Tolloff Olson
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| Name at Enlist | Tolloff Olson |
| Birth Name | |
| Other Names | Thomas H. Tolliff |
| Lived | Oct 1844 – 1923 |
| Birth Place | Illinois |
| Birth Country | USA |
| Resident of Muster-In | Primrose, Dane County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | I |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 11 Jan 1862 |
| Burial Location | Lake Crystal Cemetery, Lake Crystal, Blue Earth, MN |
| Mother | Mary |
| Father | G. Tolliff |
| Spouse | Helen E. Palmer |
| Spouse Lived | 1849-1934 |
| Married On | 25 Dec 1868 |
| Marriage Location | Sauk County, WI |
Tolloff Olson was born in October 1844 in IL to G. and Mary Tolliff. His parents were both born in Norway. He joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company I. The men of the company called themselves the “Scandinavian Mountaineers” but were also known as the “Waupaca Company” because so many of them were living in that WI county when they enlisted.
The army listed him as living in Primrose, Dane County, WI, age 18, and unmarried. He enlisted for three years on December 16, 1861 at Primrose and mustered at Madison, WI on January 11, 1862 as a Private (Menig). Olson was suffering from consumption and was discharged from the service at Mississippi River Island No. 10 on June 23, 1863.
After the war, he returned to WI and went by the name Thomas Tolliff. He married Helen E. Palmer on December 25, 1868 in Sauk County, WI. Together, they had four children, including Nettie (1870 in MN), Arthur (1876 in WI), Henry (1879 in WI), and Hellen (1886 in MN).
Tolliff and his family relocated quite frequently. In 1880, he worked as a farmer and his family lived in Fairfield, Sauk County, WI. In 1885, they lived in Vernon, Blue Earth County, MN. In 1900, they resided in Plattsmouth, Cass County, NE and Tolliff worked as a harness maker. In 1910, they lived in Glendo, Laramie, WY and he was a farmer on a ranch. In 1920, they lived in Laramie, Albany County, WY. Tolliff died in 1923 and Hellen in 1934. They are both buried in Lake Crystal Cemetery, Lake Crystal, Blue Earth, MN.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-11; Regimental muster and descriptive rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.132; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett (Decorah, Iowa, 1894), p.604; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.315; Civil War Pension Index, Roll #T288_355; 1880 Census, Roll: 1446, Family History Film: 1255446, Page: 88C, Enumeration District: 250; 1885 MN Census, MNSC_21, Line 22; 1900 Census, Roll: 919, Page: 1B, Enumeration District: 0012, FHL microfilm: 1240919; 1910 Census, Roll: T624_1746, Page: 8A, Enumeration District: 0086, FHL microfilm: 1375759; 1920 Census, Roll: T625_2025, Page: 4A, Enumeration District: 4, Image: 98; findagrave.com; Wisconsin Marriage Records, GS Film #1275558, Digital Folder #007727539, Image #00557.