Brita must have felt very alone and frightened when her husband Andrew left her and their young son Johan to travel to America several years after they were married.  She was only 25 years old and I can only imagine that she prayed every day he would stay safe and send for her and their son just as soon as he was able to secure work in the new country.

Brita was born in about 1863 in Hudiksvall, Sweden.  I know nothing about her parents and it seems that even her children were unclear on her maiden name.  I have located a Swedish record which indicates it might have been “Johansdotter” but more research needs to be done.

After Andrew had been gone from Sweden for some time, his brother Erick went searching for him.  Eventually Brita was sent for – but their young son Johan had died in the meantime.

For more information on how Andrew, Brita and Erick made their way to Montana after Brita arrived, click here.  Once in Montana, Brita and Andrew went on to have four more children, including my grandfather Cid H. Dalin.

When Andrew died in 1919, Brita was only 55 years old.  Her brother-in-law, who never married, seem to watch over Brita for the rest of her life. According to census records, he lived with her for what seem to be short periods of time off and on until her death in 1942.

Brita is buried in the Oddfellows Cemetery next to Andrew.  And Erick, who died in 1955 in California, is buried nearby.