Trena Hansen (1835-1903)

History of Trena Hansen (1835 - 1903)

Trena Christensen (Hansen) (1834-1903)

--Annie Catherine /Erickson/ (1866-1972)

----Daniel Alma Benson (1886-1954)

------Julia Elizabeth Benson (1909-1927)

--------Earl Kingsford (1936-)

----------Bryan Kingsford (1959-)

Trena (Trine) Hansen (Christensen) was the daughter of forest bailiff Christian Hansen and Kirstine Nelsen. Trena was born in Lerbjerg, Randers, Denmark, on July 19, 1834, and was married to Jens Peter Elling (Ayling). They had a son named Christian born April 4, 1860 in Aarhus, Denmark.

Trena, like Ludvig and so many of the other people in Denmark at this time heard the message that the Mormon Missionaries had for them and Trena, like Ludvig, joined the Church. She was baptized on January 26, 1862.

Her husband Jens Peter Ayling resented this association however and they became more or less estranged with each other. His interest in the family diminished until he failed to provide for her properly. At this time Trena decided to join some of the emigrating members of the church and with her small son, Christian, she prepared to leave Denmark and come to America where she could be with her new friends who were coming to the tops of the mountains in Utah in the fulfillment of the scriptures.

Trena and three year old Christian left Denmark on the 'Aurora' which took them to Kiel where they arrived on Friday, May 3, 1863. The emigrants walked to the railroad station and took a train to Altona and then to Hamburg, Germany.

Here they boarded the ship 'Roland' together with about six hundred other saints from Jutland and Fyen, and about forty steers and several hundred sheep (which made the atmosphere on board anything but comfortable for the emigrants).

The ship 'Roland' sailed from Hamburg on May 1st about midnight. The weather was fine, but the emigrants in their crowded quarters, nevertheless, were uncomfortable. Arriving in Grimsby the saints were made quite comfortable in a large building erected for the use of the emigrants. On the 6th all the emigrants, except the Norwegians, made themselves ready for the journey to Liverpool. Trena and Christian left with a group nearly seven hundred strong, by rail for Liverpool where they were taken aboard the ship 'B.S. Kimball'

Under the command of Captain Henry C. Dearborn, the American packet ship 'B.S. Kimball' sailed for Liverpool for the new world on May 8th 1863. On board were Trena and Christian as part of a group of 644 Scandinavian and 13 English Saints. They were listed as Thrine Christensen (38) single, from Jutland- Aarhus conference, and Christensen Lauritz Chr. Elling 3. Elder Hans Peter Lund presided over the emigrants. During the passage times were often unpleasant and at times frightening. On the trip there were four deaths, two births, and eleven marriages. The vessel anchored in New York harbor Saturday evening, June 13, but the passengers did not land until two days later, 38 days after leaving England.

In the evening of the same day, the emigrants continued by train to Albany, New York. The company then proceeded to Florence, Nebraska from which place the journey across the plains was commenced.

Trena and Christian were assigned to the William B. Preston Company in Florence. This company left Florence on July 9 and arrived in Salt Lake City on September 10.

Elder Anders Christian, in a letter written at Salt Lake City to Pres. Jesse N. Smith under the date of September 18, 1863, gives the following account of Captain Preston's company.

"Of the company which numbered 300 souls, besides the teamsters, only three children died and these were sickly before starting out on the plains. Several were ran over by the stampeding teams because they were not careful enough to get out of the way, and their death seemed evident; but through faith and prayer all were saved except a Swedish girl, who suffered a broken leg before reaching Salt Lake City. The hot and dry weather caused the waters of the Platt and Sweetwater rivers to dry up in many places. The cattle were kept in good condition all the way, but a sudden disease killed about 25 of them, when we crossed the Sweetwater. With these few exceptions the journey across the plains was a success. Besides our 55 wagons, heavily laden with passengers, baggage and freight, there were 12 independent teams traveling with our company. Union and brotherly love prevailed, especially so among the Scandinavian Saints. The teamsters were kind and generous, willing to assist the emigrants all they could."

This adventure qualified Trena and Christian to be emigrant pioneers. Many of the personal things which Trena had brought with her and felt would be of use to her in their new home had to be abandoned along the way to lighten their load. They walked much of the way and certainly had sore feet by the time they reached the other side of the mountains. When they arrived in Utah, Trena and Christian went with the Scandinavian people with whom Trena had become friendly to Sanpete County to settle. In fact the Church seemed to divert most of the Scandinavian Saints to that part of the territory.

One of the persons that came in that same group and continued on to Sanpete County, was Anne Maria Brandt, the mother of the man who later became Trena's Husband, Ludvig Eriksen.

(For the rest of the story, see notes under husband).