Fredrika Catharina Filipsdotter

Biography

Fredrika Catharina Filipsdotter was born on June 19, 1840 in Malmö, Sweden. She was born to a wealthy family, with an older brother and two younger sisters. She became a lady in waiting to the Queen of Sweden and enjoyed many of the finer things in life. When she heard the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from missionaries at the age of twenty-five, she ran away from home because her parents did not approve of her joining the Church. Avoiding the detectives hired by her father, Fredrika boarded a boat and immigrated to America. She had no direct contact with her parents after that.
Fredrika sailed on the B. S. Kimball from May 8, 1865 to June 15, 1865 from Hamburg to New York. On the voyage, she married Sven Nelson, the missionary who had taught her. They crossed the plains with the Miner G. Atwood company, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley on November 8th. Fredrika and Sven went on to have ten children together, five daughters and five sons. The couple settled in Tooele, Utah. One of their children passed away while Sven was on another mission to Sweden ten years after he met Fredrika. Fredrika had strong faith and was known to be dignified and well dressed. She lived in Tooele for the rest of her life. Her husband passed away in 1910 and she followed nine years later at the age of seventy-eight. She was buried in the Tooele City Cemetery.