Nils Helgeson
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| Name at Enlist | Nils Helgeson |
| Birth Name | Niels Helgesen Engereie |
| Other Names | Nels Helgesen Hefta; Nels Hefta Nelson |
| Lived | 5 May 1840 – 16 Dec 1913 |
| Birth Place | Engereie, Eggedal parish, Sigdal, Buskerud |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Worth County, IA |
| Company at Enlistment | K |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 11 Feb 1862 |
| Cause of Death | Endocarditis, Myocarditis |
| Death Location | White Bear Lake (Starbuck), Pope Co, MN |
| Burial Location | London and Deer Creek Cemetery, Worth Co, IA |
| Mother | Anne Cathrine Larsdatter Fossnæs |
| Mother Lived | 8 Aug 1805- abt 1852 |
| Father | Helge Nilsen Hefta (born Kopsengeie) |
| Father Lived | 25 Feb 1813-6 May 1891 |
| Immigration | 1852 |
| Spouse | Birthe Larsdatter Bidne |
| Married On | 11 Sep 1863 |
| Marriage Location | Winneshiek Co, IA |
Niels Helgesen was born on the Engereie farm, in Norway and left Sigdal parish with his parents and sister on May 6, 1852. 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 Minnesota and Iowa, with the rest from Wisconsin.
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). In his pension file affidavit he states he became ill in August 1862, a day after standing for hours in the Green River (Kentucky) assisting the army supply train across. 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 his service, Nils married Birthe/Betsey and lived first in Worth Co, IA, then Freeborn Co, MN. They had at least six children: Julianna Kathrine (1864-1955), Caroline (1866-1953), Nels Lauris/Lewis H (1868-1945), Gurine Sofie/Sophia (1871-1960), Oline (1874-1875), and Johan Arndt/John (1875-1952). Nils applied for a pension September 25, 1879. He died December 16, 1913 and is buried in the London and Deer Creek Cemetery, Worth Co, IA.
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, 1894, B. Anundsen, Decorah, IA,, 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; digitalarkivet.no; findagrave.com; ancestry.com; “Norwegian Immigrants 1850 and later”, database, NAGCNL, #23835; additional family information provided by great-granddaughter, Annette Nelson Hagopian.