Michigan Swedish Finns

[syrene Registered Find all posts View Profile Close syrene]

Hi Kevin,
I think you're right, it's a generous offer! and will take time. But I accept with joy. The census records are a wealth of information! But time consuming to plow through. Since you lived up there, (?) and have some interest in the area, hopefully it would be kind of fun for you as well. Now I have a question. Should the effort be expanded to include Finns who speak Finnish? As long as eyes are scanning the census pages, would it take a lot longer to include that material as well? I am not skilled at this procedure. Actually Judy Miller is the computer person in that brainstorming session.

The goal is to download information eventually to CD's to take to the FinnFest at Marquette and make available to visitors there who are interested in finding their family names. I would like to spend my time in developing the 12 panel exhibit about communities, lodges and churches, and job opportunities for those Swedish Finns who emigrated to the state.

Any suggestions are gladly accepted.
Regards,
Syrene

[kpaavola Registered Find all posts View Profile Close kpaavola]

Census Info

Well, I guess it's true that I have an interest in at least Marquette. I've browsed through the city census records page by page on 2 different occasions already.

IMO, it wouldn't be any more difficult to include Finn-Finns along with the Finn-Swedes. Probably what I could do is do a mini spreadsheet on paper then incorporate it into some software program: Excel, Word, whatever.

I would probably start with 1900 and then progress from there. It would be interesting to see how many Finns were in Marquette earlier into the 1800s.

Let's see how it goes and we'll take it from there.

[Karen Douglas Registered Find all posts View Profile Close Karen Douglas]

Michigan Swedish-Finns

Hi Syrene,
I might be able to help with the names of some Swedish-Finns in Michigan (and even a few other states), but I am wondering what type of information, outside of names, that you would be interested in. (ie: date of emigration; point of departure, occupation, achievements, etc.) I know there are several Scandinavian Clubs scattered throughout Michigan. Many of them publish a monthly newsletter. If we could develop some type of form, requesting specific information, this might be beneficial in collecting a lot of data. Of course, you may have thought of this already... Karen Douglas

[jeanette Registered Find all posts View Profile Close jeanette]

Hi all,

I could extract some numbers from the 1870 and 1910 hq index to give you an idea but be warned this could be an enormous task if you go to 1910.

Here is an example
The 1910 HQ cd has 1,023,975 entries.
MI has 45980 Scandinavian Heads of Household removing Danish, Norwegian & Swedish and unfortunately females there are still 19532 Finnish and birth place unknown or at sea Heads of household (18680 Finnish).

The 1870 cd has 128,000 entries with only 381 for Finland.

Figures for each county in MI can be obtained if this would be useful.

Jeanette

[syrene Registered Find all posts View Profile Close syrene]

Michigan

Hi,
Yes, I believe Michigan attracted the most immigrants from Finland from 1870-1910. Then the population started shifting out, after strikes and recessions. Wasn't the copper mining industry the very first to actively recruit Finns? If I remember correctly they were recruited first from northern Norway where they were in mining. So if we discount Finns who came in with the New Sweden Colony, with the Russian Alaska Company, and as individuals before 1870, then the mining industry around the Great Lakes was the first destination for our ancestors.

I think too that numbers would be interesting which included Swedes and Russians. Because a few persons were recorded as Russian based on their passports, up until 1917. Today they can be singled out based on their language of Swedish or Finnish. The Swedes are usually an error on the part of who reported to the census taker. If it was a neighbor or a child, they might well say Swedish, since that's the language spoken in the home. My own grandfather-in-law is recorded on one out of the three censuses as from Sweden. Now who in the world gave that info?!

Lots of room for error.

And lots of names to go through. Are you using a CD with Scandinavian immigrants? I've seen reference to it previously and thought in passing that the SFHS archive should invest in a copy. Are you of the opinion that we are reinventing the wheel to go directly to the census records? That maybe the above CD would cover the material, and more quickly?

Appreciate your consideration of my questions!
Syrene

[jeanette Registered Find all posts View Profile Close jeanette]

Heritage Quest Scandinavians in the 1910 US Federal Census cd

Hi,

There are two cds 1870 and 1910.
The HQ cds (full title above) are an excellent resource effectively providing an index for those relatives from all Scandinavian countries who parishes advise are 'i Amerika'. If a lot of people call at Sfhs to undertake research I think they would be a good investment however searching on the 1910 cd can take time if the name isn't found spelt as initially entered and alternatives are tried,because there are so many more people (10 times more than on the 1870 cd) and so many ways to search. Finland has 381 entries in total on 1870 and 85,347 in the 1910. The cd's cost USD $19.95 and $29.95.

Searches can be undertaken by Surname, Given name, age Birthplace, County, Locality, T624-roll even by page or State. Once set up, if the total number of choices is too great exclusions can be made or ranges can be used and the results can then be sorted into alphabetical by given sur/given name or age or State order (in fact all the same categories can be used in any order or combination).

I have done many searches that have taken 1/2 an hour to set up (perhaps this is in part due to the computers at my gen soc). Many people with no name or an occupation where the name should be are included and people born at sea or birthplace unknown have also been included which takes the total no.s from the 880,000 advertised to over 1 million actual entries.
I tend to search by exclusion to try to include these fascinating entries but have never found my person amongst them as yet.

Only 200 records will print at a time but identifying the first entry can then continue a run.

Here is the url should you wish to read more about it
http://www2.heritagequest.com/hq/sw.asp?Z_id=ACD-0292

Hope this goes some way to answering your questions.
Will post some numbers after I have been to use the cd later today.

Jeanette

[granskare Registered Find all posts View Profile Close granskare]

Copper Country

The English from Cornwall were at the mine sites in about 1840 and they brought pasty to the region. About 20 years later the first Finns came around but I don't know if copper or iron was first to get Finns but here's a fun quote of an early Calumet settler from Norway: "When I come here I don't learn to speak English! I have to learn Finnish or I don't talk to nobody" and this guy spoke only Finnish until he was 16 or 17 years old so lots of Finnish speaking Finns up there. Swedes also got caught up with mining and by 1900, Iron County was 90% Swedes! I got this from "Michigan Ghost Towns of the Upper Peninsula by R.L. Dodge.
Copper Country was an isolated area in the 1840s-50s. No land movement possible because of the thick forests so travel by ship the only feasible route and when the lake froze over, if you didn't have your winter supplies in, it was a difficult time because then the only way out was by dogsled to Green Bay.
That ghost towns book tells us about all of the small towns that are now history so if you have a question about one, let me know
Chuck

[jeanette Registered Find all posts View Profile Close jeanette]

No's of people born in Finland in Michigan for 1870 and 1910 census

Here are some numbers from the HQ cd's.

In 1870 Scandinavians in MI 3,304 not Sw, Da or Nor 270. However of these only 10 were actually listed as being born in Finland.
Houghton had 4 - 2in Quincy & 2 in Calumet
Marquette 1 in Marquette
Muskegon 2 - Oceana and 3-wd Muskegon
Newaygo 3 -Ensley 2, Newaygo 1

In 1910 Scan in MI 45,980 born in Finland 18,680.
Kevin mentioned a specific interest in Marquette County.
1-WD Ishp 86 1-WD Marq 89 1-WD Negaunee 16
2-WD Ishp 137 2-WD Marq 60 2-WD Negaunee 167
3-WD Ishp 24 3-WD Marq 23 3-WD Negaunee 143
4-WD Ishp 243 4-WD Marq 75 4-WD Negaunee 214
5-WD Ishp 29 5-WD Marq 160 5-WD Negaunee 447
6-WD Ishp 10
7-WD Ishp 1
8-WD Ishp 5
9-WD Ishp 133
10-WD Ishp 9
Ishpeming Twp 108
Champion Twp 42
Chocolay Twp 24
Forsyth Twp 247
Michigamme Twp 42
Powell Twp 49
Republic Twp 228
Richmond Twp 196
Skandia Twp 10
Tilden Twp 51
Turin Twp 1 Total 3059


No's I obtained for some other counties are
Alger 784
Baraga 555
Chippewa 391
Delta 387
Dickinson 291
Gogebic 2429
Houghton 6700
Iron 1170
Keweenaw 669
Luce 409
Mackinac 133
Marquette 3059
Menominee 85
Ontonagon 656
Schoolcraft 133
Upper MI Total 17,851
Alcona 1
Antrim 4
Arenac 3
Barry 4
Bay 7
Benzie 6
Berrien 4
Cass 3
Charlevaix 7
Cheboygan 6
Crawford 16
Eaton 9
Emmet 1
Genesee 2
Grand Traverse 27
Ingham 6
Ionia 16
Iosco 74
Jackson 3
Kalamazoo 2
Kalkaska 1
Kent 60
Lapeer 1
Lenawee 1
Macomb 2
Manistee 166
Mason 52
Mecosta 1
Midland 5
Missaukee 52
Monroe 1
Montmorency 19
Muskegon 69
Newaygo 35
Oceana 2
Ogemaw 2
Osceola 2
Otsego 13
Ottawa 3
Roscommon 2
Saginaw 3
Tuscola 1
Wayne 52
Washington 3
Washtenaw 7
Wexford 72
Virginia 1
Total in MI 18,682

Don't forget these listings are for heads-of-households and those with a different surname within a household.
The actual number of people would be far greater.
Jeanette

Hmmm, 2 extra people!

[kpaavola Registered Find all posts View Profile Close kpaavola]

Ok, ok....I'll volunteer to do Marquette in 1870!!

[jeanette Registered Find all posts View Profile Close jeanette]

Marquette 1870 census

Hi Kevin,

That would be like looking for a needle in a haystack and I don't want to take anything away from the challenge but did you know the MI 1870 was online at the Library of Michigan? As I have printed out the details from the HQ cd

CLANDY Christine age 30 b. Fin Marquette Marquette 689 401 MI
Here is the image (hope this works)
http://epiphyte.libofmich.lib.mi.us/...oll689/401.pdf
Christine can be located on line 15.

The others are: all born Finland M593 roll
ADAMS Isaac 41 Houghton Quincy 674 pg 733
JOHNSON Peter 31 Houghton Quincy 674 pg 737
ANDERSON Mathias 34 Houghton Calumet 674 pg 621
JOHNSON Carl 26 Houghton Calumet 674 pg 633
JOHNSON Otis 50 Muskegon Oceana 692 pg 347
SUTHERLAND Hendrick 30 Newaygo Newaygo 693 pg38
APEL Mosher 24 Newaygo Ensley 693 pg 76
HAUGEL Martz 26 Newaygo Ensley 693 pg 76

I will leave the joy of looking up the images to your very capable hands.

Jeanette

[kpaavola Registered Find all posts View Profile Close kpaavola]

See? 1870 is now completed!

Whew! I'm exhausted!

[granskare Registered Find all posts View Profile Close granskare]

Congrats Kev!

You have won a copy of the Mining Gazette but you must stop in the office in Houghton this weekend to pick it up.

Please enjoy the snow

Chuck

[jeanette Registered Find all posts View Profile Close jeanette]

1870 Census Locations

The 1870 census contained 381 heads-of-household and others living at an address with a different surname listed as born in Finland. Although scattered across most states NY, MN and CA had almost 2/3.

The numbers state by state are
AL 20 GA 1 LA 7 MO 1 NY 28 TX 1
CA 171 IA 6 MA 19 MS 2 OH 1 UT 2
CT 1 ID 3 MD 3 NE 1 OR 8 WA 22
DC 1 IL 17 MI 10 NJ 2 PA 1 WI 5
FL 7 IN 7 MN 31 NV 2 SC 1 Tot 381

AL Montgomery 19 Mobile 1
NY Erie 1 Kings 3 New York 17 Ontario 1 Richmond 5 St Lawrence 1
CA San F 74 Mendocino 22 Placer 27 rest were scattered.

[syrene Registered Find all posts View Profile Close syrene]

Michigan

Phew! I've been gone from email for four days and what a lot of activity going on?! I mentioned to Hasse N about including every person born in Finland, and he thinks it's a good idea. In other words why go back through the material a second time if it can all be captured with one go.
REgards,
Syrene

[kpaavola Registered Find all posts View Profile Close kpaavola]

Making Progress

I've spent the weekend transcribing the 1900 Marquette County census. I've completed Marquette City Wards 1-7, Marquette Township and Republic Township. Haven't counted yet how many there are but it's all on paper.

Before I start to enter into the computer, I thought I'd ask Hasse and Syrene if there's a preferred method. Should I make a table in Word, spreadsheet in Excel, etc, etc??

Please let me know so I can continue. My arm is pretty much numb now and I don't suspect I'll start entering into the computer for a few days.