Juliane Sørensdatter was born in Nørresundby, Denmark in 1815. She married Rasmus Schmidt in Denmark, with whom she had one son, Rasmus (Erastus) Smith, in 1843. With all of her savings, she paid to bring herself and her son to America. They left Kansas City on June 15, 1854 with the Hans Peter Olsen Wagon Company, and arrived in Salt Lake in October.

In Salt Lake, Juliane married Jorgan Christian Pedersen on July 3, 1855. She was his second of four wives. His first wife had already died, leaving three children for Juliane to help raise. Juliane passed away in Brigham City on April 13, 1873.