Peter Johnson
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| Name at Enlist | Peter Johnson |
| Birth Name | Peder Johannesen Ellestad |
| Lived | 27 Jan 1844 – 28 Mar 1923 |
| Birth Place | Vestre Slidre, Oppland |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Rochester, Racine County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | C |
| Muster Date | 15 May 1864 |
| Death Location | New Hampton, Chickasaw County, Iowa |
| Burial Location | Crane Creek Lutheran Cemetery, Chickasaw County, Iowa |
| Mother | Gro Pedersdatter Qvale |
| Father | Johannes Nilsen Ellestad |
| Immigration | 3 Jul 1848 |
| Spouse | Martha Atlesdatter Ylvisaker |
| Spouse Lived | 1848- 1924 |
| Married On | 24 Jun 1870 |
Peter Johnson was born “Peder Johannesen Ellestad” on January 27, 1844 at Vestre Slidre, Oppland, Norway, the son of Johannes Nilsen Ellestad and Gro Pedersdatter Qvale. He came to America with his parents and three brothers on “Statsraad Vogt”, which sailed from Bergen and arrived in NY on July 3, 1848. They came to Blooming Grove Township, Dane County, WI.
Johnson 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. The army listed him as living in Rochester, Racine County, WI. He enlisted on May 15, 1864 and was discharged on April 1, 1865.
After the war, Johnson became a farmer in Jacksonville Township, Chickasaw County, IA. He was married on June 24, 1870 to Martha Atlesdatter Ylvisaker (1848-1924). They had eleven children, including Julia (1872), John (1874), Sarah (1876), Albert (1878), Peter (1880), Gilbert (1891), George (1893), Hattie (1889), and Grover (1895). Peter died at New Hampton, Chickasaw County on March 28, 1923, and was buried in Crane Creek Lutheran Cemetery, Chickasaw County.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office box 79-1; Regimental muster and descriptive rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol. 20, p. 46; Det Femtende Regiment. Wisconsin Frivillige, p. 419; Nordmaendene i Amerika, Martin Ulvestad, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p.299; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire WI, p.298; Unidentified obituary, ancestry.com; Norwegian Immigrants to the United States. A Biographical Directory, 1825-1850. Volume Three 1847-1848, Gerhard B. Naeseth, 2000, Anundsen Publishing Co., Decorah, IA, p. 118, ID 265; 1880 Census, Roll: 332, Family History Film: 1254332, Page: 420D, Enumeration District: 120, Image: 0447; 1910 Census, Roll: T624_396, Page: 2B, Enumeration District: 0045, FHL microfilm: 1374409; 1920 Census, Roll: T625_482, Page: 10B, Enumeration District: 53, Image: 432.