Handwritten diaries with typescripts. The diaries cover the years 1852 to 1856 and 1859 to 1862. Van Cott writes about his service as president of the Scandinavian mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He lived in Copenhagen, Denmark. He also writes about helping organize the migration of Mormon pioneers by handcart in 1856 at Iowa City, Iowa.

Correspondence, diaries, and a family history. The correspondence is between Van Cott and family members. Also included are handwritten and signed letters from Brigham Young, second president of the Mormon Church, to Van Cott. The diaries cover the time when Van Cott served as a missionary for the Mormon Church from 1852 to 1856 and from 1859 to 1862. He was in Iowa City, Iowa, when the first handcart companies left for Utah.