How to Trace Your Roots in Finland
ElisabethElisabeth UUschanov,schanov, KKristerrister BjörklundBjörklund & JouniJouni KorkiasaariKorkiasaari
Siirtolaisuusinstituutti Migrationsinstitutet Institute of Migration
– 1 – The Institute of Migration
The Institute of Migration was founded in 1974, published in other countries around the world and has its headquarters in Turku. The Insti- and to many specialist periodicals dealing with tute is maintained by a non-pro it-making trust migration. The library counts more than 7 000 and is basically inanced by an annual operating titles, and information service is available for the grant from the Finnish Ministry of Education and public. One important way in which the Institute Culture. promotes a greater awareness of migration is The Institute carries out and promotes re- through arranging exhibitions. search in the ield of migration, historical as well The Emigrant Register was established in as contemporary and also collects and stores dif- 1989 as a service for genealogists and the de- ferent kinds of material relating to migration and scendants of Finnish emigrants. The foundation ethnic questions. The Institute maintains a reg- of a computerized register was a part of the Del- ister of researchers working in these ields, ar- aware 350 Anniversary, to commemorate the be- ranges seminars and conferences to promote ginning of Finnish Emigration to North Amer- scholarly collaboration. The Institute is respon- ica. The data is mostly related to the migration sible for six series of scholarly publications and event, the databases of the main sources of in- publishes its own quarterly periodical Siirto- formation, of icial passport registers and pas- laisuus-Migration. senger lists of the Finland Steamship Company The Archives of the Institute contain approx. are available on the Internet. 220 meters of documents, ca. 14 000 photo- The web site of the Institute at http://www.mi- graphs, letters, post cards, interviews, musical grationinstitute. i provides articles, reports, the recordings, museum pieces etc. institute’s periodical, statistics, picture galleries, The Institute Library specializes in scholarly exhibitions, a web shop where you can buy books, and other publications relating to international useful links and other information concerning and domestic migration. The Library subscribes Finnish migration. to most of Finnish newspapers and magazines
Institute of Migration Eerikinkatu 34, 20100 Turku FINLAND
Tel. +358-2-2840440 http://www.migrationinstitute.ϔi
– 2 – Contents The InsƟ tute of MigraƟ on ...... 2 IntroducƟ on ...... 4 Overview of Finnish MigraƟ on to America ...... 5 Start Your Search in North American Records ...... 6 Family Papers ...... 6 Official Records in North America ...... 6 Vital Records ...... 6 Census 7 The SSDI ...... 8 Church Records ...... 8 Other Documents ...... 8 Documents Related to the Journey ...... 10 Lists of Arrivals ...... 11 St. Albans Border Crossings ...... 12 Lists of Departures ...... 12 The Passenger Lists of the Finland Steamship Company (F.Å.A) ...... 12 The Passport Lists ...... 13 Finnish Names ...... 15 Emigrants Changing their Names ...... 16 Records in Finland ...... 17 Church Records ...... 17 The Genealogy Method and available Church Records ...... 17 Other Archival Sources ...... 18 Literature ...... 20 Research Guide Books ...... 20 Finnish History and Migration ...... 21 Addresses ...... 22 Web Sites ...... 23
– 3 – Introduction
The popularity of tracing one’s roots seems to be of information. For those who plan to visit Finland constantly increasing. Many genealogists feel at to ind their roots, good preparation is crucial, as some point in their research that they have reached much of the information can be gathered in ad- a point where no more information can be dug into vance and the better they prepare, the more they daylight and those who are tracing their overseas can ind during their trip. roots are more likely than other to run into what The purpose of this booklet is to help Finnish seems to be a brick wall. To carry on the search for descendants to trace their roots. In the follow- their relatives, the information needed is to identi- ing pages the most important information sourc- fy the place where the ancestors lived. Those who es in Finland are described and what the geneal- have Nordic ancestry are better off than others, as ogist can expect to ind. Many of the sources can the parishes have kept good records, which reach be utilized at home, through the Internet, by mail hundreds of years back, but the genealogist still or telephone, but some of the basic information needs to know where to search. Many start with can only be researched on the spot. The reader great enthusiasm and high hopes, but the abun- should not expect a complete guide to genealog- dance of information on the internet easily leads ical sources in Finland, but these pages give an astray and guidance is needed through the jungle outline where to ind the most important sources.
The number of emigrants by province in 1870–1914 Province Persons % Uusimaa 13 200 4,4 Turku-Pori 43 800 14,5 Emigration Häme 8 800 2,9 1870 – 1914 Viipuri 16 000 5,3 Per 1,000 of of population Mikkeli 5 000 1,6 10.0 – Kuopio 9 900 3,3 5.0 – 9.9 Vaasa 158 400 52,3 3.0 – 4.9 Oulu 47 700 15,7 1.0 – 2.9 Total 302 800 100,0 – 0.9
– 4 – Overview of Finnish Migration to America
The great migration of Finns to North America oc- cans. The Finnish settlements concentrated in curred during the late nineteenth and early twen- Minnesota, Michigan and Massachusetts. Also in tieth century. Between the years 1864 and 1914 Oregon and New York the Finns were numerous. well over 300,000 Finns settled in the USA and In Canada about 60 per cent of the Finnish pop- Canada. The “America Fever” started in the 1870s ulation lived in Ontario, especially in Toronto, and became a mass movement in the following de- Sudbury and present Thunder Bay. Many Finns cade. The crest of the wave was reached the year also settled on the West Coast, but relatively few 1902 when over 20,000 Finns emigrated. Emi- in prairie territories or the French-speaking ar- gration continued on a large scale until the out- eas. Although the Finns formed less than one per- break of World War I. When the U.S. Government cent of the European immigration to North Amer- began to restrict the admission of immigrants in ica their concentration, e.g. in Michigan and in the 1920s, Finnish emigration shifted to Cana- Thunder Bay in Canada had a considerable im- da. The Finnish emigration to the U.S. was high- pact on the local population. In mining in upper er than the of icial statistics of these years reveal, Michigan the Finns were quite visible, especially because many immigrants who of icially were not in the industrial strikes. A study made at Northern admitted to the U.S. went irst to Canada and then Michigan University drew the conclusion that the crossed the border between the countries. American Finns had in luenced the English spo- The Finnish emigrants to America originated ken in northern Michigan. mainly from north western Finland. Nearly half Since the Second World war Finnish migra- of them came from the province of Vaasa. They tion to North America has been quite insigni i- were young people, around 20 years of age; the cant; around 15,000 emigrants went to the Unit- majority was men and unmarried. The structur- ed States and 27,000 to Canada. In North Amer- al change in agriculture had created a population ica there are about 45,000 irst generation and surplus, and jobs outside agriculture were scarce 180,000 second generation Finns. Including lat- in Finland. In North America work was available er generations there are over a million people of for men in mines, lumber camps, factories and Finnish extraction – a substantial contribution to railroad construction. Women gained employ- the ethnic and cultural mosaic of the United States ment as maids in the homes of wealthy Ameri- and Canada.
Finnish Overseas Emigration in 1870–1945
25 000 Persons
20 000
15 000
10 000
5 000
0 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940
– 5 – Start Your Search in North American Records
Family Papers
Tracing your roots and genealogical research of- searching your family history. They do not nec- ten means compiling bits and pieces of informa- essarily list the place of origin in Finland, but al- tion together. Sometimes a paper of seemingly lit- ways the arrival in America and often the name tle interest or a remark by a relative can be an im- of the ship and port of arrival. portant push forward. Archives, of ices and librar- The family member who once arrived in Amer- ies often provide lots of material for constructing ica might have brought along photographs and the family tree, but before gathering and studying documents from the old country, which some of icial documents for illing the blanks in your relative could have in his possession. The most family history, you should start at home with the valuable document is the emigrant’s passport, material in the possession of your family and rel- because it shows the original name in Finland, atives, oral information as well as written. date of birth, home parish, profession and the The most important task is to determine the date of emigration. Sometimes the emigrant al- place in Finland where the family originally came so had an extract from the parish register (virka- from and what was the original Finnish name of todistus, papinkirja, muuttotodistus) issued for the ancestors, which may have changed after ar- the purpose of emigration. riving in America, intentionally or through mar- Old photographs are interesting, but unfortu- riage. If the ties and contacts to the old home nately the names of the persons appearing are country and the relatives there still remain, cross- seldom written down. Notes and diaries written ing the Atlantic is easy, but if there are no family by the emigrant are very valuable as well as let- ties left, inding the family on the other side of the ters and postcards sent from Finland. These may Atlantic might require lots of work and effort. contain addresses, names of persons and places, Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents information on relatives and more. These docu- and other elderly relatives remember details ments are usually in Finnish or Swedish, which about persons and what happened in the past. In- means that the genealogist needs assistance if he terviewing a relative can give lots of information, does not know the languages. which cannot be found in any document. Notes about births, marriages and deaths in the old family bible provide valuable information when Offi cial Records in North America starting genealogical research. This information might, however, be incomplete and incorrect. Al- This section assists in doing genealogical re- most every family keeps birth-, marriage- and search using of icial records in North America. It death certi icates in their home archives, which is most important to exhaust these before ven- are of great interest. Also old school-, military- turing into archival searches in Finland. Surpris- and retirement records as well as membership ingly much information as basis can be found records of associations and organizations give quite close. information on life of old. Often documents like deeds of estate distribution, land acquisition and the like can be found at home. It is also a com- Vital Records mon habit to collect obituaries and anniversary notices from newspapers about family members. In tracing the history of immigrants and their de- All Finnish emigrants did not apply for Amer- scendants, the public records of their new coun- ican citizenship, but Certi icates of Intention of try are important sources of information. In North becoming US citizens and Certi icates of Natu- America, there is no national poll register; popula- ralization are important documents when re- tion records are the responsibility of State, Coun-
– 6 – ty or City of icials. Each state has the equivalent of varies widely and can range from a week to sev- a bureau of vital records. It’s generally called the eral months. A comprehensive guide to vital re- “Bureau of Vital Statistics,” “Division of Records cords can be found at http://www.vitalrec.com. and Statistics,” “Division of Public Health,” “Vital Much of this also applies for Canada, but as Records Division,” or some similar title. modern Canada is the merger of French and Eng- Vital records document important events of lish colonies, each with its own language and re- an individual’s life: birth, marriage, death and cord keeping methods, problems may arise. The divorce. In general, vital records weren’t kept privacy laws are also stricter than in the US. Gen- in the United States until the early 1900s, only erally, the Canadian provinces where most Finns some local records in state archives and librar- went have local administrations not differing ies go further back. The information in the docu- much from their American counterparts. Being ments varies. Usually they contain the full name part of the British Commonwealth, some Canadi- of the individual involved in the event, the date an records are kept in Great Britain, e.g. military of the event, and the county, state, or town where archives from the First and Second World War. the event took place. Many vital records contain much more information than this. To request a copy of a vital record you normal- Census ly need to contact the appropriate state agency. States require a fee for each certi icate. In most Censuses are good sources for genealogical in- cases, you pay irst and then wait for the state formation, since they also give information on agency to mail the record to you. Response time household and family level. The United States
– 7 – Congress requisitioned the irst of icial census (SSN) was issued, the last known residence and in 1790 to ensure that each state was assigned the location where the last bene it payment was a fair number of congressional representatives. sent. For individuals who died while residing One census is completed every ten years. The outside of the U.S., the record may also include irst time that Finns were listed separately in the a special state or country residence code. SSDI is US Census was in 1900. Earlier they were classi- available at www.ancestry.com ied as Russian. The most recent records open to genealogists are those for the 1930 census. Information is given on e.g. name, marital sta- Church Records tus, number of children born (to the wife, widow or divorcee), year of immigration, whether nat- In addition to the public records, most church- uralized or alien, whether able to speak English, es also kept records of their members. In the Lu- occupation and much more data, depending on theran congregations set up by the Finnish immi- the year of the census. grants, Finnish archive practices were observed: As in the United States, censuses were con- births, marriages and deaths were listed annually ducted in Canada every ten years. Returns from in chronological order. This information was then all of the censuses up to and including 1901 are also recorded in the Congregation Records by freely available. The paper returns for censuses family. Some 20 per cent of the Finnish emigrants after 1901 (up to 1991) were destroyed after the were members. There were hundreds of Finnish records were put onto micro ilm. These micro- and Swedish Finnish parishes in both the United ilms, under the control of Statistics Canada, are States and Canada, but no complete list of these stored at the National Capital Region Federal Re- exists. The Genealogical Society of Finland gath- cords Centre of the National Archives. ers information of Finnish-American churches at Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com) hosts on- http://www.genealogia.ϔi /church/index.htm line census records from 1790–1930 for both US Original records and micro ilms of Finnish- and Canada. American church records are kept at the Finnish- American Heritage Center at Finlandia Universi- ty (former Suomi College) in Hancock, Michigan. The SSDI The Center also has archival material on temper- ance and other societies, newspapers, periodi- The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is a good cals, personal papers and more (http://www.ϔin- resource for inding information on Americans landia.edu/heritage-center-in-ϔinnish.html). who died after the 1960s. Most of the informa- tion included in this index is from 1960’s to the present, although some data is from as early as Other Documents 1937. A record will contain some or all of the fol- lowing information: last name, irst name, birth The of icials dealing with immigrants produced a date, death date, Social Security number, the state large amount of documentation. Researchers of- of residence where the Social Security number ten overlook the importance of these as a source
– 8 – of family history information. Such are Natural- ization records, land records (including “Plat Books”-map collections), probate records, taxa- tion, military service, court records and inheri- tance records. They can be found from local of i- cials and from the National Archives in USA and Canada. For genealogists the most important doc- uments relating to the naturalization are the du- plicate copies made after 1906, which are stored at the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Many of above mentioned records are available for a user fee at http://www.ancestry.com
– 9 – Documents Related to the Journey
Most of the Finns emigrated to North Ameri- Norddeutscher Loyd and HAPAG started traf ick- ca over England. A small part of the Finnish em- ing from Hanko, the southernmost harbor in Fin- igration went through Germany. In the 1870’s land, to Stockholm, Copenhagen and Lübeck and and 1880’s it was also possible to travel direct- further to Hull in England. In the autumn of 1891 ly to America through Norway, a possibility that the Finnish Steamship Company started regular many emigrants from North Finland used. Some traf ic between Hanko and Hull. The company al- Finnish emigrants chose to board an ocean liner so made an agreement with the Companies run- in Copenhagen. In the 1920s a great many Finns ning the Ocean Liners from England to Ameri- took the route from Gothenburg in Sweden di- ca. From the beginning of the 20th century most rectly to New York. of the emigrants from Finland traveled with the The journey from Finland started in the 19th Finnish Steamship company. During World War century at irst with coastal vessels to Sweden, 1914–1920 no ships went from Hanko and the mainly to Stockholm, from where it was possible emigrants had to leave through Sweden again. to take a ship directly to England or Germany. In In England, the Finns arrived in Hull and con- 1874 the Wasa-Nordsjö Steampship, Inc. sailed a tinued by train to Liverpool, Southampton or few times per summer from Vaasa to Hull, Eng- Glasgow. They continued their journey with land. The most popular option, however, was to ocean liners to North America, arriving in New take the train from Stockholm to Gothenburg York, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia or Port- and continue with a ship to England. It was also land. In Canada the arrival ports were Halifax, possible to board a ship in Malmö. Quebeck, Montreal and St. John. Totally the jour- The travel route changed substantially at the ney from Finland to North America usually last- end of the 1880s when the German shipbrokers ed an average of two weeks.
– 10 – Lists of Arrivals ter documented. Immigration and Naturaliza- tion Service Passenger Lists became compulso- Passenger lists of Europeans arriving in North ry and they included US citizens who returned America have been made since 1820. The earli- from abroad, guests and immigrants. Name, age, est passenger lists were written by the captain of gender, marital status, occupation, domicile, port the ship: Ship’s Manifest or Customs Passenger of arrival, destination, earlier visits in the coun- lists. These do not yield much information: The try, relatives intended to visit and the address name of the passenger, age, occupation, travel- and relation to the relative. From 1903 the lists ling class, nationality and country of destination. include race, from 1906 place of birth, and from The immigration laws became stricter at the 1907 name and address of close relative in the end of the 19th century and arrivals were bet- home country.
– 11 – All passenger records are kept in the Nation- 1874–1930, Stockholm 1869–1939, Norrköping al Archives of USA and Canada arranged by port, 1859–1919 and Kalmar 1880–1893) have been arrival date and ship and they have been micro- compiled to a database available on a CD named ilmed. The micro ilms can be ordered from lo- “Emigranten”. The CD is available from Emi- cal archives and the LDS Family History Centers granternas Hus i Göteborg (http://emigranter- (FHC). nashus.se) The lists of arrivals are also indexed and com- The emigrants from Norway used the ports puterized. The databases of arrivals in US and of Bergen, Fredrikstad, Kristiansand, Kristian- Canada are available for a user fee at http://www. sund, Larvik, Oslo (Kristiania), Sand jord, Stavan- ancestry.com ger, Tromsø, Trondheim and Ålesund. The emi- There is also an Internet database of those grants from Finland commonly used the ports of who arrived in the US through Ellis Island, New Trondheim and Bergen. The Norwegian passen- York, containing 22 million names including ger lists are available at http://www.norwayher- thousands of Finns, at http://www.ellisislandre- itage.com/ships. cords.org. The passenger lists from Copenhagen in Den- mark 1868–1940 include also some hundred Finns and are available on the homepage of the St. Albans Border Crossings Danish Emigrant Archives at http://www.emi- arch.dk/home.php3 Sharing a border with the United States meant German ports used by emigrants were Bremen residents of the two nations moved back and and Hamburg. The Bremen passenger lists were forth, not always leaving traces in of icial records. lost during the war, but the Hamburg lists for St. Albans border crossing records are records 1850–1934 have been preserved. They are being of immigrants who crossed the border between computerized and are available at http://www. Canada and the U.S. between 1895 and 1954. linktoyourroots.hamburg.de/index While they’re collectively known as St. Albans re- The database at www.ancesry.com includes al- cords, they also contain records of immigrants so lists of departures for many European ports. crossing over in Washington, Montana, Michigan, New York, North Dakota, and Minnesota, in fact all along the U.S. Canadian border. They are very The Passenger Lists of the Finland similar to ship lists and in fact do contain some Steamship Company (F.Å.A) actual Great Lakes passenger records. There are two collections from Canadian and American led- The Finland Steamship Company (Suomen Höyry- gers, which can be found at The National Archives laiva Osakeyhtiö, Finska Ångfartygs Aktiebolaget, of Canada (http://www.collectionscanada.ca) and F.Å.A.) started regular traf ic from Hanko to Co- USA (http://www.archives.gov). penhagen and Hull in the autumn of 1891. The United States Department of Immigration and passenger lists are available for the period 1891– Naturalization have micro ilmed records of these 1896, 1899–1914 and from 1920 into the 1960s. crossings. The manifests are also available on the The collection totals 145 folio-sized bound books Internet at www.ancestry.com arranged according to shipping company. There are numerous deletions and cancellations on the lists, remarks concerning no-shows, extra charg- Lists of Departures es, comments on passengers not accepted on the grounds of a disease etc. The passenger lists are Passengers from Swedish ports are listed since of third class passengers, that is, emigrants. First 1869. Most of the Finnish emigrants through and second class passengers can be found on the Sweden can be found in the passenger lists of lists if a third class passenger paid an extra charge Gothenburg, but also among those who departed to be able to travel more comfortably. from Stockholm and Malmö. Most of the Swedish Passenger lists mainly contain the following passenger lists (Gothenburg 1869–1930, Malmö types of information: name of the passenger,
– 12 – S/S Polaris
gender and age of the passenger, date of depar- were issued by county government boards (in ture from Finland, name of the ship leaving Fin- Finnish lääninhallitus, in Swedish länsstyrelse), land, ticket price, Ocean Liner Company, desti- borough administrators in towns (in Finnish nation in North America and companions. From maistraatti, in Swedish magistrat), sheriff of the 1904 also the departure date from England and Åland Islands, sheriff of Lapland and the Finn- name of the ship is listed. The lists also inform ish passport bureau in St. Petersburg. The old- whether the ticket was bought in Finland or pre- est passport list is from 1810 and the lists are paid, that is, sent by a relative or friend in Amer- complete since 1893. In 1900 they were stan- ica. The port of call in England and port of arriv- dardized and the same format was used in the al in America is also listed. entire country. The most accurate lists include Most of F.Å.A.’s passenger lists have survived the name of the person who received the pass- and are kept in the manuscript collection of the port, occupation, civil status, religion, date of Library of Åbo Akademi University in Turku. The birth, home district, date of passport issue, pe- Institute of Migration has computerized most of riod of validity, destination and price of the F.Å.A.’s passenger lists. The database is accessi- passport and also dependent family members ble on the Internet at http://www.migrationin- left behind. stitute.ϔi In the passport lists usually only the country Birth dates and domicile were not recorded, of destination is mentioned, not the exact place: so it might not be an easy task to identify the America, North America, the United States, Cana- sought passenger among those with the same da or only abroad. Also passports issued for Swe- name. The spelling mistakes are numerous and den could be used for emigration to America. The the age might also be false. If the domicile of the emigrant was free to choose the time of validi- emigrant in Finland is unknown, the passenger ty for the passport, but it could not exceed ive lists do not suf ice, the passport information is years. In the beginning a passport was issued on- necessary. ly for one journey, but since 1888 the same pass- port could be used for unlimited travel. Usual- ly the passport was issued a few days or weeks The Passport Lists before the journey. Sometimes illness or lack of money delayed or inhibited the journey, so ind- According to a regulation from 1862 all Finns ing a person in a passport list does not guarantee needed a passport to travel abroad. Passports that the person actually emigrated.
– 13 – In principle the passport was necessary for travelling abroad, but all emigrants are not found in the passport lists. It was easy to cross the border to a neighbor country without a pass- port and it was no problem to continue the jour- ney without any of icial documents. Additionally, those who left the country illegally, particularly men of age for Russian military service, travelled illegally without any passport at all. The application for a passport was in general submitted either personally or by a trusted per- son. If the journey to the capital of the province was long and tedious, the passport could be ac- quired at some other county government of ice on the way or at the port of departure at the bor- ough administrator in Hanko. Between 20 and 30 per cent of the emigrants got their passport outside their own province. The most important passport information for the genealogist is the home parish. It is not nec- essary the same as place of birth, but it helps to ind the home parish of the family in Finland and it gives the name the emigrant used at home. The original passport records are kept by the Provin- cial Archives in Finland, and the oldest passport records up to 1920 are micro ilmed. In the Unit- ed States the ilms are available at the LDS Fam- The passport records are being transferred to ily History Centers (FHC) and in Finland at the computer by the Institute of Migration and are National Archives and the Institute of Migration. available at http://www.migrationinstitute.ϔi
– 14 – Finnish Names
Only with the Family Names Act of 1920 did it be- lived on the farm and when he moved to anoth- come a legal requirement that every Finnish citi- er farm, the name also changed. Thus one person zen must have a legally de ined family surname. could during his lifetime have many different fam- Still at the beginning of the century persons with- ily names. The name of the emigrant might in the out a family name can be found in documents. travel documents be completely different from the They appear only with their irst name and the name found in some old documents taken along so-called patronymic name derived from the fa- to the new world. Even the children in the same ther’s name, e.g. Heikki Matinpoika (Matt’s son), family could have different names and on the oth- Maria Juhontytär (Juho’s daughter) – in Swedish er hand some persons with the same name might language documents Henrik Mattsson, Maria Jo- not have been related at all. hansdotter. The family names in western Finland origi- Finland was divided in two parts in use of fam- nating in farm names often end with -la/-lä, like ily names. In the eastern part, Savo and Karel- Mattila (probably the irst owner of the farm was ia, the family name had commonly been inher- named Matti), Erkkilä, Ahola, Santala, Hakala. New ited since the 16th century, but also there name names could also be invented when splitting land, changes occurred, e.g. sometimes when the son- like Isotalo, Vähätalo, Alatalo, Ylitalo, Keskitalo etc. in- law moved into his wife’s family farm, he took The educated classes, craftsmen, shopkeep- that family name. On the other hand, women ers, civil servants, the clergy, gentry and soldiers kept their fathers’ family name also after marry- used additional names all over the country. These ing. This practice continued until the end of the became inherited family names during the 17th 19th century. In Savo, names commonly ended century. These names were other than Finnish, with -nen, for women with -tar/-tär, e.g. Kuk- usually Swedish. Especially at the beginning of konen/Kukotar, Makkonen/Makotar, Koponen/ the 20th century such names were often trans- Kopotar, Laitinen/Laititar. Karelian family names lated into Finnish. Because there was no legisla- often refer to animals such as Karhu (bear), Siili tion on name changes in these times, it became a (hedgehog), Kiiski (ruffe), Hiiri (mouse), Tikka habit to publish name changes in so called of icial (woodpecker) etc. newspapers. Even many Swedish speaking fam- In the western part of Finland the use of pat- ilies changed their names. Often the new names ronymic names continued until the end of the were translations like Hällsten > Paasikivi, Grön- 19th century. Often the farm name was added to berg > Vihervuori, Lundström > Lehtovirta, Schil- the name and at the turn of the century it became dt > Kilpi. Also many patronymic names became commonly used as family name. Before that the proper family names: Karlsson, Gustafsson, An- farm name was in use only as long as the person dersson, Johansson etc.
– 15 – At the turn of the century also those who had ► The name was translated: no family name, e.g. many farmhands and land- Mäki > Hill less, adopted names by themselves or were giv- Jokela > Rivers en names by the authorities. These new names Viheriäinen > Green often refer to nature or topography but not to an- Örn > Eagle imals. They typically end in –nen, but are much younger than the old –nen names originating in ► It might be changed to sound similar: Savo. Thus Virtanen, Valtonen > Walton Lahtinen, Nieminen, Mäkinen etc. are among Eriksson > Rixon the most common names in Finland. Haarala > Harris Päärni > Parney
Emigrants Changing their Names ► Some emigrants chose a completely new name among those common in the new Most of the emigrants from Finland already had country: a family name, and those who didn’t took one, at Karhunen > Hill the latest when arriving in the new country. Of- Hietala > Wilson ten the Finnish name was dif icult to pronounce Saarela > Johnson and was changed to better it the language of the Ryynänen > Anderson new country. Name changes were nothing new for the emigrants. It is most important for the ► Usually the ϐirst name was changed to the genealogist to trace the original name. There are English equivalents: some clear principles in these name changes: Maria > Mary Wilhelmina > Minnie ► The Finnish name could be shortened: Antti/Anders > Andrew Peltomäki > Mäki > Maki Kustaa/August > Gust Lahdenperä > Lahti Jaakko/Jakob > Jack Hautaniemi > Niemi Kalle/Karl > Carl, Charles. Antinaho > Aho
– 16 – Records in Finland
Church Records and when it was full, a new book was started and the current population situation was copied to it. Church records are in Finland the most impor- Emigrants do not appear in the records of tant source for genealogical information. Until movers because they usually continued to be the year 1917 practically all Finns were mem- members of the parish even after the emigration. bers of the evangelic-lutheran or orthodox Thus the only information on emigration that church. The parishes kept of icial population re- can be found in the church books might be in the cords until 1999, when the Population register communion book as a remark on certi icate for centre and the local register of ices took over. America and emigration year. In many parish- The nationwide computerized population regis- es in Ostrobothnia, where emigration was very ter was established in 1972 and the non-clerical common, a book on absent population was kept. population register in 1923. Here all the parish members abroad were noted. The oldest records of the Finnish church books are the records of births, marriages and deaths, the so-called history books. The oldest survived The Genealogy Method and record is from Teisko parish 1648. At the end available Church Records of the 17th century history books were kept in the whole country, and especially in the western At its easiest and simplest genealogy is zigzag- part of Finland there are complete series of par- ging between the communion books and history ish records that go back to that century. In the books. An individual and his family are traced us- eastern parts of Finland parish records have sur- ing the communion book, where the domicile is vived from the 1720’s. stated as well as family relations between those Apart from history books, the parishes also living in the household and moves to another started to keep communion books. The irst stip- farm or parish. The birth, marriage and death ulation was given in 1666; the church law from dates are then to be compared with the history 1686 stipulated every parish in the country to books. Generally a person’s name, birth date and keep communion books and gave exact rules birth parish are needed as basis for genealogical about the content. All parishes did not follow the research. When these are known, the birth re- rules and a similar form for the whole country cords take the genealogist to the correct village was not applied until the middle of the 18th cen- and house, i.e. to the correct page in the com- tury. munion book. Thus knowledge of the emigrant’s In the communion books the whole parish was home parish in Finland is of utmost importance. catalogued according to villages and farms. In Without that information, it is impossible to ind addition to basic information (name, profession him/her and the family in Finland from Finnish or relation to the master of the farm, birth date sources. and place, death date and place) remarks were Most church records from today up to the mid- made about the ability to read and write, knowl- dle of the 19th century are generally located in edge of religion and taking part in the Holy Com- the archives of the parishes. The church registry munion. Remarks on offences and punishments of ices of the parishes do genealogical research can also be found and e.g. illnesses affecting the on these for a fee, but extensive research often ability to pay tax. At the end of the 18th century takes a long time. You can ask for information also moving from one place to another was re- from the church registry of ice by letter, email or corded. Separate lists of those moving from one on the spot. In the inquiry it is necessary to de- parish to another were kept from the 19th cen- ine the person you want information about and tury. A communion book was used for 5-10 years also limit the scope of the research, e.g. how ma- ny generations back you want information on.
– 17 – Do not send money or cheques in advance. The freely available on the Digital archives http://di- charges vary with amount of work and method gi.narc.ϔi/digi. Newer records are only available of payment can be decided afterwards. on permission by visiting the National archives. Almost all Finnish church records from the Finland’s Family History Association runs a proj- very beginning to the end of the 19th century ect for digitizing archived materials. All the digi- have been micro ilmed on rolls or micro iches. tized church records before 1900 are available to All of the micro ilmed documents before 1900 everyone free of charge at http://www.sukuhis- are available at the National Archives in Helsin- toria.ϔi/sshy/index_eng.htm ki and in the different Provincial Archives. In America micro ilmed Finnish church records are available at Family History Centers (FHC) of the Other Archival Sources Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church). Finlandia University in Han- It is possible to ind the persons who belong to cock, Michigan, also has copies of Finnish church your family in the church books and use this infor- records. mation to build genealogical tables on ancestors The Genealogical Society of Finland started in and following generations. If you want to know the 1980’s to record baptisms, marriages, buri- more about the persons in your family and about als and movings from church records into a com- the places where they lived and perhaps even be- puter database. This HisKi–database will list all fore the time of the church books, the various ar- history books prior to 1900 including the Finn- chives in Finland can provide you with abundant ish congregations abroad. The older records pri- sources. Part of the material is micro ilmed or dig- or to 1850 are entered in the database for almost italized; part of it is only available as originals in the whole country. The records may be used free the archives. The Genealogical Society of Finland of charge at the web site of the Society, http:// (http://www.genealogia.ϔi), the National Archives www.genealogia.ϔi. (http://www.arkisto.ϔi) and the Finland’s Fami- During the last few years the National Archives ly History Association (http://www.sukuhistoria. have digitized almost all of the oldest church re- ϔi) offer catalogues, databases, digitalized records cords in Finland. The records before 1885 are and discussion forum over the Internet.
– 18 – For the time before church books poll regis- material milieu in which our ancestors lived. In ters can be used. They list by parish and hamlet order to be recognized as valid, the probate in- all the residents in each household 15-63 years ventory must be deposited and registered with old who were liable to poll tax, both masters the rural or municipal magistrates’ court. The and servants. Land registers, which were kept court records and other judicial documents pro- since the year 1540 recorded for each estate the vide the genealogist with an endless supply of amount of tax due, but of the persons only the sources: Criminal and civil disputes, quarrels be- master is mentioned. The master could also be tween neighbors, trading of estates, inheritance, some landholder years back deceased, because pension agreements, petitions by craftsmen and the tax authorities were not interested in the shopkeepers, military drafts etc. identity of the person paying, only of the correct In Finland everybody is entitled to get infor- tax amount. The state’s inventiveness in think- mation from public sources. There is a law on ing up new forms of tax is illustrated by the lux- publicity of documents, which lists the non-pub- ury taxes in the 18th century. In 1734 a new Act lic and secret documents. The work of the gene- made probate inventories obligatory for the es- alogist never ends. The abundant material in the tates of all deceased persons. The probate inven- provincial archives and in the archives of munic- tories listed the whole property of the deceased ipalities and local associations guarantees basis and thus provide a concrete description of the for your hobby.
– 19 – Literature
Research Guide Books
Blouin, Francis X. Jr. and Warner, Robert M. (ed.): Laine, Edward W.: Archival Sources for the Study Sources for the Study of Migration and Eth- of Finnish Canadians. National Archives of nicity. A Guide to Manuscripts in Finland, Ire- Canada. Ethno cultural Guide Series. Ottawa, land, Poland, The Netherlands and the State of ON 1989. Michigan. Bentley Historical Library. Ann Ar- Laitila Vincent, Timothy & Tapio, Rick: Finn- bor 1979. ish Genealogical Research. New Brighton, MN Clemensson, Per & Andersson, Kjell: Emigrant- 1994. forska! Steg för steg. Falköping 1996. – A guide- Mikkonen, Pirjo & Paikkala, Sirkka: Sukunimet. book of Nordic Emigration research. In Swed- Helsinki 2000. – A guidebook of Finnish sur- ish. names. In Finnish. Eakle, Arlene & Cerny, John: The Source. A Guide- Mäkelä-Alitalo, Anneli: Käsialakirja – Arkistojen book of American Genealogy. Salt Lake City, UT aarteiden tulkintaa 1500-luvulta 1700-luvulle. 1984. The Handy Book for Genealogists. Lo- Sukuseurojen keskusliitto ry, Helsinki 2000. – gan, UT 1991. A guidebook of old handwriting in Finnish Ar- Jutikkala, Eino: Suomen historian kartasto. Por- chival sources. In Finnish. voo 1949. – Atlas of the Finnish History. In Sointula, Väinö: Sanasto sukututkijoille. Suku- Finnish. seurojen Keskusliitto ry, Helsinki 2007. A vo- Kankaanpää, Matti J. & al.: Sukututkimus askel cabulary of old words for genealogist. In Finn- askeleelta. Suomen Sukututkimusseura. Jyväs- ish kylä 1999.– A basic guidebook of genealogical Tepper, Michael: American Passenger Arrival Re- research in Finland. In Finnish. cords. A guide to the Records of Immigrants Karskela, Sirkka: Sukututkijan tietokirja. Jyväs- Arriving at American Ports by Sail and Steam. kylä 2001. – A handbook of genealogical re- Baltimore, MD 1993. search in Finland. In Finnish. Kuorilehto, Markku (toim): Sukututkimuksen jatko-opas. Suomen Sukututkimusseura, Hel- sinki 2008. A guidebook of genealogical re- search in Finland. In Finnish.
– 20 – Finnish History and Migration
Hoglund, William A.: Finnish Immigrants in Koivukangas, Olavi & Toivonen, Simo: Suomen America 1880–1920. Binghamton, NY 1960. siirtolaisuuden ja maassamuuton bibliogra i a. Holmio, Armas K. E.: History of the Finns in Mich- A bibliography on Finnish Emigration and In- igan. Detroit, MI 2001. ternal Migration. Institute of Migration. Turku Ilmonen, Salomon: Amerikan Suomalaisten his- 1978. toria I–III. I Hancock, MI 1919, II Jyväskylä Myhrman, Anders: Finlandssvenskar i Amerika. 1923, III Hancock, MI 1926. – History of the Skrifter Utgivna av Svenska Litteratursällska- Finns in America. In Finnish. pet i Finland Nr 453. Folklivsstudier IX. Helsin- Jutikkala, Eino & Pirinen, Kauko: A history of Fin- ki 1972. – The Finland-Swedes in America. In land. Espoo 1984. Swedish. Kero, Reino: Migration from Finland to North Norman, Hans: Transatlantic Connections: Nor- America in the Years between the United States dic Migration to the New World after 1800. Os- Civil War and the First World War. Institute for lo: Norwegian University Press, 1988. Migration, Migration Studies C 1. Turku 1974. Raivio, Yrjö: Kanadan suomalaisten historia I–II. Kero, Reino: The Finns in North America. Des- Kanadan Suomalainen historiaseura. I Vancou- tinations and Composition of Immigrant So- ver, BC. 1975, II Thunder Bay, ON 1979. – His- cieties in North America before World War I. tory of the Finns in Canada. In Finnish. Annales Universitatis Turkuensis. Ser. B. Tom Roinila, Mika: Finland-Swedes in Canada. Migra- 150. Turku 1980. tion, Settlement and Ethnic Relations. Institute Kero, Reino: Suureen Länteen. Siirtolaisuus of Migration. Migration Studies C 14. Turku Suomesta Pohjois-Amerikkaan. Suomalaisen 2000. siirtolaisuuden historia 1. Institute of Migra- Runblom, Harald & Norman, Hans (eds.): From tion. Turku 1996. – A basic introduction to the Sweden to America: A History of Migration. Min- Migration movement from Finland to North neapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1976. Sin- America. In Finnish. gleton, Fred: A short history of Finland;revised Kero, Reino: Suomalaisina Pohjois- Amerikas- and updated by A. F. Upton. Cambridge 1998. sa. Siirtolaiselämää Yhdysvalloissa ja Kana- Wasastjerna, Hans R.: History of the Finns in dassa. Suomalaisen siirtolaisuuden historia 2. Minnesota. New York Mills, MN 1957. Institute of Migration. Turku 1997. – The life of Finnish Emigrants in the United States and Canada. In Finnish.
– 21 – Addresses
► Parishes ► The Provincial Archives of Jyväskylä Addresses for all Evangelic-Lutheran parishes P.O.Box 25 in Finland parishes are available FIN-40101 Jyväskylä at http://evl.ϔi Phone: +358-14-3381 000 E-mail: arkisto@narc.ϔi ► Institute of Migration Eerikinkatu 34 ► The Provincial Archives of Mikkeli FIN-20100 Turku, Finland P.O. Box 2, Phone: +358-02-2840 440 FIN-50101 Mikkeli E-mail: info@siirtolaisuusinstituutti.ϔi Phone: +358 15 321 310 http://www.migrationinstitute.ϔi E-mail: arkisto@narc.ϔi
► The Genealogical Society of Finland ► The Provincial Archives of Oulu Liisankatu 16 A P.O.Box 31 FIN-00170 Helsinki FIN-90101 Oulu Phone: +358-010 387 7901 Phone: +358-8-514 5800 E-mail: seura@genealogia.ϔi E-mail: arkisto@narc.ϔi http://www.genealogia.ϔi ► The Provincial Archives of Turku ► Finland’s Family History Association P.O.Box 383 E-mail: info@sukuhistoria.ϔi FIN-20101 Turku http://www.sukuhistoria.ϔi/sshy/index.htm Phone +358-2-276 0080 E-mail: arkisto@narc.ϔi ► The National Archives of Finland P.O.Box 258 ► The Provincial Archives of Vaasa FIN-00171 Helsinki P.O.Box 240 Phone: +358-9-228 521 FIN-65101 Vaasa Fax: +358-9-176 302 Phone: +358-62-414 0400 E-mail: arkisto@narc.ϔi E-mail: arkisto@narc.ϔi http://www.arkisto.ϔi ► The Provincial Archives of Åland Islands ► The Provincial Archives of Hämeenlinna P.O.Box 1060 Aittatie 2 AX-22111 Mariehamn FIN-13200 Hämeenlinna Phone: +358-18-25 344 Phone: +358-03-3454 7700 Fax: +358-18-12 908 E-mail: arkisto@narc.ϔi E-mail: [email protected] http://www.arkivet.aland.ϔi ► The Provincial Archives of Joensuu P.O.Box 146 FIN-80101 Joensuu Phone: +358-13-251 4602 E-mail: arkisto@narc.ϔi
– 22 – Web Sites
. Ancestry: http://www.ancestry.com
. National Archives of Canada: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/index-e.html
. Family Search: https://familysearch.org
. Ellis Island Records: http://www.ellisisland.org
. MyHeritage.com: http://www.myheritage.com
. Finnish Immigration Records: http://www.ϔinnishimmigrants.org/index.php
. Digitalized church records in Finland: http://digi.narc.ϔi/digi
. Finland Genealogy Forum: http://genforum.genealogy.com/ϔinland
. Finlandia University: http://www.ϔinlandia.edu/genealogy.html
. Finland’s Family History Association: http://www.sukuhistoria.ϔi/sshy/index_eng.htm
. The Genealogical Society of Finland: http://www.genealogia.ϔi/indexgb.html
. HisKi – History books (The Genealogical Society of Finland): http://www.genealogia.ϔi/hiskigb.html
. CastleGarden.org: http://www.castlegarden.org
. Britain: Outbound passenger lists: http://www.ϔindmypast.co.uk/passengerListPersonSearchStart.action?redef=0
. Indexes to Documents and Publications with Finnish-Americans: http://www.genealogia.ϔi/emi/emi3de.htm
. Finnish Genealogy: The Finnish Naming System: http://www.genealogia.ϔi/emi/art/article216e.htm
. Articles and Books about the United States, Canada, New Sweden, Finland etc.: http://www.genealogia.ϔi/emi/art/index1e.htm
. List of historical societies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historical_societies
. Cyndi’s List: http://www.cyndislist.com
– 23 – Siirtolaisuusinstituutti Migrationsinstitutet Institute of Migration
The Institute of Migration was founded in 1974. The principal tasks of the Institute of Migration are to promote the collection, storage and documentation of material re- lating to international and internal migra- tion in Finland, to carry out and to promote migration research, to publish research re- ports, books and articles on migration, and to develop co-operation between the uni- versities and other organizations related to Eerikinkatu 34, 20100 Turku, Finland Tel. +358-2 -2840 440 migration. www.migrationinstitute.fi Open 8–16
Emigration 1860–2012 Finns Abroad 2012 Destination 1860-1944 1945-2012 Country/Cont. 1. gen 2. gen Sweden (45 000) 580 000 Sweden 164 000 261 000 Other Europe (55 000) 210 000 Other Europe 55 000 100 000 United States 300 000 30 000 United States 23 000 81 000 Canada 70 000 24 000 Norway Canada 19 000 35 000 Lat. America 1 000 5 000 25 000 Lat. America 1 000 1 000 Asia 500 18 000 Asia 2 000 2 000 Africa 1 000 5 000 Africa 1 000 1 000 Oceania 3 500 23 000 Sweden Oceania 8 000 15 000 Total 476 000 895 000 625 000 Total 273 000 496 000
Russia/Soviet U. Canada 50 000 94 000 Denmark 17 000 Asia 18 500 United States Europe 330 000 265 000
Latin New Zealand America Australia 2 000 6 000 Africa 6 500 24 000
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