Ole Nilson Hegna was born Nore, Numedal, Norway, on Nov. 19, 1840. His family was farmers. He left his town to immigrate to America in April 22, 1861, and he arrived in McGregor, Iowa on July 27 the same year. He traveled in very poor conditions on both boat and train. Once in the US he struggled with poverty, and he made little money in his various jobs. He then met with people who enlisted in the war, and in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, a man called Simunson recruited Nilson and several other men. He trained in Camp Randall, Madison, Wisconsin, before heading out to fight in Civil War campaigns (the pages discussing this are absent in the collection). In 1865 he headed back to Minnesota, and in 1867 he went to Blooming Prairie in Minnesota where his parents were located. He lived with them until he moved to Clayton County in Iowa in 1873, where he married Julia Gunderfinger. Julia was from Madison in Iowa. She died in 1905, and after that Ole Nilson traveled to Norway twice to visit family and his homeplace, until he settled in Gunder.