Bengta Anderson Hansen
"Bengta Anderson, my first wife, was the youngest of four children raised to maturity by Martin Anderson and his wife Sine Phillips. Martin, her father, was a short, stalky, well built man of true Swedish stock and temperament, light complected, hair and beard blonde, eyes blue, weight about 155 lbs. Her mother was a large well proportioned woman, a giant in strength. She had the reputation in her girlhood days of being able to throw any man in a wrestling contest. She had a wealth of most beautiful raven black hair, slightly curly and had brown eyes. She believed herself to be of French blood, tho this is not fully certain, but certain it is that in her home locality there were a great many of her kindred who bore evidence of being of some foreign blood other than Swedish. Both parents came here from Sweden as LDS Emigrants, the father in the year 1869 in the same company in which I came, and the mother came the next year. They located at Holliday, Salt Lake County where they wrested from the sage and the oak brush a farm and comfortable home, and from here they sent back to Sweden for their “Baby Girl Bengta.”
Bengta had the complexion and to some extent the strength of her mother, tho not nearly so large, her weight 145-150lbs, her hair black, eyes brown. Like her parents, Bengta had received no school education. She could read with difficulty, but could not write, and had no knowledge of Arithmetic, and yet in her own way she could not be confused in computing dollars and cents. She was devoted and loyal to her religion as far as she understood it, and as such she most readily gave her consent and her sacred sanction to her husband to marrying three other wives in harmony with the teachings and practices in the church in those days. Surely no greater sacrifice could a woman have given, nor greater proof of her loyalty, wherefore also assuredly she shall wear the “victors crown”. Withstanding her natural strength, her health became impaired at an early age, super - ?, as I believe, at least in part thru our sorrows in losing our children, in our early family life as may be seen by referring to her family group in this Family Record. She died at Sugar City, Idaho, at the age of fifty-four, the immediate cause of her death being Asthma. She was the mother of nine children, four of which died in babyhood, four lovely, healthy, robust children till stricken by death. One other a daughter, a wife and a mother, has since died, leaving a husband and three children behind her. "
What a great bit of history!!! I also came across this little bit of history on another web site:
"Andrew Janus Hansen became closely acquainted with Martin Anderson and his wife, a family of Swedish saints who lived in the neighborhood. This man had come from his native country on the same ship and in the same company in which he had come from Denmark. He later sent for his wife and now their daughter Bengta. Martin was an old man and therefore had not learned the language as fast as Andrew. Martin used Andrew as an interpreter for him with the people from whom he had hopes of borrowing the money for migrating his family. He succeeded in getting the money and in due time Bengta arrived. Andrew was introduced to Bengta as the young man who had helped to get the money for her immigration and that she should do something to show her appreciation, which she did by conceding to be his wife."
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