Nils Helgeson
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| Name at Enlist | Nils Helgeson |
| Birth Name | |
| Other Names | Helgesen |
| Lived | Aug 1841 – 7 Oct 1888 |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Worth County, IA |
| Company at Enlistment | K |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 11 Feb 1862 |
| Death Location | Mower County, MN |
| Burial Location | Marshall Lutheran Church Cemetery, Adams, Mower County, MN |
| Spouse | Marit Finkelson |
| Spouse Lived | 1854- 1891 |
Nils Helgeson was born in August 1841 in Norway. 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 Helgeson as living in Worth County, IA, age 21, and unmarried. He enlisted for three years on January 18, 1862 in Worth County and mustered at Madison, WI on February 11, 1862 as a Private (Menig). He was sick in Bowling Green, KY in November 1862. He became unfit for service and was discharged for disability at Camp Dennison, OH on June 22, 1863.
After the war, Helgeson became a member GAR. He married Marit Finkelson and they had at least three children: Thomas (1874), Rosa (1878) and Henry (1879). They lived in Mower County, MN and he worked as a farmer. He died on October 7, 1888 and is buried in Marshall Lutheran Church Cemetery, Adams, Mower County, MN.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-12; Regimental Muster and Descriptive Rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.144; Det Femtende Regiment. Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett, Decorah, IA, 1894, p.627; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.317; findagrave.com; Civil War Pension Index, Roll #T288_210; U.S. Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, p.131; 1880 Census, Roll: 626, Family History Film: 1254626, Page: 529A, Enumeration District: 166, Image: 0787.