Biographical information adapted from Manawatu Heritage by Stefanie Lash, Archives New Zealand, for the He Tohu exhibition:
Karen Martea Andreasdatter was born in Søndre Land, Norway in 1858, the daughter of Andreas and Kjerstine Odden. She married Carl Bergersen at the age of 25 in Norway, and they arrived in New Zealand onbard the Celeano with their young son, Oscar. The family were allotted a secton on the Karere Scandinavian Block. Their children were Oscar (1870), Alexander Marthinius (1871), Hildas Emmuanuel (1872), Olga Lenora Constantina (1875-1876), Hildas Laurence Constance (1878) and Ragna Doretta Amalie (1881).
Carl worked as a wheelwright, having been trained in Norway as a cabinet maker. In 1886, Carl founded C A Bergersen - Engineer, Gunsmith, Locksmith and Machinist. He was also an inventor and filed several patents, including one for a radical type of sash window. Carl died in Palmerston North in 1922. Shortly after Karen remarried to Bartholomew Hunt and they moved to Hastings. She died in 1926, aged 80.
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Image reference: Palmerston North Libraries and Community Services