Ludvig Marinus Bjorn
Database Record Change Request
| Name at Enlist | Ludvig Marinus Bjorn |
| Birth Name | |
| Lived | 7 Sep 1834 – 14 Jun 1908 |
| Birth Place | Vestby, Akershus |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Manitowoc County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | F |
| Burial Location | Lands Lutheran Church Cemetery, Zumbrota, Goodhue County, MN |
| Mother | Georgine Thina |
| Father | Niels Bjorn |
| Immigration | 1862 |
| Spouse | Bollette Fleisher |
| Spouse Lived | -Sep 1881 |
| 2nd Spouse | Mathilda Johnson |
| 2nd Marriage Date | 1884 |
Ludvig Marinus Bjorn was born September 7, 1834 in Vestby, Akershus, Norway to Niels Bjorn and Georgine Thina. His father was a clergyman. His other ancestors held military and ecclesiastical positions in Slesvig. Between 1855 and 1861, Bjorn was a student at the University of Norway and studied theology. He became a clergyman in 1861. In 1862, he moved to America and was installed as a pastor in the Norwegian Synod in Manitowoc County, WI. He served as a leader of the Anti-Missourians during the 19th century Predestination Controversy.
He joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company F. He and many of his congregation formed the company. The men of the company called themselves “KK’s Protectors” in honor of the 15th’s first Lieutenant Colonel, Kiler K. Jones. “F” was also known as the Valdres Company because a large number of its members hailed from the Valdres region of Norway.
After the war, he moved to Goodhue County, MN in 1879 to serve congregations at Land and Minneola. He helped establish schools, church societies, and missions. He first married Bollette Fleisher, and their children were Ragnar (1865), Anna, Herman, and Nels (1873). Bollette died in September 1881. In 1884, he married Mathilda Johnson of Wittenburg, Shawano County, WI. They had several other children, including Sigurd, Aimar, Valborg, Harold, Nina, Inga, and Thina.
Sources: History of the Scandinavians in the United States, O. N. Nelson, Publ. Minneapolis, MN, 1893, p.338; 1885 MN Census, Roll # MNSC_26; findagrave.com; History of Goodhue County, MN (1909), p.405-406; Norway Digital Archives, Vestby, Akershus, Kirkebok, no. I 6, p.54.