FINDING AID
Peter S. Nelson diaries, 1860-1916
COLLECTION SUMMARY
Collection Title:
Peter S. Nelson diaries
Collection Number:
MSS P:227
Dates:
1860-1916
Size:
4 boxes (1.25 linear feet)
Language:
English (bulk), Swedish
Creator/Collector:
Nelson, Peter S., 1835-1916
Nelson, Charles A.
Subject Headings:
Diaries.
Swedish Americans--Illinois.
Immigrants’ writings, Swedish.
Knox County (Ill.)
Farmers—Illinois
Lumber trade
Repository:
Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
Abstract:
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."
RIGHTS AND ACCESS
Conditions Governing Access:
Collection is open for research.
Reproduction and Use:
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the Swenson Center and the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation:
[item identification], in MSS P:227 Peter S. Nelson diaries, Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
ACQUISITION AND RELATED MATERIALS
Source of Acquisition:
Gift of Mr. Robert N. Linrothe of Burlington, Washington in 1987. Linrothe is the great-grandson of Peter S. and the grandson of Charles A. Nelson. Linrothe attended Augustana College, as did one of his children.
Related Materials:
Brief biography and photograph of Peter S. Nelson in “Svenskarne i Illinois: historiska anteckningar” by Johnson and Peterson, 1880.
Brief biography in “History of Knox County” by Chapman, 1878
Processed By:
Received by Kermit Westerberg in 1987. Finding aid written by Christina Johansson in 2006. Revised by Lisa Huntsha in 2019.
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
Administrative/Biographical History:
Peter S. Nelson was born 15 February, 1835 in Nya Ryedal, Gammalstorp parish, Blekinge, Sweden. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1853. After having spent one year in southern Illinois, Nelson moved to Galesburg in 1854 where he was involved with the transportation of lumber and timber. In 1866, he resettled in Altona and became a flour merchant, an affair that ruined him financially. He then received a contract digging ditches for drainage in Bureau County and earned a substantial amount of money. He spent the winter of 1868 in Sweden and after his return the U.S. he resettled on a 210-acre farm in Henderson Grove where he raised cattle and had a lumber business. He went again to Sweden in 1877 with his wife and two children. He was a republican and was a candidate for sheriff on the liberal ballot.
He married Nellie Gibson on 14 March 1863 in Chicago. They had 6 children, Charles Atle, Edward, George, Hattie, Mabel and Lillian.
Scope and Content:
The papers consist of 33 pocket diaries kept by Peter S. Nelson 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 (1880) and a poem entitled "Vid min hembygd i Blekinge, 1895."
System of Arrangement:
Series I: Poem (1895) includes photocopy of poem “Vid min hembygd i Blekinge, 1895” [At my birthplace in Blekinge, 1895] written by Peter S. Nelson upon returning to his childhood home 42 years after leaving, and an English translation of the same.
Series II: Diaries (1860-1916) includes 33 daily pocket diaries of Peter S. Nelson from 1860-1916. The diaries are written in Swedish until 1869 when they change to English. Also includes one pocket diary kept by his son, Charles A. Nelson from 1880.
Collection Inventory:
Series I: Poem
Photocopy of poem, Swedish, August 1895 [and English translation]
Series II. Diaries
Daily pocket diary for 1860, Swedish
Daily pocket diary for 1861, Swedish
Daily pocket diary for 1862, Swedish
Daily pocket diary for 1863, Swedish
Daily pocket diary for 1869, English (bulk), Swedish
Daily pocket diary for 1879, English
Daily pocket diary for 1880, English
Daily pocket diary for 1882, English
Daily pocket diary for 1883, English
Daily pocket diary for 1884, English
Daily pocket diary for 1885, English
Daily pocket diary for 1887, English
Daily pocket diary for 1888, English
Daily pocket diary for 1896, English
Daily pocket diary for 1897, English
Daily pocket diary for 1898, English
Daily pocket diary for 1900, English
Daily pocket diary for 1901, English
Daily pocket diary for 1902, English
Daily pocket diary for 1903, English
Daily pocket diary for 1904, English
Daily pocket diary for 1905, English
Daily pocket diary for 1906, English
Daily pocket diary for 1907, English
Daily pocket diary for 1908, English
Daily pocket diary for 1909, English
Daily pocket diary for 1910, English
Daily pocket diary for 1911, English
Daily pocket diary for 1912, English
Daily pocket diary for 1913, English
Daily pocket diary for 1914, English
Daily pocket diary for 1915, English
Daily pocket diary for 1916, English
Daily pocket diary for 1880, by Charles A. Nelson, English