Family History - Part four

This picture possibly features Anna Surakka Huru (1885-1950).
The image is a detail of a blurred group image

 John Alfred and Anna (Surakka) Huru lived in Astoria for the rest of their lives. John Alfred states in the 1920 census form that he arrived in the country in 1909. Anna’s year of arrival is marked 1911, which is actually her year of arrival in Canada, not the United States. The state of Michigan is the birthplace of the two eldest of the family's children, and the father is said to work at a lumber mill.

Bertha Huru Jurvakainen 1918-1993

Five children were born to the Huru family. The oldest of them was Hubert (March 16, 1917 in Calumet, Michigan - August 1, 1975 in Longview, Washington), nicknamed Hoobie (who-be). Was Hubert, who never married, possibly from Johan Alfred’s first marriage? Johan Alfred and Anna get married not until on October 5, 1917. Hubert was followed by the daughter of Bertha (September 25, 1918 in Calumet Michigan - November 9, 1993 in Longview, Washington), who became the mother of a large family. According to the memoir, Bertha had nine children, four daughters and five sons, and 52 grandchildren. It was not until the family that moved to Astoria that a son named Edward was born on October 24, 1919, who died at a very young age, or 45, on January 11, 1965 in Interlachen, Oregon. Edward was also married and had three children, according to the memoir. In 1921, the Huru family rejoiced at the birth of daughter named helen. I have very little information about her life stages. In 1950, she is mentioned to be Mrs. Clayton Crow, who lives in Portland, Oregon. In 1975, she was known as Mrs. Helen Reynolds, who lived in Long Beach, California. The youngest child in the family was Hilda, born January 9, 1925. Hilda lived for a long time in Southern California and Phoenix, Arizona. For the last 25 years of his life, he lived again along the Columbia River in the town of Longview. On April 16, 1971, Hilda married Thor Jacob Johnson (1912-1997), who moved as a young boy from Sweden to the United States with her parents. The marriage was childless. Hilda Huru Johson died on October 25, 2007 in Longview, Washington.

Hilda Huru Johnson 1925-2007

The 1940 census records show that John Alfred worked as a stevedoring worker. His annual earnings were $ 2,163 ($ 41,557 in current money). Children, living at home, were Edward, a 20-year-old truck driver, and Hilda, a 15-year-old schoolgirl. Next door along the same street (Columbia Avenue) lived the family’s 21-year-old daughter Bertha, who was married to carpenter Arne Jurvakainen. The whole area seems to be strongly inhabited by the Finnish population. The families of Mäki, Silver, Blomqvist, Niemi, Huhtala and Reinikka, as well as the lonely Hilja Sorvari and Jacob Merilä, lived next door. There was even one family with German father living in the middle of the Finns, but he had managed to marry a Finnish girl Eve. Is Finnish, as a native language, probably also echoed in that family? Thus, as a former educator, my attention was drawn to the fact that the Elsie daughter of the Silver family, who worked as a teacher at a local school, earned only $ 1,260 a year. Were the teachers already clearly underpaid at the time?

Memorial to Anna Surakka Huru (1885-1950)

The Huru family experienced great grief in the fall of 1941 when the family's father died at the age of 49. John Alfred Huru was born in Nrwa in Vadsø on February 27, 1892 and died in Astoria on September 23, 1941. Anna’s life span also didn’t turn out long anymore either. He became seriously ill with stomach cancer in the late 1940s. Despite being operated, Anna died on December 11, 1950. John Alfred and Anna are buried in Lewis and Clark Cemetery, Miles Crossing, Clatsop County, Oregon. Although Anna has been resting for 70 years in the lush shores of the Columbia River, her heirs still live in the United States in at least dozens if not hundreds.

The series continues with the story of Anna’s sister Maria.