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Johan Oscar (Samuelson) Rolander was born in Västra Ryd, Östergötland, Sweden in 1847 and immigrated to the United States in 1868. In 1911, he took his first and only trip back to Sweden and kept a diary. This collection consists of a typed English translation of that diary which describes the trip on train and boat, his encounters with friends and family, and the changes in Sweden since he left 43 years ago. 

These papers contain a brief autobiography of Hortense Lindorff, an inventory of objects at the Jenny Lind Chapel (Andover, Illinois), and inventory of archival records at the First Lutheran Church (Rock Island, Illinois). Hortense Lindorff was a Swedish American and Augustana College graduate. She was a member of First Lutheran Church in Rock Island, Illinois and served on several boards of Swedish-American organizations, including the Jenny Lind Chapel Committee.

Collection includes one memoir “The Farm Life of a Swedish Immigrant in Illinois circa 1900-1925” by Elmer B. Oberg, undated (circa 1975-1983). Elmer B. Oberg was born in 1907 in Neponset, Illinois. This memoir details his life growing up farming with his family in western Illinois. His father, Nels (or Nils) Oberg, was born in 1872 in Sweden, came to the United States in 1890. This memoir describes his farm work as a frugal and resourceful man. Collection also includes two pages of family genealogical information for Nels (or Nils) Oberg, 1984.