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A Story Without an End

Every year for Christmas I write a bit about some ancestor I have studied over the year. Of course this year I will choose Finns because I have worked on that line this year, even traveling to Finland.

I have in mind to write biographical sketches of my four Finnish great-great grandparents, but I am facing a problem with this. I cannot complete their stories.

As far as l know, these people, Antti Mattila, Elisabeth Myllynen, Matti Lampinen, and Anna Miettinen, remained in Finland throughout their lives. I must use the Finnish records to do the research on them.

For reasons unknown to me, the available online records end with the 1880’s. Only Anders Mattila had died by then, in 1882. The others passed away after that, but those records remain closed to me. I hate this loose end, but what can I do?

No family records kept this information, and no one else’s online family tree provides a clue.

I do have one other less-than-ideal option. The LDS library does have rarely-used microfiche copies of the Finnish Communion books. These books listed Finnish families and tracked which confirmed Lutherans took communion over the course of several years. A death during the time period was so noted. I could look there.

The LDS digitization project has not gone this far, so I must look at the actual microfiche to see if I can find the information I need. To do this, I could either rent the fiche for viewing at my local Family History Library or travel to Salt Lake to view them there.

I cannot take a trip to Salt Lake this fall. For now, I will add this source to my white board list of records to search. I will have to do some additional research before I can identify just which parish microfiche to order.

Christmas is coming, and I would like to finish my stories.

2 Responses to “A Story Without an End”

  • Anu Lampinen:

    Hello,

    I was looking for information of my relatives moved from Finland to USA and saw this. Most of finnish archives after 1880 are not public and dont know if all them are even digitalized. In addition names can differ. E.g. my great grand father is Matti Lampinen but also name Matts Lambin is used. Or Mats or Matz. At some point archives use only one’s first name and the name of one’s father and family name isnt even mentioned. Propably Anders’s real name is Antti.

    There are ways to search e.g. birth and death records. Microfilms are not the easiest way.

    Hope this helps.

    BR

    Anu

    • Teri:

      Thanks for your response. I will definitely follow your suggestion with the birth and death records. I would like to learn more about these ancestors of mine.

      Are we descended from the same Matti Lampinen?

      Teri

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