Iver Torkelson
Database Record Change Request
| Name at Enlist | Iver Torkelson |
| Birth Name | |
| Lived | Nov 1839 – 13 Dec 1901 |
| Birth Place | Ulvik, Hardanger |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Melrose, Jackson County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | H |
| Rank at Enlistment | Sergeant |
| Muster Date | 16 Jan 1862 |
| Death Location | Black River Falls, WI |
| Immigration | 1854 |
| Spouse | Martina |
| Spouse Lived | 1844- |
| Married On | 1865 |
Iver Torkelson was born in November 1839 at Ulvik, Hardanger, Norway. 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.
The army listed him as living in Melrose, Jackson County, WI, age 23, and unmarried. He enlisted for three years on December 4, 1861 at La Crosse, WI and mustered at Madison, WI on February 13, 1862. He was designated Sergeant (Sersjant) on January 16, 1862. On July 28, 1862, he was sent to hospital in Farmington, MS. He was assigned to the Pioneer Corps on November 26, 1862 and then transferred to the Veterans Reserve Corps at Strawberry Plains, VA on March 25, 1864. He was discharged from the service at Chicago, IL on December 19, 1864, his term having expired.
After the war, he married Martina in 1865. Their children were Josephine (1866), Ida (3/1870), Julia (1872), Theodor (1874), Martin (10/1878), and Francis (11/1886). They lived in Franklin, then Black River Falls, WI. He was Registrar of Deeds for seven years. He was appointed postmaster for four years in Black River Falls, WI beginning on October 16, 1889. He died on December 31, 1901.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-10; Regimental Muster and Descriptive Rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.112; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.281, photo; p.311; Ole A. Buslett, Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers] (Decorah, Iowa, 1894), p.577; Martin Ulvestad, Nordmændene i Amerika, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p.261; Lars Gjertveit, Bodo, Norway; 1880 Census, Roll: 1429; Family History Film: 1255429; Page: 314C; Enumeration District: 076; 1900 Census, Roll: 1792, Page: 7B, Enumeration District: 0044, FHL microfilm: 1241792; U.S., Civil War Pension Index, Roll # T288_476; Appointments of U.S. Postmasters, 1832-1971; WI Deaths 1820-1907, Vol. #54, p.720.