Austin Hanson
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| Name at Enlist | Austin Hanson |
| Birth Name | |
| Other Names | Osten Hanson, Ansten |
| Lived | 9 Nov 1834 – 4 Dec 1876 |
| Birth Place | Sør-Fron, Oppland |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Neshonoc, La Crosse County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | E |
| 2nd Company | H |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 3 Mar 1864 |
| Cause of Death | Hit by a train |
| Death Location | Swede Grove Township, Meeker, MN |
| Mother | Lisbet Iversdatter |
| Father | Hans Ostensen Steig |
| Immigration | 13 Feb 1856 |
| Spouse | Oline (Olina) Ingebrettsdatter |
| Spouse Lived | 1837-17 May 1912 |
| Married On | 1860 |
| Marriage Location | WI |
Austin Hanson was born in Sør-Fron, Oppland, Norway on November 9, 1834. His parents were Hans Osten Steig and Lisbet Iversdtr. He birth name was Osten. He immigrated on February 13, 1856 for WI. He married Oline Ingebrettsdtr in 1860.
Hanson joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company E. The men of the company called themselves “Odin’s Rifles.” The army listed Hanson as living in Neshonoc, La Crosse County, WI, a farmer, age 29, and married. He had blue eyes, light hair, sandy complexion, and stood 6’. He enlisted for three years on February 29, 1864 at La Crosse, WI, and mustered there on March 3, 1864 as a Private (Menig). He joined the company at Knoxville, TN. He transferred to Company H at Whiteside, TN on December 20, 1864. He was temporarily assigned to the 24th Infantry, and then transferred on June 10, 1865 to I Company of the WI 13th Infantry. He mustered out on November 24, 1865 at San Antonio, TX.
After the war, he and Oline moved to Harrison Monongalia (now part of Kandiyohi) County, MN. He worked as a farmer. On December 4, 1876, Hanson was accidentally hit by a train at Swede Grove Mill in Meeker County, MN. He died instantly. According to the report, “The deceased leaves a wife in ill health, and seven small children.” Oline and the children eventually relocated to SD. She died on May 17, 1912 in Webster, SD.
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.18, p.178, vol.20, p.74; Payroll muster rolls of WI 15th Co E, saved by Captain T. A. Rossing; Det Femtende Regiment. Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett, Decorah, IA, 1894, p.478; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.304; Civil War Pension Index, Roll #T288_198; 1870 Census, Roll: T132_7; Image: 522; Family History Library Film: 830427; Digital Archives, Sør-Fron, Oppland Klokkerbok, 1816-1843; Digital Archives, Sør-Fron, Oppland, Ministerialbok, 1849-1863; Death Certificate, Kandiyohi County, MN, copy: http://www.bwchristopher.com/Family1/wc_src/sm01/s01_040a.jpg; Minnesota Historical Society, The Litchfield News Ledger, Litchfield, Meeker Co., MN, 12/7/1876, Vol. 9, No. 4, copy: http://www.bwchristopher.com/Family1/wc_src/sm01/s01_149a.jpg; Northern Union Reaper, Minneapolis, 6/12/1912, Vol. 7, No. 13, p.7, copy http://www.bwchristopher.com/Family1/wc_src/src038.htm#C3750.