Jens Lorensen
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| Name at Enlist | Jens Lorensen |
| Birth Name | |
| Other Names | Lorentson, Lorenson |
| Lived | 19 Mar 1840 – 22 Jul 1906 |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Scandinavia, Waupaca County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | I |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 20 Dec 1861 |
| Death Location | McPherson, McPherson County, Kansas |
| Burial Location | McPherson Cemetery, McPherson, McPherson County, Kansas |
| Mother | Ingeborg Olsdatter |
| Father | Lorens Jensen |
| Spouse | Berte (Bertha) Johanne Nilsdatter |
| Spouse Lived | Jan 1845-21 Jul 1905 |
| Married On | 11 Jun 1869 |
| Marriage Location | Scandinavia Lutheran Church, Scandinavia, Waupaca County, WI |
Jens Lorensen was born on March 19, 1840 in Norway to Lorens Jensen and Ingeborg Olsdatter.
Lorensen joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company I. The men of the company called themselves the “Scandinavian Mountaineers” but were also known as the “Waupaca Company” because so many of them were living in that WI county when they enlisted. The army listed him as living in Scandinavia, Waupaca County, WI, age 21, and unmarried. He enlisted on November 18, 1861 at Scandinavia, and mustered at Madison, WI on December 20, 1861 as a Private (Menig). Lorensen was with the provision transport from Stevenson, AL in September 1863. He mustered out with Company I at Chattanooga, TN on February 10, 1865.
After the war, Lorensen returned to Scandinavia, WI. He married Berte (Bertha) Johanne Nilsdatter on June 11, 1869 at Scandinavia Lutheran Church, Scandinavia, WI. She was born in Norway in January 1845 to Nils Jacobsen and Birta Andersdatter. Jens and Bertha had nine children together: Louis (1870), Ingebor (1872), Julius (1874), Bertha (1876), Willie (1879), Emma (1881), Nelson (1885), Winnie (1887), and Harrison (1889).
Between 1874 and 1876, the family relocated to MI. They were only there a couple years before relocating again to KS about 1879. They lived in McPherson, McPherson County, KS. At various points in his life, Jens is listed as a farmer, a fruit stand owner, and a laborer. Bertha died on July 21, 1905 and Jens died a year later on July 22, 1906. They are both buried in McPherson Cemetery.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-11; Regimental muster and descriptive rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.132; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett (Decorah, A, 1894), p.598; Nordmaendene i Amerika, Martin Ulvestad, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p.307; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.315; Civil War Pension Index, Roll #T288_288; Kansas Grand Army of the Republic Post Reports, post #87, no. 223; findagrave.com; 1900 Census, Roll: 488, Page: 14B, Enumeration District: 0142, FHL microfilm: 1240488; KS 1885 Census, Roll: KS1885_82; Line: 18; U.S. Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, p.525.