Hannah Anderson was born on 27 May 1850 to Anna Marna Larsdotter and Anders Andersson in Kristianstad, Sweden. Her father was abusive and frequently absent from the home so she was mostly raised by her mother and grandmother. Her family was very poor, so she had to work during much of her childhood to help provide for her family. She first heard about the church when she was twelve years old and was soon baptized.

In her young adulthood, she worked in Stockholm and in Germany to save money to move to Zion. She even worked as a cleaning girl in the mission home for a time. She finally immigrated to Utah in 1876, after receiving some funds from Charles John Gustaveson, who offered to help her if she could work for his wife in return. After working 3 1/2 months for Gustaveson's family, she was married to him as a second wife on 9 October 1876.

Life as a second wife during the time of polygamy was difficult. Hannah frequently had to be on the move so she and her husband would not get in trouble. She had seven children. Hannah frequently took ill in her life but was always healed, which she attributed to God. In her mid life, she took it upon herself to visit fellow immigrants to help them adjust to settling in Utah. She was very active in her church callings and caring for her family. Hannah died on 7 March 1930 in Salt Lake City.