Jacob J. Lee
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| Name at Enlist | Jacob J. Lee |
| Birth Name | |
| Lived | 21 Nov 1826 – 4 Nov 1898 |
| Birth Place | Porsgrund |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Perry, Dane County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | E |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 8 Dec 1861 |
| Death Location | Fertile, Cerro Gordo County, IA |
| Burial Location | Grant Center Cemetery, Fertile, Cerro Gordo County, IA |
| Spouse | Margit (Margaret) Thorofsdatter |
| Spouse Lived | 1836- 6 Apr 1899 |
| Married On | 1 Jun 1865 |
| Marriage Location | Perry Church |
Jacob J. Lee came to America from Porsgrund, Norway. 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 Perry, Dane County, WI, age 35, and unmarried. He enlisted on November 26, 1861, and mustered on December 8, 1861 at Madison, WI as a Private (Menig). Lee was seriously wounded and taken prisoner at Stones River near Murfreesboro, TN on December 31, 1862. He was paroled in 1863 at Annapolis, Maryland and moved to Benton Barracks, St. Louis, MO, as a prisoner on parole. Lee was then restored to duty. He was left sick at Chattanooga, TN on November 28, 1863. Later, he was sick at Nashville and then tansferred to the Invalid Corps on April 22, 1864.
After the war, he was married June 1, 1865 at Perry Church to Margit Thorofsdatter who was born at Helleslia farm in Treungen, Telemark in 1836 to Torav Olavsen Arak and Ase Svendsdatter. They moved to Winnebago County, IA in 1866. They had six children, including Elias (1867) and Anne (1869). In 1886, they were listed as living in Fertile, Cerro Gordo County, IA. Jacob died on November 4, 1898. He and Margit are both buried in Grant Center Cemetery in Fertile.
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.76; Payroll muster rolls of WI 15th E Company, saved by Captain T. A. Rossing; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett (Decorah, Iowa, 1894), p.487; Nordmaendene i Amerika, Martin Ulvestad, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p.306; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.304; The Military History of Wisconsin in the War for the Union, Edwin B. Quiner, 1866, Clarke & Co., Chicago, p.621; List of Ex-Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, living in Iowa, William L Alexander, Des Moines, IA, 1886, p.705; Ruth Holtan, Forest City, Iowa; 1870 Census, Roll: M593_426, Page: 10B, Image: 24, Family History Library Film: 545924; findagrave.com.