Beginning in 1923 Bro. Jessen canvassed in Ceylon and India. From June, 1925 he was principal of the Kottawa school and acting pastor of Bethel Chapel. In 1938 he was called as president of the Malayalam Field and principal of Kottarakara school, continuing until 1953. Further appointments led him to Bombay as Northwestern India Union President and to South India as Educational Secretary. From March 1956 -Oct 1960 he was principal of Lowry Memorial High School, Bangalore. Pastor Jessen was known in Southern Asia as a dilligent and very practical worker. During the last few years in America he has continued active pastoral work in Martinez, Calif. He is mourned by his wife and one son, Roland (Ronald) Frederick.
(Ingathering, Southern Asia Tidings, VOLUME 59 POONA, INDIA, DECEMBER 1964 NUMBER 12)
|
Obituary |
3 Dec 1964 |
Review and Herald |
JESSEN. - Andrew Frederick Jessen, born Oct. 28, 1900 in Queensland, Australia: died Oct. 19, 1964, at Martinez, Calif. He sold books and earned his way through Australasian Missionary College, graduating in 1923. While a book salesman in Ceylon he married college teacher, and together they devoted 38 years to denominational service. Besides being principal of the Kottawa, Kottarakara, and Lowry Memorial high schools, he was president of the Ceylon, Kerala, and Kannada Missions, and of the Northwestern India Union Conference. He built the food factory at Lowry Memorial High School, and in 1960 retired to Martinez, where he was pastor. His wife, Juanita, survives, as do a son, Ronald, two grandchildren, two brothers, and five sisters. grandchildren, two brothers, and five sisters.
Transcribed from the "Review and Herald, Official Organ of the Seventh - Day Adventist Church, December 3, 1964"
|
Buried |
Oakmont Memorial Park Lafayette, Contra Costa County, California, USA |
- Andrew F Jessen
Birth 1900
Death 1964 (aged 63?64)
Burial
Oakmont Memorial Park
Lafayette, Contra Costa County, California, USA Show Map
Plot Sanctuary
Memorial ID 190862372
Created by: Kathy Wells
Added: 25 Jun 2018
Find a Grave Memorial 190862372
Juanita Jessen
Birth 1895
Death 1979 (aged 83?84)
Burial
Oakmont Memorial Park
Lafayette, Contra Costa County, California, USA Show Map
Plot Sanctuary
Memorial ID 190862385
Created by: Kathy Wells
Added: 25 Jun 2018
Find a Grave Memorial 190862385
|
Notes |
- Escape From Death
By A. F. Jessen,
President
Northwestern India Union Mission About one hundred delegates met together recently at our Roorkee high
school for six enjoyable days of constituency meetings. From this beautiful spot we had an excellent view of the
majestic snow-clad ranges of the Himalayas, and the atmosphere was cooled by the breezes coming from those snowy
heights. During those days we sensed the presence of God with us.
Meanwhile, a situation had arisen in Pakistan necessitating a visit from one of the division officers. Owing to passport
requirements, which could not be completed immediately, these brethren were unable to proceed, so it was suggested
that I should cross the border and bring back a report.
It was my first visit to Pakistan, and I enjoyed meeting our brethren there and seeing how God was blessing His
work in that land. Returning, I boarded the express passenger train for Karachi.
I was in a second-class compartment with five congenial Pakistani passengers. The afternoon passed very pleasantly, and at 10 P.M., after an enjoyable game with the six-year-old daughter of the chief veterinary surgeon of Pakistan, we said our good nights and retired to our berths for sleep; mine was an upper berth.
God's Care for His Children
It was at about five-thirty the next morning that the Lord was pleased to display His marvelous power to me. In the
hope that it might encourage someone who reads this article, I shall relate the experience I had when our train crashed at Jhimpir, seventy-five miles out of Karachi, January 21, 1954.
Surely God cares for His children.
There were two railway tracks. On one was our train, going from Lahore to Karachi, having eleven cars and a large
Diesel engine. On the other was an oil freight with fifteen to twenty tanks filled with oil coming from Karachi. The oil
freight had been derailed, and one car had evidently come across our track or close to it. It was on a curve of the line, so our engineer could not see it till close by. Our train, traveling between fifty and sixty miles an hour, struck the obstruction, and the engine and first carriage, a third class, jumped the tracks, and were standing at an angle of about twenty-five degrees at the bottom of a seven-foot embankment. The oil tank was then evidently pushed across the track, and the second and third cars crashed into it. It was crushed and twisted all out of shape, making a mass of wreckage about fifteen feet high.
The third car, in which I was traveling, smashed into more than a thousand pieces. It was just a shapeless mass of broken planks, with the tubular oil tank, about fifteen feet long, on top of it, and the Diesel oil flowing all over
it.
Within four minutes of the crash, the smashed cars, with well over a hundred people in them, were a blazing inferno.
I was in an upper berth of a six-berth second-class compartment. There were first-class compartments at both ends of our car. About 5:30 I was awakened by a jolt, and the carriage had a crazy motion. There were smashing sounds outside, and I was immediately aware that it was a wreck. I entreated the Lord to save me, and then I lay waiting a few
seconds. Then followed a tremendous impact, and a few horrible screams. I seemed to be gently moved from one
position to another. I did not hit anything at any time during the crash. Just before the final crash I was turned face downward. I drew up my legs and hunched my back, and wondered whether God wanted me saved; if not, whether
death would be instantaneous, or whether I would be pinned down with a mangled body.
The final crash came, and still I was not thrown against anything. Nothing struck me, and I thankfully said,
"Lord, you have saved me." Then I felt what I thought was water flowing over me; it was soon up to my waist. (I found out later it was Diesel oil.) I thought we must have fallen into a river, and I wondered whether I was saved yet. Then there were shouts of. "Fire, fire!" I said, "Lord, please help me to get out of this." I was lying about three feet under the debris. My bunk was over me, and I was on a mass of smashed planks; yet I was quite comfortable. I pushed upward and my bunk moved; then, pushing aside broken boards, I came out on top, without a scratch.
Immediately on impact the oil tank had caught fire, and the flames by this time were more than forty feet high, and
there was a terrible roar from the burning. A biting
cold wind blew the flames over my head as they came closer and closer. I heard someone screaming for help, and there, about three feet under the wreckage, was one of my traveling
companions, pinned down, with a chain pressing on his throat and broken planks over him so that he could not move. I did my best to lift the wreckage, but could not. I shouted for help, and finally a man came. Together we tried to lift, but in vain. The man then ran away, because the fire was just upon us.
My friend, who was pinned down, Mr. Abbasi, an electrical engineer in the Royal Pakistan Air Force, begged me not
to leave him to be burned up. I called upon God to help me lift that wreckage, and when I bent down to lift, someone
lifted with me, and we were able to lift high enough to set Mr. Abbasi free. He flung his arms around me crying, "You
have saved my life, you have saved my life." The flames were right upon us, but my oil-soaked trousers did not catch
fire, neither were we scorched. Hand in hand my friend and I ran away from the flames.
I excused myself from my companion, and went about fifty yards away behind a grove of cactus. There I thanked
the Lord for caring for me so wonderfully, and I rededicated my life to His service. It was less than five minutes from the time of the first impact until my
compartment was completely enveloped in flames.
At bedtime the night before, my traveling companions were getting into their pajamas, and I had mine ready, but decided that, since we would reach Karachi about daylight, I would sleep in my trousers, shirt and socks. Later in the
night it was very cold, though I was covered with two blankets, so I got up and put on my sweater. Therefore,
though all my belongings were destroyed by the fire, I had something to wear.
Several persons who had been traveling in the part
of the train that was undamaged, and who had lost relatives in those two smashed carriages, could not control their grief, and above the roar of the flames could be heard their griefstricken wailing. One railway employee
who was working on the train had his wife and four children in the compartment adjoining ours. They were all destroyed in that terrible fire. Those in the compartment to the rear of ours were also destroyed.
Safe and Homeward Bound
A special train took us away from the scene of the accident about 1 P.M., and we arrived in Karachi about four-thirty.
After registering with the railway authorities I went to the railway telegraph section to send telegrams to my wife in Bombay and to R. H. Pierson in Poona. Soon I was in a taxi on my way to our mission hospital. It was not many minutes later that Brethren Brown and Fouts drove me downtown to purchase needed articles of attire. With passport burned, and no return voucher for my flight back
to Bombay, the situation might well have proved to be a difficult one, but the Lord continued to watch over His own,
and by ten-thirty on January 22 I was in possession of an emergency passport and a ticket for the flight home. I left
Karachi at one-thirty and by four-thirty. The Viking
landed in Bombay, where loved ones were waiting to meet the
plane.
I am indeed thankful that I was spared. I did not see one dead body. All had been burned up in that terrible fire, which continued for many hours. One oil tank after another burst and spilled its contents over the area of several hundred square yards, feeding that awful fire.
I have tried to imagine how the angel protected me from bumps and bruises, apart from death; for though all in my
compartment were saved, they were badly cut and bruised. It is not possible to understand, but I am so thankful to be
spared for further service!
(REVIEW AND HERALD, MAY 6, 1954)
|
Person ID |
I4180 |
Hickey, List, Bundesen, Thomsen, Jensen, Jessen |
Last Modified |
16 Dec 2021 |
Father |
Andrew Frederick Jessen, b. 10 Dec 1872, Maryborough, Queensland, Australia , d. 04 Jul 1945, Kingaroy Hospital, Kingaroy, Queensland, Australia (Age 72 years) |
Mother |
Matilda Christina Bundesen, b. 1873, Cobden, Greymouth, South Island of New Zealand , d. 18 Jul 1949, Kingaroy District, Queensland, Australia (Age 76 years) |
Married |
04 Apr 1894 |
Tiaro District, Queensland |
- Marriage Registration:
Bundesen, Matilda Christina; Marriage: 04.04.1894: Spouse: Jessen Andrew Frederick Reg No. 1894/C1695 [Source: Queensland Marriage Register]
|
Family ID |
F1136 |
Group Sheet |
Family |
Juanita Luzia Lisboa-Pinto, b. 18 Feb 1894, Colombo, Ceylon , d. 06 Dec 1979, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, California, USA (Age 85 years) |
Married |
1925 |
Celon or India |
Children |
+ | 1. Ronald Frederick Jessen, b. 03 Dec 1934, Columbo, Ceylon/Sri Lanka , d. 22 Aug 2007, Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, USA (Age 72 years) |
|
Last Modified |
10 Dec 2010 |
Family ID |
F1925 |
Group Sheet |
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Photos |
| Andrew Frederick Jessen Andrew Frederick Jessen
Seventh day Adventist Missionary in Ceylon, India and United States of America
28 Oct 1900 - Kingaroy District, Queensland, Australia - 19 Oct 1964, University of California Hospital, San Francisco, California, USA
(Photo kindly shared by Suzanne Jessen Taylor) |
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