History of Sena Pedersen Christensen
| Birth: | Mar. 17, 1838, Denmark |
| Death: | May 26, 1906, USA |
 Sena was born 17 Mar 1838 at Reesdal, Seerup, Viborg, Denmark daughter of Peder Sorensen Pederstrup & Ane Elizabeth (Winkler) Sorensen. Pederstrup was her father's farm name. Her name was spelled Sine. She was listed in the 1840 Seerup, Viborg, Denmark Census age 2 and age 7 in the 1845 Seerup, Viborg Census. She was listed as Sine Pedersen, age 17 as a maid servant working for Soren Andersen & Ane Kirstine Rasmussen Andersen in the 1855 Seerup, Viborg, Census. Sena was baptized into the L. D. S. Church on 18 Oct 1862 in the Silkeborg Branch in Farre, Viborg, Denmark by R. Mikkelsen. She came to America on the steamship S. S. Minnesota when she was 34 years old arriving in New York 17 Sep 1872. From here she traveled by train to Salt Lake City then traveled to Moroni, UT shortly afterwards. Her brother Soren and sister Maren were both married and living in Utah. Soren came to America in 1862 on the ship Franklin and lived in Moroni for awhile, then moved to Spanish Fork. Both he and Maren who married Jens Hansen lived in Spanish Fork when Sena came to Utah. Sena was very petite with dark hair and blue eyes. She was very timid about learning and speaking the English language. The Mormon Church practiced polygamy when she came to Utah and she married Rasmus Peter Christensen as his plural wife after being to Moroni for 7 months. She was 17 years younger than he was. They were married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City by D. H. Wells on 28 Apr 1873. Peter was 52 years old and Sena was 35 years old. They knew of each other in Denmark as her brother, Soren Pedersen Stark baptized him and his wife, Maria. After they were married, they made their home in an adobe house which was just across the street from where the turkey plant now stands in Moroni. This home was about two blocks south from where, his first wife, Maria's home was. She was listed in the Moroni 1880 census as Seina Christiansen age 42 with her husband Rasmus Christiansen and children Maria age 6 and Rasmus age 2. Sena and Peter, with their daughter Annie, age 7 went to Sanford, Colorado, by train in Jan 1888. Their other two children Maria, aged 14 and Erastus, aged 10 came a month later on 14 Feb 1888 on the train. They first lived with the Tore Peterson family in the east part of Sanford near the Sanford Ward Chapel. Next they lived in a dugout that Peter built for them on their own lot. This was in the northwest part of town and finally built their own two-roomed home. It was built out of logs hauled from the hills 30 miles away. Sena suffered the amputation of her right hand when it was mangled in a grist mill in about 1892. She had reached in the mill to retrieve a rock. She lingered between life and death for many days. She was a woman of grit and courage. After her arm healed, she learned to knit again by wrapping a bandage tightly around her arm and placing the knitting needles into it. She was very independent and learned to do her daily chores with one good arm. Peter and Sena returned to Utah in Jul 1896 but by law they were no longer husband and wife. She was listed as Sine Christensen in the 1900 Moroni, Sanpete County census born Mar 1839 age 61 md 27 years. She had 4 children with 3 living, arrived in the US in 71. She is living next door to her daughter Annie E. Nielsen and her husband Erastus Nielsen. Sena went to Salt Lake for an operation and they found she had cancer of the stomach. Her physician was Dr. B. C. Linebaugh. She died in Moroni on 26 May 1906 at the age of 67 and is buried in the Moroni City Cemetery. They had the following Children: 1. Maria Elizabeth Christensen born 27 Jan 1874 married William Brothers in Manti, UT and died 16 Mar 1965 Sanford, CO 2. Anna Rozina Christensen born 10 Oct 1875 and died 19 May 1877 in Moroni, UT by drowning in an irrigation ditch. 3. Erastus Peter Christensen born 7 Jan 1878 married Laura Syme 12 Dec 1904 Manti, UT and died 21 Oct 1955 Salem, OR. 4. Annie Elizabeth Christensen born 13 Oct 1880 married Niels Erastus Nielsen 17 May 1898 and died 10 Sep 1974 Nephi, UT.   | |
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