Hi agian!
I have some relatives who left for Marquette Co. in the 1880's. They were
Finnish speakers but from the northern part of Sweden.
So one should be aware of the fact that all 'Finns' did not come from
Finland! (Though I must say thar I never have seen his 1st name Malakias in
northern Sweden.)
My father's aunts left in the early 1900's and two of three went via Canada
(Halifax) as did there brother (Montreal). Evidentelly boat to Canada and
then train to Michigan was the easiest way at that time.
Surnames in Finland in the 1800's were very often taken after the farm where
the person lived. So it would change if a persom moved.
Laukka or Laukkanen or Laukkala etc might have been the name Malakias had in
Finland.
You should definitely keep an eye on the church books on-net since they are
regularely updated with more parishes.
Håkan
----- Original Message -----
From: <tjarv(a)hiwaay.net>
To: <MIGEN-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 9:05 PM
Subject: Re: [MIGEN] Finnish Miners in the UP
Thanks for responding,
Not to say I've seen everything, but I have been to the sites below and
studied
them. The problem is, from what I've been told, neither of them
used their
original Finnish names. The one I'm stuck on right now is the one who came
in
1889 (according to US census data).
Once here, he took the last name of Laukka. Family lore has it that he
took the
name of a family he worked for. Not sure whether this was before he
came
to the
US or after. I find no listing of him (or anything close) in passenger
records,
or Naturalization records either.
From his death certificate, I think he was born in 1869. He made his home
in Negaunee, Michigan.
And, I'm afraid that's about all I know. I was hoping since he came here
in
1889
(before the large migration in the early part of the 1900s), I might find
a clue
or two in mining company records - if they exist.
Thank you again,
Libby