My Finnish Roots

Part one:


When I was a kid I always wondered what my dads background was. I knew his mom, my grandma Aggie was Spanish and English but I didn't know anything about his dad. In fact his dad was a touchy subject. Still is to this day. 

I did get to meet Norman Chester Anderson. I only got to meet him once from what I remember. I remember being a little kid and my parents taking my siblings and I to his house, I remember my mom telling me to give my grandpa Anderson a hug and I remember looking at her like "I have a grandpa?" It wasn't a very long visit. I only remember looking up at him, giving him a hug and that's about the gist of it.

I never saw him again after that. My parents tried to get him to see us six kids. They tried to get him to be a part of our lives but he showed no interest and that was his and his wifes choice. They chose to not know us. Its sad. That I had a chance at having a grandpa (my moms dad died when she was 20) and he chose not to be our grandpa. So there is a lot of resentment there on my dads part. I can't say I blame him as Norman wasn't really a dad nor was he a grandfather. My grandma Aggie and my grandma Sarah were the only two grandparents I knew. So growing up I didn't know any cousins from the Anderson side at all. -

It was when I did a DNA test a few years ago that I learned that my dads dad Norman Chester Anderson was 100% Finnish. His father was Juho Emil Pyykko born on September 19 1892 in Muhos, Finland. His mother was Matilda Sihverintytär Pyykko. Matilda was born on July 6 1861 in Utajärvi, Finland. When Juho and his mother left Finland he was 15 years old. The family in Finland believe she left Finland with Juho because she was afraid that as soon as he came of age he would be put into the Russian army. After her husband died it was just her and Juho. There were family in Michigan that convinced her that she should leave and immigrate to Michigan for a better life. So Matilda and Juho made the journey from Northern Finland to Hanko, Finland to get on the ship Urania to head to Liverpool, England.

Who was Juho Emils father? That is unknown as his birth record doesn't show a father. It only shows his mother and godparents. 

This is Juho Emil Pyykko record of birth from Muhos, Finland 

On March 8, 1907, Matilda and John boarded the Urania and were on their way to England.

By September 8, 1907, they were at Liverpool, England.  They boarded the British ship called the Empress of Brittain.  

Detailed passenger information   

Last name  Pyykkö  

First names Matilda 
Age or age class  41
Port of departure  Hanko 

Place of destination  Quebec
State of destination  PQ

Country of destination CDN
Price of ticket  USD 41  

Ship from Finland  Urania
Date of departure from Finland  03.08.1907  

Ship from England  Empress of Britain 
Date of departure from England  09.08.1907   

Ocean Line  C.P.R. Line
Port of departure in England  *
List and page  59/43 

Its makes me wonder what my great grandfather was thinking when he was making this journey to America. A new country. A place where he has to learn a new language. A place that he would live in for the rest of his life. It makes me wonder what was going through his mind as a fifteen year old kid. 

This photo of Juho Emil was taken in Michigan

Matilda and Juho made their journey from Canada to Michigan. Matilda actually went by Tillie to many relatives here in Michigan. In the 1920 Federal Census, she lived with a cousin, Fredrika Hoppala.  She lived in Traverse City, Michigan behind a bar. She moved to the upper peninsula of Michigan to a town called Laurium. According to family who I have found told me that Matilda had a green thumb. She had gardens of vegetables, flowers and fruit trees. She smoked a pipe every night before bed and according to a cousin, Matilda never learned English. She only spoke Finnish. But she was a tiny and refined woman who chopped wood all the way into her 80s.

These are photos of my great great grandmother Matilda Pyykko. My cousin Carol graciously shared a treasure trove of photos with me.

Juho Emil Pyykko changed his name to John Emil Anderson. He served in the US Army and was a private in the air service for World War 1. The family believes he changed his name for the Army to Americanize it. When you look at the surname Pyykko you wouldn't know that its pronounced Boooka. This is his WW1 Draft record. Ignore his date of birth. Its wrong. 

Amazing how his mother moved him from Finland to prevent him from being thrown into the Russian army and here it shows he fought for a country he immigrated to many years before.

He was a man of many trades who loved photography and played the Kantele, a Finnish stringed instrument. He met and courted a Finnish girl by the name of Ellen Lyytikainen and for their first date he made her a pair of skis. This is a photo of John and Ellen on skis he made.

He fell in love with Ellen and asked her to marry him. They were married on May 25 1918 in Oneco, Houghton, Michigan. This is their marriage record. 

I remember the first time I saw their photo (courtesy of my cousin Carol) I was in absolute awe. I saw a photo of a lovely couple. This is the photo she shared with me. I was told it was originally on the wall in their house in Gay, Michigan.

And this one too

Before DNA I had no idea about my Finnish background. I didn't know where the Anderson family came from or what to expect. Then Ancestry showed my top ethnicities and Finland/Northwest Russia showed up at the top I was actually shocked. It was then I asked my friend aka adopted uncle Kaj Osterberg if he could help me with my search. He is the reason it all began and I always give him the credit because without him I wouldn't have had a clue how to start in Finland. When he found me on Myspace the first thing he told me was that I look like a Finnish girl. Who would've thought how right he was when it came to my background. He is the kindest man I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He lives in Helsinki, he found me on Myspace because we share a common taste in music (Johnny Cash, Elvis, all the greats) and I am so happy he did. That was almost 12 years ago. I have never met him but for me he is family and that is why I call him my adopted uncle. He actually shares a ancestor with my mom. That was a great find!

I remember asking my grandma Aggie about Norman Chester Anderson. So one day she decided to share photos with me of them. 

This is a photo of Agnes Evangeline Vasquez and Norman Chester Anderson, my grandparents. I believe she said this was before they were married. They were married on July 2 1946 in Pontiac, Michigan. Norman was 22 and Agnes was 20. 

Another photo of Norman and Agnes Anderson with my aunt Janice.

I believe she told me that they were introduced to each other by a friend and they started dating. Then they married and had four kids, Janice, Gary, Norman and Johnny.

My dad and his siblings were raised Jehovah Witness. My dad was disfellowshipped and was estranged from his dad. He ended up leaving home and my grandma Sarah and grandpa Junnie ended up taking him in. That is where the story of my parents begin. It was with my mothers parents that my dad learned what love was. He learned how to hug. Say I love you. He learned a lot from them. My mom used to talk about how she didn't like him in school. But it was after he started to live with them was when he grew on her. We used to laugh at that story. Then they got married (mom was 20 and dad was 19) on June 6 1970 in Livingston County, Michigan.

My parents high school photos


Sarah Elnora Johnson                                                                                Norman C Anderson

                          

                                                                                     

Norman C Anderson, my dad was a blond when he was a kid. I didn't believe it until my grandma Aggie showed me a photo of him. It was crazy seeing him with blond hair. Gotta love how genetics change.

My dad doesn't like to talk about his dad. He does sometimes mention his grandpa John, Says he remembers him speaking in Finnish. He only got to see him a few times I believe seeing as John lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and my dad lived in Detroit. He remembers going into the sauna with his cousins and jumping in the lake after. Its a Finnish thing.

Ever since I started this genealogy and DNA journey I have learned a lot. I have learned about a country I had no idea I had a connection to. I learned how some Finns changed their surnames whenever they moved and I learned that researching Finnish ancestry can be rewarding and frustrating. Which why this is gonna be a part one of many. Cause there is a lot to share. I hope hope you enjoyed this so far because this is where I finally belong. I no longer question my ancestry on my dads side because here it is in photos and stories.