Jens Jenson
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Name at Enlist | Jens Jenson |
Birth Name | |
Other Names | James Jenson |
Lived | 13 Aug 1838 – 15 Jan 1915 |
Birth Place | Lærdal, Sogn og Fjordane |
Birth Country | Norway |
Resident of Muster-In | Manchester Township, Freeborn County, MN |
Company at Enlistment | K |
Rank at Enlistment | Private |
Muster Date | 11 Feb 1862 |
Death Location | Albert Lea, Freeborn County, MN |
Burial Location | Central Freeborn Lutheran Cemetery, Albert Lea, Freeborn County, MN |
Immigration | 1857 |
Spouse | Sena Peterson |
Spouse Lived | 22 Jan 1848 – 4 Aug 1935 |
Married On | 4 Jan 1871 |
Marriage Location | Albert Lea, Freeborn, MN |
Jens Jenson was born in Laerdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway on August 13, 1838. He immigrated in 1857.
He joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company K. The company called itself “Clausen’s Guards” in honor of the 15th’s first Chaplain, Claus L. Clausen. Most of the company was recruited from Scandinavian communities in MN and IA, with the rest from WI. The army listed him as living in Manchester Township, Freeborn County, MN, age 24 and unmarried. He enlisted for three years on January 20, 1862 in Freeborn County and mustered at Madison, WI on February 11, 1862 as a Private (Menig) and Wagonmaster. Jenson detached to serve with ambulance Corps on February 24, 1863. He was wounded at Chicamauga, GA, and again while driving an ambulance during the Battle of Kenesaw Mountain, GA. He mustered out with Company K at Chattanooga, TN on February 10, 1865.
After the war, Jenson lived in Albert Lea, Freeborn County, MN. He married Sena Peterson on January 4, 1871 in Albert Lea. They had at least eight children, including Emma (1872), Ella (1873), John (1876), Tilda (1879), and Johanna (1880). He worked as a farmer. Jenson died on January 15, 1915. He is buried in Central Freeborn Lutheran Cemetery. Sina died in 1935 and is buried in the same cemetery. He was the only one of four brothers to survive the war.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-12; Ole A. Buslett, Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers] (Decorah, Iowa, 1894), p.628; Martin Ulvestad, Nordmændene i Amerika, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p.295; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.318; GAR records, Freeborn County Historical Society, Albert Lea, MN; Blaine Hedberg, NAGC&NL; findagrave.com; 1900 Census, Roll: 764; Page: 3A, Enumeration District: 0055, FHL microfilm: 1240764; 1885 MN Census, MNSC_26, Line 35; MN Marriage Records, Batch #M73554-9, GS Film #1315836, Ref ID P 200.