In the book's own words, not ours, with obvious scanning errors fixed. A few names of people born after 1905 are withheld for privacy. Families often supplied these stories to the publisher, so check key dates.
Born 1879
From An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota (1912)
JOSEPH L. NELSON (1904) is the proprietor of a billiard and pool hall in Cottonwood. He is a native Minnesotan and was born at Pipestone October 12, 1879. His parents are John and Annie Randena (Okre) Nelson, natives of Allamakee county, Iowa. The father died in 1890. They were the parents of five children, named as follows: Ofto, Selma, Clara, Hulda and Joseph L. The mother was married a second time, to Ole Ostenson. The grandparents of our subject are Ole and Aslank Nelson, natives of Norway, who came to the United States in a very early day and settled in Allamakee county.
Joseph Nelson resided at Pipestone, where he received his education and also learned the carpenter's trade, until 1903. In 1904 he came to Lyon county with his mother and sisters and located at Cottonwood. He later went to Hanley, Saskatchewan, Canada, and worked at the carpenter's trade a year. He then worked at Minot, Aneta and Cooperstown, North Dakota, at the same trade two years, when he returned to Cottonwood. Upon his return he purchased his mother's restaurant and conducted it until February, 1911, when he sold and opened a pool and billiard hall. He installed an entirely new outfit.
Mr. Nelson was married at Cottonwood June 29, 1910, to Clara Elmer, a native of Cottonwood and a daughter of John Elmer. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have one child, [name withheld], born April 12, 1911.
As printed in An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota (1912). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
The printed record stops around 1912. We trace your line from there down to you, with every source cited.