Rosendahl was born in Hadeland, Norway on October 18, 1838, and immigrated with his parents to a farm in Houston County, Minnesota in 1854. He participated in the 1863 Sibley punitive expedition against the Dakota Indians as a member of Company A of the First Regiment of Minnesota Mounted Rangers. In early 1865 he was mustered as a corporal into Company L of the First Minnesota Regiment of Heavy Artillery, which then traveled from Fort Snelling to Tennessee. Following the war Rosendahl represented Houston County (First District) in the Minnesota House of Representatives (1872-1873), following which he was elected Houston County Register of Deeds (1873-1880), and also served at some point as Clerk of Spring Valley Township. Rosendahl married Gunhild Anderson in 1869 and died in 1880. The first folder of the collection contains some additional biographical information.
From the guide to the Paul D. Rosendahl diaries., 1860-1865, 1873-1880., (Minnesota Historical Society)
