Cornelius E. Williams
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| Name at Enlist | Cornelius E. Williams |
| Birth Name | Knut Ericksen Rjoe |
| Lived | 1 Jan 1838 – 28 Mar 1908 |
| Birth Place | Voss parish, Hordaland fylke |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Cambridge, Dane County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | H |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 3 Mar 1862 |
| Mother | Christi Knudsdatter Bakkethun |
| Mother Lived | 1814-1883 |
| Father | Erik Vikingsen Rjoe (Erik Williams) |
| Father Lived | 1806-25 Dec 1879 |
| Immigration | 2 Aug 1844 |
| Spouse | Britha Sjursdatter Hylle Newton |
| Spouse Lived | 1 Oct 1839- |
| Married On | 12 Nov 1868 |
| Marriage Location | Chicago, IL |
Cornelius E. Williams was born “Knut Eriksen Rjoe” in Voss, Norway, a son of Erick Williams and Christine Bochtun. He emigrated from Bergen in 1844. He joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company H. The men of the company called themselves “Heg’s Rifles” in honor of the 15th commander, Colonel Hans C. Heg. They were also known as the “Voss Company” because of a large number of them who were from the Voss region of Norway.
He was listed as living in Cambridge, Dane County, WI, age 23, and unmarried. Enlisted as a Private (Menig) on March 3, 1862 at Chicago, IL. He mustered the same day. He was commissioned as Second Lieutenant (Løytnant) at Jacinto, MS on July 31, 1862. He was named commander of the Pioneer Corps in November 1862. He was promoted to First Lieutenant on June 8, 1863 at Chattanooga, TN. He was promoted to Captain (Kaptein) on June 3, 1863. He was named commander of the Pioneer Brigade in Chattanooga, TN. He became Quartermaster of the Detachment in Chattanooga September 7, 1864. He mustered out with Company H on February 13, 1865 at Chattanooga.
After the war, he moved to Chicago, IL and married Brita Sjursdatter Hylle Newton on November 12, 1868. Their children were Bella Christine, Edward Newton, and Mari Mattie. In 1870, he was working in the hospital of the soldiers’ home in Milwaukee. In the 1890s, he was living back in Chicago.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-2,10; Regimental Muster and Descriptive Rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.112; Ole A. Buslett, Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers] (Decorah, Iowa, 1894), p.551 photo; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, , Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.270 photo; p.308; Lars Gjertveit, Bodo, Norway; Blaine Hedberg, NAGC&NL; findagrave.com; Norwegian Immigrants to the United States. A Biographical Directory, 1825-1850. Volume Two 1844-1846, Gerhard B. Naeseth, edited by Blaine Hedberg, 1997, Anundsen Publishing Co., Decorah, IA, p. 69, ID 858, p. 68, ID 835.