Sever Wilkinson
Database Record Change Request
| Name at Enlist | Sever Wilkinson |
| Birth Name | |
| Other Names | Syvert, Severt |
| Lived | 15 Apr 1843 – 29 Mar 1911 |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Buffalo City, Buffalo County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | B |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 17 Feb 1864 |
| Death Location | Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, SD |
| Burial Location | Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, lot 11, block 33, grave W 1/2 |
| Immigration | 1858 |
| Spouse Lived | 1845-1936 |
| Married On | 1870 |
Sever Wilkinson was born April 15, 1843 in Norway. He joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company B. The men of the company called themselves the “Wergeland Guards” in honor of Henrik Wergeland, the famous Norwegian writer and poet.
He was listed as living in Buffalo City, Buffalo County, WI, age 20, a farmer, and unmarried. He had hazel eyes, brown hair, fair complexion, and was 5’10”. Wilkinson enlisted for three years on February 17, 1864 at La Crosse, WI and mustered there the same day as a Private (Menig). As a recruit, he came to the 15th Regiment at Strawberry Plains, VA, near the end of March 1864. He then transferred to Company H on December 1, 1864, then assigned temporarily to the 24th Infantry, and lastly transferred to I Company of the WI 13th Infantry on June 10, 1865. He mustered out on November 24, 1865 at San Antonio, TX.
After the war, he lived in Clayton, Crawford County, WI with his wife Anna, who was was also born in Norway. They had at least 2 children: William A. (1869) and Helmar (1876). He later served as a Captain in the WI State Militia before dying at age 67 on March 29, 1911 in Sioux Falls, SD. He was buried there in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, lot 11, block 33, grave W ½.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-13; Regimental Muster and Descriptive Rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.18, p.184; vol.20, p.36; Ole A. Buslett, Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers] (Decorah, Iowa, 1894), p.401; Martin Ulvestad, Nordmændene i Amerika, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.297; SDSHS WPA Veterans Cemetery Records, Minnehaha County; findagrave.com; 1870 Census, Roll: M593_1707, Page: 411B, Image: 30, Family History Library Film: 553206; 1910 Census, Roll: T624_1485, Page: 9B, Enumeration District: 0343, FHL microfilm: 1375498.