Gjertrud Maria Wroldsen was born January 9, 1799 in Riisoer, Nedenes, Norway. She was the daughter of Wrold Knudsen and Ingeborg Maria Endvoldsen. She married Bent Rolfsen January 25, 1820 in Riisoer, Aust-Agder, Norway (the county of Nedenes was changed to Aust- Agder in 1801).

Bent Rolfsen [her husband] was born April 27, 1792 in Oyestad, Nedenes, Norway. He was the son of Rolf Jacobsen and Tonja Bentsen. Bent Rolfsen died June 16, 1852 in Sondeled, Aust-Agder, Norway. Bent Rolfsen and Gjertrud Maria Wroldsen were the parents of ten children, six sons and four daughters.

They are converted to the LDS Church: The family of Charles Dorius had gone from Riisoer to England for the training of their children. It was here that they were happy to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ taught by early missionaries, Lorenzo Snow and his companions. After they joined the Church, they were anxious that their relatives and friends in Norway should learn the Gospel also. Accordingly, one son spent three years in Norway teaching the restored Gospel. Among those converted were the Bent Rolfsen family. Of course these new converts were anxious to get to the new land where they could live according to the teachings of this Gospel, so Gjertrude Maria Wroldsen Rolfsen with her two daughters Gjertrud Maria and Elen Katrine came to America with some missionaries and a number of other people in 1857.

(Entries from "Crossing the Ocean" and "Crossing the Plains" G.S. Film #298,437: Rolfsen, Gjertrud M., baptized member, sailed on ship "Westmoreland" April 25, 1857. With her were Gjertrud M. Rolfsen and Elen Gurina daughters. G.S. Film #298,437. Crossing the Plains: Emigration from Brevig Conference, Norway in the spring of 1857: Gjertrud Maria Rolfsen age 56 from Norway, Gjertrud M. Rolfsen age 26, Elen Gurina Rolfsen, age 19. And with them were Carl Christen N. Dorious age 26, Maria Elisabeth Johnson age 54 and Caroline Cecelia Johnson, age 37.)

One of the daughters, Elen, who was a large beautiful girl, married Carl Christian Dorius, the missionary who had taken the Gospel to them. They, along with others, had planned to get married when they arrived in Zion, but the captain of the ship had observed the devotion of several young couples and offered to give them a supper on board ship if they would get married before leaving England. There were several young couples who accepted that offer, Elen and Carl being among them. The Dorius family as well as many others were there.

Gjertrud's son Jacob Rolfsen joined the Church [in Norway] January 25, 1858, along with his wife Margrethe Kirstine Nielsen and they with their four children Nicoline, Bength, Gjertrud M. and Niels came to America May 16, 1861 on the ship "Monarch of the Sea." (G.S. Film #298,437)

When they arrived in Salt Lake City, the Dorius and Rolfsen families journeyed on to Sanpete County and started homes. They were the earliest builders in that part of Utah. They settled in Fountain Green. It was a long, dangerous journey by team or handcart across the country. Gjertrud moved to Ephraim, Sanpete, Utah, where she died in 1888.

A tribute from LDS Missionaries taken from Church Historian's History (Andrew Jensen) states: "Gjertrud Maria Rolfsen, mother of Ingeborg Rolfsen Larsen, and her two daughters were among the first to join the LDS Church in Norway. They were very active and faithful and historians have said they were the financial backbone of the LDS Church as long as they remained in Norway."