Peter S. Nelson immigrated to Illinois from Sweden in 1853. He worked in timber and raising cattle and made several trips back to Sweden. He married Nellie Gibson and had 6 children. The collection consists of 33 diaries dated from 1860 to 1916. These diaries document Nelson's everyday life and personal finances. His diary entries are in the Swedish language up to 1869. Included is also one diary kept by his son Charles Nelson and a poem entitled "Vid min hembygd i Blekinge 1895."