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The Forest Finns of Sweden Swedish American Genealogist Volume 28 | Number 4 Article 9 12-1-2008 The orF est Finns of Sweden Elisabeth Thorsell Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag Part of the Genealogy Commons, and the Scandinavian Studies Commons Recommended Citation Thorsell, Elisabeth (2008) "The orF est Finns of Sweden," Swedish American Genealogist: Vol. 28 : No. 4 , Article 9. Available at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag/vol28/iss4/9 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Swedish American Genealogist by an authorized editor of Augustana Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Forest Finns of Sweden Who were they and why were they in Sweden? BY ELISABETH THORSELL In the Middle Ages, forests were not How many came? in the iron industry: in mines, blast regarded as anything valuable, as the Exact figures are not available, as furnaces and hammer works. This technology to make use of the forest this was early in the keeping of spe- industry needed huge supplies of was not yet developed. cific records, but it is estimated that charcoal, which was made from the During the middle and latter half several thousand families left east- forests. The Finns were not so popu- of the 1500s King Gustaf I and later ern Finland during the period of 1550 lar anymore, as they just burned the his son Carl (IX) were active in re- until about 1640. forests, and did not make charcoal. cruiting new settlers to the large for- This gave rise to many court cases, est areas in middle and northern in which the rich iron works owners Sweden. At the same time there was Were they integrated? tried to take away the rights of the unrest along the border between Fin- At the start of the period when the small Finn farmers to keep their cot- land and Russia, and many of the new people moved in, it seems that tage and their land, for which they Finnish-speaking inhabitants there they were accepted, even though no- paid taxes to the crown. If they lost were interested in settling in more body could understand their lan- the case, they were turned into iron peaceful areas. Many peasants from guage. At that time there was no works laborers and charcoal burners, the Savolax and Karelian provinces competition for forest land, which in dependant on the iron works for their in eastern Finland came and popu- many cases still was regarded as support. lated the forests. They were offered being owned by the Crown (govern- Some of them also tried to start six years free from taxes if they came ment). iron making and built blast furnaces and started new homesteads. Later, in the mid 1600s, the Crown to produce pig iron, but that usually encouraged wealthy people to invest meant that they needed a lot of capi- Slash-and-burn farming tal. This could be borrowed These Finns had a special method of from town merchants, farming, which required large areas which was a risky business. of forest, something they could find If they could not pay back in the forested areas of middle Swe- as they should, their enter- den. They surveyed a tract of forest, prises ended up by being felled the trees, and let them lie there owned by the merchant. to dry for a year or two. Then they burned the trees at Midsummer. Life in the forests Next they sowed their special high- The Finns often built their yielding kind of rye (finnråg). They homesteads near a lake could use this field for a few years, where they could fish, as and then it turned into a grazing fish was an important part field, and at last reverted to forest. of their diet. During this cycle they had to start They had a special kind new fields in the next tract of land. of house, a log cabin with a This method of farming was called big stone fireplace in the “slash and burn” and the people were opposite corner from the known as the “slash and burn Finns” door, and no chimney, just or svedjefinnar in Swedish. They a hole in the ceiling, with a were also known as Forest Finns or Where the Forest Finns settled in Sweden. wooden slat which could be skogsfinnar. Map source: Maud Wedin. opened or shut. This meant 18 Swedish American Genealogist 2008:4 that there was smoke in the house above a certain level, perhaps as tall as a standing man. This kept the house warm in the winter. The type of house is called a “rökstuga” (smoke house). They had a shed for the cows and goats. A sauna was most impor- tant and they also often had a house for drying grain (ria). There are many stories about the A typical Finn homestead. Finns being good hunters, and not too observant if a certain kind of game First names might give better indi- Reading tips was forbidden, like moose, which was cations of Finnish ethnicity. If you Unfortunately there does not seem considered to belong to the king. They find ancestors with names like Hen- to be much written in English on the also hunted bear, and there is a tale rik, Sigfrid, Christoffer, and Thomas, Forest Finns in Sweden: of a man nailing his bear skulls to a then there is a possibility of Finnish Forest Finns in Scandinavia, by tree near his home, and when he died descent, especially if it is way back Maud Wedin (a booklet, out of print, they counted 40 skulls there. They in time and in one of the “Finnish” but it will be reprinted). also fished in the many lakes and areas. “Swidden Finns in Sweden. Mig- made a fairly good living, as long as ration and assimilation studies,” by they were left in peace by officials Forest Finns in New Lennart Stenman, in Koter, M (ed): and wealthy people, who saw them Sweden Inner divisions, region and regiona- as unused labor force. lism (1994. Lódz, pages 55-65). The Finns were also supposed to As the Forest Finns were used to life in the forest, it is not surprising that On the internet there is a little in- be very good at sorcery and other formation at black arts. They knew how to get milk many of the settlers of New Sweden in Delaware were Finns. Some of www.finnsam.org/English.htm from the neighbor’s cow, they knew and also on Wikipedia. how to stop blood from a wound, they them had probably found out that their traditional way of life might be In Torsby in northern Värmland knew how to get people to fall in love there is the Torsby Finn Cultural by reciting charms. It was always threatened in Sweden around 1638, and that it was better to move to new Center, with interesting exhibitions best to be friendly with the Finns, or and a research room for the gene- they could harm you from a distance. lands. One of these families was the Mullica family. They can be studied alogists. Their web site is http://www.finnkulturcentrum.com/ in, for instance, The 1693 Census of How do I know if my english/index.html the Swedes on the Delaware, by Pe- ancestor was a Finn? ter S. Craig (1993). It is not always very easy to know if an ancestor belonged to one of these Finn families. They usually came in the 1500s or early 1600s before church records were kept. The Swed- ish clergymen had difficulty in un- derstanding their names, and quick- ly gave them Swedish patronymics, even though they usually came from areas where they used proper sur- names. Sometimes the Finnish sur- names have survived, or they are noted in the tax records (mantals- längder). Typical Finnish surnames can be Suhoinen, Likainen, Honkainen, Havuinen, Sikainen, and Ronkainen. Many modern researchers are work- ing with these types of surnames and trying to identify the members of these families. The deserted Finn village of Igelhöjden in the parish of Gåsborn in eastern Värmland. Swedish American Genealogist 2008:4 19.
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