the quarterly of the swedish finn historical society
issue 1
| 2022
leaving finland
Anatomy of a Name...page 4 Finnish Emigration...page 5
inside this issue: Hugo Teodor Nilsson Sandkulla...page 6 Trains from Ostrobothnia to Hangö...page 13 Steamship Lines Part 1...page 19 Hull...page 21 Steamship Lines Part 2...page 23 Steerage Passenger Conditions...page 25 The Rest of the Story...page 28 Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church...page 32
Number 1 May, 2022
Editor Cassie Chronic
Cover Image Hangö Seen from the Outside Photographer: Pauli J. Wiro Taken April 29, 1942 Military Museum CC BY 4.0
Editorial Staff Iona Hillman Toni Nelson Nancy Nygård Hannah O'Connell Layout & Design Kimberly Jacobs
Publisher Swedish Finn Historical Society 1920 Dexter Avenue North Seattle, Washington 98109 info@swedishfinnhistoricalsociety.org www.swedishfinnhistoricalsociety.org 206˙706˙0738 ©2022 All rights reserved.
Finnsjön ©Nancy Nygård
From the Editor—Cassie Chronic You may ask why Kusiner? The very word implies a family connection. For Swedishspeaking Finns, the word kusiner means cousins. In SFHS’s newest publication, we will strive to strike a balance between the historical and the contemporary, sharing the story of SwedeFinn emigration to different parts of the world. Although our world is big, it becomes smaller, connected in interesting ways as we explore the origins of our Swede-Finn heritage and traditions. A remarkable detailed journal of Hugo Theodor (Sandkulla) Nelson is brought to life in this first edition of Kusiner. Staying true to SFHS’s mission to preserve the emigration history of Swedish Finns our team worked diligently to research the names, places, and facts we found in Hugo’s account of his path to America. We have tried to share photographic
images, and descriptions that deepen the narrative by stimulating your senses. Let Hugo’s journey become a rich experience which leads you to learn more about your own ancestor’s emigration experience. Let it set the stage for you to make a greater connection to Finland and your own Swede-Finn ancestry. From concept to completion the following team members made this inaugural edition of Kusiner a reality, and I’d like to recognize and congratulate their efforts: Iona Hillman, Toni Nelson, Nancy Nygard, and Hannah O’Connell. To our Executive Director, Kim Jacobs, a huge thanks for her design skills and her enthusiasm for the project. Until next quarter’s edition, Cassie
Do you want to continue to receive printed issues of Kusiner? Free to all current members are electronic copies of Kusiner. Simply go to our website and access through the member portal. However, many members have expressed an interest in having a printed copy delivered to them. Now we are pleased to offer printed copies delivered to your home for the reasonable annual subscription fee of $25.00, which is in addition to your annual membership amount. For our lifetime members, who choose printed copies, the $25.00 subscription fee will be due annually.
If you have questions about your current membership status please email us at info@swedishfinnhistoricalsociety.org or call us at (206) 706-0738. Please subscribe on our website: www.swedishfinnhistoricalsociety.org or complete the form below and mail it with your $25.00 payment to: Swedish Finn Historical Society 1920 Dexter Avenue North Seattle, WA 98109.
Name: Address: City, State, & Zipcode or Postal Code: Please add a printed subscription to my membership. $25.00 enclosed.
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From the Director—Kimberly Jacobs We are excited to present our new publication Kusiner (cousins). I have long thought that if we reduced our mission to one word, it would be cousins. From our Documenting Every Emigrant database to our Finland Heritage Tour, everything we do is designed to connect you to your roots in Finland, to help you find your cousins. My parents connected my brother and I to our cousins when they sent us to Finland one summer. I was thirteen and my brother was eleven. Our cousins, Gun and Robert, were wonderful hosts, taking us everywhere they went. We went to orienteering meets, gatherings with their friends, and even a rock concert in Purmo. Sometimes we didn’t know where we were going or what we were doing. Memories from that summer are still vivid. I remember feeling disoriented from jet lag and constant daylight, the impossibly delicious Brita cake, and swimming in the warm water of the Perho River.The memory I am most thankful for is meeting my Aunt Tilda. She was the sister of my great-grandfather and was only four when he left in 1890. She gave me a bag of Fazer peppermint chocolates and an engraved silver bracelet. I still have the silver bracelet, but the chocolates never made it to the U.S.
Ståhl, the man that inspires Hugo to immigrate to America. We are truly all connected. And the stories are in the connections. I would like to thank Cassie Chronic for stepping up to take on the role of editor. Among her many talents are dogsled racing, on which she has written a book, finding the interesting bits of the story, and giving great feedback. We are grateful to have such a skilled wordsmith lead the Kusiner team. I would also like to thank our writer/researchers for this issue—Iona Hillman, Hannah O’Connell, Toni Nelson, and Nancy Nygård. They took on this assignment with enthusiasm and skill. Lastly, I would like to thank Gunnar Damström and Anna Riikka Lindholm for their more than a decade of work researching, recruiting, writing, and editing The Quarterly. We hope to make you proud and that you will enjoy Kusiner while enjoying retirement. Thank you for being part of SFHS! Kim My grandfather visiting with his Aunt Tilda at her home in Gamlakarleby. Photo: Lucille Carlson
It was an extraordinary experience for a thirteen year-old and one that changed how I saw myself and the world. It connected me, not only to my cousins, but to generations of cousins and gave me a place in an enormous family tree. In terms of connection, Swedish Finns enjoy a serendipitous existence. We are constantly finding unexpected connections to each other. For instance, while researching Mr. Hoffstedt, one of the emigrants featured in this issue, I found that he traveled to the U.S. in 1909 on the same ship as Gun and Robert’s grandfather. Kusiner volunteer, Toni Nelson, found her aunt Irene on the passenger list with Hugo. And our special projects manger, Nancy Nygård, remembers her dad telling stories about Joel 3
anatomy of a name
patronymic
Hugo Teodor Nilsson Sandkulla given name
farm name
given name | First name given by parents. It was common for the first name, in the given name, to be in honor of a relative and to use the second name as the child's first name. For example, Hugo could be an uncle's name and he could have used Theodor as a first name. patronymic | This name tells us the father's name, for example, Nilsson means Nil's son. If the parents were unmarried the child would use the mother's name. For example, if the unmarried mother's name was Brita the child's patronymic would be Britasson. farm name | Farms had names and, if you lived on the farm, you had the choice to take its name as your surname. Farm laborers moved from farm to farm frequently and most kept their original surname. Farm names told people where to find you but not always who your family is. For example, if Hugo had moved to the Timmerbacka farm, he could have become Hugo Theodor Nilsson Timmerbacka. changes | During emigration names often changed. Some emigrants chose to use their patronymic. Hugo chose his patronymic but changed it to Nelson. The emigrants that used a farm name or other surname often changed the spelling to make pronounciation easier, for example, Söderström might have changed to Cederstrom or Berg might have changed to Berry.
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Finnish Emigration by Iona Hillman Across the North Atlantic Ocean, past the Norwegian Sea, tens of thousands of Swedish Finns prepare to embark on a journey to North America—an event that would later be known as the Great Migration. At the port of Hangö, Finland, young men and families from small farming and mining communities clamor aboard steamships headed to Hull, England, eventually carrying them to Ellis Island, New York. At the middle of the 19th century, Finland was afflicted with severe droughts and frosty nights resulting in bad harvest years. With an increasing population and a decreasing job market, the Finnish famine of 1866–1868 left many in the country desperate for a way out. By that time, Swedish Finns already had a history of migration to North America, particularly among sailors and shipwrights. Following in the path of their friends and ancestors, many Swedish Finns made the choice to travel westward, beginning a voyage that would take them across the Atlantic Ocean to the new and exciting harbors of New York. In the United States, the Homestead Acts provided immigrants with free land as an incentive in order to increase the U.S. labor force following the Civil War. In addition to economic motivations, by the beginning of the twentieth century, the Russification of Finland had sparked widespread resistance across Finns, contributing to the increasing number of Swedish Finns leaving their country throughout the early 1900s. Many of the Swedish Finns traveling from Finland to the United States were young men with labor occupations such as mining, carpentry, farming, and factory work. Aside from New York, immigrants often relocated to the areas in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest where opportunities for lumbering and farming were the most abundant. It was estimated that around 73,000 Swedish Finns had migrated to North America between 1870 and 1930.A common route that Swedish Finns took to reach North America was the Hangö-Hull-New York line. Steamships would transport passengers from the port of Hangö to Hull where
immigrants would then travel to Southampton by railroad. In Southampton, another steamship would carry the passengers to Ellis Island, where they would land in New York. After arriving in the U.S., Swedish Finns developed communities in various cities across the country, particularly in states such as New York, Minnesota, and Washington. Communities were established around labor occupations such as agricultural and mining while typical Finnish features such as churches, halls, and saunas were built along with localized businesses. However, despite the large number of Swedish Finn immigrants, the general decrease in the number of Swedish Finns identified by the U.S. Census showed a decline in the cultural identity of Swedish Finns. While some identified as Swedish due to their close proximity to Swedish language and culture, others assimilated within the first few generations as they were far from their homeland and extended family. Sources 1. Kostiainen, Auvo. Finns in the United States: A History of Settlement, Dissent, and Integration. 1st ed. Michigan State University Press, 2014. Project MUSE muse. jhu.edu/book/28710. 2. Thaden, Edward C., ed. "Part Five: Finland." Russification in the Baltic Provinces and Finland, 1855-1914. Princeton University Press, 1981. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ washington/detail.action?docID=3030592. Curran, Declan, et al. Famines in European Economic History: The Last Great European Famines Reconsidered. Taylor & Francis, 2015. https://doi. org/10.4324/9781315708522 3. Heikkilä, Elli and Uschanov, Elisabeth. The Dynamics of the Finnish Emigration to America and the Development of Emigration Databases, Migration Institute of Finland, 2011. ResearchGate, https://www. researchgate.net/publication/328496774.
Hugo Teodor Nilsson (Sandkulla) Kyrkoby, Terjärv, Vasa Län, Finland, Europa The following are excerpts from the journals of Hugo Nelson. We would like to thank Kristin Nelson and the entire Nelson family for letting us share Hugo's journey. We have kept the story as Hugo wrote it.
new church that was built year 1777 in Terjärv, Vasa Län, Finland.
"My father Nils Nilsson Sandkulla was born June 27, 1849 in Terjärv, Kyrkoby, (Church village) Vasa Län, Finland.
My home got the name 'church deacon’s home' after the title grandfathers had in church.
My mother Brita Johanna Bredbacka Sandkulla born in Kyrkoby, Terjärv, on Bredbacka. My mother died 1893-July 10th. My father was a farmer and lived on the farm all the time in Sandkulla village, Kyrkoby, Terjärv. My father with his brother Anders Nilsson Sandkulla took over the farm work after their father, and their father’s-father (grandfather) was a deacon in the church, 6
That great-grandfather was one out of three that knew how to write then in Terjärv, Finland.
The village got the name Sandkulla also after grandfathers where they lived. My father had also five sisters; so I had one uncle and five aunts from my father’s side and two uncles and two aunts from mother’s side. My father married three times. I was with the second marriage as follows are: brother Albert, sister Maria and me Hugo Theodor and sister Jenny the youngest of the children from second marriage.
The family home on the Sandkulla farm. Photo: Nelson Family Collection.
Hugo Theodor as a student in Terjärv. Photo: Nelson Family Collection.
I was only three years old when my mother died and my father had no time to take or watch me, my older sister Maria had to take care of me the best she could during the days.
I entered the public school and I had a very hard-time to learn my lessons the first year, but I passed so I could go to the second grade the following year.
I did not learn to talk very much before I was six years old, I had a very stiff-tongue and learned to know the A-B-C and read when I was about 8- and 9-years old. My aunt (Moster; Mom’s sister) taught me the A-B-C and to read a little. I had to stay in my aunt’s home when she taught me the A-B-C, and to read.
From that time on I started to learn and pick up school work much better. When I was in the fourth-grade I turned out to be one of the best pupils in the class. We had only four terms in our public school.
After I learned A-B-C and to read a little, then I got a chance to go to a small school or something like kindergarten and had time to learn to read a little better so I could enter the public school when I was about eleven years old.
When I was only a young child the rupture started to show on the right-side of my stomach, I cannot remember that, but my older step-sisters (Hilda and Fina) told me, and I used to climb up on many things and fall down.
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Another accident when I was a young child; running after the cat, a three-legged iron-pot standing on the fireplace with a heavy handle sticking out hit my left eye and one Dr. said that I would lose the left eyesight, but another doctor took over and made it so I got my left eyesight alright.
he would and walked with me till we saw the building “Hourätten” and I had to go alone up to the place and there was so many doors in the building, I did not know where to go, but then came a night watchman and I asked him and he told me that Mr. Nyholm lives at the end of the building. The light is on now in their rooms.
When I was sixteen years old, then I started to go to confirmation class in the fall for two weeks and in the following springtime for four weeks.
When I started to walk toward that place, Mr. Nyholm came from the railroad station when he could not find me there and he asked me if I was Sandkulla. I said yes and he welcomed me to come in to his home and live with him & family.
During that time or just before Christmas I went to Helsingfors or as called now Helsinki and had the operation on my rupture on the right side. Dr. Bonsdorff that operated said that I had a start of rupture when I was born. My brother Albert sent the money so I could go to the hospital for the rupture operation and the doctor told me that I had the worst kind of rupture that existed. Year 1907 in the fall, my brother Albert said in a letter to me from New York City, that he will send me money if I like to go to some school that I like best.
The next morning when I opened my eyes and everything was new to me, I started to wonder how everything is going to turn out this winter here and in the Industry School. In older times when I was a young boy, I wished that I could be able to be one Railroad Locomotive Engineer when I got to be a big man.
Six months in the Industry School came to the end, and I was told that I have to get one-year practice in some mechanic or railroad shop Year 1908 in springtime I wrote to the Industry before I get through the school. In the summer School in Vasa and asked if I could enter in the I tried to enter, and got into mechanic shop in fall in the school and I got promised to start town of Jakobstad, Vasa Län (State) but could Nov. 1, 1908. After I received the letter telling not get the right kind of practice in that place. I me that I can enter the Industry School in Vasa: left that place and started to write to a foreman (The town Vasa is the main town in Vasa Län) “Boss” in Tammerfors town, Railroad Locomotive (State) Shop. My father knew him for many years, his name Mr. J.D. Jacobson. I wrote to a man from Terjärv in Vasa then (family) and asked if I could live and board with This J.D. Jacobson came to Terjärv in the them when I go to school. Received the answer summer to visit some of his relatives; one of his that I could; the board and room for 53.00 relatives lived in the house next to our home, Fmk. a month. The name of the family “Leand. Victor Timgren. Nyholm” at Residenshuset, Vasa. I met J.D. Jacobson at that time and I asked Oct. 30, 1908 I left my home in Terjärv, Vasa Län and came to Vasa town by the train at midnight. I did not know the town when I got off the train and I did not know Mr. Nyholm. He was at the station when the train came in, but he did not know me. I started to walk from the station and met a man from Kronoby, he asked a policeman if he would go and show me the way to Hourãtten-Residenshuset. The Police said 8
him if it would be possible for me to come to his factory and get some practice in the railroad shop in Tammerfors Linne & Jern Manufaktur A.B.
Mr. Jacobson did not give me any answer then, but promised to write and let me know. I did not receive any answer from him for many weeks and I started to think that I will not get the answer that I was longing for, but Mr. Jacobson
did send me a letter and answered: that he cannot take me in to the railroad shop before the winter, because they have less work wintertime and cannot layoff any older men that is working there during the summer. I wished and knew that it would have been the best place for me to practice and get the experience that I was looking for, for one year. The Linne & Jern Manufaktur A.B. is one of the largest Railroad Locomotive Shops in Finland. From that time on I started to think about other matters and decided to wait till springtime 1910 and if I cannot get in to the shop for practice in railroad shop. Then I have to go to America and find out my luck if any: for we do not know where we find it. We do not know if we have any luck before we try to find it in this life. I sent a letter to Mr. Jacobson in the month of February and received the answer: stating that he cannot take me in to the locomotive shop in Tammerfors now." Above: Hugo's mother's family home on the Bredbacka farm. Right: Hugo's sister and friend in folk dress. Photos from Nelson Family Collection. 9
“The time came now
for American feve into my way of thin
and I wrote a letter to Joel Ståhl in Rochester, Was asked him how it was over there.
He Joel Ståhl answered that lumber camps have be rain, but the rain season is over now and there is w he will not give me any advice about what I should to do what I wish, and that he shall do the best he over there to Rochester, Wash. Joel Ståhl was one o Sandkulla, Terjärv, Vasa Län, Finland.
w, er set nking..."
shington State and
een closed, too much work for men now, but d do; that is up to me can for me if I come of my neighbors from
Gamlakarleby vasa
Terjärv seinäjoki tammerfors
åbo
Hyvinge Helsingfors
I started myHangö journey September 15, 1910... "The 1910 summer passed, but we had a lot of work on the farm at home to get all the hay in the (laddor) away from home and in the barn, and right after that to take care of the rye field that was grown and ready to be cut and taken care of. Had a good rye field and when everything was taken away, the ground was turned over again and fertilized and rye seeds were planted in the month of Sept. for next year’s growth, crop for year 1911. This happened one week before I left my home in Terjärv, Finland and went to America, New York City. I started on my journey Sept. 15, 1910 from Terjärv, Finland, Vasa Län on a bigger scale of 12
traveling than before. I felt a little lonesome, but was dreaming between the times of sorrowful moments, about the luck that may come on the trip to America. My brother Albert was in New York City and I was going to stay with him and meet him when I came to New York on the steamship. Many people left Terjärv for America on the Sept. 15, 1910. At Gamlakarleby we all met and got our railroad tickets for Hangö town. Left Gamlakarleby at 6 P.M. and came to Hangö the following day at 3 P.M. It was not so easy to say goodbye to my Dad in Gamlakarleby, just before the train left."
Train from Österbotten to Hangö by Nancy Nygård Newly completed railway lines enabled emigrants easier travel to the Port of Hangö. The foundation was laid in 1873 when a line from Hyvinge to Hangö was complete. Helsingfors is about thirty miles southeast of Hyvinge. Hyvinge served as an intermediate stopping point for emigrants travelling from all over the country before making the final trip south to Hangö where they would board ships for a new life in North America. Soon after the track to Hangö was complete, it was extended to the harbor pier itself. In 1882, another railway link was completed, connecting Gamlakarleby to Hangö. And within four more years (1886) the connection extended all the way to Uleåborg, in northern Österbotten. The train ride from Uleåborg to Hangö took three days. One reason for this duration was that early railroads operated only during daylight hours. The first night passengers might stay in an emigrant hotel in mid-Österbotten;
the second night in another emigrant hotel in Hyvinge and they would have arrived in Hangö before the third night. In Hangö they likely would stay in an emigrant hotel operated by their chosen steamship company. Sources 1. History of Rail Transport in Finland. https:// www.wikiwand.com/en/History_of_rail_ transport_in_Finland 2. Hyvinkää. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Hyvink%C3%A4%C3%A4 3. Train Map. http://www.bueker.net/ trainspotting/map.php?file=maps/finland/ finland.gif 4. Uleåborg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Oulu 5. Walls, Marketta. To Amerika Amerika; Hangö as a Port of Departure of Emigrants. 2013. Hangö: Hangö Museum Publication Series, 2013.
Hangö Railway Station in 1891. Photographer Daniel Nyblin, The Finnish Railway Museum 13
When we were all examined we could go to the hotel... "When we arrived at the Hangö Railroad Station we met a man from the Steamship Co. and he gave us the information and orders about what we should do, and to leave all our baggage at the station. The first order after that was to go to a house for Doctors examination and get papers stamped to show that everything was alright. Next after that all our papers, pass and tickets had to be left in and examined and many questions had to be answered.
Two days passed and it was time to prepare for the steamboat trip. Bought ticket in Gamlakarleby for Scandinavian American line steamship, but we were told in Hangö that we could not get any room on the Scandinavian American line, so we had to move to the American Steamship line steamer.
When all were examined we could go to the hotel and get the room for the night. Paid 50 penni per day for the room. Married family people could stay together in one room, we single men were 12 men together in one room.
People that got room on the Scandinavian American Line for New York had to leave the boat Astraea at Köpenham (Copenhagen) and moved to the Scandinavian liner boat Oskar II that went right from Köpenham to New York, N.Y."
Price for ticket was 242 Finnish mark. The steamers name was Astraea that we had from Hangö, Finland to Hull, England.
Finnish Steamship Company’s Emigrant Hotel in Hangö.
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SS Astraea I. Image: Finnish Maritime Museum’s FÅA-Silja Line Collection, Finnish Heritage Agency.
immigration hotels
ticket cost
Emigrants often had several days to wait in the port city before their ship departed. In many instances, the steamship companies were required to provide a place for them to stay. Sometimes it was in a private boarding home with a small hammock. By 1902, the Finnish port city of Hangö had an Emigrant Hotel established by the Finnish Steamship Company. Conditions were frequently overcrowded and finding space on the floor was limited. The outhouses became so poorly kept that the emigrants found it necessary to use the streets.
Tickets on a steamship to America were obtained by agents of the steamship companies who travelled from village to village selling tickets. They could also be purchased directly in Hangö. At least one-third of the emigrants had tickets purchased in America by friends or relatives. These tickets were sent to the Emigration office in Hangö and picked up by the emigrants when they arrived in the port city. In his journal, Hugo Sandkulla mentions paying 242 Finnish Marks for his passage. It was not cheap to emigrate. The average daily wage in his time was about three Finnish Marks. His ticket cost the equivalent of about three months wages.
The ticket uses both Swedish (Helsingfors) and Finnish (Helsinki) names. Document Collection of the Finnish Maritime Museum, FÅA-Silja Line, The National Museum of Finland
Did you know? Because The Finland Steamship Company essentially had a monopoly, any immigrants leaving from Hangö would be aboard one of their ships. From 1905–1909 The Finland Steamship company reported ticket sales of 55,000, two-fifths of which were purchased in the United States by a friend or family member.
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Our Emigrants Hugo wrote, “Many people left Terjärv for America on September 15, 1910.” Curious to know more, we looked for his fellow emigrants. The following are the nine emigrants from Terjärv that traveled with Hugo. Most settled in the Bronx but they also settled in Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon, and California.
Eighty percent on a first trip to U.S. Seventy percent eventually had children Seventy percent lived past the age of seventy Sixty percent lived past the age of eighty Longest living: Edith Wick, age ninety-seven Earliest death: Ellis Bygden, age thirty-seven Returned to Finland: Herman Jonasson
Anna Irene Leandersdotter Gistö aka Irene Nelson
Edit Maria Leandersdotter Byskata aka Edith Wick
Born April 13, 1892 Birth Location Farm: Gistö Village: Kortjärvi by Parish: Terjärv Spouse Elis White, Anders Pehrsson, Matts Wells Children Faye Home in USA Aberdeen, WA Died March 5, 1981 Death Location Grays Harbor, WA
Born March 24, 1888 Birth Location Farm: Byskata Village: Kyrkoby Parish: Terjärv Spouse Verner Westerlund Children Eugene, Leland Home in USA Eureka, CA Died June 7, 1985 Death Location Alameda, CA
Henrik Viktor Britasson Wiklund aka Henry Wiklund
Ture Herman Jonasson Smedjebacka aka Herman Jonasson
Born May 30, 1870 Birth Location Farm: Storrank Village: Kyrkoby Parish: Terjärv Spouse Emma Maria Children Henrik Viktor Home in USA Superior, WI Died circa 1911 Death Location USA
Born August 2, 1877 Birth Location Farm: Smedjebacka Village: Hästbacka by Parish: Terjärv Spouse Olive Eufemia Karlsson Children Eva Ingeborg Home in USA Portland, OR Died June 14, 1966 Death Location Jakobstad, Finland
Nils Jakobsson Bygdén aka Nils Bygden
Ida Mattsdotter Kortjärvi aka Ida Maria Bygden
Born January 17, 1858 Birth Location Farm: Bygningsbacka Village: Kortjärvi by Parish: Terjärv Spouse Ida Mattsdotter Kortjärvi Children Signe Alina, Ida Johanna, Elis Edvin Amanda Johanna, Jakob Evert, Nils Gideon Home in USA Bronx, NY Died April 30, 1945 Death Location Bronx, NY
Born August 1, 1869 Birth Location Farm: Kortjärvi Village: Kortjärvi by Parish: Terjärv Spouse Nils Jakobsson Bygdén Children Signe Alina, Ida Johanna, Elis Edvin Home in USA Bronx, NY Died Feb 25, 1950 Death Location Bronx, NY
Signe Alina Nilsdotter Bygdén aka Signe Alina Bygden Born August 24, 1891 Birth Location Farm: Bygningsbacka Village: Kortjärvi by Parish: Terjärv Died November 10, 1934 Death Location Bronx, NY Elis Edvin Nilsson Bygdén aka Ellis Bygden Born October 20, 1895 Birth Location Farm: Bygningsbacka Village: Kortjärvi by Parish: Terjärv Died February 24, 1932 Death Location Bronx, NY
Ida Johanna Nilsdotter Bygdén aka Ida Johanna Bygden Carlson Born March 2, 1894 Birth Location Farm: Bygningsbacka Village: Kortjärvi by Parish: Terjärv Spouse Karl Edmund Mattsson Storbacka Died February, 1974 Death Location Bronx, NY Additional Emigrants These emigrants traveled with our Terjärv group from Southampton to New York. Gamlakarleby Houtskär Laina Palsa Albert Westerlund Ernst Hannila Fransilia Nyström Anna Ahlskog Johannes Mattsson Hammarland Ingeborg Mattsson Helsinge Hilda Larson Sofia Blomqvist
Korsholm Olga Mattsson
I was afraid that the boat would turn over... "First evening on the sea after we left the land, most everyone felt a little sick. I was not much sick, but had to throw up a few times that I ate on the land in Hangö. Sweet food should not be used when we plan to go on the sea. Sour and a little salted food is much better than sweet food. At eleven P.M. I went down from the top deck down to my bunk-bed, but I did not like it the way it was down in the boat-too much odor from the seasick people that was there. Day after another passed and sometimes we Swedish passengers sang some Swedish national songs to cheer ourselves a little on our trip. On the Sept. 20th, passengers for the Scandinavian American Line had to leave the boat Astraea at Köpenham (Copenhagen, Denmark) and we the other passengers started our trip out to the North Sea on the Astraea. On the North Sea I saw that I never had seen before when the steamer was pushed from in between the waves to top of waves and so on. We had a big storm one day. I was afraid that the boat would turn over and get buried in between the big waves, but nothing happened. It was not the last day in this world for me yet, it was very frightening. Why it was possible for me and another man and two women to see the big waves on the North Sea that time? We felt good and ran up to the deck, because lot of passengers got seasick down in the boat, and none of the boat crew or help happened to see us go up to the deck! After a while one of the boat crew man came up to the deck and told us that nobody is allowed to be on the deck in this kind of stormy weather, and we had to go down to our bunk-beds. When we came near the land in Hull, England the tidewater was so low and we had to wait many hours before the boat could go in to the landing place-dock. When we got off the boat on the dock, our handbags and packages was 18
examined before we could go any further. Hull England: After we got through with our baggage and examinations at the dock, we walked a little way and then we got orders to go on a van, horse car. Ladies could go inside the car, but we the men had to go on the top of the horse car. It was fun when riding with two horses galloping in front to the immigration hotel in Hull. NOTE: Hugo made the following observation later in his life. I have traveled seven times over the Atlantic Ocean, but have never seen big waves and a storm as it was on the North Sea one afternoon going over the sea to Hull, England. The sixth and seventh time I crossed the Atlantic Ocean with Mom, Hildur when we made the trip to Terjärv, Vasa Län, Finland and back to United States in month of May and Aug. 1959. We had no big waves or storm on the Atlantic Ocean or any sea. We sailed going over to Finland from New York direct to Helsingfors on the Swedish American Line, steamboat Stockholm May 1, 1959, Excursion trip." Emigrants dancing on the deck of a Finland Steamship Company ship. Photographer J.A. Rosqvist, Historical Photo Collection of Finnish Heritage Agency. CC BY 4.0
hangö
hull
Copenhagen
southampton Steamship Lines Part 1—Transmigrants There were no direct shipping routes from Finland to America. Finns took small steamers to larger ports where they would board transatlantic ships to America. The smaller steamers were called feeder ships. Emigrants who took this two-part route were referred to as Transmigrants.² Hugo first took a small steamer from Hangö, Finland to Hull, England, with an intermediate stop in Copenhagen, Denmark. The steamer was called the Astraea.
easy to picture how overcrowded steerage was with an additional 170 passengers.¹ Hugo spelled the name of the steamer Astrea. There were two steamers named the Astrea, but records show they were built in 1941 and 1956, over thirty years after Hugo travelled to America. The Astraea, built in 1891 fits Hugo’s travel itinerary perfectly.¹⁰
Originally, Hugo purchased tickets to New York in Gamlakarleby on the Scandinavian The Astraea was launched in September of 1891 American Line. But when he arrived in Hangö, and owned by the Finland Steamship Company he was told there was no more room on the (FSC). FSC made regular trips from Hangö to Scandinavian American Line, and his ticket was Hull between 1891 and 1930.³ ⁹ ¹⁰ likely exchanged for a ticket on the American Steamship Line. Afterall, both lines were According to ship specifications, the Astraea was built by Wingham Richardson, constructed of steel destined for New York City. and intended to accommodate twenty first-class According to Hugo’s log, passengers with seats passengers, fourteen second-class passengers on the Scandinavian American Line transferred in and sixteen third-class passengers.¹ Other sources Denmark to the Oskar II steamship and from there, provide somewhat different passenger statistics. travelled to New York City. Those who had seats They state the Astraea had capacity for twentyon the American Steamship Line continued to two first-class passengers, thirty-four second-class England before boarding the steamship New York passengers and 186 third-class passengers (or in Southampton, and then on to New York City. immigrants). If this steamboat was originally The New York arrived on October 2, 1910 intended for sixteen third-class passengers, it is Oskar II arrived on October 5, 1910.⁷ 19
Mr. Hoffstedt spent a little money on us... he had been to America "Stayed overnight and at 5 A.M. we left the hotel and went to the railroad station to get on the train in Hull for a ride through England to South Hampton. At the railroad station we got our breakfast and railroad tickets and left Hull at 8 A.M. on the train. When we came to London Railroad Station, they opened the locked doors and let us out for coffee or tea and sandwiches at the station for immigrants. After 15 minutes or so we got orders to go on the train and the doors got locked so nobody could get out on our way to South Hampton, but we did not feel bad, because we had what we needed on the train to South Hampton. When we left London at noontime the weather was nice and we could see how the farmers work. It was a little better than what I have seen before on the farms, everything was so nice and in good order in the country. After a few hours we came to South Hampton railroad station and
a man was there ready to take us out from the train and took us to the immigration hotel and we got a good meal and could enjoy the piano music. The first evening we were in South Hampton we met a man on the immigration hotel. He was born in Gamlakarleby, Finland (Hoffstedt) he was on his way from America to Finland. This Mr. Hoffstedt told us to come out and see the town when we are traveling and have a chance to see what there is to be seen. We the following: Hendrik Wiklund, Nils Bygden and I went out with him to see the town. It was a little fun too, for we could see and hear many things. Mr. Hoffsted spent a little money on us too. You see he came from America. After seeing some of the town we went back to immigration hotel. The following day we spent in the hotel talking about one and another matters in this life."
train rides across britain A fifteen-year-old boy who traveled in 1883 described the train as different than any trains he had seen before. The coaches were divided into compartments that would accommodate from six to eight passengers.They would be locked in. Conductors used running boards on the outside of the train to go from compartment to compartment through the whole train. He thought it a practical way to check all passengers without disturbing those already checked in. From Hull to Liverpool is about 110 miles; from Hull to Southampton is about 200 miles. If the train ride to Liverpool took six hours, the train ride to Southampton likely took close to eleven hours. The rail route out of Hull varied according 20
to arrangements made in advance between the railway and the steamship companies. Source 1. Evans, Nicholas J. and Woods, Fred E. Latterday Saint Scandinavian Migration through Hull, England, 1852–1894. BYU Studies. https://byustudies.byu.edu/journal/41-4/ Did you know? It’s estimated that roughly thirty to forty percent of Finnish immigrants did not permanently settle in the United States. Our group from Terjärv was out of the ordinary, only one of our ten emigrants returned to live in Finland.
Hull, England by Nancy Nygård Between 1836 and 1914, over 2.2 million transmigrants passed through Hull on their way to a new life in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, and Australia. These people originated from northern European areas - from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. Once in Hull they would travel by train to Glasgow, Liverpool, London, or Southampton. From these ports they would board a transatlantic ship. Hugo was one of these 2.2 million transmigrants to pass through Hull. Prior to 1871 men landing in Hull were free to walk wherever they liked until evening, when they had to return to their ship. Women and children remained on board. When it was time to board a train for the west coast, everyone would walk the mile and a half into Hull and to the railway station. Along the way, they interacted with other emigrants and the people of Hull. By the end of the 1860’s outbreaks of cholera were occurring in Hull and in other European ports. In 1871, railways agreed to build waiting rooms for the emigrants to safely take care of their personal needs in a more sanitary environment and to avoid contacts with town people. Railways also agreed to transport their passengers to their railway waiting rooms. The Northeastern Railway’s waiting room had large enough facilities for emigrants to meet ticket agents, wash, use the toilet and take shelter from the weather.
Railway stations, piers and immigrant lodging continued to grow until 1905. In 1905 the Alien Immigration Act became law. It limited the number of European immigrants that could enter Britain each year but did not limit the number of transmigrants who could travel through Britain. By 1914 the level of migration via Hull had declined dramatically. With the outbreak of WWI and the passing of immigration acts in South Africa and America, the era of mass transmigration via the UK and from Europe at large, ended nearly overnight. Source •
Evans, Dr. Nicholas J. Migration from Northern Europe to America via the Port of Hull, 1848–1914. http://www. norwayheritage.com/articles/templates/ voyages.asp?articleid=28&zoneid=6http:// www.norwayheritage.com/ articles/templates/voyages. asp?articleid=28&zoneid=6.
mr. hoffstedt Meeting Mr. Hoffstedt in Southampton was fortuitous for our emigrants. He arrived in Southampton on September 22, 1910, and had already made this journey three times. Mr. Hoffstedt was a seasoned emigrant that would have answered all their questions and calmed some of their worries.
Authorities in Hull never built emigrant lodging as Georg Gustaf Andersson Hoffstedt was born town projects or investments. However, emigrant in Gamlakarleby on August 2, 1882, the son housing was built by private investors. In 1877 of Anders Hoffstedt, master dyer, and his wife alone, twenty emigrant lodging houses were Maria Elisabet Skogman. licensed by the Town Council. Emigrant lodging In the US, he lived in Wisconsin, Michigan, houses were different than common lodging New York, and New Jersey. He worked mainly houses. Each could accommodate twenty to in shipyards and factories but in Brooklyn he eighty people per night. Emigrants stayed worked as a caterer. Mr. Hoffstedt died in only when necessary and most arrived in and 1931 in the United States. He had crossed the departed Hull within twenty-four hours. Railway Atlantic at least nine times. His wandering spirit waiting rooms seemed to be preferred, as no never really settled down. additional fee was collected. 21
Above: Immigrants lined up waiting at the money exchange. Left: The Registry Room at Ellis Island. The immigrants in the pens have passed the first mental inspection. Photos: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library.
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Steamship Lines Part Two—Transatlantic Voyage The City of New York steamship was built in 1888 5. Flayvart, William Henry. The American for the Inman Line operated by the British. At that Line—1871—1904. M.W. Norton & Company, time the ship was designed to accommodate 540 200. Chapters 6–8, 113–170. first-class, 200 second-class and 1,000 steerage 6. Gjenvick & Gjonvik Archives, https://www. passengers. The quarters had been fitted with gjenvick.com/Passengers/AmericanLine/ running hot and cold water, electric ventilation, NewYork-PassengerList-1910-08-27.html. and electric lighting. The first-class public rooms, such as the library and smoking room, were fitted 7. Hands Across the Sea, Migration from Northern Europe to America via with walnut panels and the dining salon had a the Port of Hull, 1848–1914, http:// massive dome that provided natural overhead www.norwayheritage.com/articles/ light for the passengers. anmviewer.asp?a=28&z=6, http://www. In February of 1893 the Inman Line was norwayheritage.com/articles/templates/ merged into the American Line. By an act voyages.asp?articleid=28&zoneid=6http:// of Congress, the ship was renamed New www.norwayheritage.com/ York and sailed under the US flag. The articles/templates/voyages. steamship underwent updates and was reasp?articleid=28&zoneid=6. designed to accommodate 290 first-class, 250 8. Simplon—The Passenger Ship Website, second-class and 725 third-class or steerage http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/FinlandSSCo. passengers. The New York was known for html. its speedy voyage of six days, nine hours, and fourteen minutes from New York to 9. Transmigration. The Ships List http://www. Southampton.⁵ ⁷ theshipslist.com/ships/lines/finland.htm, https://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/ Sources transmigration.shtml. 1. Ancestry.com 10. Tyne Built Ship—A history of Tyne ship 2. City of New York Steam Ship; images of builders and the ships they built. http://www. ship and stories about the ship, https:// tynebuiltships.co.uk/A-Ships/Astraea3-1891. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_City_of_New_ jpg. York_(1888). 11. Walls, Marketta. To Amerika Amerika; 3. Finland Steamship Company, https:// Hangö as a Port of Departure of Emigrants. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland_Steamship_ Hangö: Hangö Museum Pulication Series, Company. 2013. 4. Finnish Immigration Routes. https://sites. google.com/site/finnishimmigration/home/ map.
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Inspection of arriving immigrants. National Archive Photo no. 90-G125-57
We could see the land that we had been looking for... "Saturday Sept. 24th was the day to go to the steamer named New York and leave England for America and New York City. We left South Hampton at 12 noon. The two first days on the Atlantic Ocean I felt a little sick in my head, but it didn’t matter so much because I ate every meal like a well person does when he feels good, and one day after another went and at last near the end of the week we started to wish that we could see the land. The worst thing on the steamer was, when we could not go up to the top deck, but had to be held down in the lower sections with seasick immigrants. On Saturday morning at about 9 A.M. we could see some land. Then it turned to be more pleasant to live again, when we could 24
see the land that we had been looking for and welcomed by all. At about 12 and one P.M. Oct. 1, 1910 we came into New York harbor, but could not get into the dock before following day Sunday, because the steamer did not get into New York harbor before 10 A.M. on Saturday. At 8 A.M. on Sunday morning we got off the steamer and our handbags had to be examined first. After the handbags were taken care of, we got orders to go on the ferryboat and go to Ellis Island and there we had to be examined the last time. It was easy to get through that examination because the Doctor at once took up both of my eyelids together and I could go. A few minutes after that, we had to show how much money, (landing money) we had and again they let us go on the ferryboat that left for New York City to South Ferry dock to the right harbor."
Steerage Passenger Conditions by Hannah O'Connell Hugo’s description of his time spent as a steerage passenger was modest in comparison to the inhumane conditions which emigrants had to endure. Two years prior to Hugo departing Finland, United States officials traveled undercover, across the Atlantic on all major steamship liners, posing as European immigrants to observe the conditions of the steerage, the cheapest accommodation available. What they witnessed was described as “evil and revolting.” The book Finns in America, described the Finns departed from Hangö “whose passports, luggage, and tickets were examined as if they were taken from beasts.” The steerage was divided into three compartments—families, single women, and single men. Hugo rode SS New York which could accommodate up to 1,000 passengers in steerage. Though the ship was outfitted with running hot and cold water and electric ventilation, it was insufficient in serving the large number of immigrants on board. Each passenger was provided a berth, also known as a bunk-bed. Berths were two tiers, each bed had about two and a half feet of space above, six feet long, and two feet wide. Hugo’s mattress was most likely made of straw or seaweed, with a life preserver for his pillow. There were no hooks to hang his possessions, and no space to store his belongings. His berth would have served as his bed and dining area.
Sea sickness was the most common illness for the immigrant passengers. There was a hospital on the ship, but seasickness was not a condition that was treated. There were not enough washrooms to accommodate all the steerage passengers, and there were no sick buckets provided. The floors were usually wet, and unwashed. The vomit from the seasick usually stayed on the wood floor for a long time before being cleaned. To get service from the crew, immigrants would offer bribes. If the weather permitted, Hugo and other immigrants could find relief from the squalid conditions on the top deck. This was in stark contrast with the first class accommodations, which had a library, smoking room, and a large dining hall, seating over 500 passengers, with a massive glass dome to let in natural light. Food Available Onboard Food on the ship was usually poorly prepared herring and potatoes, or some other type of meat. Coffee and tea were also provided. The portions were sometimes small. Other times, the food was so old passengers could not eat it and half of the prepared food would be thrown into the sea. Fruit and vegetables were not served. Though fruit could be purchased at the commissary, most often immigrants were coming to America for economic reasons and,thus, could not afford such luxuries Left: SS New York Right: Immigrants coming to US
Royal Museums Greenwich, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Library of Congress no. USZ62-7307
When we came about a block from the house where my brother lived, we met him and I felt happy then. "There we could start to be on our own and I was looking for my brother Albert that promised to come and meet me. But instead I met some other men from Terjärv as follows: My cousin Victor Bredbacka, Adolf Häsjebacka, Victor Lytz, Matt Lytz. My cousin Victor came and asked me if I was Hugo when I got off the ferryboat, and I told him yes. He told me that Albert my brother had gone on the ferryboat to meet me at Ellis Island, but I left Ellis Island before Albert came there. The men decided to wait till Albert would come back from Ellis Island. The men did not wait at the ferry waiting room but instead went away to a salon for some drinks and I had to go with them. It was against my will, but I could not do anything, but had to follow them in. I could take soda lemonade what I wanted, they tried to tell me that I should take beer, but I said no, and it was right. If I had taken beer, my brother Albert would have met me as a drunken bum before I got to the place where my brother lived in uptown. When my brother did not come for some time back from Ellis Island, then Adolf Häsjebacka took me for a walk further away from ferry slip and when we came back, my brother had come from Ellis Island and the other men did not know where we went, and they left for home, before we came back to the ferry slip. When Adolf and I could not see the men, and the ferry boat had come back to New York, South ferry, there was nothing else to do, except to leave for uptown where my brother lived at present time, to 2797-8th Ave. c/o Joel Johnson, because we could not find the other men. When we came about a block from the house where my brother lived, we met him and I felt happy then. He took me into the house and up to the third floor. There I met many that came to see me to find out about some news from Terjärv, Finland. One of them was my Aunt Emelia’s husband John Timmerbacka. 26
After a while when I got some clothes taken off, they told me to take a bath when the long trip over the oceans were over. Had a good bath and after when I got my clothes on I could go to the table and eat in peace from the noise of the waves on the water. But after that I was told that they want me to come and get some pictures taken of me on my first day in America with the following: Brother Albert, Joel Johnson, Victor Bredbacka, my cousin, John Timmerbacka and myself. It was Miss Eufemia Sandvik that took the picture on the roof of us. Later on in the evening we went to Alfred Björk’s home and met Ernst Carlson and many others that I did not know before even if they were from Terjärv." Hugo Nelson Photo: Nelson Family Collection
Disembarking Money by Toni Nelson Before being permitted entry into the United States immigrants were required to have a minimal amount of money to settle or to afford travel to their final destination. They were asked if they had at least twenty-five dollars.This money was paid to the emigration office and the traveller was given a bill of exchange to be paid off at their destination port. Most Finns were joining friends and family, some of the major Terjärv expatriate communities were in Bronx, New York, Grays Harbor County, Washington, Thurston County, Washington, and Eureka, California.
uncle (Morbror) that money he loaned to me for traveling expenses when I went to U.S.A. (sixtyfive dollars or 325 FM) On the 25th of January. On March 23rd I sent money for traveling expenses to U.S.A. to old country, Finland 418 Finnish Marks. so I could feel free in that matter first of all other matters." Albert Nelson, Hugo's brother. Photo: Nelson Family Collection
Repayment of Loans Hugo wrote later about repaying his debt, "Sent some money to New York to my brother Albert so he could send the money to Terjärv, Finland to my Ferry boat near Ellis Island. National Archive Photo no. 90-G-125-6
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The Rest of the Story by Cassie Chronic Like many that immigrated to the U. S., Hugo he began work in the Troy Steam Laundry. He was an industrious Swede-Finn. From the time celebrated the first anniversary of his arrival in of his arrival, he leveraged his connections with the U.S. and his twenty-first birthday working at family and friends to work at many different the laundry while residing at the Suomi Hotel, jobs in and around New York City. He often 405 Duane Street, and 9th Street in Astoria. worked six and seven days a week; on occasion In another seven months Hugo relocated to he worked nights. He spent ten hours a day Rocklin, California where he met his brother on the job earning eight dollars per week. On Albert, and they began work in different stone one job he earned three dollars a day for a quarries. He joined the union, five dollars, and nine hour shift. He worked construction building paid sixty cents a month in dues. In March 1913, docks, trestles, etc. He worked in a motor shop, he returned to New York where he continued and an icebox factory. He wrote to family and quarry work. However, Hugo missed Finland acquaintances in Rochester, Washington and San and thought of “home” often. Three years after Francisco looking for more opportunities. his arrival in the U. S. he left New York City on In June 1911, eight months after Hugo’s arrival, the steamer Cedric, White Star Line, to Liverpool he travelled west with his brother Albert who and then on to Hull to board the smaller Astraea stopped and stayed in Rochester, Washington. which delivered its passengers to Åbo, Finland. Hugo traveled on to Astoria, Oregon where He arrived back home in Terjärv on October 11,
Above: Troy Steam Laundry in Astoria, Oregon. Top right: Hildur Ahlqvist Bottom Right: Hugo in uniform Right: Hugo & Hildur in 1918. Photos: Nelson Family Collection. 28
1913. Hugo had missed his family, he was a young man ready to find a life’s partner, he was seeking. While Hugo worked on the family farm, wartime broke out. From August 1914 to March 1915, he wrestled with the idea of returning to the U.S. He invited his sister Jenny to accompany him, but she decided to stay behind. Although sad to leave family and friends, Hugo’s decision was made. He left Gamlakarleby, Finland for New York, a cost of 385 FM without food and hotels. Russian guards patrolled the Tornio River with guns on their shoulders. Further evidence of the war occurred when an English war cruiser stopped their steamer. Seas were high and Hugo was grateful to know that God alone was in charge. Back in New York he moved from job to job looking for greater opportunities. “I am now on my second trip in America and alone yet on this life’s journey…” Hugo wished to find a life’s partner and he was active in church activities where young people gathered. On January 28, 1917, Hildur Alquist was the organist at his church for the first time. From then on, Hildur is frequently mentioned in his journal. During the following eight months they spent happy time together. However, their budding romance was interrupted when Hugo, an immigrant, received an October notice from the Local Board to prepare to leave to serve in the U. S. Army.
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Above: Hugo and Hildur wedding in 1919. Top left: The Nelson Family in 1925 Top right: Hugo Bottom right: Hildur and Hugo mugging for the camera in 1960. Photos: Nelson Family Collection The couple announced their betrothal Christmas Day 1917, the same day Hugo suffered a bout of gastric ulcer and chronic appendix which delayed the start of his military service. When he was well enough, he joined up with the U. S. Army, 35th Engineers and left for France. During his military service he continued to suffer with his appendix resulting, finally, with surgery on December 26, 1918. With the war over, Hugo returned to the U.S. in spring of 1919 and received his U.S. citizenship June 3, 1919. Hugo and Hildur wed at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 605 East 141st Street at Willis Avenue in the Bronx, New York on September 28, 1919. He was twenty-nine and she was eighteen. Their family expanded by four: Robert, George, Mildred, and Kenneth. In the ensuing years Hugo and Hildur built a vacation bungalow on land they acquired from Chauncey Craft, near the town of Carmel, New York. As years passed, the family worked and played together on the Crafts' property enjoying vacations and making memories. Hugo retired November 1, 1958, after thirty-three years 30
employment by the Department of Correction for New York City. Hugo and Hildur returned to Finland for an extended visit, reconnecting with family and friends before returning home to New York. Hugo and Hildur met at church and throughout their lives faith and involvement with their congregation remained a constant; both held numerous positions and Hugo served as a trustee for Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran for decades. Hugo faithfully chronicled the joys, the blessings, and the sorrows of his own life and that of his extended family in the U.S. and those who remained behind in Finland over decades. His narrative is rich with traditions that connected his life in a new land to that of his origin. SFHS would like to thank Kristin Nelson and her family for allowing a glimpse into their family’s story providing wonderful insights to those of us seeking to understand the immigration story of our own family.
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Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church by Nancy Nygård Swedish-Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of New York was founded in the Bronx of New York City on January 1, 1919. There were at least twenty-five other Lutheran congregations in the United States entirely or predominantly composed of Swedish Finns at the time. This particular congregation had a very strong connection with the Finnish parish of Terjärv. Seventy-five percent of the founding members came from Terjärv or were married to someone from Terjärv. It was unusual for any church to have such a high percentage of members from one Finnish community. In fact, years later, it was sometimes called the Terjärv Church. The congregation met in members' homes and rented churches until they were able to raise funds to build their own church building. Much of the members' time in the early to mid-1920s was spent working on fund raisers and building the church. An interesting side story is about housing in the Bronx. When immigrants came, the cost of purchasing homes was beyond many people’s reach. Fridolf Gustofson, an immigrant from Terjärv in 1906, took the initiative to buy a building that later would be co-owned by immigrants. It was built in 1910 on a hill in the Highbridge neighborhood near the Hudson River and McCombs Dam Park. It was served by good communication lines including metro, two tram lines, and two column tracks running in various directions. Gustofson purchased the building in 1919. Twenty members formed a co-op called the Summit Home Association. The building became known as the Terjärv-huset; the Terjärv house. A newspaper article gave it a glowing review. “The air up there is fresh and the view, especially in the evening, when the city shines in full light, magnificent.” Three additional buildings were purchased within the next five years and made into co-ops. These four co-op buildings provided housing for 300 Swedish Finns. 32
A close community grew stronger as these Swedish Finns lived and worshipped together. On March 11, 1926, the parishioners unanimously decided to purchase the land the parish board recommended. The architect, Walfrid Erickson, was chosen to design the church building. He had previously built three churches in New York. The Swedish-Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of New York was built under the direction of G.W. Carlson and many church members. It was located at 924 Summit Avenue, within blocks of the Terjärv House and other housing co-ops. On August 7, 1927, the cornerstone was laid and the first worship service was held Sunday, December 18, 1927, and a second on Christmas at 6 a.m. Twenty years after the congregation formed, the acting pastor, H. Nore Olson wrote, “It took courage, love, and faith in an unusually large measure when our people ventured to build our present church structure. Dr. John Gullans, the founder and first pastor of our church, as well as the faithful group who worked with him deserve both our respect and gratitude for daring to undertake big things.” In 1935, the church was renamed to Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church. Most members were Ostrobothnians. The congregation dissolved in 1977. The building remains. Sources 1. Dahlbacka, Ingvar. Svensk-Finkska Evangelisk-Lutherska Forsamlingen af New York City 1919-1935. Åbo, Finland: Åbo Akademi,1994,12–80. 2. Our Congregation’s History—20th Anniversary 1919-1939, Pilgrim Evangelical Church. http://www.loffe.net/emigrationmainmenu-59/1680-our-congregationashistorypilgrimskyrkan. The church also had many emigrants from the Åland Islands. We will learn about this connection in next issue...
Pilgrim Lutheran Church and its congregation. Photos: Nelson Family Collection
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