- NEVER place personal information on the Internet about living persons. Finland and Sweden, for example, have laws protecting the privacy of individuals. In some cases, it appears to concern information entered into church books over 100 years ago. That may be updated, but until then family researchers and professional genealogists regard this rule as GOLD PLATED! And it’s a safeguard for your own identity.
- Write down your SOURCES. You are providing evidence of where you have found material. It REALLY helps when you are reviewing what information was where. You will save yourself hours of re-doing your research. Someone asking you for help in finding the same information can be pointed directly to the original source.
- Don’t take anyone’s word that a piece of information is true, until you see the primary source. Family myths CAN hold clues to the truth.Even what normally is considered a primary source—facts recorded at the time by someone reliable—can err (We’re only human.) We have even found errors in church books. They probably occurred when the priest was copying parish members’ information into the next set of books—names change, are misspelled, are Americanized, are transcribed from handwritten records to digital databases by someone who doesn’t know the language. When you can’t find someone, try the first few letters of the name and then an asterisk( *). Maybe that “free” card will open up a hundred wrong possibilities, but the correct one may be in there somewhere.
SWEDISH CHARACTERS
å=option + a
Å=shift + option + a
ä=option + u + a
Ä=option + u + shift + a
ö=option + u + o
Ö=option + u +shift + o OR hold down the “o” or “a” key and a whole line up of various versions appear. Pick the one you want. and click on it with your cursor.
ALT 134 = å
ALT 143 = Å
ALT 132 = ä
ALT 142 = Ä
ALT 148 = ö
ALT 153 = Ö OR hold down the “o” or “a” key and a whole line up of various versions appear. Pick the one you want. and click on it with your cursor.
Finlander Forum CURRENTLY UNDERGOING MAINTENANCE.2,898 registered members discuss genealogy questions, name searches, and several dozen other topics, such as books, recipes, history etc. A search option allows members to see if their family name is being discussed. Or you can begin a new thread with the name of a topic of your choice. Registration is free of charge. DON’T LOSE YOUR PASSWORD! No charge.
TALKO CURRENTLY UNDERGOING MAINTENANCE. TALKO is the cooperative database of 2,070,050 individuals, established and managed by Hasse Nygård, the SFHS webmaster. It’s accessible by password only. Passwords are sent to those who mail GED coms of their family research for inclusion in the database. 160 family researchers, mainly from the USA, Canada, Finland, and Sweden have contributed their collections. A GEDcom is Genealogical Data Communication, a method of formatting your family tree data into a text file which can be easily read and converted by any genealogy software program.
Documenting Every Emigrant Documenting Every Emigrant is a work in progress and is aimed at preserving the record of emigrant names from Finland, particularly Swedish-speaking Finland. Currently there are over 95,000 records and searching the databases is free for members of the Swedish Finn Historical Society.
Finland’s Family History Association Not all parishes are yet loaded into the database, particularly not Swedish-speaking parishes. Free of charge for some records. Members get access to a larger selection of records. Joining is very affordable.
Hiski Project Database of Finland’s Genealogical Society. Volunteers transcribed church records into searchable database. Free of charge.
Migration Institute of Finland Subscription required. The Institute of Migration was founded in 1974, and has its headquarters in Turku. Its mission is to promote the collection, storage and documentation of research material relating to international and internal migration including immigrants and refugees, to carry out and to promote migration research, to publish research reports, books and articles on migration, to develop co-operation between the universities and special organizations related to migration, both within Finland and abroad, and to maintain and to provide information services about migration.
Ancestry Subscription required. Offers census, immigration, military, and vital records. Local libraries often provide access for free.
Åland Sheriff’s Passport List 1863-1916 The Provincial Archives in Mariehamn, Åland, has the Sheriff’s Archive of the Åland Islands. It is searchable on Genealogy Society of Finland’s website.
Ellis Island Searching the Passenger Lists in One Step Massachusetts State Archives The archive contains vital records, passenger records, and military record.
Denmark’s National Archive Many immigrants from Finland and Sweden traveled to Copenhagen and boarded their ship to North America. If they purchased their ticket in Copenhagen they will be in the Copenhagen Police Emigration Protocols collection.
Norway’s National Archive Emigrants from Finland and Sweden also traveled to Norway to board their ship to North America. Passenger lists are included in this large archive.
Finland’s National Archive Free. Parish records and other assorted collections. You can also visit them in person for research while in Finland.
Finland’s Family History Association Digital images of parish records up to about 1850. In 2004 a group of Finnish genealogists set up a web-site which allows one to obtain on-line images of the Finnish Church books. An annual dues payment is required. A yearly membership is rather inexpensive and encouraged, as work done to make these records available is all by volunteers. To see membership fees, just click on the link “Join” in the left pane. You can search Parish records free here.
Digital Collections of the National Library of Finland Search the newspapers for articles, death notices, and obituaries. The library is digitizing many Swedish language newspapers from Finland. The project will be completed in 2023 and 6 million pages will be digitized. The issues prior and into the 1940s are available now.
Finland’s Maritime History There is a merchant marine database at the web site of the Genealogical Society of Finland. It appears to be in Finnish only. There were a number of Sailors’ Houses (merimieshuone) were the merchant marines were registered. Follow these steps in the basic search: Merimieshaku (Marine search), Sukunimi (surname), Etunimet (Given names), Syntymävuosi (Year of birth).
Sweden’s National Archive Free. Parish records, national census records, and military records.
Finding Your Swedish Roots Their collection include an orphan database, several forums, how-to guides, and immigrant photos. There are even found photos of immigrants from Åland that you can browse here.
Torniådalen Arvidjaur Piteå Ancestry has purchased several databases available World Explorer version paid subscription.
These include:
Sweden, Births from the Swedish Death Index, 1947-2006 (in Swedish)
Sweden, Church Records, 1500-1937 (in Swedish)
Sweden, Indexed Birth Records, 1880-1920 (in Swedish)
Sweden, Kugelberg Newspaper Clips, 1888-1904 (in Swedish)
Swedish Emigration Records, 1783-1951
Gothenburg, Sweden, Passenger Lists, 1869-1951
ArkivDigital A paid service with digitized Swedish Records but also have records from Åland and the Swedish parish in St. Petersburg.
U.S. RESOURCES
Finnish American Heritage Center The Center houses the largest and oldest Finnish American Collection and Archive. They have church, business, and personal records from not only the Upper Peninsula of Michigan but also many other communities in North America that had Finnish populations.
HeritageQuest Free access to the US Census. Access is available online through local libraries and institutions. For example, in Seattle it can accessed through the Seattle Public Library website with a library card.
Iron Range Research Center The archives are a designated government records repository for the Taconite Tax Relief Area and consist of local, municipal, county, and state records; records of social organizations, businesses, and personal papers; maps; mining records; and photographs. Their archives are housed at the Minnesota Discovery Center and can be visited in person.
LDS FamilySearch A great site and free, but you have to register to view the records.
Minnesota Historical Society MNHS has a database of Minnesota births, deaths, state census, and veterans’ graves. They also have searchable databases of regional newspapers, Swedish language newspapers in the U.S., and a Finnish language newspaper published in the U.S.
The National Archives or NARA NARA has searchable archives of passenger lists, death index covering 1936–2007, WWII military records, and more.
One Step Census Tool Do you know your ancestor’s address but cannot get the census to show up in a search? This website lets you input the address and it gives you the enumeration district so you can page to the correct part of the census without using the search tool.
SmallTownPapers.com Free access to over 250 small town newspapers. These newspapers are not available any where else and full of genealogy clues.
The US GenWeb Project A group of volunteers dedicated to preserving free genealogy sites on the internet. They have links that will take you to the state you are searching in and then links to counties. The site is a gateway to hundreds of regional databases.
US Railroad Retirement Board Persons working for the Railroads after 1936—In the United States, persons who worked for a railroad, and their widows, were paid pensions by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) instead of Social Security. The railroad workers retirement pension system was established before the Social Security system was started, and has continued for many years. It would mean that the death of your person was reported to the Railroad Board, rather than the Social Security Administration (SSA). Both agencies require that they be notified is a pension recipient has died. They charge $27 per record.
Washington State Digital Archives Vital records, property records, and state census records.
LODGES AND CHURCH RECORDS
Order of Runeberg In the late 1800’s Swedish Finns formed a number of Sick Benefit organizations and Temperance Lodges, and eventually merged into the Order of Runeberg. SFHS is the repository for these records. We are currently indexing these records in preparation for digitization. Currently we have over 100 years of issues of Leading Star, newspaper of the Order of Runeberg, digitized and available on this website in our member portal.
Swenson Immigration Research Center The Swenson Center is located at Augustana College in Illinois. They are dedicated to preserving the records of Swedish Americans. They have extensive genealogical collections and professional assistance is available. Among their collections they have the only copy in the world of Sweden’s Emigrant Institute’s CD with images from Lutheran churches across North America, completed in early 1970’s and the records of several Swedish American lodges.
NEW SWEDEN RESOURCES
New Sweden Settlers, 1638-1664 Complete list, updated by Peter Stebbins Craig, that Swedish American Genealogist published in 1996. Free of charge.
Library and National Archives Canada When you access the main screen, go to the top of the screen where it gives an an option to SEARCH and click it (in same block of options like “contact us, help, whats new” etc.), on the next screen that comes up, there will be a place about one-third down on the page which says ARCHIVES, click on it, and the next screen will have a list of databases. There you will find an IMMIGRATION 1925-1935 database, and PASSENGER LISTS 1865-1922. The passenger lists are not searchable by names, only by knowing the name of the ship, shipping line, date of departure, etc. After getting to the database page you select, press SEARCH. Here is an example of what the passenger list page looks like. Free of charge.
Canadian County Atlas Digital Project A database of names and locations derived from property records.
GRAVES
Billion Graves Search thousands of cemeteries and millions of headstone records from all over the world.
Find A Grave Millions of graves and memorials online.
Finnish Graves Interment.net Their records include some for cemeteries that no longer exist. Free.
Migration Institute of Finland A very complete guide to searching for ancestors in Finland.
How to Read Parish Communion Records
Printable Pedigree Chart Guide to Searching for Ancestors in the US
June Pelo’s Experiences June Pelo shares her tremendous store of experience connecting people with their roots in Finland.
How to Genealogy Guides Tips on all aspects of genealogy research. by Kimberly Powell
Hans Högman’s Genealogy Hans explains how to read parish records, military records, and more. Very informative.
Church of Latter Day Saints A complete overview of Finnish church records.
Behind the Name: Finnish Names: The Etymology and History of First Names Click on individual name. Includes Swedish names used in Finland.
Behind the Name: Swedish Names: The Etymology and History of First Names Click on individual name.
Finland-Swedish Surnames in America Genealogical Society of Finland
SUGGESTED GENEALOGY BOOKS
The Legacy of Ida Lillbroända by Arlene Sundquist Empie
Britta’s Journey by Ann Marie Mershon—Girl and family emigrated from Kvevlax 1904 Finnish Genealogical Research by Timothy Laitila Vincent and Rick Tapio
Your Swedish Roots by Per Clemensson and Kjell Andersson
History of the Finns in Michigan by Armas K. E. Holmio This resource has been digitized by Google, available to read on internet. See particularly the chapters on Temperance societies and the Kaleva Brotherhood.
COMMONLY USED RESOURCES
Church of Latter Day Saints Genealogy Archive, Finland Collection Free of charge.
Cyndi’s List for Finland/Suomi Free of charge.
Family History Library My Heritage
MAP LINKS
Facebook Enter your parish of interest, to see if that community has developed a Facebook Page.
Google Search for a parish name. Enter for example Malax, Finland. A Wiki page about the parish will open. It will have a map showing Malax in Finland, the parish’ coat of arms, and lots of other details, like the percentage of Swedish Speakers. Then return to the Google subject line with Malax, Finland. Open “images” from the options. Beautiful pictures! My church, old pictures of emigrants, the park….
Google Earth A tutorial on how to use
Map of Finland Features the ability to zoom in all the way down to farm level.
Finnish Map (no English version available) Fill Karttahaku field with the place name (only larger places indexed) and see what you may get by clicking “Hae kartoista”.
UNDERSTANDING THEIR JOURNEY
Swedish-speaking Finns This site is filled with information on Swedish-speaking Finns and their experiences. It also has articles on the history of Finland. Free of Charge.
Ester’s journey from Sideby to Fitchburg
Ostrobothnian Sea Coast Population Per Erik Levin on reasons the Ostrobothnian population along the seacoasts emigrated in larger numbers.
LECTURE MATERIALS
Finding Your Swedish Finn Roots
History of Swedish Finns and the Swedish Finn Historical Society
DNA TESTING EDUCATION
The Lost Art of Viewing Humanity
Genetic Testing Goes Mainstream
Consumer DNA Testing Promises More Than It Delivers Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past book by David Reich