The 1852 diary is the first of Peck's 27 diaries. The diary begins with Peck presenting some autobiographical information about his family and childhood, as well as his schooling and general temperament as a child. The beginning of the diary finds Rev. Peck as the President of Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. Peck makes trips to Harrisburg and other Pennsylvania towns, as well as Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC while completing his duties as college president, making various addresses to the student body and holding class meetings, as well as Thursday and Friday night prayer meetings and Friday night faculty meetings. On April 4, Peck turned 41 years old. The rest of the spring saw the marriage of his adopted daughter, the end of Peck's reign as President of Dickinson College on July 6th, and the return to his life as a Methodist preacher. The remainder of the year was spent in pastoral visits and preaching to first the Methodist congregation in Carlisle, PA, and then at the Foundry Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. where Peck and his wife moved to mid-August. Peck wrote the subject of most of his morning and evening sermons as well as details about carrying out pastoral visits to see the sick and mourners.

This diary was transcribed by Hilary H. Galvin with the help of Rev. Edward W. Hanson.