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Manasse Torttila (Mäki) from Hausjärvi /USA/Canada
Finland information sought most. North American information will be a plus.
The dates are passed down in the family, they may not be exact.
A friend has been trying to paste together the origins of his Great-great grandfather, Manasse Torttila.
Manasse (maybe also Magnus?) was born on March 31, 1868 in the town of Hausjärvi (near Riihimäki). When he was of age, Manasee Torttila left home to go to work. Home was Hausjärvi at the railway junction heading east from Riihimäki. A railroad being constructed nearby provided work for him and his cousins. When work on the railroad was complete, they began to think about the west where things were booming, where railroads and highways were being built. Surely there would be plenty of opportunity for young men to find work. All of the "usual" reasons for leaving.
The Torttila boys and their cousins soon gave way to ''the fever'' to go to America. Manasee arrived in the Canadian Soo (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) in 1892, six years after his brothers. Their cousins first went to Ohio, but later moved to the Soo and worked on the Algoma Central Railway which was completed in 1914.
Manasse met his wife Hilma at a logging camp. They lived in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada but were married by a pastor from the American side named Jacob Hoikka. (I don't know if this was the same pastor that once preached in Astoria, Oregon.)
Manasse and Hilma had eight children. Lydia, born in 1902 died at age 5, Swanti, Eli (my friends great grandmother), Bill, Aina, Ida, Ed and Art. They all lived long and productive lives. The family was not religious but all the children were baptized.
It was in 1911 that Manasse and Hilma legally changed their last name from Torttila to Mäki.
Apparently Manasse died on Dec 9 1940 of a heart attack. He was walking from Eli's (my great grandmother) place to his other daughter Ida's house.
The only mention of I can find of any combination of the above, is the use of the same surname / farmname of Torttila along with Turhauta in the area of Renko, Finland.
I've also seen references to a Mäkinen family in the area. I'm not sure if that is a clue to the name change or not.
Any help out there?
The dates are passed down in the family, they may not be exact.
A friend has been trying to paste together the origins of his Great-great grandfather, Manasse Torttila.
Manasse (maybe also Magnus?) was born on March 31, 1868 in the town of Hausjärvi (near Riihimäki). When he was of age, Manasee Torttila left home to go to work. Home was Hausjärvi at the railway junction heading east from Riihimäki. A railroad being constructed nearby provided work for him and his cousins. When work on the railroad was complete, they began to think about the west where things were booming, where railroads and highways were being built. Surely there would be plenty of opportunity for young men to find work. All of the "usual" reasons for leaving.
The Torttila boys and their cousins soon gave way to ''the fever'' to go to America. Manasee arrived in the Canadian Soo (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) in 1892, six years after his brothers. Their cousins first went to Ohio, but later moved to the Soo and worked on the Algoma Central Railway which was completed in 1914.
Manasse met his wife Hilma at a logging camp. They lived in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada but were married by a pastor from the American side named Jacob Hoikka. (I don't know if this was the same pastor that once preached in Astoria, Oregon.)
Manasse and Hilma had eight children. Lydia, born in 1902 died at age 5, Swanti, Eli (my friends great grandmother), Bill, Aina, Ida, Ed and Art. They all lived long and productive lives. The family was not religious but all the children were baptized.
It was in 1911 that Manasse and Hilma legally changed their last name from Torttila to Mäki.
Apparently Manasse died on Dec 9 1940 of a heart attack. He was walking from Eli's (my great grandmother) place to his other daughter Ida's house.
The only mention of I can find of any combination of the above, is the use of the same surname / farmname of Torttila along with Turhauta in the area of Renko, Finland.
I've also seen references to a Mäkinen family in the area. I'm not sure if that is a clue to the name change or not.
Any help out there?
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