Jennie Karjalainen
married Isaac Abramson in Michigan in 1904, at the age of 18. Isaac was
a Finn from Northern Norway, or a Kven. Jennie lost her citizenship
when she married Isaac, an immigrant, and was naturalized on 12 June 1940.
Isaac and Jennie had five children, four boys and one daughter. Their
daughter, Irma Abramson, is my maternal grandmother. Irma walked from
Tecumseh Location near Osceola to Calumet High School every day for 4
years at a time when women were not required to attend High School, and
graduated 2nd in her class.
Isaac and Jennie lived in Bootjack, MI. On very old maps, Bootjack is
sometimes called Karjala - possibly due to Jennie's family.
Jennie lived to the age 84 years, and died in Hancock, MI in May of 1970.
Below is a picture that spans 4 generations, containing my 2 sisters,
mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. The picture was taken on my
grandfather's farm in Woodland, MI. about 1970:
Ancestors
Click here for
Jennie's chart, in .pdf format.
A handful of genealogists have done an incredible amount
of work in Kuusamo parish. Therefore, it is possible to complete large
charts for Kuusamolainens. Here are some of Jennie's ancestors:
Sami connections
In 1670, Kuusamo was 100% Sami. About 40 Finnish families migrated to
Kuusamo in the 1670's.1
By 1700, the Sami were a 10% minority, as the Finns had populated
the area. In 1696-97 there was a starvation among the Sami people and
about half of the population starved. Only 8-10 families remained and
by 1730 all were living as Finns.
The largest Sami family to survive the starvation, and
the first to "become Finn," was the Pitkä family. Antti
Martininpoika Pitkä is mentioned in tax records in 1640, predating
Finnish settlement by 30 years. The Pitkä/Pitkänen family
has been heavily researched and there will be a reunion in Kuusamo in
July of 2004.
Jennie is a descendant of Maarit Antintytär Kallunki-Pitkä
(* 1713 † 30 April 1770) and Simo Anitpoika Kämäräinen
(* 1722 † 06 December 1789).
Another Sami family to survive the hunger years was the
Sarvi family. Jennie is a descendant of Antti Sarvi (*1668 †
08 March 1744).
Jennie is the 5th great-grandaughter of Lauri Laurinpoika
Tauriainen (* 1640 † 01 June 1710). He was one of Kuusamo's original
settlers, moving from Paltamo Suomussalmi to Poussu village in Kuusamo
parish. Lauri's wife, Priita Matintytär Aikasarria, was a
Sami and her father was Matti Tavajarvi-Aikasarria. The Aikasarria family
moved freely between Paltamo and Kuusamo.
The 4 Karjalainens
The name Karjalainen means from Karjala, or Karelia.
No published lineages trace the Kuusamo Karjalainens back to Karelia,
but it is fairly certain that an ancestor did come from the Karelia
Peninsula of Southern Finland, much of which is now part of Russia.
Four of the original settlers of Kuusamo were Pekka, Yrjö, Heikki,
and Aapraham Karjalainen, each born about 1625-1630. Jennie is a descendant
of Pekka, Heikki, and Aapraham. It is known that Yrjö and
Heikki are the sons of Yrjö Karjalainen, born about 1600 in Paltamo
parish, Melalahti village. It is not known if the other 2 original
Karjalainens, Pekka and Aapraham, are also related to Yrjö from
Paltamo. Paltamo is on the shores of Oulujärvi (Lake Oulu), from
where a large Karjalainen family originates.
Although the Finnish farmers typically changed their names when they
moved to different farms, the Karjalainen name was prestigious enough
to have been kept through the generations. This has resulted in a great
many Kuusamolainens with the last name of Karjalainen. A common
practice emerged of people taking 2 last names, such as Ruokamo-Karjalainen,
Rukajärvi-Karjalainen, and Raistakka-Karjalainen.
Another common surname in Kuusamo is Määttä.
I have heard variations on the expression Kuusamo Dozen, but
it usually goes something like: "For every 10 people in Kuusamo
there are 12 Määttä's.
Holappa
Jennie's paternal grandmother is Susanna Paavontytär
Raistakka-Kellinsalmi-Holappa (*22 November 1827 † 23 August 1911).
Susanna's 7th great-grandfather was Olli Olinpoika Holappa, who was
born about 1510 in the parish of Jääksi in Finnish Karelia,
which is now part of Russia. Jääksi is situated between
Imatra, Finland and St. Petersburg. Olli's family moved to
the parish of Muhos in Oulu Province. His son, Matti Olinpoika Holappa
(*1538 † 1590), settled in the Sanginjärvi village in the
Utajärvi parish, where Holappa has been farm No. 1 since the 1500's 2.
Matti's son, Juho Matinpoika Holappa (*1584 † 1638) settled a
Holappa farm in Pudasjärvi parish. Juho's great-grandson, Paavo
Pavonpoika Holappa (*October 1719 † 01 November 1810), settled
in Kuusamo.
Other original Finnish settlers of Kuusamo
The following people are ancestors of Jennie's maternal grandmother,
Priita Kaisa Pavontytär Lehtoniemi-Määttä (* 04
November 1821 † 13 May 1880):
Heikki Määttä (born abt. 1630) emigrated from Paltamo
to the Vasaraperä village in Kuusamo parish.
Simo Määttä moved from Sotkamo to the Poussu
village in Kuusamo parish. His son, Simo Simonpoika Määttä
(*1673 †13 December 1757) was born on the Haukiniemi farm.
Heikki Olinpoika Veteläinen (born abt. 1640) emigrated
from Pudasjärvi to Kuusamo and settled near Kurkijärvi.
NOTE:
This page references the pre-Hiski genealogy work done by Erkki Aikkila3,
Reijo Kiviniemi 3,
Veikko Väätäinen, Esko Pitkänen, and Veli Holappa,
as well as the Taurainen family book, "Esivanhempiem kautta tutuksi
Lars Tauriainen s.1600 jälkeläisiä Suomussalmi
Peranka" and was published in 1985, authored by Pauli Kaisto.
