Johannes "John" Stephanus Olsen Irgens

Baptismal record: Kildeinformasjon: Buskerud fylke, Modum, Klokkerbok nr. I 3 (1832-1842), Fødte og døpte 1832-1833, side 1-2. Permanent sidelenke: http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:kb_read?idx_kildeid=1155&idx_id=1155&... Permanent bildelenke: http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20051109010626.jpg

He came to America on “Lyna”, which sailed from Drammen, Buskerud, 8 Jun 1849 and arrived in New York 14 Aug 1849

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=66173398

Second Lieutenant, Company K, 15th Regiment ("Scandinavian Regiment"), Wisconsin Infantry, Civil War. Enlisted 1 Mar 1862 and mustered at Madison, Wisconsin. Private. Promoted to First Sergeant 1 May 1862. Commissioned Second Lieutenant on 5 Jun 1862 at Humboldt, Tennessee. Resigned 3 Sep 1862.

Secretary of State State of Minnesota 1876-1880

U. S. BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY MINNESOTA PUB. 1879. John S. Irgens, secretary of state, and one of the solid farmers of southern Minnesota, is a son of Ole Irgens, paymaster at the mines at Modum, Norway, and Henrietta Christina Calmeyer, and was born in Christiana, Norway, on the 11th of February, 1832. The Irgens, from whom he descended, are an old and influential family, many members of it having held high positions in the Lutheran church and in political life. The subject of this notice was educated by private tutors, and was thoroughly fitted for business. He speaks four languages. He came to this country in 1848; was a clerk for two years in a mercantile house in New York; then came as far west as Chicago, clerking there awhile, and then going into trade for himself. In 1857 he removed to Adams township, Mower county, Minnesota; was station agent there for three years, and engaged also in agriculture, which has since been his leading business. He resigned his station agency to accept the office of county treasurer, which office he held for four years. On the 1st of February, 1862, Mr. Irgens enlisted as a private in the 15th Wisconsin Infantry, and was promoted to second lieutenant the June following. At the end of one year, having nearly lost his hearing, he resigned, and returned to Minnesota. He was a member of the lower house of the legislature in 1875; in November of that year was elected secretary of state, and was re-elected in 1877, having a majority of more than eighteen thousand votes over his competitor. The state, it is generally conceded, never had a better officer of the kind. He evidently believes in undertaking nothing which he cannot do well. In politics, he has acted uniformly with the republican party. Mr. Irgens has long been a member of the Lutheran church, and has held at different times the offices of trustee, treasurer, etc. The wife of Mr. Irgens was Miss Louisa P. Arentz, of Stavanger, Norway, their union taking place in Chicago on the 18th of December, 1853. They have had seven children, and lost two of them. Ole Henry de Schezoulx, the eldest son, has a family and lives at Lyle, Minnesota; Henrietta Maria is the wife of Frank Jerabek, of Lyle; the rest are unmarried. Courtesy of Find A Grave contributor Chloe (#47159257)

Additional information: http://vesterheim.org/CivilWar/db/i/irg/003950.html