When Dorthea Jeppesdatter was born on 3 July 1819, in Østrup, Lunde, Odense, Denmark, her father, Jeppe Pedersen, was 38 and her mother, Casparra Hermanna Margaretha Nielsdatter, was 38. She married Niels Hansen on 24 October 1840, in Østrup, Odense, Denmark. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 3 daughters. She died on 15 June 1892, at the age of 72.