FINNISH IG.qxd 28/10/2010 9:29 AM Page 1 DIANE L. RICHARD LOOKS AT THE ONLINE RESOURCES FOR RESEARCHING YOUR ANCESTORS FROM FINLAND Need to “Finnish” Your Genealogy Research? THREE YEARS AGO WHEN discussing munities in the US, etc. Good to late 1800s. (Note: for more mod- Finnish research, we could talk English interface. ern records, you will need to con- about two major online resources tact the church or a local whose content was exclusively Details: Though I will focus on the researcher.) The provided link about Finns. Three years later, we church records, do not overlook takes you directly to the HisKi will talk about several more excit- the other resources available on project. Once on this page, I sug- ing resources. As with US research, the website: The Parishes of gest you first read the “brief” titled the increased availability of online Finland (nice overview informa- “instructions and examples”. Once records makes it easier than ever tion of the parishes, location and you’ve done that, click on “search to do Finnish research from the the available records), program for history books”. This comfort of your home. And, the brings you to a page that, on ability to speak Finnish and the left, has an alphabetical Swedish is not required - I’ll share list of parishes and on some great resources that will help the right has a coun- you navigate the non-English ele- ments of the documents we’ll talk about. Also, previously one had to research Finnish family via micro- filmed Finnish records or write let- ters to the local parish. These were great when you knew what parish your ancestors were from and they conveniently constrained themselves to being born, marrying and dying in that parish, and it quickly became more challenging if your ancestors had the nerve to marry else- where and/or have migrated into that parish from elsewhere. The ability to do searches countrywide or Emigration Articles and Books try map showing provinces and regionally, makes it much easier to (many in Finnish and Swedish and other regional elements. locate those more mobile individu- some available in English), First, let’s explore the list. I als. Biographical Indexes, Personal had many generations of the Let’s talk about the five major Names, Finnish Cemeteries (many Kujanpää family, previously resources for Finnish records. records of cemeteries in Finland named Lammi and many allied with photographs!), Churches families who were from Ylistaro, HISKI CHURCH RECORDS (Finnish Churches in America) and Vaasa, Finland. To search on these www.genealogia.fi/index.php?option a Picture Gallery (worldwide)! records, one scrolls down the list =com_content&view=article& There is a pretty good English- till we see Ylistaro and then high- id=109&Itemid=286&lang=en language interface available where lights it. Next, click “selected” and you can readily access HisKi, the you will be taken to a page that Short Summary: A free extensive drop down menus to get to the lists the Ylistaro records available, collection of transcribed and other mentioned resources, etc. states during what time period searchable countrywide collection You will find that the news items they are available and gives you a of church records (HisKi -- chris- and any “error” messages will not list of the neighboring parishes (as tening, marriage, burial, move- be in English. in the US and Canada, it was not ment, communion, etc), Finnish For most parishes, the Church unusual for individuals to marry Cemetery records, Biographical records available cover from the in adjacent parishes, so, if you do indexes, records of Finnish com- parish formation to about the mid not find a baptism, marriage or www.internet-genealogy.com INTERNET Genealogy • December/January 2011 17 FINNISH IG.qxd 28/10/2010 9:29 AM Page 2 Finnish Genealogy burial entry where you expect to, microfilmed most of these records, tains almost 1 million entries! The check out the neighboring commu- you can access copies of the origi- two largest databases are passen- nities, especially for marriages and nal records locally to verify what ger records (Finnish Steamship burials!). Note that the database you found. And, increasingly, Company, 1892-1910, 318,000 does not include the records for all through the Finland Family records) and passport records parishes nor are the records com- History Association, to be dis- (1890-1950, 189,000 records). You plete for the included parish- will also find: References to es. So, understanding what books and newspapers (19,000 records are or are not included records), Register of is very important. Australian Finns (3,800 Each search screen asks records), Register of New for versions of basic informa- Zealand Finns (1,100 records), tion — names, dates, places. etc. Basically, you can enter as In addition to the much or as little in the search Emigrant Register, which we screen as you know. You can will explore further, the web- put one piece of information, site also contains: a database you can put a partial piece of of its library (over 9,000 publi- information (say the first three cations), a sample of photos letters of a name), or you can (several hundred of the over fill in every box! This is a very 12,000 in the collection) and powerful search tool! I have the Migration and Ethnicity used the first initials of first Research Network. You can names, last names and access all of these by looking patronymics and been able to under the heading “Online find information! Databases” in the left-hand Though the HisKi data- navigation. base does not contain original Let’s take a quick look at documents, these are what “Passenger Lists” since this is some of the entries, identified one of the largest databases through such a search, would and so one is more likely to look like in the original have success! records. Your search options are Now let’s go back and basic — Name search (Last explore the map on the HisKi name, First name) or Sounds main page. This feature is like search (Last name, First handy if you only happen to name). Like the HisKi data- know that your family came These are some of the ways that the family members base, you only have to enter from some place like Vaasa "signed" their signature throughout the 200+ year as much data as you want to. Finland, since Vaasa is both a history of the family farm. So, if you have a surname that parish and a county located in can be misspelled (or you the Province of Ostrobothnia (or cussed later in this article, many of don’t want to deal with the special you only know what province). these documents (and more) are character letters), you can just We happen to know that the city of becoming available as online digi- enter the first few letters of a last Vaasa/Vasa (Finnish/Swedish) is tal images. name or first name (no special in Region #15 on the map. When characters are needed). For exam- you click on a region, the left-hand EMIGRANT REGISTER ple, if I put in Raj for the last menu then lists out the communi- www.migrationinstitute.fi/index_e.php name, the surnames that come up ties in the region. You can then are Raj, Raja, Raja-Aho, Rajahalme either click “all” to search in all of Short Summary: A computerized until you come to Rajala (the last these communities or you can database containing over 550,000 entry). My father’s great-grand- highlight one or more (use control, entries, including passport records mother, Ida Rajala, emigrated in left-click for a PC mouse) and then (1890-1950), passenger records of 1907. We have found her in the click “selected”. the Finnish Steamship Company Ellis Island database. Let’s see if Now you see a table that sum- (1892-1910) and more. You can she is listed in this database and marizes what records are available search for free, but full access what we learn. for each community. You can then requires payment and registration. When I searched on Ida’s pas- select a community or do a global senger record in this database, I search across the records of the Details: The Emigrant Register learned some new information not identified communities. available through the Institute of found on the New York Passenger Since the Church of Jesus Migration has been around for Manifest, such as how much she Christ of Latter Day Saints has several years and currently con- paid for her ticket, what ship she 18 INTERNET Genealogy • December/January 2011 www.internet-genealogy.com FINNISH IG.qxd 28/10/2010 9:29 AM Page 3 Finnish Genealogy took from Finland to her port manner in which they were of departure (England) and the kept. This most often means dates she departed from that it helps to know what Finland and then from parish and what farm name is England. And, if we had not relevant. If you do not have already had her Ellis Island this basic information, I sug- information, this would have gest you first use the HisKi given us the information to records with its global search pinpoint which ship and on engine, to try and identify at what date she sailed to facili- least the parish and hopefully tate getting the associated the farm. For example, if I did- Castle Garden, Ellis Island or n’t know that Kujanpää other passenger record. became the family surname In late 2010 or early 2011, and that for many generations it will be adding more data- they were known by their bases, such as the records of farm — Lammi, I would never tens of thousands of Finnish have found the older records! emigrants through the port of To give you a sense of the Gothenburg.