How to find a person born in Finland in 1904 if not in a church book?

[sbogseth]

I can't find my grandma in a church book for Finland in 1904. I have a handful of parishes I have tried and can't find her. Is it possible her birth was not registered in a church book. If so, what other source can I use to find her birthplace?

[Risto]

Hey.

Finland is also a multi-parish country, so you can give the name and identifying information
of what you are looking for, and this site also has professional people to search for what
you are looking for, if it is already found in a digitized parish.

Of course, not all parishes have been digitized, e.g. for those born and also for the communion book.

Risto

[sbogseth]

Thank you for the reply. Where on this site do I find a professional person to help?

[Marinka]

Hi!

Write directly in here what are you looking for. In this case the name of you grandma and her date of birth. And where she migth have born. And if you have any other information about her family which may help.

Marinka

[sbogseth]

Hello.

I would like help in finding where my grandma Helmi Seppanen was born in Finland. The two possible areas she might have lived is Jyvaskyla or Tyrnava.

Here is her information along with other family members:
Helmi Seppanen Birth: September 8 1904

Father: Nikolas Seppanen Birth July 10 1866
Mother: Erikka Ahola Birth Jun 6 1870
Brother: Victor Seppanen Birth 1896
Brother: Hjalmer Seppanen Birth March 16 1907

I appreciate the help.

Thank you.

[JaskaS]

If someone on this forum is registered to Migration Institute of Finland (Siirtolaisinstituutti), they can check the names found there: Niklas, Erika, Viktor, Helmi and Jalmar Seppänen (spelled like this), which all can be found there. Not necessarily the requested ones, but if matching the documents have necessary information for further finding their place of origin.
https://siirtolaisrekisteri.siirtolaisu ... i/?lang=en

Jaska

[Hapero]

Hello!

Helmi Siviä (b. Sep 8 1904), parents labourer Niklas Seppänen and wife Riikka née Ahonen from Haapakoski... etc.
Jyväskylä maaseurakunta > syntyneet, 1898-1909 > Sivu 559 269: 1904 syys
https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut/ ... 6&pnum=269

Currently Haapakoski somewhat(?) equals to Vaajakoski:
https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaajakoski
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaajakoski

Jyväskylä maaseurakunta > rippikirja, 1900-1909 > Sivu 1307 154: Seppänen, Wäger, Ahonen, Pettersson
https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut/ ... 2&pnum=154
EDIT: "19.3.1909 tod. Amer" - this seems to tell that they indeed left country already in 1909 *

Finding her mother Erika ("Riikka") is easy (b. Jun 6 1870 Laukaa)
https://digihakemisto.net/item/18434149 ... 692754/160

Father could be found here, "Niklas" (b. Jul 10 1866 [ elsewhere also written as "Jul 16", possibly a copy-error ] - his father is not known, mother servant Lena Mattsdotter, age 26):
Jyväskylä syntyneet maaseurakunta 1853-1872 AP I C:4
https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut/ ... 2&pnum=123

Niklas and his first wife Selma Pihl (b. 1863 d. 1891) and children, also "Eriikka" mentioned - came from Laukaa Oct 6 1892:
Jyväskylä maaseurakunta > rippikirja, 1890-1899
https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut/ ... 4&pnum=104
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laukaa

Marriage Nov 25 1892: "kesti Niklas Seppänen ja Eriikka Ahonen, kumpikin Haapaniemen Haapalahdesta"
Jyväskylä maaseurakunta > vihityt, 1884-1910 > Sivu 40,41 42
https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut/ ... 24&pnum=42
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haapaniem ... skyl%C3%A4

Ellis Island passengers 1917 (ship name: United States): Erika Seppanen, Helvi(!) Seppanen and Jalmar Seppanen.
At that time husband "Niclas Seppanen" was already there (address: box 13, Arnold, Escanaba, Michigan), I just cant't find his immigration records right now, all too late here.
US census 1920 claims that the whole family has arrived already in 1909*:
County: Marquette
Place: Wells Township, Marquette, Michigan, United States
District: ED 255
State: Michigan

Marriage with William Johannes Johnsen Dec 16 1937:
https://www.myheritage.fi/research?s=1& ... vents=List

And finally: Forest Home Cemetery
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/214 ... s-seppanen

[Kimpula]

Seppanen Jyvaskyla Tyrnava

You are finding nothing because those are not Finnish names.

[sbogseth]

THank you for this information!

[sbogseth]

Hello,

Again - thank you for this information. I have another question. Jyväskylä seems to be a big area in Finland. Can I tell what town/parish they lived in from the Communion book?

Sue

[Hapero]

Hello again and you're welcome!

Yes, there is a page reference "s. 20" above her father's name
https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut/ ... 2&pnum=154

And at that page we can see Haapaniemi, N:o 2 Oksala (Haapakosken saha - Haapakoski saw mill) and surnames including Seppänen... however Niklas seems to be absent(?)
https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut/ ... 29&pnum=24

But no worries...

Henkikirja 1908 (population register) Jyväskylän pitäjä, Haapaniemi 2, Oksala (owned by "Aktiebolaget Finland Wood Company")
Sahamies (sawmill worker) Niklas Seppänen (18)66
https://digihakemisto.net/item/1762588377/7339803799/83

You can see property name "Oksala" (and village name Haapaniemi and part of that, number 2 - sorry I have no time now to search for correct translations for tilanumero, kiinteistötunnus etc.) some pages earlier:
https://digihakemisto.net/item/1762588377/7339803784/78
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kiinteist%C3%B6

Henkikirja 1909 Jyväskylän pitäjä, Haapaniemi 2, Oksala; sahamies Niklas Seppänen (18)66 Amer, which indicates that he indeed has left Finland.
https://digihakemisto.net/item/1762706137/5265793782/18

Haapaniemi Oksala, approximate location
https://vanhatkartat.fi/#14.43/62.21865/25.85851

1943 aerial photo
https://kartta.paikkatietoikkuna.fi/?zo ... ntro=false

Plain map
https://kartta.paikkatietoikkuna.fi/?zo ... ntro=false

Haapakoski sawmill history, terrible machine translations, but perhaps helpful even as such
https://kohinat-net.translate.goog/esit ... r_pto=wapp
https://www-porssitieto-fi.translate.go ... r_pto=wapp
https://www.porssitieto.fi/yhtiot/lisaa/salvesen.shtml
https://www.finna.fi/Search/Results?loo ... =AllFields

The area is by no means familiar to me, so please feel free to correct me any time.

[Kimpula]

Tilanumero: Number of the "farm" in land tax records. In each "village" "farms" were numberd 1, 2, 3 etc. Note that these "farms" were administrative units of land tax collection and not "real" farms (units of agriculture). Also a "village" in a tax record is not what you think a village is.
(Land tax (maavero) was discontinued in 1924.)


Kiinteistötunnus: Identifier of a piece of land (kiinteistö) in land ownership record (kiinteistörekisteri).

Every "kiinteistö" is not a "farm" - and now I am confusing you evern more:
a "farm" in land ownership record, tax record (henkikirja), agricultural statistics and common speach are four different things.

For example, once upon a time my ancestor owned 4 or 2 "farms" or just 1 "farm" depending on who you asked.

[sbogseth]

Thank you for all this wonderful information. It is all very helpful.

[Hapero]

This 1907 dated newspapaper hit very likely refers to correct Niklas S. as a person from Haapakoski:
"Niklas Seppänen from Haapakoski asks to express his thanks to those workers who supported him during his illness. He is very grateful to the foreman Rutanen, who has acted as a collector."
https://digi.kansalliskirjasto.fi/sanom ... nen&page=3

Foreman Adrian Rutanen could be found here(?)
https://digihakemisto.net/item/1762588377/7339803790/80

Then Wikipedia-citation:
"The registered village of Haapaniemi was a long area of ​​land in a north-south direction, which stretched from the south of the island of Vuoritsalo through the geographical beaches of Haapaniemi and Vaajakoski to the north all the way to Kivilammi. As sawmill operations and settlement expanded, these areas around Naissaari and Vaajavirta began to be called Haapakoski village, and Haapaniemi gradually came to mean roughly the current Haapaniemi district, especially the cape and its southern tip."

There was also labourer homes at Naissaari island itself, that is closer the actual sawmill (or sawmills?), but it seems unlikely that "Haapaniemi 2 Oksala" had land possessions there. Maps are unclear and I'm even more. However Oksala was owned by that very same sawmill company.
https://kartta.paikkatietoikkuna.fi/?zo ... ntro=false

Salvesen's sawmill is (a bit doubtfull) claimed to be seen on the left side of this photo, but this must be earlier than 1950s because I cant't find the same chimney in that 1943 dated aerial photo:
https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaajakosk ... ytinki.jpg

Naiskoski bridge in the 1930s (obviously the same chimney!)
https://www.finna.fi/Record/albumitauki ... D0?imgid=1
https://kartta.paikkatietoikkuna.fi/?zo ... ntro=false

1858 Haapakoski sawmill plans. Location is a bit weird? Number 18, "sågbyggnaden" i.e. sawmill building. This is before Salvesen's time.
https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/23699?show=full

EDIT: May 23rd 2024:
Looking again these 1908 population register pages "reavealed" that both foreman Adrian Rutanen and Niklas Seppänen seem to be listed under title "Koivusaha". If this is correct interpretation they worked specifically at the 1886 built birch sawmill (the exact location of which is unclear because the old sawmill was replaced by a new one in 1916 after the purchase of SOK and suitable maps are difficult to find) on Varassaari island. However Salvesen's pine sawmill (petäjasaha/mäntysaha) on Naissaari island has not been separated similarly. At any case Seppänen family lived somewhere around these sawmills within Haapanimi 2 Oksala's land area borders.
Attached quite early but undated map of Varassaari island, "lautatarha" that is a yard for the sawed planks underlined in red.

https://digihakemisto.net/item/1762588377/7339803790/80
https://digihakemisto.net/item/1762588377/7339803799/83
https://kartta.paikkatietoikkuna.fi/?zo ... ntro=false

https://expo.oscapps.jyu.fi/s/vanhakartta/item/51113
https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/24718

1922 map
https://timomeriluoto.kapsi.fi/KARTAT/J ... 2+0%29.jpg