Iver William Tjentland
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| Name at Enlist | Iver William Tjentland |
| Birth Name | Iver Wilhelm Pedersen Tjentland |
| Other Names | Chantland |
| Lived | 12 Jul 1828 – 24 Oct 1901 |
| Birth Place | Aardal Annex of Hjelmeland Parish, Ryfylke, Rogaland fylke |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Moscow, Iowa County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | E |
| Rank at Enlistment | First Lieutenant |
| Muster Date | 9 Dec 1861 |
| Death Location | Blanchardville, WI |
| Burial Location | Old York Lutheran Cemetery, Green County, WI |
| Mother | Susanne Schmidt Weltzin |
| Father | Peder Iversen Tjentland |
| Immigration | 1855 |
| Spouse | Kjersti Hansdatter Baalerud |
| Spouse Lived | 9 Apr 1833-22 Sep 1907 |
Iver William Tjentland was born in Aardal Annex of Hjelmeland Parish, Ryfylke, Norway on July 12, 1828. He was a non-commissioned officer in the Jedder Company of the Stavanger Corps and attended the Underofficer School in Kristiansand for two years. He came to America and became a farmer at Moscow. He joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company E. The men of the company called themselves “Odin’s Rifles.”
The army listed him as living in Moscow, Iowa County, WI, age 33, and married. He lived with his wife, Kjersti. She was born on Baalerud farm, Brandbu, Oppland, Norway. Her father was Hans Anderson Bollerud (he died in Norway in 1847). Kjersti, her mother, and siblings immigrated on April 9, 1861.
He enlisted on December 9, 1861 and mustered December 10, 1861 at Madison, WI. He was a frail man, unfit for war, so he worked to enlist others in the 15th. When Company E was being organized, the soldiers he had recruited wanted him to be their leader and they elected him Captain. He turned down the honor because of his poor health and his inability to speak English. He did accept the second position, that of First Lieutenant (Løytnant). His health forced him to ask for a discharge.
Iver resigned on September 3, 1862 and moved back to his Iowa County farm. Iver died October 24, 1901. Iver and Kjersti are both buried in Old York Lutheran Cemetery, Green County, WI.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-7; Regimental Muster and Descriptive Rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.70; Ole A. Buslett, Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers] (Decorah, IA, 1894), p.463; Payroll muster rolls of WI 15th Co. E, saved by Captain T. A. Rossing; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.270, photo, p.303; Lars Gjertveit, Bodo, Norway; Wisconsin Cemetery Records; findagrave.com.