Sukuhistoriaa 3, osa 5: Maria Surakan tarina

Olen aikaisemmissa blogikirjoituksissani seurannut sukulaiseni Anna Surakan elämänvaiheita, polkua, joka johti Liperin Taipaleen kylältä lopulta Yhdysvaltain Länsirannikolle Columbia-joen suulle. Annan nuorempi sisar Maria seurasi isosiskoaan ensin Kanadaan ja sitten Yhdysvaltoihin. Maria oli syntynyt 2.11.1887 Taipaleen kylässä (tila n:o 28) Liperissä Ivan Vasilinpoika Surakan ja Maria Feodorintytär Ratilaisen perheeseen. Hän muutti 8.2.1911 Joensuuhun, kuten siskonsa Anna oli tehnyt suunnilleen kuukausi aikaisemmin.[1]  Maria anoi syksyllä 1912 passia Amerikkaan muuttoa varten. Viideksi vuodeksi myönnetty passi on päivätty 9.10.1912. Ilmeisesti isosiskolta Annalta oli kiirinyt viestiä paremmista elinolosuhteista. Olihan Anna muuttanut Atlantin taakse edellisenä syksynä. Maria saapui oman ilmoituksessa mukaan Amerikan mantereelle joulukuussa 1912 astuen maihin St Johnsin satamassa Kanadassa.

Maria asettui ensiksi asumaan Toronton kaupunkiin, jossa Anna-sisar siis jo eleli. Yhdysvaltojen puolelle Maria siirtyi 7.3.1916 Port Huronissa. Matkansa päämääräksi hän ilmoitti sisarensa Annan asunnon (Box 21, Demmon, Mich). Maahantuloselvityksen mukaan hän oli asunut viimeksi Torontossa, Ontariossa ja rahaa oli Marialla mukanaan 100 dollaria.

 Maria Surakka avioitui Michael Zapolnekin kanssa 15.5.1917 Calumetissa Michiganissa. Vihkimisen suoritti suomalaisen apostolisluterilaisen seurakunnan pastori Arthur Leopold Heideman. Michael Zapolnek oli syntynyt lokakuussa 1886 Bialystokissa, Podlaskien piirikunnassa Puolassa. Sukunimi esiintyy myös muodossa Zapolnik ja näyttää olevan edelleen yleinen sukunimi Bialystokin seudulla Puolassa. Perheen kotikieli oli Puolasssa ollut kuitenkin venäjä. Michael oli saapunut Yhdysvaltoihin vuoden 1907 tienoilla. Perheeseen syntyi kahdeksan lasta. He olivat ikäjärjestyksessä:

- (Mary Sophia Zapolnik (Burke) 2.4.1918 Calumet – 10.7. 2001 Roswell, Georgia. Asunut aikaisemmin myös seuraavilla paikkakunnilla: Madison Heights, MI (Detroit), Royal Oak, MI (Detroit) and Troy, MI (Detroit).

- Arthur Michael Zapolnek 23.7. 1919 Calumet – 30.7.1948 Laurium, Michigan. Avioitui 6.3.1948 Jean Taipaluksen kanssa, Calumet, Michigan.

 - Alex Martin Zapolnek 16.1.1921 Calumet – 27.1.1977 Iron Mountain, MI, oli kotoisin Calumetista, Michiganissa.

- Alfred Zapolnek 18.2.1922 Calumet – 14.1. 2001 Calumet.

- Helmi E. (Helen) Zapolnek syntyi Calumetissa vuonna 1925. Avioitui Paul Edward Jonesin kanssa 26.5.1950 Detroitissa. Paul Jones oli syntynyt 20.11.1924 ja kuoli 18.8.1976 Hazel Park, Michigan (Detroit). Helmi Surakka Jonesin kuolinaika ja -paikka ei ole tiedossani

-  Lempi Josephine (Josephine Lempi) 24 2. 1926 Calumet – 3.6.1996 L’Anse, Michigan. Hän avioitui Fred A. Teddyn kanssa 26.2.1949 Calumetissa. Teddyt asuivat L’Ansessa, Michiganissa.

- Paul J. Zapolnik 20.7.1927 Albion Location (Calumet), MI – 6.3.2015 Dollar Bay, MI – Kolme lasta.

-  Henry W. Zapolnek 21.11.1929 Albion Location – 22.6.2012, haudattu Lakeside Cemetery, Hancock. Vaimo Judith L. ja tytär Amy Forsell, kaksi lapsenlasta. Henry haavoittui vakavasti Korean sodassa 6.1.1952 ohjuksen osumasta.

Maria Surakka Zapolnek kuoli 26.2.1950 Detroitissa. Michael (Mike) Zapolnek kuoli vajaat viisi vuotta aikaisemmin eli 28.5.1945 Calumetissa. Hänen syntymäpaikakseen oli kuolintodistukseen merkitty Puolan Varsova ja syntymäajaksi 18.10.1886.

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[1] Taipaleen ortodoksisen seurakunnan arkisto - Pääkirja 1895-1915 (I Aa:22, Tilattomat), jakso 275, sivu 268: Surakka, Ivan; Kansallisarkisto: http://digi.narc.fi/digi/view.ka?kuid=5101246 / Viitattu 1.8.2021

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.

Family History - Part three

Information about the marriage of Anna Surakka and John Alfred Huru. It was performed on October 6, 1917 by Pastor A. L. Heideman, the witnesses were (Pastor) Paul Heideman and Jemina Korpi. The marriage was Anna's first and John Alfred's second.

Anna Surakka and John Alfred Huru were married (October 6, 1917) by Arthur Leopold Heideman, pastor of the Calumet Apostolic Lutheran Congregation. The change of Anna’s denomination from Orthodox to Lutheran must have taken place either while Anna was living in Toronto or at the time of her marriage. John Alfred Huru was born on February 27, 1892 in Vadsø, Norway. His parents were Henrik Huru[lin] (1865-1937), originally from Karungi, Sweden and Brita Halonen (1856-1913) who had moved from Finland. The home language was presumably Finnish, but the local Norwegian-language school took care that he was also proficient in Norwegian. Thus, he states in the U.S. census that he is Norwegian-speaking. Johan Alfred worked for the mining company Calumet & Hecla as a carpenter, and according to some documents, also as a miner. In 1918, the family lived at 118 1st Street, Centennial Heights, Calumet.

John Alfred Huru (1892-1941). The picture is a detail
from a large group photo and therefore unclear.

Johan Alfred’s marriage to Anna Surakka was his second marriage. Namely, on September 1, 1915, a person named Alfred Huru was married in Calumet to Eva H. Mansikka. The documents show that Alfred was born in Norway in 1892 and that his parents were exactly the same as John Alfred's aka Henrik Huru and Briita Halonen. So I assume the same person is in both cases, as the documents say that the marriage to Anna Surakka was a second for John. I have yet to find an answer to whether the marriage ended in divorce or death. However, the marriage apparently gave birth to a child. I found a reference to the existence of a child in the drafting documents. Namely, in April 1917, the United States joined World War I and the country began general draftings. In June 1917, John Alfred was also called to draft despite the fact that he was not a citizen of the country at this stage. However, he was not called up for military service, but according to the document, he had one dependent child at the time.

Update on John Alfred Huru's first marriage. I found it in a Norwegian newspaper (Øst-Finmarkens Folkeblad in second of July 1917) the attached death notice. According to it, Eva Johanna Mansikka Huru had died on March 18, 1917 in Calumet, Michigan. The family's child Hubert was left a half-orphan at two days old. Eeva Johanna Mansikka was apparently from the Tornio region of Finland.

According to Anna Surakka Huru's memoir, the family lived in Calumet for a while until they moved to Fort Bragg, another favorite destination for Finnish immigrants, on the west coast of Northern California. The family lived in Fort Bragg for a couple of years, but in 1919 moved to the third favourite settlement site for Finnish migrants in Oregon, the city of Astoria. This salmon-fishing town at the mouth of the Columbia River became the final home of Anna and John Alfred Huru. According to the 1920 census, the family then lived at 1247 Franklin Avenue. I will tell about the steps of the family at the mouth of the Columbia River in my next post.

Family History- Part two

 

The Orthodox Church in Joensuu

Anna Surakka's life continued in her home area in the village of Taipale, apparently until about 1910. The church book of the Taipale Orthodox Congregation (1895-1915) contains an entry about her transformation into a member of the Joensuu Orthodox Congregation on 31 December (number in the migration book: 92), but the entry lacks a year. In the case of her sister Maria, there is a similar entry for the move to Joensuu on February 8, 1911 (number in the migration ook: 111). From the numbering of the migration books, I have concluded that Anna 's year of migration to Joensuu could be 1910.

But full certainty about the date of the move cannot be given, because a person named Anna Surakka traveled from Hanko on 26 May 1909 on a Titania ship to England with a destination in America. His journey continued from England on June 4th. and it ended in the city of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. However, the Finnish Migrant Institute's passport lists do not match any Anna Surakka who applied for a passport before 1911. The first passport issued to Anna Surakka in the Migrant Institute's archives was issued for relocation to America on May 20, 1911 and was specifically our story's Anna. A couple of months later, a passport was issued to another Anna Surakka, but she is not our Anna, who spent her childhood and youth on the Taipale farm n:o 28, but her namesake, who lived in Polvijärvi and was a couple of years older. In the passport, Anna's home was in the city of Joensuu and the passport was issued for five years.

The voyage across the Atlantic, which cost FIM 261 (= € 1,025), started from Helsinki on the Titania on September 27, 1911 and continued from England on October 6 on board the Empress of Ireland. The ship arrived at the Port of Quebec on October 14 and Anna continued her journey to her destination in the city of Toronto. After that, the Anna steps will disappear for several years. Next time, I can follow in her footsteps based on her sister Mary’s immigration report. When Maria Surakka arrives in the United States on March 7, 1916, in Porth Huron, Michigan, she declares her goal to be her sister Anna Suraka's apartment. The address she writes on the entry form is Box 21, Demmon, Houghton, Michigan. Maria had previously lived in Toronto, Canada for several years. When Anna had moved from Canada to the United States is still a mystery to me at this point.

The next time Anna's movements remain on the registers is on July 19, 1917, for crossing the Canadian border in Sault St. Marie. Did he come from Canada or did he go there? The next record of crossing the Canadian-U.S. border is February 24, 1918 in St Albans, Vermont. As his last place of residence, he enters Toronto on an immigration form. The goal was the town of Calumet in Michigan, where her newly married sister Maria now lived and whose address she states on the form. Anna had $ 100 in cash with her. What makes me a little bit confused is that Anna was already married in Calumet on October 6, 1917, ie more than four months earlier with John Alfred Huru…

To be continued