Karna Pehrsdotter Rosberg, also known as Carin or Karin Person Rosenberg, is the fourth of eight children known to be born to her parents Pehr Svensson and Anna Pehrsdotter.

With deep ancestral roots in Southern Sweden, Karna and her siblings grew up in a little place known as Håslöv No. 3, in Gustav Adolf Parish (formerly known as Viby) , in Skåne County (formerly Kristianstads County), Sweden. Her father's family hailed from neighbouring county Blekinge, where they had a long tradition of service in the Swedish Navy. Her mother originally came from Österslöf in Skåne County, where her family had been farming for generations.

Karna's family was involved with agricultural labour for their livelihood, and thus we may suppose that had a big impact on her childhood experiences of growing up close to nature in the countryside. It is a safe assumption that Karna was very familiar with the skills and daily tasks required to maintain such a home: the constant care of animals and small children, fires to be tended, water to be fetched, food to be prepared and stored, warm clothing to be knitted or sewn or mended, and so on.

Upon this steady rhythm of daily work and nature's constant revolution of birth, death, and re-birth, was the melody of Karna's home life played out: sometimes trilling with notes high and bright, other times sounding long notes of more sombre tone. There were high days, happy days, holidays, harvest days. Days of light and wonder, days of comfort, kinship, colour, laughter, feasting and song. And there were dull days of aching and shadows, days of loss, longing, and listlessness, of cold and want and waiting for the sun's rays to warm the land once more.

After Karna's birth, the next two children born to her mother were stillborn. Karna's first younger sibling to survive birth was her sister Kersti, who was born in late 1845 when Karna was nearly 6 years old. Although Kersti's arrival ousted Karna from her accustomed place as baby of the family, the evidence in later life is that the two sisters shared a strong bond with Karna often lending support to Kersti and her family.

Sadly, just 17 months after becoming a big sister, Karna's big brother Pehr Pehrsson died in 1848 at the age of 9. In 1849 her baby brother Nils Pehrsson (also known as Nels Pearson) joined the family. Death once again visited in 1860, when Karna's mother Anna Pehrsdotter died of a chest ailment.

From the age of 17, Karna lived away from home and worked as a farm maid in nearby communities. This was the common practice in Sweden at the time. She first worked at Balsby no. 21 for a few years, then moved to work at Balsby no. 6 in 1860, when she was 20 years old.

In 1862, Karna married Balsby native Sven Bengtsson, otherwise known as S.B. Rosenberg or Rosberg. They immigrated to Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. in 1867 where they established a tailoring business.