Finding My Way Through Finland: Researching the In-Laws and Writing a Family History Book

Property belonging to a branch of the family

Over the last couple of months or so, I have been researching, for the first time, in a language with which I am completely unfamiliar:  Finnish.  I have also undertaken research about a family and relationships about which I knew very little: that of my spouse.  Whereas with my family there was a certain amount of known lore and a familiarity with names and places, with another family I have a lot less to go on.

My first stop was to send my spouse out to find out some basic information:  names, dates and places.  I got lucky.  I received a book, in Finnish, which was apparently a book about one branch of the family.  I could figure enough out from a basic understanding of how books and language work to find a person and contact information in the book.  I took a chance and sent an e-mail, in English, to the contact name.  What a find!  The individual was the head of the family association, and was really excited to help me learn more about the family.

Also, going on what little family story there was, I contacted the Finnish parish of the town I believed our ancestors were from.  I had great success.  Already I had uncovered several generations.  I also had a number of other questions to sort through.

The really interesting aspect of Finnish genealogical research is surnames.  The family I was researching had a lot of peasant stock.  They were primarily tenant farmers.  Tenant farmers tended to move from farm to farm.  When they moved, they took the surname of the farm they were on:  their surname changed!  At first I could not verify the passenger records because of the unfamiliar surname, but with this better understanding of Finnish naming conventions (which changed in the early 20th century by the way) I could sort out familial relationships a little more effectively.


There was an aspect of Finnish research that I found absolutely wonderful:  everyone was incredibly helpful.  I sent inquiries to archives, libraries, police stations, parish records offices and lots of people from the family association I was working with.  The head of the family association even got in his car and drove to the old family house and the old family farm to take pictures!  One of the members of the association translated a couple of chapters of the Finnish book for me, and also provided a very useful guide to Finnish land ownership, so I could sort through last names and the family history a little better.

Picture of family house

I have never had so much success researching a family before, and so quickly.  I found cousins, aunts, uncles, and loads of people who were only related by marriage.  They were all remarkably helpful (and fortunately their English was much better than my Finnish).  Finland also has digitized many of their records, making searching much easier.  Once I sorted through the Finnish genealogical terminology, things really started to come together.

Another aspect of this work that was new to me was creating a family history book from my findings.  I used Blurb, although I have used Picaboo for other projects in the past.  I would say the difference is that Blurb is more of a self-publishing site, while Picaboo is excellent at photobooks.  I think for the distribution and publication for family members in far away places, Blurb is probably a better choice.

I feel really good about the work and pulling together a story about Finnish pioneers in Canada in the early 20th century, and uncovering so many family stories.  It's a format and approach I hadn't thought about before, but I will now tackle for other branches of the family tree.

How I Spent My Winter Vacation or "Genealogical Mistakes I Have Made"

When  started my most recent genealogical journey 18 months ago I was pretty excited. To me, genealogy is fascinating because we uncover true stories behind family myth and legend.  I love the search and discovery.  I have some training in research through post-secondary education, and genealogical research is similar.  The cardinal rule is: check your facts.  Ancestral research is so much easier now; so many records are online.  Social media tools support sharing information between family trees simple and straightforward.  It wasn't until my first feverish month was over that I realized not all of the family trees online have been fully researched.  I started to find a number of inconsistencies:  records that didn't make sense, conflicting census reports, and so on.  It didn't take long to realize that I had made a hot mess of my family trees.

Over time I have been able to clean up some of my ancestral research, particularly as I prepared blogs on certain ancestors.  However, I needed a focused period of time to really clean up the trees on Ancestry.  So, for the last three weeks, that has been my priority.  I decided to forego blog writing while I worked through the family trees.  In going through this work, I have learned some important lessons which I thought I would pass on:

• Using other family trees as a source is a surefire way to take you off track on your family tree research.  Many users of Ancestry use other family trees as their key source.  This is fine if the original source tree is well researched.  What I found, however, is that the trees usually refer to one another.  Family trees are a great way to find other sources easily. Use their sources to inform your tree, but avoid simply merging all of the information from one tree into yours without double checking the facts.
• Use the wildcard searches regularly, particularly for older census searches.  Spelling variants for names were very common.  While this will greatly increase the number of records you must sift through, it will also greatly increase the chances of a proper match with your ancestor.  It's a lot more work, but the benefits outweigh the effort.  There were a number of ancestors which I was finally able to locate through wildcard searches where others' research led them in a different direction.

I found this record with a wildcard search - confirming a relationship
that I had made assumptions about.

• Don't settle until you are sure.  I have left a couple of ancestors as questions because I have simply been unable to find the records to support the assumptions.  This is particularly true the further back you go in history.  Actual on site research may answer those outstanding questions, but that is an endeavour outside of my scope right now.  
• Look for supporting evidence.  I have had the greatest success by double-checking all of the aspects of a record: addresses, ages, family relationships, birthplaces, dates.  Naming conventions for traditional western (read Scottish, British and German) family ancestry has been both annoying and helpful.  It can lead you astray but is great for confirming family relationships that you maybe aren't entirely certain of.
• Don't forget loads of other sites you can go to for your research.  I had breakthroughs using Google searches, scotlandspeople, FamilySearch, the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia archives, and loads of other resources I stumbled upon.  A Google search is how I found an ancestor who abandoned his family and fled to New Zealand. I also learned more about the workhouses which my ancestors frequented.  I used scotlandspeople to verify information on my Scottish side that I couldn't get any other way(and I love having the original record to verify other family members).  Searches have turned up sites with passenger records for emigrants from Germany, Scotland and Ireland.  There is a wealth of information available to you (much of it free of charge) with a little perseverance.

I found this through a
Google search -which
answered the mystery of
the disappearance of
Alexander Peden

• Go back often to search.  New records come online all of the time.  Search engines improve as well.  You also improve your own approach, so with experience your searches will turn up more information.
• Share everything you learn.  I have found a number of relations through the blog and facebook site and more through my Ancestry account.  I share, they share.  Be generous.  Karma is real :-)
• Create a decent workspace.  I spent some time organizing the space.  I got all of my materials and research out of a bin I had and into magazine boxes.  I got rid of the conventional desk (which had features I didn't need and very little appropriate storage space.  I used an old table top which I cut in half, then built very simple storage on either side as well as shelves stretching between.  I put up print outs of my family tree on the adjacent wall to help me remember relationships (which are all out of date now).  Since I like to sit and stand and can't afford an expensive hydraulic desk, I made the desk high enough to stand and bought an inexpensive bar stool from Home Depot, so I can sit or stand as I feel fit.  I have been working at this space for a month now and it's perfect for me.  I am pretty glad I waited before doing it though, because I know how I work and what I need.  Most important for me was easy access to stored materials and the ability to sit or stand.  I recommend that you think about how you work (my set up won't work for everyone), and do some planning before you re-construct your space.  

My new workspace - and room for cats!

• Electronic file storage is critical.  I basically had to go back through each individual in the tree and ensure that I properly backed up the copies of primary sources from my ancestry account as well as other sites.  Also, I had to re-organize my filing system.  Previously, I had files under the male surnames (because this is how they generally were recognized at first).  However, the more I researched the more files I got, and the harder it was to locate the maternal lines in the ancestral tree.  At first I thought it would be easier to have just one copy of the files.  However, locating records specific to one ancestor was much more complicated.  I ended up creating one folder for each surname, sub folders for each individual (named as follows: lastname_firstname_birthyear_deathyear).  Then each record was named as follows: lastname_firstname_yearofrecord_typeofrecord.  As I was downloading many primary records from ancestry, I used the settings tool, set to print with the source information, and then saved as a pdf.  This means that I had copies of each applicable record saved under each individual to whom the record applies and the sourcing information in the event I am ever lucky enough to do onsite research.  It was a little extra effort but has made researching each individual much simpler.

I wish that I had learned these tips earlier because it would have saved a lot of time.  Now that things are cleaned up, though, from my workspace to my file storage to my trees, I am much more confident in my research and the accuracy of my blogs.  It meant slowing down on the blog for a month or so, but it was time well spent.  I am pretty sure that my approach won't work for everyone, but hopefully some of you will appreciate the tips.