I have very few photos of Andrew and Brita, and only this one where they are standing next to each other. The image is cropped from a larger group photo, probably taken on August 3rd, Watermelon Day – year unknown.

They are buried side by side in Oddfellows Cemetery in Helena, Montana.

Early last month, I made a promise to myself to finally – and once and for all – get my family history records and photos in order. It seems I spend more time looking for that “perfect photo” that will beautifully illustrate my blog – or more time digging for that “perfect record” that I was sure I found six months ago – than I do blogging or researching. It’s making me nuts!

At first I thought I might participate in The Genealogy Do-Over proposed by Thomas MacAntee but somehow it didn’t seem a good fit for me at this time – although I see the value in his system and I expect I’ll explore that process once I’m more organized.

After some internet searching, I came across Dear Myrtle’s FINALLY Get Organized system, which seemed like a better fit. It’s been slow going but I’m seeing the benefits already. And her organization system makes a lot of sense to me. I’ve been doing family history since my teens and have never come up with a filing system that quite works. But so far, her filing recommendations for both hard copy and digital files are working well.

The biggest surprise has to do with transcribing documents, which Dear Myrtle strongly recommends. I’ve always known in the back of my head I would have to do this task some day – but I’ve been putting it off. And I’m actually pleased to report just how beneficial transcribing a document can be. In several instances so far, I’ve discovered “new” information in documents I’ve had for years, but have never taken the time to analyze.

Here’s just one example: the 1940 U.S. Census record for my father’s parents, Cid and Fran Dalin. Just by taking a few minutes to transcribe this document, I learned a few new things about my grandparents:

• My grandfather only had an 8th grade education.
• In 1939, he had a steady job working 40 hours a week, as a shipping clerk in a cigar store. He earned $1,500 that year and did not receive money from any other source.
• My grandmother had a high school education.
• I could tell by the address given in the census that the family was living in the house that my father helped his father build – the one I had always visited as a child. But lately I had become curious to know when they actually moved into that house. Well, according to the census, they also lived in that house in 1935. I knew from the 1930 census that they lived in their “old” home next door in 1930 – so now I know they moved into the new house some time between 1930 and 1935.

These are the little details that family historians love to find. Yes, they are facts – but they’re the kind of facts that help fill in a story.

This is a picture of the house where my father lived with his family in 1940. The photo was probably taken about 1946, several years before siding was installed on the main part of the house. Continue reading →