ANDREW PETERSON:

Andrew Peterson was born in Sweden on October 20, 1818. In 1850 he emigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Burlington, Iowa. In 1854 he joined the Swedish Baptist congregation led by Fredrik Olaus Nilsson, who had been the first person in Sweden to become a Baptist minister. Peterson and many others in the Burlington congregation followed Nilsson to Carver County, Minnesota Territory, in the summer of 1855.

Peterson settled on a claim near Clearwater Lake (now Lake Waconia), where he developed a farm with special emphasis on making maple sugar and growing apples and grapes. On September 15, 1858, he married “Elsa.” Andrew Peterson died at his farm on March 31, 1898. All of the Petersons’ nine children, eight of whom were alive in 1898, died childless.

The above sketch was taken from the Andrew Peterson papers; from Grace Lee Nute’s article, “The Diaries of a Swedish-American Farmer, Andrew Peterson,” in the Yearbook of the American Institute of Swedish Arts, Literature, and Science (Minneapolis, 1945), pp. 105-132; and from the essay “En Svensk Farmares Levernesbeskrivning,” in Vilhelm Moberg’s Den Okända Släkten (Stockholm, 1959), pp. 39-61.

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Most of the papers are in Swedish; the diaries and account books for 1855-1898 are accompanied by an English translation (typescript and longhand) by Emma M. Ahlquist. A typed Swedish transcript of the diaries for 1850-1869 transcribed by the Andrew Peterson Society is also included. Also included are Swedish language newspaper clippings and other items concerned with Vilhelm Moberg's use of the Peterson papers in his novels of Swedish emigration to America as well as printed material published by the Andrew Peterson Society in Sweden.

The diaries and account books document Peterson’s emigration from Sweden to Iowa; his trip to Minnesota; the building of his home; the working of his farm; the establishment of a school, church, and local government in the community; and his experiments in fruit culture. Also mentioned are his activities in the Swedish Baptist Church; his work with the local grange, in third-party movements, and on the town and school boards; and his exhibitions of fruit at local, state, and international fairs and exhibitions. The account books contain much information on prices and on the operation of the farm.

One folder contains correspondence and miscellaneous material, 1880-1978. It includes a printed constitution (1880), in Swedish, of the Carver County Mutual Hail Insurance Company, of which Peterson was a signatory; letters on fruit culture, 1890-1898; a letter (April 18, 1898) describing the death of Andrew Peterson and giving biographical data on him; and Swedish language newspaper clippings and translations, as well as other items, 1960-1978, concerned with Vilhelm Moberg’s use of the Peterson papers in his novels of Swedish emigration to America.

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Access Restrictions:

Originals are closed. Access and use requires the curator’s permission.

Some of these files are located off site in Remote Storage. Advance arrangements are required in order to view the files.

Please consult reference staff for more information.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Andrew Peterson and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Microfilm production:

Saint Paul, MN : Minnesota Historical Society, 1974. 3 microfilm reels ; 35 mm.

Available for sale or interlibrary loan from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 4890; 4962a; 4978; 8799; 9156; 9610; 11,317; 11,606; 12,422; 12,474; 16,273; 16,530

Processing Information:

Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Digitized by: Minnesota Historical Society, May 2019

Catalog ID number: 990017326520104294

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Location

Reel

M231

1

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1890-1961.

Digital version

Diaries:

In Swedish.

Volume 1, June 1854-August 1875.

Digital version

Volume 2, September 1875-October 1880.

Digital version

Volume 3, November 1880-December 1885.

Digital version

Volume 4, January 1886-December 1889.

Digital version

Volume 5, January 1890-April 1893.

Digital version

Volume 6, May 1893-July 1897.

Digital version

Volume 7, August 1897-March 1898.

Digital version

Location

Reel

M231

2

Diary translations:

In English.

Part 1, January 1855-October 1885.

Digital version

Part 2, November 1885-March 1898.

Digital version

Location

Reel

M231

3

Cash accounts, 1855-1931.

In Swedish.

1855-1876

September 1875-June 1884

June 1884-January 1895

January 1895-December 1931.

Cash accounts translation, May 1855-March 1898.

In English.

Digital version

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RESTRICTED.

Location

Box

302.F.14.5B

1

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1880-1978.

Digital version

Unnumbered diary and notebook, 1850-1853, 1854-1856. 2 volumes in 1 folder.

In Swedish.

Digital version

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Agriculture -- Minnesota -- Carver County.

Baptists, Swedish -- Minnesota -- Carver County.

Exhibitions.

Fairs -- Minnesota.

Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota -- Carver County.

Fruit-culture -- Minnesota -- Carver County.

Prices.

School management and organization -- Minnesota -- Carver County.

Swedish Americans -- Minnesota -- Carver County.

Persons:

Ahlquist, Emma M. (Emma Margareta), translator.

Moberg, Vilhelm, 1898-1973.

Nilsson, F. O. (Fredrik Olaus), 1809-1881.

Organizations:

Andrew Petersonsällskapet.

Places:

Carver County (Minn.)

Minnesota -- Politics and government.

Waconia (Minn.)

Document Types:

Account books.

Diaries.

Microforms.

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