Documenting Every Swedish Speaking Emigrant from Finland
DEE database for SFHS members
No Swedish-Finn emigrant should be forgotten
In the early 2000-time frame, the Swedish Finn Historical Society initiated a goal of documenting every emigrant (DEE).
Building the database
To ensure no emigrant is forgotten, a common format was developed to archive and store emigrant information. Then work began to collect information from a variety of sources. These efforts have culminated in over 106,000 entries in the database. It should be noted that an individual emigrant may be in the database more than once if they appear from different sources.
As an SFHS member, you can search for information in the DEE database online to see if your emigrant ancestor is included. If they are not, you can add their information to the database.
Where Our Data Comes From
- Temperance Society membership records
- Old Order of Runeberg membership records
- Sveaborg records
- Church records in North America
- Parish records in Finland
- Emigration records (Institute of Migration)
- Obituaries in written publications, including newspapers and Leading Star
- Publications using research by KG Olin
- Individual researchers (e.g. June Pelo)
- Miscellaneous data from Facebook Page posts
- Query research for individuals
- Census data
- Our members, like you
What data do we try to gather?
Our intent is to identify as much individual information about each emigrant to assist in tracing ancestry in Finland. This often includes some or all of the following:
- Names: their Finland birth names, patronym (father’s name), surname (farm name), and any name changes made after emigrating
- Where they lived: village or parish of origin and where they settled after emigration
- Dates: birth and death dates, date of emigration
- Family: parents, spouse, and children’s names
Please note that in compliance with US and EU privacy laws, we do not collect, store, or share any personal data of living individuals.
Not yet a member?
Join Us to Begin the Search for Your Ancestors
Our mission is to honor our cultural heritage by collecting, safeguarding and sharing the cultural and emigration history of Swedish Finns globally, and by fostering connections between Swedish Finns and their ancestral roots in Finland. By becoming a member you can help us preserve our shared history for future generations.
A Global Community of Swedish Finns
Swedish Finn Historical Society is a unique organization building connections between Swedish Finns wherever they may live. We are committed to celebrating the cultural identity and legacy of our ancestors. Your membership supports our mission to document every one of the 70,000 Swedish Finn emigrants. Our members are encouraged to submit the stories of their ancestors to be preserved in our growing database. We are here to help you find and/or strengthen your connections to Finland.
Membership benefits
All levels of membership receive the same benefits.
- Subscription to our triannual publication Kusiner.
- 3 hours of free genealogy help every year.
- Access to exclusive genealogy databases.
- Access to our Library and Archive.
- Swedish language translation help.
- Tours of Finland tailored to the area your ancestors lived.
- Assurance that your ancestor’s legacy will be preserved.
