Glimpses at Ely’s Finnish American Past
On April 13th it will be 110 years since the former Apostolic Lutheran Church Society of the town of Ely was established.
Ely pictured in 1890 |
Finnish Americans have also lived
in many of these wild mining towns. That was the situation in Butte, Mont.,
in the Lead-Deadwood area in So. Dak., and in mining towns in Northern
Minnesota.
Workers pose in 1890 at Chandler Mines, Ely |
Among Finnish Americans the
Lutheran faith was dominant. The Lutherans were split into three main groups: Finnish Evangelical
Lutheran Church
(Suomi Synod), Finnish
National Evangelical
Lutheran Church
(Kansalliskirkko) and Finnish Apostolic
Lutheran Church (Laestadians). There were many
Apostolic Lutheran/Laestadian congregations in on Minnesota’s
Iron Range by the end of 19th
century and in the beginning of the 20th century.[1]
The northernmost congregation was in Ely. This article goes back to the history
of Apostolic Lutherans/Laestadians in Ely.[2]
The constitutive
meeting for the Apostolic Lutheran church
of Ely was called with
this invitation in 1894.
|
The
discovery of iron ore in Northern Minnesota
became public knowledge in 1852 and mining began 30 years later. By the end of
the 19th century, Northern Minnesota
became the most important producer of iron ore. [3] The opening of the Vermilion and Mesabi
ranges in the 1880s and 90s was soon followed by Finnish settlement in many
range towns and villages. Among them were Tower and Soudan in 1885; Ely in
1887; Hibbing, Mountain Iron, and Virginia in 1893; and
Biwabik and Eveleth in 1894.[4]
Most immigrants had heard many stories in ”the Old Country” of what a wonderful
place America was:
“Everything was beautiful in America”;
“A person could get rich in America”;
and “America’s
streets were paved with gold!”
The reality was a quite different
matter: “On a particular morning, just when it was getting light, the night
freight pulled into Ely, bringing with it a young family from Finland. The
little daughter looking out of the train window saw Ely for the first time in
the gray light of a Sunday dawn. She saw streets of mud, ugly frame buildings,
board sidewalks on which drunken men slept. ‘Mother, mother,’ she asked, ‘Did
we pass America
in the night?’”[5] Work
in the underground mines was dangerous. It was hard to put together a crew of
experienced miners. Most men lasted maybe a year or two underground.
Replacements arrived by the hundreds—Swedes, Slovenians, Italians, and Finns.[6] In Ely there were four mines: Pioneer, Chandler, Zenith, and
Sibley. In 1956 Pioneer (opened 1888) and Zenith (opened 1892) Mines were still
operating.[7]
The first Finns arrived in Ely in 1887.[8] Among them were Laestadians, who very soon began their religious activity. Laestadian services began in Ely at the latest in 1889. On Oct. 14th, 1894, Gust Josephson, Henry Jängälä[9], Henry Saari, Isack Hamari, John Hamari, Ewald Esko, and Otto Pikkarainen called the first official meeting to form a local congregation. The meeting was held at Isack Hamari’s residence on Nov. 3rd, 1894. The meeting’s purpose was to elect officers for this new congregation and to incorporate the church according to Minnesota law. At this constitutive meeting the Apostolic Lutheran Church Society of the town of Ely was officially established. Henry Jängälä chaired the meeting and Otto Pikkarainen served as secretary. Chosen for the new Board of Trustees were Henry Jängälä, chairman; Otto Pikkarainen, secretary; Isak Hamari, treasurer; and John Hamari and Henry Saari, trustees.
The congregation purchased its own
church building in 1896. First there were discussions about building a new
church. A building committee was chosen with Chas. Pyyny, Henry Saari, Otto
Pikkarainen, and Gust Josephson as members.[10]
When the local Finnish Temperance Hall came up for sale in April 1896, the
Apostolic Lutheran congregation purchased that building. The Finnish National
Brothers Temperance Association of the city of Ely
first sold their building to the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran church of Ely
on April 11th for $50, and two days later the same building was sold
to Apostolic Lutherans for $300. The church building was on Chandler Iron
Company land on Lot 5, Block 1 (at East Washington St)
in the South Chandler Addition to the city. The congregation paid one dollar a
year (1901) to lease the land.
Preacher Jacob Wuollet |
When the schisms became a reality
among Laestadians on the Iron
Range, the majority of
the Ely congregation supported the so-called Pollarite preachers. It seems that
the situation was unclear many years, but in 1932, when John Pollari was chosen
as minister of the Ely congregation, the final decision was made.[17]
Some active members left the congregation. Among those who maintained contact
with the other group, the so-called Heidemanians, or Conservative Laestadians,
were the congregation’s former chairman Jacob Isaacson (1915–1916, 1919–1929,
board member 1915–1929) and board member Chas. Randa (1919).[18]
Both names disappear from the congregation’s minutes and records after 1932.
Indirect proof of schisms in the congregation comes up in the minutes of the
congregation’s annual meeting in 1931.[19]
After the splits, the congregation’s membership declined year after year; today
it no longer exists. The church building was sold Oct. 9th, 1968 to
a private party for $50 and has since been dismantled.[20]
Preacher Jacob Halvary who lived first in Atlantic Mine, MI and moved later to Detroit. |
Laestadian/Apostolic Lutheran
Churches are still active in many areas in Minnesota,
Michigan, Washington, Oregon,
even though this Lutheran branch has disappeared from Ely. More information
about their activity you can find for example from this site:
http://www.laestadianlutheran.org
Mauri Kinnunen
Article was published in Ely Echo, April 8, 2006
Mauri Kinnunen
Article was published in Ely Echo, April 8, 2006
[1]On the Iron Range there were Apostolic Lutheran/Laestadian Congregations in Biwabik (congregation
incorporated in 1894), Cherry-Iron (incorporation date unknown), Chisholm (1905), Ely (1894), Embarrass (1906),
Eveleth (1922), Florenton (1916), Gilbert (1923), Hibbing (1924), Hutter (1916), Mountain Iron (1901), Peyla (1901) ,
Pike (1920), Soudan (1896), Sparta (1901), Tower (1894), Trout Lake-Bovey (1941), Virginia (1895).
[2]A special thank you to the Ely-Winton History
Museum and to local
historian David Kess. With their help we have been able to copy the preserved
papers of the Apostolic Lutheran Church Society of the City of Ely. Mr. Kess also provided information about
the congregation’s past and supplied us with the old picture of the
congregation’s church building.
[3] Marvin G. Lamppa;
Minnesota Iron Country. Duluth, MN 2004, p. 144.
[4] John I. Kolehmainen; The Finnish Pioneers of Minnesota. Published by Minnesota
History, Volume 25, Number 4, p. 317-328. December 1944.
[5] Marvin G. Lamppa 2004, p.
91.
[6] Marvin G. Lamppa 2004,
page 90
[7] Hans R.Wasastjerna; Minnesotan suomalaisten historia [The History of the Finns in Minnesota]. Superior, WI
1957, page 421.
[8] One source reports that a Finn named Jacob
Perttula arrived in Ely on foot from Two Harbors already in 1884 or 1885
(Wasastjerna 1957, page 421).
[9] Henry Jängälä was the congregation’s minister.
Very little information about this man has been found. He had been minister and
secretary of the Apostolic Lutheran Congregation of Ironwood, Michigan in 1889–1891. When he moved to Ely, is unclear. Henry Jängälä
(3.15.1852–12.5.1904) is thought to be originally from Alatornio,
Finland, and to have lived
in the USA
already in 1885. He is buried at Little Greasewood Cemetery near Pendleton, Ore.
(Pekka Raittila; Lestadiolaisuuden
matrikkeli ja bibliografia, Helsinki 1967, number 151; Little Greasewood
Cemetery Records, Ore.).
[10] Meeting of the Ely Apostolic Lutheran
congregation Mar. 3, 1895 and interim congregational meeting Jan. 5, 1896. At
this meeting 18 members were present, and it was decided to collect money for a
church from the town’s businessmen, companies, and the congregation’s members.
[11] Andrew Rajaniemi was born in Alavieska,
Finland, 5.13.1853 and moved to Calumet,
Mich., from Toholampi, Finland,
on 8.1.1892. Rajaniemi became Laestadian in the beginning of 1870s and began
his preaching duties quite soon after his conversion. In Finland he made mission trips with A.L.Heideman
before Heideman’s departure to the USA. While living in America Andrew
Rajaniemi made also mission trips. He died on a trip to the East Coast, in Fitchburg, Massachusetts
in 1897 (Raittila 1967, number 402).
[12] Sakarias Arvid Hurula (brother of Finnish
preacher Eetu Hurula) was born December 11th, 1866 in Karunki,
Finland. He was
as a preacher also in Ironwood, Michigan and Kingston, Minnesota. S. Arvid Hurula died Sept. 26th, 1945 in Mason, Wis.
After the divisions among American Laestadians,
he belonged to the “Suurseuralaiset”
or Big Meeting group. (Raittila 1967, number 110; Uuras Saarnivaara;
Apostolisluterilaisuuden historia. Ironwood, Michigan
1947, page 287).
[13] Ely Apost. Luth. congregational meeting
minutes 10.25.1896
[14] Ely Apost. Luth. congregational meeting
minutes 30.10.1898.
[15] Ely Apost. Luth. congregation’s annual meeting
minute books, 1898 - 1932
[16] Ely Apost. Luth. congregation’s ledger 1894 –
1916.
[17] Ely Apost. Luth. congregation’s annual meeting
minutes, Jan.1, 1932
[18] Their names are mentioned in the Finnish
Conservative Laestadian paper, Siionin
Lähetyslehti along with that of Rose Jokinen during the 1930s. The mention
states that the paper had been ordered to Ely for a whole ten-year period in
the 1930s.
[19] Ely Apost. Luth. congregation’s annual meeting
minutes, Jan 1, 1931. The meeting decided not to use church funds to pay
preachers who have not been called by the congregation.
[20] Ely Apost. Luth. congregation’s documents. A
copy from the business ledger, 10.9. 1968.
Thank you so much for this blog post. My great grandfather was Henry August Jangala who was mentioned in your post. I have his photo and more information on him if you are interested. I have shared your information and post on Facebook Finnish Genealogy group.
VastaaPoistaThanks for the comments. I am definitely interested in all the additional information and photos related to Henry Jankala and his family. I hope you will contact me at:
Poistamauri.a.kinnunen@gmail.com