Ane Sophia was born 22 August 1833 in Vejle, Vejle, Denmark to Christian Nielsen (1804-1887) and Anna Margrethe Madsen (1803-1848) and died 3 October 1876 Saint George, Washington, Utah Territory of unspecified causes.
Timeline
- 1833-Aug-22 : Birth in Vejle, Vejle, Denmark
- 1848-Nov-17 : Mother dies in Engdom, Denmark
- 1849-Feb-23 : Father re-marries
- 1851-Mar-19 : LDS Church baptism
- 1852-Dec-22 : Family departs Copenhagen on Steamship Slesvig to England
- 1853-Jan-03 : Family departs Liverpool on Steamship Jesse Munn to America
- 1853-Feb-16 : Family arrival in New Orleans
- 1853-May-21 : Family departs Keokuk, Iowa in Capt John Forsgren's wagon train
- 1853-Sep-30 : Family arrival in Salt Lake City, Utah
- 1855-Jan-13 : Marriage to Jorgen Knudsen in Salt Lake City, Utah
- 1855-Oct : First child is stillborn in Salt Lake City, Utah
- 1856-Apr-11 : Marriage Sealing in the Salt Lake Endowment House
- 1856 (Summer) : Jorgen and Anna Sophia move to Sanpete Co, Utah where they have three children.
- 1860 : US Census for Moroni, Sanpete Co. Utah- Shows Anna S Knudsen
- 1861-Dec : Move to Washington County, Utah - last seven children were born there.
- 1870-Jul-06 : US Census - Washington Co Utah Residence
- 1876-Oct-03 : Death (age 43) of Ana Sophia following birth of 11th child.
- 1878 : Death of Jorgen Knudsen
Biography
Early Life
Anna Sophia (or Ane Sophia per her gravestone) was born in Vejle, Denmark and was the first child of her parents, Christian Nielsen and Anne Margrethe Madsen. She had six younger siblings, who were born in Horstrup, Vejle, Denmark and the three youngest died in infancy. Anne's mother died in 1848 and her father remarried the next year to Maren Hansen.
Conversion to Mormonism
Mormon missionaries taught the gospel to Anna and her family in about 1850-51. Anna Sophia was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 19-March-1851. In late 1852, Anna Sophia (age 19) departs from Denmark beginning migration to join the Mormon Saints in Utah. She travels with her father and step-mother (Maren) and her brother Fritz. One older brother, Niels Emanuel (age 17) does not come with them.
This company of 297 Scandinavian Saints, under the leadership of John E Forsgen, travels nine months and eleven days by land and sea to reach their Zion. Her father, Christian Nielsen, was one of the principal diarists of this expedition. See below for links to his journal excerpts. Members of both Ana's family and that of her future husband, Jorgen Knudsen, are included on the partial list of expedition members. (However, Jorgen appears to have traveled in the 1854 Hans Olsen group and one other Knudsen sibling came in the 1855 danish group.)
Anna Sophia's parents and continued south to Manti, but Ana stayed in Salt Lake City, probably working in someone's home. A short while later she would meet Jorgen Knudsen whom she would marry.
Life in Utah
The couple married in early 1855 and their first baby was stillborn that October. In the summer of 1856 the family moved to Manti to be near Anna Sophia's parents. Three children were born there.
The 1860 US Census has entries for Anna at Moroni, UT and her father at Manti, UT.
In December 1861, the family moved to Washington, Utah, where Jorgen was farmer that struggled to provide enough food for the family.
Anna Sophia passed away the day after her last baby, Mabel Matilda, was born. Family legend has the Jorgen wrote a song for her funeral. Then the baby died two weeks later, and Jorgen, wrote different words for that funeral.
Census Records
1870 US Census : Manti Utah
Survey taken 06-July-1870 in Washington, Washington Co, Utah. / House #18 /
- Jorgen Knudsen / M / 43Y / Born- Denmark / Ocp: Farmer
- Annie Knudsen / F / 36Y / Born- Denmark / Ocp: KeepingHouse
- Christian Knudsen / M / 13Y / Born- Utah
- Annie G Knudsen / F / 11Y / Born- Utah
- Joseph E Knudsen / M / 9Y / Born- Utah
- Betsey M Knudsen / F / 10Y / Born- Utah
- Malinda Knudsen / F / 1Y / Born- Utah
Gravestone
Washington City Cemetery Gravestone for Jorgen Knudsen Family. Notice children listed on bottom half.
Washington City Cemetery : Family gravestone lists Jorgen, his wife Ane Sophia and all of their children that died young:
- Jorgen Knudsen : Mar, 14, 1828- Sept 24, 1878
- Ane Sophia Christiansen Nielsen Knudsen : Aug 22, 1833- Oct 3, 1876
And their children who died in the struggle to build Zion.
- Jorgen Lamoni Knudsen : Oct 1855- Oct 1855
- Mariana Knudsen : Nov 15, 1862- Dec 29, 1864
- Anna Margaret Knudsen : Oct 22, 1864- Apr 27, 1868
- Caroline Knudsen : Oct 19, 1866- Apr 27, 1869
- Frids A Knudsen : June 16, 1871- June 26, 1871
- Sarah Artemesia Knudsen : Feb 27, 1873 - Mar 16, 1873
- Mabel Matilda Knudsen : Oct 2, 1876 - Oct 17, 1876
Children
Siblings
Residences
Footnotes (including sources)
References
- Gravestone for Jorgen Knudsen - Find A Grave Memorial# 19407656
- Ane Sophia Nielsen - Weight Family History
- John Forsgren Pioneer Company - LDS Pioneer Company Histories and member lists.
- Christian Nielsen Diaries - LDS Pioneer Company Histories - (Anna's father wrote quite a bit.)