Henry Sporland
Database Record Change Request
| Name at Enlist | Henry Sporland |
| Birth Name | |
| Other Names | Johan Henrik |
| Lived | Apr 1832 – ca. 1929 |
| Birth Place | Stavanger |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Chicago, Cook County, IL |
| Company at Enlistment | A |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 15 Nov 1861 |
| Immigration | 1855 |
| Spouse | Ovidia |
| Spouse Lived | Sep 1849- |
| Married On | 1864 |
Henry Sporland was born in 1832 at Stavanger, Norway. He immigrated in 1855. He joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company A. The men of the company called themselves the “St. Olaf’s Rifles.” They were also known as the “Sailor Company” because of the large number of seamen in its ranks, and as the “Chicago Company” because so many of its members were residents of that city.
The army listed him as living in Chicago, IL, age 29, and unmarried. Enlisted for three years on October 11, 1861 at Chicago and mustered on November 15, 1861 at Madison, WI as a Private (Menig). He was promoted to Corporal (Korporal). He was sick in hospital at Bowling Green, KY on September 17, 1862. On August 15, 1864, he was transferred to Veterans Reserve Corps.
After the war, he married Ovidia in 1864. She immigrated to the U.S. in that same year. They had 5 children, but none of them were living by 1900. Henry worked as a confectioner. In 1907, he was living at 341 Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. Ovidia filed a pension as a widow in 1929.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-3; Regimental muster and descriptive rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.20; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett (Decorah, Iowa, 1894), p.367; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.293; Nordmaendene i Amerika, Martin Ulvestad, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p.265; Lars Gjertveit, Bodo, Norway; General’s Office, vol.20, p.134; Civil War Pension Index, Roll # T288_447; 1900 Census, Roll: 262, Page: 2A, Enumeration District: 0434, FHL microfilm: 1240262.