Kari Petersen (1836-1899)

Kari Peterson

From the autobiography of Edward Kingsford

1870 - About October Conference I started to Salt Lake City. I took my wife, Helga, on the way and left her at Willow Creek. [Edward's wife,] Annie's sister Kari had come from Norway to Salt Lake City. I went and fetched her to Franklin; she could not speak English when I saw her, and on the way, I made up my mind I would have her for my wife if I could get her. After staying a few weeks at Franklin, I took Kari to the city and was married on the 18th of December by Daniel H. Wells, officiating. Thomas G. Lowe and Joseph Scarborough were married at the same time; these young men were both from Franklin.

Kari Petersen, the daughter of Peter Evensen and Anne Jorgensen was born on the 17th of November 1836 at Borsaskogn, Trondheim, Norway. She was the third child of a family of seven children, two boys and five girls. All of these children grew to maturity. She was brought up to hard work, principally farm Labor; her mother taught her to read and she learned to write a little. She went to school a short time in the winter. For this work she had her board and part of her clothing. She performed hard labor as long as she stayed in Norway. Her father died when she was 18 years of age. She heard the gospel in the fall of 1857 by Christian Poulsen, Lars Petersen, and Frederick Laingborg. She firmly believed the gospel as preached by these Elders, and on the 10th of May, 1858 she was baptized by Fred Laingborg and confirmed by the same person. Sometimes she went out to service and received $12 a year in Norwegian money. She had a hard time to save money. Her sister, Annie, emigrated in 1864 and Kari gave her nearly everything she possessed in money and clothing. Sometimes in the summer Kari would walk nearly 100 English miles to obtain work, and in about 6 or 8 weeks she would earn kind of work, haymaking. She kept a few sheep and was brought up to shear sheep, card weel, spin and weave. She used to cut grain and do a variety of hard labor. She walked 21 miles to Trondheim. On the 2nd of June, 1870 she bid farewell to Trondheim and sailed on a steamer for Christiana where she stayed nine days. From there she sailed to Gottenburg in Sweden; from there to Copenhagen, from there to Hull in England, then to Liverpool, and sailed on a steamship to New York, from there took the cars to Salt Lake City and stayed there about two months when she came to Franklin.