| Katriina
Josefina, and Elias Aleksantari. Elias was born when Regina was 40 years
old. In Siikainen, the family lived on the Ristiharju farm. When Elias
gave up the tenant farm in Ristiharju, the new tenant crossed out Ristaharju
and a new name Rantala was written.
Since the Ristiharju farm was also known as Rantala, it is possible that
Mauritz took this name when he moved back to Isojoki Vanhakylä in
1872 at the age of 17 and lived with his Uncle: Vilhelm Pakokorpi-Hautala.
At this time, Mauritz' mother, stepfather, and half-sisters remained in
Siikainen, his half-brother Elias being born in 1873, the year after he
left.
On the 1920 United States Census, Mauritz lists his date of emigration
as 1887, and Naturalization date as 1895. It is not known exactly when
and where the name was changed to Randell from Rantala. Rantala is a common
surname in Finland, and means beach or strand. Mauritz spelt his own name
as Maruids Randel in the family Bible.
Mauritz married Lydia Lindi on 22 November 1890. He started working as
a miner for the Calumet & Hecla Mining company on July 8, 1906. He
moved to dry man in October of 1917 and started work in the lab on March
18, 1922. Mauritz died on 16 January 1930 and is interred at Lakeview
Cemetery in Calumet, MI.
Mauritz and Lydia had eight children, of whom seven survived. His youngest
son, Edward, died in a car accident in Laurium in 1932 at the young age
of 26. Mauritz' son, William, later lived in his house in Florida Location,
MI (near Calumet).
Two of Mauritz' sons, John and my grandfather Oscar, also worked for Calumet
& Hecla mining company. In addition, my father also worked for a short
period in the mines, which caused my grandmother much distress. There
was pressure from the Cornish Mine bosses, commonly called "Cousin
Jacks," to change the name from Randell to Rundala (which is really
Rantala with a Michigan-Finnish accent) so that the name would not sound
English. The name was never changed, although on one C & H document
John's name is spelled "Rundala." It is possible that every
Finnish Randell in the United States is a descendant of Mauritz.
Even though Mauritz and his wife Lydia lived in the United States for
most of their lives, neither ever learned to speak English. This was not
necessary due to the large Finnish community in the "Copper Country"
of Northern Michigan. All of their children could read and write both
Finnish and English. Many of their grandchildren were not taught Finnish,
for fear that they would speak with a thick Finnish accent and have trouble
assimilating into mainstream American life. Lydia survived her husband
by 20 years, and some grandchildren spoke Finnish in order to communicate
with her.
Ancestors
Click here for
Mauritz' chart, in .pdf format.
Mauritz' maternal grandparents were Erkki Heikinpoika Mäkynen-Pakokorpi
(* 04 May 1798 † 02 February 1858) and Maija Kaisa Joosepintytär
Vidberg (* 1807 † 06 December 1867). They moved from Isojoki Svarti
to the Hernesharju farm between 1829 and 1832. Their daughter Regina,
Mauritz' mother, was the first of their children to be born there.
The Vidbergs are a large family in Isojoki and are currently known by
the Finnish version of the name - Viiperi. (Vidberg is a Swedish soldier name.)
Maija Kaisa Vidberg's great-grandfather Juho Vidberg (*1716 †16
April 1781) and his brother Kaappo were soldiers, and possibly faught
in The War Of The Hats (1741-1743).
Maija Kaisa's great-great-grandfather Klemetti Koivisto (†10 April
1762) was a Cavalryman. The Finnish Calvary in the Swedish army were known
as Hakkapelites (from the Finnish words hakkaa päälle, which
means attack and hit) because of their reputation for making wild charges.
Klemetti lived a very long time, and his age on his burial record
is recorded as 110 years. He possibly fought in The Great Northern War
(1700-1721). |
Above pictures are of Hernesharju in
Isojoki Vanhakylä, Finland.
In June of 2003, my friends and I were driving a rent-a-car
from Turku to Kauhava and made an impromptu stop in Isojoki. In about
30 minutes, after talking to 4 different local folks with cell phones,
we were able to find the Hernesharju farm, which is located about 10k
from the church in Isojoki. There is only one Hernesharju, or pea
ridge, farm in Finland. This is the place where Mauritz and his mother
Regina were born. The current residents are not relatives, as ownership
of the farm has changed hands. They were very friendly and it was a fun
afternoon. Luckily, two of my friends spoke a little Finnish. You can
imagine their surprise when on the afternoon of Juhannis three young men
from America stop by, one having documentation that his great-grandfather
was born there!
Markku and myself in front of the Church
in Isojoki.
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