History of ANNIE CATHERINE ERICKSEN by Daughter Amy Benson
Richardson, 1974.

My mother, Annie Catherine Ericksen Benson was born 13 August 1866, a


daughter
of Trena Hansen Christensen and Ludvig Ericksen, who were both early
immigrant
pioneers of Utah, and both were born in Denmark.

Her mother, Trena, was born 19 July 1834 at Seerborg, Randers,
Denmark. She was married, while a young girl, in Denmark to Andrew
Ayling and had a three year old son named Christian, when she heard
the Mormon missionaries preach the gospel. She accepted the gospel
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints in 1861. Her husband resented
this, and his interest in her diminished until he no longer provided
for her and the child properly, so Trena decided to leave Denmark and


come to America with a group of Saints, taking her three year old son


with her. The voyage on the water was a long hard one. Then after
landing they traveled across the plains with ox teams and hand carts.


Trena had to walk much of the way, carrying her young son Christian,
or sometimes the child would walk as much as he could. They came
with the William B. Preston Company.
Many of the Scandinavian people went to Sanpete County, as did my
Grandmother. They arrived in Utah in 1863. She then met Ludvig
Ericksen, who had come with a group of Saints at an earlier date. He


was born 21 March 1840 at Seest, Denmark. He had been previously
married, and his young wife died at the birth of their first child,
who also died, and both are buried in Fountain Green.
On 4 October 1863, Trena and Ludvig were married in the Salt Lake
Endowment House.
In 1864, Ludvig received a call from the Church to go to Circleville
and help settle that part of the territory in Piute County. Their
first home was a dug out with no windows and only a door made of
sagebursh woven together as a camouflauge to the Indians. Later,
Grandfather built a one room log house, having one window and one
door. It was here in this little log house, in 1866 a dear little
baby girl was born on 13 August, and they named her Annie Catherine
(my mother).
Her mother was said to be the first white woman to settle in
Circleville and Annie Catherine, my mother, the first white baby born


in Circleville.
The Indians were very troublesome at times and would often raid the
little community. My Grandfather, Ludvig, was a veteran of the Black


Hawk War. It was understood by all that as soon as trouble was
anticipated, someone would beat a large drum and all the women and
children would hasten to the little meeting house for refuge.
Several times they had to hurry to this place.
When Annie was three days old, a terrible thunderstorm arose and the
lightning struck near their home. It so frightened her mother that
she leaped out of bed, grabbed her baby and exclaimed, "The Indians
are coming!" It was with difficulty that she was calmed down and
placed back in bed.
How very frightening, the threat of Indian trouble, must have been at


that time. Three weeks later, the dreaded drum beat was heard by all
and they hastened to safety. In her haste, Trena fell in a deep
ditch holding her baby in her arms. No one was hurt, but of course,
they were very frightened. The Indians came, and only passed through


the little community, to make a survey of conditions and
possibilities and did not attack.
In 1869, Ludvig was released from the call to help settle Circleville


and they, with their little daughter, Annie, and small son,
Christian, moved to Logan, Utah in Cache Valley. They resided on the


upper east bench, approximately where the Utah State University is
now locted. They were members of the 5th and 3d wards. Here, three
more children were born to them, Alma (who died at birth), Josephine,


and Altena.
On 16 February 1876, the family moved to Newton, Utah. Annie was now


nine years old, and was baptized in Bear River 28 May 1876. Her
father owned a little store in Newton. He also made and sold
molasses, made cement culverts, and helped at a saw mill. He also
helped with civic affairs and helped build the old Newton Reservoir.
Annie attended school in Newton. She married Alma Peter Benson 18
March 1885. To this union were born eleven children, ten of whom
reached maturity. Alma was a farmer. He owned a farm, implements to


work with, and horses. There were always one or two cows, two or
three pigs in the pen, and a flock of busy, scratching hens and
crowing roosters.
At the age of 46, Alma being a seventy, was called on a mission to
Denmark for two years. Mother agreed that he should fill the call
and it was decided that they would sell the farmland and implements
as well as most of the horses, in order for him to fulfill this
mission. It was a great hardship, for mother to be left with nine
children to care for, but she was energetic and willing to sacrifice
in order for him to go and do the Lord's work. She worked hard. She


did her own sewing, ironed with flat irons on a coal range, churned
her own butter, washed clothes on a washboard and sometimes turning a


hand wheel on a wooden washer. She made her own woven carpets and
washed and carded her own wool for quilts. Water was drawn from a
well and she baked on a coal range and used oil lights until
electricity came to Newton in 1915. This was when I was 6 years of
age and I distinctly remember the men wiring our house and the thrill


of pushing the button for the first time and lighting up the whole
place.
The Lord blessed the family while Father was gone. He filled an
honorable mission and returned in 1908. In 1909, another child came
to bless the home and they named her Amy Grace. I remember Father
telling me I was his, "missionary gift". I was nine years old when
my father passed away, 13 December 1918 at the age of 58, leaving my
mother a widow at 52, with six children still at home.
Soon after Father's death, she lost her youngest son, Alvin, in one
of Cache Valley's first automobile accidents. As he and a cousin
were returning home from the Cache County Fair in Logan, after dark,
in a horse drawn buggy, they were hit by a Model-T Ford at
Smithfield, Utah. This was another shock for Mother, as he was her
pride and joy. He had given her much comfort while Father was on his


mission.
Then, her oldest daughter was widowed and came home to live bringing,


her two baby daughters. Later, this daughter remarried and had three


more children. She passed away in 1930, leaving five children for
mother to raise, four girls and one boy. The oldest daughter was
just two years younger than myself. We seemed like sisters and as
she was larger for her age than I was, we were taken for twins, as we


usually were dressed alike.
Mother loved children and children loved her. Sometimes the going
was rough, but Mother was ambitious and worked early and late. She
was usually the last to bed at night and the first up in the morning.


We always had a lovely garden and, with the Lord's help, we somehow
had a happy life in our Rock House in Newton.
At age 85, Mother broke an arm. This seemed to be the beginning of
her troubles. At 87, she fell from a porch and cut an artery in her
forehead and the quick action of her grand-daughter saved her from
bleeding to death. At 89, she fell and broke a hip. Surely she
would not walk again, but she did, and without a cane. Then at 92,
she broke the other hip which the doctor said was probably broken
before she fell, and advised her not to walk again. She spent the
rest of her life in a wheelchair at the Sunshine Terrace in Logan.
We loved to go and visit her there and take her good things to eat.
She was especially fond of corn on the cob, cashew nuts, and potato
chips. She could eat any kind of food and enjoyed it. She
especially requested corn on the cob for her 105th birthday, instead
of cake. Her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren never
neglected her. They were all faithful in visiting her at the Terrace


and she loved the visits.
She liked to get "dolled up" as she expressed it, especially on
Sundays. "I choose the dress I want to wear and don my earrings and
necklace in case I have company."
"She's so sweet to care for," said one young nurse. "She's always
thanking us for small favors and likes to be made a fuss of." She
called one favorite nurse "my potato chip girl" knowing she would be
rewarded with some extra potato chips. She was affectionately called


Grandma Benson by those at the Terrace.
She was the oldest resident there, and the oldest citizen in Cache
Valley. She was a member of the John Jenkins Camp of Daughters of
the Utah Pioneers. She had been active in Church and a visiting
teacher in Relief Society.
Her sister, Altena Benson Larsen, is also at the Sunshine Terrace,
and they had many nice visits together. She is, at this time, still
living at the age of 101 years.
It is interesting to note, that my Mother was born a year and five
months after the end of the Civil War, and the assassination of
Abraham Lincoln. Coming to Cache Valley about 1870, she has
experienced almost all of the development and progress that has taken


place in the Valley, from walking behind an ox team, to moon walking,


from spinning wheels to jet planes. This has all happened within her


life span.
She was preceded in death by all of her children, but four, and each
time we told her of the death of one of her sons or daughters, she
would say, "it should have been me." That is as much as I have ever
heard her say about leaving this life. She usually ended up
comforting the rest of us.
Mother passed away quietly and suddenly 17 April 1972, at the age of
105 years, 8 months, and 17 days. Her funeral was held in Newton,
Utah and she was buried beside her husband and other members of her
family 20 April 1972.
The following October, another daughter died leaving at the present
time one son and two daughters.
Mother died in full faith of a glorious ressurection. She leaves a
posterity of 47 grandchildren, over 152 great-grandchildren and over
73 great-great-grandchildren.

Transcribed by Annette Hancey Lunceford