When Louisa Maria Sanders was born on 24 March 1856, in Fort Bridger, Uinta, Wyoming, United States, her father, William Saunders, was 43 and her mother, Elizabeth Hunt, was 41. She married Abraham Van Dorn on 25 June 1876, in Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 daughters. She lived in Van Buren Township, Lee, Iowa, United States in 1860. She died on 14 February 1935, in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States, at the age of 78, and was buried in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States.