Knud O. Brager
Database Record Change Request
| Name at Enlist | Knud O. Brager |
| Birth Name | Knud Olsen Brager |
| Other Names | Knut Bragen |
| Lived | 9 Feb 1843 – 6 Mar 1924 |
| Birth Place | Brager farm, Hedal parish, Sør-Aurdal, Oppland fylke |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Black Earth, Dane County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | C |
| 2nd Company | B |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 21 Oct 1861 |
| Cause of Death | Angina Pectoris |
| Death Location | Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo County, IA |
| Burial Location | Ellington Prairie Cemetery, Hancock County, IA |
| Mother | Kari Olsdatter |
| Mother Lived | 10 Apr 1814-31 Oct 1882 |
| Father | Ole Ellensen Brager |
| Father Lived | 12 Apr 1806-16 Jul 1887 |
| Immigration | 1861 |
| Spouse | Sarah Olson Tidemanson/Sigri Olsdatter |
| Spouse Lived | 11 May 1846-6 Jun 1931 |
| Married On | 28 Jan 1865 |
| Marriage Location | Vermont, Dane Co, WI |
Knud Olsen was born on February 9, 1843 on the Brager farm, Hedalen parish, Sør-Aurdal, Oppland, Norway to parents, Ole Ellendsen and Kari Olsdatter . He left the parish in 1861 with his brother, Ellen, and sister, Kari. His parents and other siblings emigrated later.
He joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company C. The men of the company called themselves the “Norway Bear Hunters,” but they were also known as the Color Company because the regimental Color Guard was attached to their company. His brother, Ellend also joined the Wisconsin 15th.
The army listed Brager as living in Black Earth, Dane County, WI, age 18, and unmarried. He enlisted for three years on October 21, 1861, at Madison, WI, and mustered there the same day as a Private (Menig). He transferred to Company B on April 1, 1862 on orders from Col. Hans C. Heg and was discharged from the service for sickness on April 1, 1862.
After the war, Knud returned to Black Earth and married Sarah, moving to Iowa about 1875. Their children were: Ole (1865-1865), Thea Karoline (1867-1897), Olaf (1869-1951), Oliver (1872-1953), Emil Oscar (1874-1910), Anne Marie/Mary (1876-1973), George Christian (1878-1966), Carl Sigurd (1880-1949), Clara Sophie (1882-1960), Albert Ervind (1884-?), Ellef Alfred (1886-1886), Ella Amanda (1888-1889), and Arthur Marion/Myron (1890-1938). They lived in Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo County, IA. He died there on March 6, 1924. He was buried at Ellington Prairie Cemetery, Hancock County, IA.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-5; Regimental Muster and Descriptive Rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p. 44;Det Femtende Regiment Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett, 1894, B. Anundsen, Decorah, IA, p. 407; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Publ. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p. 294; Letter to Minneapolis Norwegian Language Newspaper, 1892, signed A.K.Brenden, Bend, OR; Nordmændene i Amerika, Martin Ulvestad, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p. 273; Ann Urness Gesme, Cedar Rapids, IA; 1915 IA Census; Civil War Pension Index; 1900 Census, Roll: 423, Page: 2A, Enumeration District: 0024, FHL microfilm: 1240423; and 1910 Census, Roll: T624_396, Page: 16A, Enumeration District: 0020, FHL microfilm: 1374409; Iowa Marriage Records, Batch # M86816-2, GS Film # 1481038, Ref. ID 2:3LCTTB9; “Norwegian Immigrants 1850 and later”, database, NAGCNL, #64057, #31084; digitalarkivet.no, ancestry.com, findagrave.com.