Anna Catherina Hansdotter

Biography

Anna Catherina Hansdotter was born on December 24, 1810 in Bjärshög, Malmöhus, Sweden. She was the second of four children. In 1838, Anna married Jens Christian Larson, a man she had met while working as a farm hand in Sodra Sallerup. After their marriage, they settled in the area.
Jens and Anna had eight children together, five sons and three daughters. Tragically, four of their sons died as children. On January 27, 1856, Anna and Jens were baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The next year in April, they took their children and left Sweden for the long journey to Utah. They sailed on the ship Tuscarora from Liverpool, arriving in Philadelphia on July 3, 1857.
After arriving in Philadelphia, Anna and her family traveled to Florence, Nebraska, where they worked for two years to be able to afford the journey west. They departed for Utah on June 12, 1859 with the James Brown Company. Anna and her family had to walk the whole way. They arrived in Salt Lake on August 29, and, after two years in Spanish Fork, went to settle in Moroni, Sanpete county.
For several years, Anna and Jens lived in a dugout before they were able to afford a home. Their daughters married and had children of their own. Their youngest and only living son, Peter, never married. Instead, he worked as a sheepherder and helped support his mother and sister Helena. Jens died in 1864, leaving Anna a widow for nearly thirty years. She lived in Moroni until the time of her death. Anna passed away on August 31, 1892, at the age of eighty-one. She was buried in Moroni.