Sorting Out Grandpa – A Deep Dive into Deception

By Maggie Backman Patterson
Read more family history uncovered by Maggie Patterson in the article Sofia’s Story.

“Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it.”[1]  So said the Irish essayist Jonathan Swift.  It is the perfect description of what I have encountered over the years of researching my Swedish-Finnish roots.

It seems that my paternal grandfather, Anders Backman was a philanderer and a prevaricator.  He had two wives – or at least one wife and one common-law relationship – and apparently was involved with both women at the same time.  And many half truths and outright lies were told to confuse the issue.  I am sure that at the time, grandpa felt justified in fabricating these fibs to protect those he loved.

With no family members alive in Canada, I set out on a quest to answer the many questions that have arisen.  Unaware of any family still living in Finland, it was a pleasant surprise that after twenty-plus years of searching I have finally connected with descendants of my grandfather’s half-siblings.  While they couldn’t provide answers, they helped flesh out his story and added some details.

My grandpa and later my aunt kept many letters and official documents in a brown paper bag which I inherited after their passing.  These papers together with online documentation, numerous emails to Finnish parishes, and a good deal of help from the gracious members of the SFHS and Finnish Genealogy Facebook groups, have allowed me to piece together this part of my family history.  So here’s the story, with probably way more detail than necessary, but it is the only way I can make sense of the narrative and keep the chronological records in context.  Since the spelling of names varied, they have been kept consistent with how they were recorded in the referenced documents.

Anders Reinhold Backman was born on 16 February 1882 on the Petas farm in the village of Labby, Lappträsk, Finland, to Sofia Backman, unmarried.[2]  His father was not listed in the record.  At the time of Ander’s birth, Sofia had returned to her parents in Labby Petas but in 1881 she worked briefly on the Nybondas farm in Harbsöle[3] before returning to Labby Petas where she worked as a maid. While a link to the Nybondas name has been established through DNA, based on a Finnish cousin’s research it is believed that Anders’ father is Anders Alfred Karlsson Petas, the landlord of the farm at Labby Petas.[4]

On 28 July 1887 in Lindoski Mickos, when Anders was five years old, Sofia married a man named Magnus Andersson[5] who was born 19 August 1863 in Elimäki.[6]  They had three children, Matilda Josephina born 1888,[7] Johan Alfred born 1889[8] and Otto Wilhelm born 1892.[9]  For reasons unknown, in 1890 Sofia’s oldest son, 8 year old Anders, was sent to live at Bäckby Markusas with Anders Reinhold Abrahamson and his family.[10]  It is an odd coincidence that Sofia’s son shares the same given names as his foster-father but no DNA link or connection to this familial line has been established.  It may have been for economic reasons or that the young boy simply didn’t get along with his new stepfather.

An interesting sidebar to Ander’s family story – on 14 June 1894, his mother’s husband Magnus Andersson murdered a man named Johan Koskinen in a city park and hid the murdered man’s watch and wallet in a stable.  He was arrested and confessed the next day.  Ten days later on 25 June, Magnus was convicted of murder and robbery.  He received a life sentence and was sent to Viborg Prison.[11]  According to the records, Magnus was transferred on 10 August 1894 to Turku Central Prison[12] and was eventually released on parole in 1906.[13]  According to his great granddaughter, Magnus returned to Lappträsk area and may have eventually reunited with his wife Sofia and children after serving his twelve years in prison.  By this point, Anders had already left to start a new life abroad.

And Sofia herself was busy, so to speak, while Magnus was incarcerated.  Three years before he was paroled, on 20 August 1903, she gave birth to Ellen Sofia.[14]  The birth record states that Ellen was born out of wedlock to Sofia Backman of Lindoski Lassas and that her godparents were Anders Johansson and his wife Alma, both from Lindkoski.  According to family lore, Ellen died young of consumption or phthisis, and her father may have been a peddler who sold sewing-machines and stayed at Sofia’s house when he was in Lappträsk.

But back to Grandpa’s story.  A record of an Anders Backman, born on 16 April 1882 in Lappträsk, is found in the 1900 Norway Census for the ship Linnea with several other Finns on the crew.[15]  He is listed as unmarried and working in engineering on the ship that is sailing in the Indian Ocean on a journey from Cape Town to South Australia.  While it seems unlikely that there would be two men with the same name born in the same place in the same year working in engineering, it cannot definitively be said that this is the right Anders.  While the birth day is the same, the birth months do not match.

A subsequent search of the Finnish Family History Association database did not uncover a birth record for an Anders Backman born on 16 April 1882 in Lappträsk.  The Norway census birth month might be simple transcription error but since the original document is not available online this supposition cannot be verified.  Also, in a later document, Anders stated that he immigrated to the United States in 1898.  An immigration record for 1898 has not yet been found.  If Anders had immigrated in 1898, he would be expected to appear in the 1900 U.S. census but a record of him has not been uncovered.

In 1903, the city directory of Seattle, Washington lists Anders as Andrew Beckman working as a labourer and living in a boarding house at 615 Weller Street.[16]  The following year, he is an apprentice at Vulcan Iron Works and his name is now listed as Andrew R. Backman.[17]  In the 1907 city directory he is living at 1804 9^th Avenue and has apparently finished his apprenticeship since his position at the Vulcan Iron Works is now that of machinist.[18]

A Service Record of work done in the Panama Canal Zone issued on 1 August 1907, states that Anders is 25, was born in Finland, and resides at 911 Connecticut Street, Seattle and that his employment in the engineering department started on 3 June 1907.[19]  A studio photo taken of him has the note “Panama” written on the back.  Since the next document relating to Anders’ employment is a work letter issued on 22 December 1908 in Hamina, Finland, it is conjectured that he left Seattle and worked his way through the Panama Canal before returning to the country of his birth.

A possible reason for his journey home to Finland was to find a wife.  There is a record of a marriage for Anders Reinhold Backman and Lyydia Maria Kärki dated 6 July 1908 in Vehkalahti, Ihamaa.  It is also where Lyydia was born on 16 July 1891.[20]  Lyydia would have been 16, just ten days shy of her 17^th birthday at the time of her marriage while Anders was 26 years old.  The record of her birth lists Mickel Mattsson Kärki and Eva Petersdotter Paronen as her parents.[21]  Records indicate that Lyydia had three older brothers and an older sister.  Her older brother Matts, born in 1872,[22] and his wife Aleksandra Robertsdotter Dahlberg had a daughter named Zelia Onnia Kärki who was born on 4 April 1896 in Lahti, Finland.[23]  This will become relevant later in the narrative.

The next document in the paper trail is a passport issued by the Institute of Migration on 20 April 1909 in Vehkalahti, Finland to Anders Bernhard Backman, husband of Lydia.[24]  This is the only reference of Anders using Bernhard as a middle name instead of Reinhold, although his son was later given it as his second name.  In many of the documents pertaining to their immigration and time spent in the United States, Lyydia is anglicized to Lydia.

Less than three weeks after the passport was issued, on 8 May, Anders traveled to Boston, Massachusetts aboard the SS Cymric and, according to the ship’s manifest dated 15 May 1909, his nearest relative is his wife Lydia Backman in Vehkalahti, Ihamaa, Finland.[25]  He also states that he is traveling to his friend Jack Wild who lives at 911 Connecticut Street in Seattle – the same address that was listed on his service record in Panama – and that he was previously in the United States from 1898 to 1908.

Seven weeks later on 3 July, Lydia too traveled to Boston aboard the SS Cymric.[26]  As was common in that era, his wife traveled on her husband’s passport, No. 1008, under the name of Lydia Backman.  The ship’s list records Lydia’s age as 18 and states that her nearest relative in Finland is Eva Kärki in Vehkalahti, Ihamaa.  It also notes that she is going to her husband Anders Backman at 911 Connecticut Street, Seattle, Washington and that he paid her fare.

In 1910, both the Seattle City Directory[27] and the US Census[28] show Anders living at 911 Connecticut Street but with different occupations.  The city directory lists him as Andrew R. Backman, machinist and the census says that he is a restaurant owner and his wife’s name is Lydia.  The census states that Anders, head of household, emigrated in 1898 and that he speaks English.  Lydia’s census listing indicates that she is 18, emigrated in 1909, speaks English and has been married for 2 years.  An Oscar Henderson, who appears again later in this account, is listed among the six lodgers who live with Anders and Lydia.  The 1911 Seattle City Directory also shows Anders still living at 911 Connecticut Street and working as a machinist.

On 12 November 1911, a death record for a stillborn son lists Andrew Backman and Mary Kärki as parents with their address as 911 Connecticut Street, Seattle and states that the infant is to be buried at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.[29]^,[30]  It is odd that all other documents refer to her as Lydia but here she is referred to only by her middle name – Mary, Anglicized from Maria.  This is the last document in the paper trail for Lyydia in the United States.

Anders continued to work as a machinist and on 3 August 1912 a letter is issued by the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company stating that he had been in their employ from 18 May 1911 through 29 June 1912.

At some point after this, Anders and Lyydia returned to Finland.  It may be that losing the child was the catalyst for their going back since Lydia was very young and did not have any family support in Seattle.

The Population Tax List for Vehkalahti, Kymi, Ihamaa for 1914 shows them living with several other unrelated people.[31]

A request for information was sent to Hamina parish and the reply stated that according to their records, Anders and Lyydia had two children born in Vehkalahti.  Their daughter Agnes Serafina was born on 30 December 1913[32] and died a few months later on 12 March 1914.[33]   A son, Leo Adolf was born 13 July 1915[34] and died 27 January 1927.[35]

Anders also fathered another daughter, Tekla Alice who, according to her Canadian documents, was born in Helsinki on 23 September 1915.  None of the paperwork indicates who the mother was but since Lyydia gave birth to her son Leo two months prior she can be eliminated.  No other documents currently available place any member of the family in Helsinki at that time.  A query was sent to the Lutheran Church in Helsinki but they do not have a record of Tekla’s birth.

The next record of Anders is a work letter which shows he was employed in an artillery plant in Tampere, Finland.  The letter is dated 25 December 1916, which is eleven days after the birth of his son, Erland Bernhard Mattias who, according to his passport information, was born on 14 December 1916 in Vaasa, Finland.  Neither the Finnish speaking nor the Swedish speaking church record offices in Vaasa have a record of Erland’s birth and none of the currently available documents indicate who his mother was.  The only link of any kind that places any member of the family in Vaasa is a studio photograph of his sister Tekla taken at Atelier Hellas, Skolhusg 32, Wasa.  Based on her age in the photo, it was probably in taken late 1916.

A moving record for Vehkalahti noted that Anders’ niece by marriage, Celia Kärki, unmarried, moved to Tampere on 3 December 1917 however it did not mention any children.[36]  An email received from The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland Regional Central Registry of Tampere, stated that Celia and the two children left Tampere and moved to Hollola parish on 7 April 1924.  While her birth records record her name as Zelia Onnia Kärki, all other records use Celia or Cecelia.

Letters of employment show that Anders worked at various factories in Finland – Tampere 1915-1918, Epliässä 1918-1919, Hyvinkää 1919-1920, Riihimaki 1920-1922, and Lahti from 29 May 1922 until 24 August 1923.  At no time during his working career was he working in either Helsinki or Vaasa, the places where his two youngest children were supposedly born.

A Population Tax List for 1918 for Vehkalahti Pampyöli show mechanic Anders Backman and his wife Lyydi living with her brother Matti Kärki and his wife Aleksandra and a young woman named Ksenia, born 1896.[37]  Since Matti and Aleksandra’s daughter Celia was born in 1896, it can be assumed that this is the same person.  This document is recorded two years after the last of Anders’ children were born. In the 1920 Population Tax List, Celia is no longer living with the family but Anders’ and Lydi’s son Leo is included as are Matti and Aleksandra.[38]

In March of 1923, Ander was issued a new passport and in May he made an alien declaration at the United States Consulate.  In August, he had a medical exam and was found to be in good health before getting a vaccination by U.S. Health Services prior to his September sailing from Gothenburg, Sweden to New York aboard the SS Stockholm.  The Hamina records also noted that he left for America in 1923 and that on 22 March 1978 a decision was made to have him declared dead with a death date of 1 January 1977.

On the SS Stockholm’s ship manifest, Anders stated that his nearest relative in Finland is his mother Sofia Backman in Lappträsk and that he was traveling to his friend, Oscar Henderson in Portland, Maine.[39]  It can be assumed that this same Oscar Henderson who had boarded with Anders and Lydia at 911 Connecticut Street, Seattle in 1910 and worked at that time as an apprentice at a foundry. The 1920 U.S. Census for Portland, Maine shows an Oscar Henderson working as a machinist.[40]  Both census records list his year of immigration as 1906 and are consistent with birth and heritage information.

However, it seems that Anders did not go to Maine but settled in Barre, Vermont.  A vehicle registration, driver’s license and residence record all from Barre and dated 1924 support this detail.

In August of 1924, Anders’ and Lyydia’s niece, Cecelia Onnea Kärki, arrived in Montreal, Quebec on the SS Minnedosa.  Her arrival documents state that she is going to her uncle Anders Backman at 26 Sict Street, Cornwall, Ontario and that her nearest relative in Finland is her mother Aleksandra Kärki in Lahti.[41]  Celia also stated that she is 28 years old and single and that she paid her own passage.

Anders’ two minor children also traveled to Montreal with Celia – Tekla Alice, age 8, and Erland Bernhard Mattias, age 7.[42]  Their arrival records indicate they are going to their father A. R. Backman at 26 Sict Street, Cornwall, Ontario and that their nearest relative in Finland is their grandmother, Sofia Backman of Lappträsk, Finland.  The passport for the children listed their place of origin as Hollola, Finland.  A letter has been written to this parish to determine if that is the case.  The only official Finnish record of the two children to date is their shared passport issued in 1924.

While all three arrival records gave their destination as Anders’ address in Cornwall, documentation verifies that Anders was still working and living in Vermont.  Oral family history indicated that Celia and the children were collected by Anders in Montreal and then traveled back to Vermont and headed west on their way to a job that Anders had secured in California.  Cornwall, Ontario is quite a distance from both Montreal and Vermont and there are no documents confirming that Anders ever lived or even visited there.

A postcard from a friend in Toronto, Ontario dated October 1924 and addressed to Miss Celia Kärki at a Montreal address supports the family narrative that their waiting time before meeting up with Anders was spent there and not in Cornwall.  In a letter from the Canadian Department of Immigration and Colonization dated 14 October 1930, in which they were returning Anders’ paperwork in support of his naturalization application, they noted that he entered Canada on or about 7 April 1925 at Noyan, Quebec which is on-route from Vermont to Montreal.  This also gives credence to the family story.

A letter from Boutwell, Milne and Varnum Granite Quarry in Barre, Vermont giving Anders one week’s leave from his job was issued 7 January 1925.  Another letter, dated 9 April 1925, stated he had been employed by them from 26 November 1923 to 9 April 1925.  On 10 April, an automobile certificate was issued by US Customs in Alburg, Vermont and, less than a month later on 4 May, a custom’s declaration to import a vehicle from Detroit, Michigan was made at Windsor, Ontario.  While visiting a friend in Windsor, Anders was offered a position as a die maker at Canadian Motor Lamp and the family decided to stay in the area.

Once settled in their home in Sandwich East, just outside of Windsor, Anders began the process of obtaining Canadian citizenship.  On 2 January 1931, Anders took an oath of citizenship and a Canadian Certificate of Naturalization was issued for Anders Reinhold Backman, his wife, Lydia Cecelia and his two minor children, Tekla Alice and Erland Bernhard.  This is the first and only usage of the name Lydia in conjunction with Cecelia/Celia.

A December 1933 advertisement in the Windsor newspaper offered “Ready cut silk patches for complete quilt, many designs, $3.95.  Quilts made to order.  Mrs. A. Backman 34 Shawnee Rd., Tecumseh.”[43]  Letters, with envelopes addressed to Mrs. A. Backman, were sent during 1936 by a friend named Tilda Kuusenkanto who attended Celia’s mother during her last illness and helped with the funeral.  While a marriage record has not been found, Anders and Celia were definitely thought of as a husband and wife.

There was a small Nordic community in the area and based on photographs taken the Backmans entertained many Finnish and Swedish families in their home.  Celia became ill and, according to her death certificate, died at the age of 47 in hospital on 20 July 1943 of “endocarditis” caused by rheumatic fever.[44]  Anders developed kidney problems and passed away in March of 1954.[45]

Since a divorce record has not been found, it is assumed that Anders was still legally married to Lyydia Kärki while he and Celia lived as a married couple in Canada.  The email from Hamina referenced above stated that according to their records “Lyydi Maria Mikondotter Backman born Kärki, born 16.7.1891 Vehkalahti, moved from Vehkalahti parish on 2 Feb 1931 to Hamina parish, died 10 July 1959 as a member of the Hamina parish.”  She outlived her estranged husband Anders, her niece Celia, and her great nephew, Anders’ son, Erland who died in 1955.

While Tekla Alice lived until her early 70’s, she would never speak of her life in Finland.  When asked, she would say, “Dad said that we were now Canadian so we had to forget Finland and be the best Canadians.”   Tekla was briefly married in the 1940s but did not have children.  It was only after her death in 1989, and all the documents in that brown paper bag were discovered, that the Backman family history could be pieced together.

Many questions arise out of the research and answering one only leads to more arising!

Why did Anders use Bernhard as his middle name instead of Reinhold when he applied for the passport in 1909?  Was it just a clerical or transcription error?  His birth record and many other documents clearly state Reinhold.  And, according to relatives in Finland, he was referred to there as Reinhold, not Anders.

Why were Anders and Lyydia living with Matti, Aleksandra and Celia as noted in 1918 tax record?  And were all three of the children – Leo Adolph, Tekla and Erland – there as well?  Probably.  It certainly indicates that the two women were well aware of Anders’ adulterous ways.  And why was Anders listed in Vehkalahti when his work records for that year place him in the Tampere area?  Celia moved to Tampere in 1917 and then to Hollola in 1924 so why is she listed in this record with her parents?

Why does the 1923 SS Stockholm manifest for Anders indicate that his nearest relative in Finland is his mother Sofia Backman instead of his wife?  It also records that he had previously lived in the United States from 1900 to 1912 – an anomaly since he had previously stated that he had originally immigrated in 1898.  If the 1900 year is correct, then the Norway census for that year may actually pertain to this Anders Backman.

Why did their Canadian documents state that Anders’ children, Tekla and Erland, were born in Helsinki and Vaasa respectively, yet neither city has a record of their births?  If Celia is truly their mother – and was unmarried at the times of their birth – could she have traveled to these places to give birth and the birth not been recorded?  The only tangible link to Vaasa is the professional studio photo of Tekla that was most likely taken around the time of her brother’s birth.  And while Vaasa could also refer to a large area and not just the city, without a specific parish link, it is not possible to confirm Erland’s birth.

Why did Celia and the children state their destination was Cornwall, Ontario when they arrived in Montreal when Anders was working and living in Vermont?  And how was it chosen as the imaginary address of Anders?  Was there a previous connection to the city through a family or friend?  It seems an unlikely place to choose.

Were Anders and Celia ever married?  If so, why didn’t he name his wife as next of kin on the 1923 ship’s manifest instead of his mother?  Celia’s arrival documents in Canada state that Anders is her uncle not her husband, which he actually was by marriage.  Did they marry in Canada?  Celia wore a wedding ring which was inscribed “Celia” but it did not include a date or any other information.  Divorce was not easily obtained in Finland in the early 1900s so a marriage between Celia and Anders is unlikely.  And unless a divorce record can be found, any marriage to Celia would be bigamous.

Why did Anders list his wife as Lydia Cecelia on his naturalization?  Was it because he was still married to Lyydia, who remained in Finland, and he knew that when he arrived in the United States in 1909 that his passport and immigration records listed his wife as Lydia?

Who was the biological mother of Tekla and Erland?  While it is not physically possible for Lyydia to have birthed both her son, Leo Adolf (born July 1915) and Tekla Alice (born September 1915), could she have been the mother of Erland?  It is highly unlikely since Leo stayed in Finland with Lyydia and Erland travelled to Canada with Celia.  The most feasible explanation is that Anders had an affair with Celia while still married to Lyydia and fathered two children in Finland with each woman.  If Celia is the mother of Tekla and Erland, then the children were born out of wedlock…a strong motive in those times for all the ensuing deceit.

Old studio photos of Tekla and Erland, from when they were toddlers to when they emigrated from Finland to Canada at ages 8 and 7 respectively, show the same young woman with them.  Anders is present in several of the photographs.  Photos taken in Canada, with notations on the back made by Tekla, all refer to Celia as Mother.  Unfortunately, all photos from Finland are unlabeled.  Celia is buried next to Anders in Windsor, Ontario and their headstones refer to them as Father and Mother.  Until actual birth records for the children can be found, their parentage cannot definitively be determined.

Was my grandfather and aunt’s reticence to talk about life in Finland due to these fabrications?  Was Auntie even aware of them or did my grandparent’s keep their secrets deeply hidden?  If Grandpa’s half-siblings in Finland knew about his womanizing ways, they took that knowledge to the grave and did not pass it along to the next generation.  But it is apparent that Grandpa was genuinely loved by his mother and siblings in Finland and by Celia, his children and grandchildren.  And he worked very hard to make a good life for his family and provide them with a stable home in Canada.

So yes, many falsehoods flew but truth eventually limped in – but what to make of it?  As an amateur family history buff, I prefer to deal in hard facts and definitive answers but in this case I will never know the whole why behind the half truths and outright lies that form the core of this story.

About the Author

I inherited my position as “keeper of the family tree” from my 106 year old maternal cousin and have spent the last 20+ years fleshing out the English-Irish branches.  Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, I am a first generation Swedish Finn Canadian on my dad’s side.  In the last few years I have made significant progress in researching my Finnish roots even though I struggle with the language and writing of the historical records.  Persistence paid off this past winter when I made contact with descendants of my grandfather’s half sister whom I look forward to meeting in person next year when I make my first visit to Finland.  While this story is a culmination of years of research and pouring over old documents and photographs, it would not have been possible without a great deal of help from other Swedish-Finn family historians for which I am eternally grateful.