Archives West Finding Aid

Hannah Resenquist Jenson was born to Neils and Elsie Rosenquist on 6 May 1852 near Malmo, Sweden. Her parents were converted by Mormon missionaries, and Elsie Rosenquist sailed for America with her son and three daughters. Neils Rosenquist, a blacksmith, remained in Sweden to settle his affairs, and died before he could join his family. Elsie and the four children joined an ox-team caravan for the journey West, and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1862. The family moved several times before settling in Scipio.

Peter Jenson was born on 28 October 1854, in Denmark. His parents became members of the LDS Church, and sailed from Denmark in 1858. In 1859, the family, consisting of Peter's parents, their three daughters, and two sons, left Missouri for the Salt Lake Valley in a handcart caravan. Peter's mother died en route, and was buried beside the trail somewhere in Wyoming. Two of his sisters, aged eight and nine, died the day after the party reached Salt Lake City, apparently from the effects of malnutrition. His father and the remaining three children left shortly thereafter, and stayed briefly in Manti and Gunnison before finally settling in Scipio.

Peter and Hannah Jenson were married on 21 June 1875. They had three daughters: Effie Jenson Neyland (d. 1927), Clara Jenson Myers (b. 1881), and Maude Jenson Topping (d. 1926). Their only son died in infancy. Peter supported the family by farming, and by working for the railroad in Wyoming and Idaho. On 20 April 1883, the family joined with a party of friends and traveled by covered wagon to what is now Davenport, Washington. The Jensons bought land with Hannah's brother, Hans Rosenquist, and remained on the farm until 1913, when they rented the land to Charles Stubbs.

Hannah Jenson died in 1936 and Peter Jenson died in 1942.