As you may have noticed, I have quite a big collection of photographs from my grandfather and my grandmother. However, most of these pictures were never put in any album, and they were never labelled. This has become quite frustrating, because I just don't know who these people were. To be able to put together a history of a person, including certain events and other people, it is kind of crucial to be able to identify what you are seeing in a picture.

Have a look at the picture above. While I have been able to identify my grandma, grandpa and dad, I don't know for sure who the other four women are. All I know is that Else(grandma) had five sisters and two brothers. After doing quite a bit of research I have found that one of her sisters probably died in 1926. One of her brothers died in 1943, and her other brother was working on a ship somewhere (according to one source I have). That leaves four sisters. 

 I found it strange that her mother wasn't in the photo, but non of these women look old enough to be Else's mother. She is 37 herself, and her mother would be 68 in 1947. That is why I believe these four women are her sisters. However, I don't know who is who. I have sent this picture to a relative who might be able to tell me, so all I can do now is wait. 

I'm not sure why I haven't written about this sooner, but I thought I'd share with you two meetings which I have done in the last year.

In September I went on holiday to Florida. I had never been to the states, so I was immediately amazed by how big everything were. The highways in to Miami for example, was something I had never experienced in my entire life. European roads have got nothing on the American ones. Anyway, while being over there, I thought I'd use the opportunity to meet someone who I have found in all my ancestry research. 

In 1926 my grandfather's brother, Erling, left Norway on a ship bound for England. He then boarded a ship which was bound for New York. He was only 23 years old. I have found lots of documentation of his trip over there and his life in Minnesota, but I will save all of that for a different blog entry. 

It was when I was searching for information about Erling's death and burial I found his grandson Gary. Luckily for me, he had provided details of Erling's death and burial on an American website. I searched for Gary on Facebook, and there he was. We've been in contact ever since. Gary didn't know much about his Norwegian heritage, other than that his grandfather was from Lillehammer, and I was happy to share everything I had found with him. 

It was natural to visit him while in Florida, because that is the state he lives in. He had a few pictures to show me and the meeting was a great success. Unfortunately I didn't have WiFi on my tablet, so I was unable to show him the family tree I had made...but in this day and age all you have to do is send a copy of it online, he wasn't too upset.

During Christmas I went to visit two other relatives. They live quite a bit closer than Gary. Jan Petter and his sister Anne live not far from Oslo, so there was no question as to whether I wanted to go and see them. Jan Petter and Anne were also very welcoming and open about their history (it must be a Burdal thing..?), and he had lots of information to show me. Jan Petter has been researching our family for a long time and was surprised, but delighted, when I showed so much interest. Apparently it is something which is more common for older people to be interested in, not a 21 year old. 

That was my experience meeting other relatives. I haven't really met anyone else who shares the same surname as me, apart from my sisters. So it was a great experience, and I believe we'll all keep in touch.

I recently started subscribing to the archive of one of Norway's largest newspapers, Aftenposten (The Evening Post). Looking through some of the documents and items after my grandfather Nils Burdal, I came to realise that the newspaper of his choice was in fact Aftenposten. So I thought if any newspaper would ever write about him, it would have to be that one. Not only because it is the one he used to read, but also because it is based in Oslo, and a lot of the news covered in it is from Oslo (which is where he lived all his adult life).

I searched for his name in the archive, and sadly there's not much written about him. I did however find his obituary. While this is somewhat sad to find, it also helps me understand him and his life better. I for one thought that Else and Nils were divorced. This suggests otherwise as Else is using "Burdal" as her last name. 

The wording of it makes me doubt that they were even separated. It says "My dearest HUSBAND, my dearest father, son, brother and uncle..." Now I'm not sure what to make of this. Maybe the breakup wasn't public and she felt like it had to be written that way...or maybe they didn't actually break up.

Letters...today it seems like a very old fashioned way of communication. There are easier and certainly faster ways of keeping in touch. However, there's still something special about sending and/or receiving a letter. A hand written letter is somewhat more personal, but then if you make a mistake it is so much more annoying to deal with. After I moved to England I have become very fond of letters. I send them to my friends and when they reply it is something which I can hang on the wall and then be reminded of my friend whenever I look at it.

75 years ago, keeping in touch with your friends and family what very different from today. Picture taking a person from 1938 and put him in 2013. That would make an interesting story. Anyway, in 1926 my grandfather's brother left Norway behind to look for a better life (I assume). He was single and probably didn't have much to lose (apart from his family). He travelled over to the states.

A few years ago I found letters from him, sent to my grandfather in Norway. Two of them are from 1938 and the last one is from 1947. I'm sure he sent more than that, but unfortunately I haven't found any more.

The language is a bit old fashioned, so it's not that easy to translate, but I've done my best.
The first part is written by Erling's wife:
"Dear Nils:
I shall write for Erling. He is working everyday, but he was going to write and thank you for your letter. It is fun to hear from Norway. We are living in another area now, so we have gotten a lot of work to do to get our new home finished. We are in 3306-E-25st.
We have cold weather still, but hoping it will get hot soon.
We are seeing Pete Berkley every now and then. His girls have become so big and they don't have time to come over and see us, but we see them sometimes.

Dennis is going to school everyday. He was five years old the 27. Feb, soon he
will be an adult as well.

Yes, you must come and see us. That would've been really nice. We won't be
able to get as far as Norway. It takes too much money to pay for all of us, and you are
alone.


Thank you for you letter, and write soon again. Erling will probably write one day to you too.  Say hi to your mother from us all.
- Erling, Selma and Dennis"

Then Erling writes a longer letter:
Dear little brother!
Thousand thanks for the letter I received from you some time back. It was really funny to hear a few words from you. I see you are working in the same place and that everything is fine in every way. Everything is just fine with us as well.
We have all been healthy through the whole winter and now the spring is here, so everything is going to be just fine.

We have had a good winter this year. Barely any snow and we haven't had minus degrees for more than 4-5 days, but lately we've had a lot of rain. Yes, with flooding everywhere. Yes, right in to Mpls. But the city lays high above the rivers. Yes, especially Mississippi. But all the cities around have been standing under water, and the rivers are still raising.

Life is going as usual, with plenty of work, like we always have during the winter. But it's starting to quiet down, so I think I will take a a holiday this summer. Yes, I guess you've been home again during easter, and had lots of fun as usual. Yes, it would've been a lot of fun to come back one day and go skiing on the mountain, if I haven't forgotten how to ski yet, but I would never think so.

We have now moved and we are living in a house by ourselves. We have four rooms downstairs and two bedrooms
on the first floor. Yes, we've gotten a really nice place, so you should come over and see soon. Maybe on your honeymoon.

Dennis is also going to school now. He started in February, and you can believe the wildcat is proud now.
He isn't growing that fast, but he strong like nothing else. I haven't heard from home in a long while, but
they are sending me newspapers, so I always know what is going on in old Lhmr. So as you see there are a lot of
joy in them. Hans Wald, who you saw when he was home, went to the hospital to remove the appendicitis. But he is now home and in good recovery.

Yes, I don't have that much to write about, but a little is better than nothing. Are you seeing Uncle August at all?
I haven't heard of him in many years. Maybe you see him every now and then. If you do, you'll have to send him and his children my best. Yes, you should live well and write soon, please. Selma has also written a few words.
Lots of love from big brother Erling."

Came across something cool today. For those of you who know Norwegian, read the text in the picture. For those of you who don't...this is a copy of a Norwegian "skijumping club through a 100 years". What it basically says is that my grandfathers two cousins, Einar and Birger, were doing skijumping and combined for this club. Apparently they were really good. The second picture is the two brothers together. The first picture is Einar with another jumper. Quite exciting! This is from the late 20s early 30s.

Here are a couple of other pictures as well. This is Einar Burdal with his prizes. Just look at his clothes and the decor in this room. Amazing. He looks like a typical Norwegian guy with those trousers and long socks. Quite funny how serious he looks, even though he has won something!

...and this one is of Birger Burdal. Looks pretty heavy having to get through all that snow. But I guess he was some kind of professional. Again, the clothes look like typical Norwegian clothes. I bet it kept him warm. It looks like his sticks are made of wood.

My sister and I have just gone through a suitcase full of stuff... our grandfather, Nils', suitcase. It has so many documents and pictures in it. But it made us able to learn something new about him.

During WW2, he was actually in a resistance group called "Lenkegjengen" (The Link Gang). I suppose the meaning of it is that they(or Norway) were and should be "linked" together as one people, or something like that. Anyway, they planned a few actions, some of which succeded if I have understood this right. And my grandfather was actually jailed for his resistance work... not only once, but twice. Apparently it was because he had been handing out illegal magazines/newspapers. I had no idea this had happened. The suitcase also holds many invitations to events and balls. It can seem like he was an important person. He has even received a signed thank you letter from King Olav.

^I kind of liked this picture. Nils had a few pictures of this, so it might have been an action or something.


The picture underneath is soldiers walking from Akershus Festning(castle). I'm not certain of this, but I think Nils is the man in front to the right. --- Correction... the person to the right is not Nils. I have found this picture and all the names. A bit disappointing, also strange, because this really looks like him. Anyway, the picture is cool.

Today I found out something new about my grandmother. I have always thought that she was the youngest of four girls. This turns out to be wrong. Because of no cencus after 1910, people born after that (who are dead), can be quite tricky to track. Unless you find a death certificate. In 1916 Elses parent's, Harald and Margrethe, had a boy. They named him Aasulv Edvard Berhard Devold. A long, and quite strange name, if you ask me. But I suppose they wanted to make him special, seen as he was their first boy. He got a job on a ship called Stavangerfjord. He only sailed with them a couple of times before WWII. In 1940 he left Norway. He got a job as an able seaman (deckman) on a ship called Bonde. Unfortunately on a trip from Swansea to Canada in 1943, three ships were attacked by an u-boat. Within three minutes, all three ships, Selvistan, Gharinda and Bonde were hit by torpedos. They all sank, and Bonde sank quite slowly. One hour later, elleven survivors were picked up from the sea. Aasulv was not one of them.

I came across this here http://da2.uib.no/cgi-win/WebBok.exe?slag=lesside&bokid=vaarefalne1&sideid=456&innhaldid=3&storleik=
So, this answers a question I've been sitting on. Who is this? His name was Aasulv.

Musicians of the 60s? I've always known my dad was a very good musician (i.e. singing and playing guitar), and I've always known he was a great big fan of the Beatles. Here in suit and tie and screaming(singing?), my dad is playing the drums. I wonder what the inspiration was...

I can see the similarities, but I guess they didn't get quite "there". 60s teenagers with their hopes and dreams of becoming a Beatle... But no one ever really did. Apparantly the greatest wish my father had was to meet Paul McCartney. He never saw them live, and I am pretty certain he never met any of them either, so when I saw Sir Paul in London last year, it really broke my heart in a way. I didn't want to be one of the screaming, crying beatlemaniacs, but I couldn't help myself sometimes. I think it was only when Paul and his band performed Can't Buy Me Love I realised who I was watching. It was amazing. I started to cry. So The Beatles still lives on.

The point of this was really just to point out that my family have many musicians in it. Both on my mothers side and my fathers side. I know some can play the fiddle(or violin, I guess), and some can play the piano. Some play guitar and some play the trumpet. Whilst all of them sing (more detailed information when I know more). Last year my sister and I performed in my older sisters, Othilie, tenth wedding anniversary. We played mostly Beatles, and it was amazing when all the sisters were singing together.

The Burdal sisters. Not quite the same dress code as The Beatles, but close enough.
"Be mine, sister salvation.
Juke joint jezebel is coming for my cremation.
Be mine, sister salvation.
Closer now, see the revelation."
- KMFDM

I have hit a dead end. My name, Burdal, only seem to go back to my great grandpa, Petter Burdal, born in 1876. Why is that? That is only four generations (five if you count my nieces and nephew). I thought that was a bit weird, but I suppose it is possible. My theories now is that my great grandpa, Petter, got his name from where he was from. A farm or a small area or something like that. The problem with this theory, is that there is farms called Burdal, but I can't seem to make a connection between the farm and us. Another problem I am facing is the spelling of the name. Was it really spelt "Burdal"? Or could it be "Burdahl", "Berdal", "Burdall", "Bordal" or "Børdal"?. The name must in a way have been fexible, seen as my grand uncle (mye grandpas brother), was called Erling Burdahl.

I have one lead... apparently the name Nils and Petter was used every other time(how inventive, and grandpa just decided to ruin the cycle by calling my father Nils Petter). I don't know how far back this cycle went... But after following this lead, I might have found Petter's parents. But they might also be Agnes' parents(I think I am overcomplicating things). I will try to explain... In a digital archive (http://www.arkivverket.no/arkivverket/Digitalarkivet/), I have found the name Aksel Burdal, born in 1905, twice. Aksel was Nils' brother. The name was registered twice in the 1910 cencus. Why? Because he was visiting his grandparents when they came round to count their household. The father in this household is called Nils. Coincidence?

To try and figure this problem out in a better way, I have contacted my older sister. She didn't know, but possibly knew someone who might know (this is complicated, I know). Another thing I have done, is that I have found a cousin of my father. He is still alive! So I have written him a letter where I included some questions and pictures. I really hope he has some answers for me.

The picture above is my grandfather, Nils. Now tell me, Nils, "who's yo daddy?"

I have always been very curious about my past. Mainly because I don't know much about it. My dad died when I was only nine, to which has led me into an unknowing state. Unknowing about who my family on his side actually were. What were their names? Where did they come from? When were they born? I have of course also wondered what their personality were like, but that is an issue I will struggle far more to figure out.

Seen as my mother is still alive, and her father as well, I have learned a lot more about that side of the family than my father. I appreciate the times I have sat down to talk to them both about our family. Both my mom and my grandpa know so much, and have so many stories to share. Unfortunately, neither of them knew any of the people in my fathers family, not even his parents.

My grandparents on my fathers side are called Else and Nils, so I will refer to them as that. And my mothers parents are called Odd and Ingrid.

After talking to my older sister (born in 1974) on my fathers side, I have learned a bit more about Else. She was a beautiful, but apparently very strickt woman. My sister told me Else worked as a hat model. My dad inherited all her belongings when she died (simply because he was her only child). Her stuff was very posh. She liked finer things. Nice jewellery, pictures and china. Our house was practically decorated by her after she died. And it has been that way since about 1994 until today. The picture under is of her.

Else married Nils. I am not sure what his occupation was. But I know that he worked at the same place for 25 years, because I found lots of letters were friends and colleagues congratulated him. Another thing I know about him is that one of his brothers emigrated to America and settled down in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have found letters written in the 30s and 40s.

Nils died in 1956, of a heart attack. Apparently he was on his way to work. My father was only nine. When I heard this story, I think my heart must have skipped a beat. Where have I heard this story before? I have actually been through the exact thing myself, when my father died of a heart attack, on his way to work. I was only nine.

Else remarried. This time to a pharmacist. According to my older sisters grandma, everybody knew who this couple was. And they were the greatest couple in the city. I kind of like the idea of that, because it was so different back then. If someone asked me today "who is the greatest couple in the city you're from?", I would ask "what on earth are you talking about?"

Anyway, this was only a little bit of what I know so far. Will write more some other day, in order to make this post a bit shorter. Hope you enjoyed it.