Elgena Poulsen was born 22 Sep. 1860 at Richmond, Cache, Utah.  She was the daughter of Niels Christian Poulsen and Helga Olsen.  At the time of her birth there were very few people living at Richmond and the homes were very crude.  Elgena was born in a dugout.  Within was a large rock that served for a bed.  In the spring after her birth the family moved to Franklin, Idaho a few miles north of Richmond.  Here her father died, leaving her mother with two small children to care for.  Her mother later married Edward Kingsford and lived at the fort in Franklin.

When the Indians were bad, the women and children would rush to the log meeting house which was inside the fort.  Here at Franklin, Elgena’s early life was spent.  She went to school as much as possible.  Some of her teachers were Mary Ann Alder, Jenson, and Evans.  At that time she would assist the teachers in teaching to help pay for her own schooling.  She was a member of the Home Dramatic Company and took many parts.  She later worked out doing housework to support herself and add to the family store.  Many times she sent money to Father Kingsford to pay the taxes, as money was very scarce.
Elgena was a very handy girl and good at the spinning wheel.  While very young she was invited with the older women to the spinning bees.  She was very quick at this work.  She was too small to band the wheel and had to have help for this.  She always spoke well of Father Kingsford and had a lot of respect for him.  In return he was very good to her.

Elgena was married to Henry H. Allen on the 10th of April 1882 in the Salt Lake Endowment House by Joseph F. Smith.  She was twenty two years old at this time¹.  They made their home at Cove, Utah a few miles south of Franklin.  Here she continued her duties in the church and to raise her large family.

She was the first president of the Primary organization in the area.  Ella Larson and Susie P. Allen were her councilors.  She held this position for several years, always making a great effort to be prompt and to attend all meetings.  Many times she would walk and carry a baby on her hip.  The meeting house at that time was in Mountain Home some distance from her home.

She worked as a councilor to Elizabeth Titensor in the Relief Society then with Ella Larson for many years.  During her life she was always willing and ready to help anyone in sickness or trouble.  She was sent for many times in cases of illness and death.  When she heard of anyone in need, she would go and leave food on their doorsteps at night, such as flour, meat, or preserves etc.  No one ever knew who left it.

While her husband was on a mission about 1882, she had full responsibility of taking care of the family and the farm work and chores.  She gave birth to a baby son at this time.  When her husband came home with chills and fever, she had to take care of him also.

She always led out and would take her children to Sunday School and Primary.  She saw that they always went as long as she could.  She enjoyed good health most of her life.  She had two children drowned in the canal that was close to their house.  This was a great sadness to her.  She lost a married daughter in 1919 with a severe case of influenza.  Here again she came to the rescue of her son-in-law and took the two small children to care for until the father married again.

She moved to Logan in the fall of 1920 where she continued to serve in the community and church.  She served as a visiting teacher for many years until her health began to fail.

She had ten children of which all but two lived to maturity and had families.  She died form a lingering illness and dropsy on 12 July 1937 at her home in Logan, Utah.  She was buried in the family plot in the Richmond Cemetery.