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From Finland to America
Hilma's father, Karl Gustav Ollila, was born on July 9, 1862. He was called
Kaarle Kustaa Ollila in Finland. In 1880, when he was 18 years old, he left the Palo Village in Isokyro to come to America
where "the streets were paved with gold" and a young man could seek a good life.
Lil remembers, "He was a broad-shouldered
man, a burly type who wore a very large, walrus mustache. That is the one thing I remember about Grandpa. His mustache. It
fascinated me, especially when he sipped coffee.
There was a time when we were going to grade school, we were known
as the busiest ore port in the world. But there was also a time in the early years of the century, that we were known throughout
the country as a rough, tough Lake port, the worst place, a dangerous place to live. I think every other door was a saloon.
In fact, there was a time when Grandpa Ollila had a saloon for a while. Because his grocery store failed.
I remember
my mother (Hilma) telling me was that Grandpa had a grocery store, but lost the business because he trusted too many people
who did not pay their bills when due.
The building stands to this day. Just like it did when I was little. On 8th
St., formerly Oak St. It's called Chapman's, a thriving business occupied by an old-fashioned meat shop, butcher shop and
catering business.
This cement block building was my Grandparent's home. The entire floor above the store had many
rooms. We lived in the two-family house behind. Our house was on a hill behind this cement block building and there were many
steps leading to it. Between my Grandparent's back door and the cellar door of the house where I lived, this was all cemented
patio. Like a wide, wide sidewalk. That's where we played, that's where we had our roller skates and marbles" until we moved
when I was 5."
Hilma's mother was Elizabeth Jussila, born also in Isokyro. Karl and Elizabeth were married in the
Harbor in 1885.
"Grandma Elizabeth Ollila was a woman of slight stature, very solemn, very somber, who dressed in
long, black skirts and ankle-length, black leather shoes. Always an apron tied neatly around her small waist. Her hair was
blonde and gray. She had a long braid, but it was a very little braid, an inch wide and would taper down to nothing, but she
rolled that up, always rolled it in a little knot.
She was a devout Christian and attended church twice a week. As
a child of 9 or 10, I often accompanied her on a Wednesday evening, but only in the summer months. Church was 7 city blocks
from home and we walked in those days.
Grandma and Grandpa Ollila were unpretentious people. They were not outgoing,
nor did they 'neighbor' with others, but my mother was one of them and she taught her children well. Very little was known
by any of us concerning Grandma and Grandpa Ollila. They were just that to us. Grandma and Grandpa. Our Aunt Emma and our
Uncles Arnold, Charlie and Eddie were our source of entertainment, music, conversation, and most of all, Uncle Charlie's huge
13 inch sugar cookies."
| Kalle Ollila's First Home and Business in America |
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| Click to see larger...Where did the family live and work ? |
Hilma's Family
1862 Father Karl Gustav
1858 Mother Elizabeth Jussila
1886 Hilma
1888 John
1891 Emma
1894
Charlie
1897 Arnold
1898 Edwin (Uncle Butch)
1904 Edward (Eddie, Little Butch)
The Ollilas of Finland
In 1997, a friend of the family in Ashtabula received this letter from Finland:
Dear Mrs. A.,
The reason I write is exceptional and I
hope that it will not cause too much trouble to you. I dare disturb you because your family is the only one I know in Ashtabula,
therefore I thought that you might be able to give me a hint of useful information.
Like many Finnish families some
of my relatives left for America in the latter part of the last century. This was specially the case of Ollila family from
Isokyro near the town of Vaasa in Ostro Bothnia. They are my relatives from my mother's side. A project was started some months
ago to make a history book on certain Isokyro families including the Ollilas.
In this case, eight of the late John
Ollila's ten daughters and sons left for America. The ninth went to India as a missionary. Only my mother's grandfather stayed
in Finland.
The Ollilas went to Red Canyon, Wyoming, Fairport Harbor, Ohio, West Quincy, Massachusetts, West Concord,
New Hampshire and Virginia, Minnesota. I have some information on most of the Ollilas and I have even had some correspondence
with them.
The eldest Ollila brother was Kaarle Kustaa, born in 1862, who left Finland as early as 1880. He married
Elizabeth Jussila in Ashtabula, Ohio. For some reason there is only a little information on this family. They were not too
much in touch with the other Ollilas. This is why I ask for your help.
If only I could find one trace or maybe one
address, then I could write and ask for more information. Would it be too much to ask you to check from Ashtabula's telephone
catalogue some addresses for the family names? I would be very grateful even with one single contact information to start
with.
Sincerely Yours,
K.T.
Note: This man today is our good friend and cousin, Kari T.
Mrs. A. was kind to contact Lil who answered Kari and thus we began the
correspondence that connects our roots deep underground. We are immensely grateful to Kari T. for giving us the Ollila story
in Finland. Without his hope to find us, the treasure of knowledge that follows would be lost.
Palo Village, Isokyro
The Ollila Family can be traced back from the 1600's to the Palo Village of Isokyro in Southern Ostrobothnia, on the western
coast of Finland. Hilma's Great Grandfather, Johan Ollila was born on July 11, 1838.
Johan married Hedvig Killinen.
Their first daughter, Margareta, died at birth. Their second daughter, also named Margareta, died at 17 months. It was heartbreaking
for the young couple. Then, a son, Kaarle Kustaa was born on July 9, 1862. He was to be our Grandpa Karl Gustav, named after
his grandfather, Carl Gustaf Ollila.
Two years later, another son, Matti was born and three years after him
came Juho (John). Kaarle, Hedivig and the 3 boys lived on their farm in Isokyro, next to the River Kyro. "It was a
medium sized, if not a big farm and one of the oldest among the Palo village houses, probably built around 1850. The farm
with the original red two-floored wooden house is still there." K.T. drew a picture of the old farmhouse, which is still
owned today by a family with relation to the old Ollila family.
Clicking on pictures will often take you to larger images
A Dark Time
In 1867, severe famine and tragedy struck Finland and the Ollila family.
"Winter continued far into Spring. By Fall, there was hardly anything to harvest. Destitution and misery increased."
Many
farmers lost their crops and they could not pay back their loans. Dozens of them lost their farms in the Village and the Ollilas
were one of them. "Starvation and diseases, of which typhoid fever was the most destructive, raised the mortality rate in
1868 to unheard-of figures. In some places, 1 in 5 people died. Everywhere there were great numbers of the unknown dead. Ostrobothnia
suffered relatively more than many other parts of the country."
On June 28, 1868, Johan lost his beloved wife, Hedvig,
leaving him with 3 young sons. Kaarle was 5, Matti was 3, and Juho only 11 months.
Johan had to move the boys to a
modest Mäentausta croft-house behind Mustikkamäki Hill, and
the main house was bought by a relative. A croft-house is a house rented and paid for by a crofter, a tenant farm laborer.
Note: Mäentausta means "behind the hill" and Mustikkamäki means "blueberry", so the
family lived behind Blueberry Hill.
By the beginning of 1869, Johan was fortunate to meet Liisa Yliluoma who would be his wife and mother to the boys. During
the next 19 years, they had 9 more children. Two sons died as infants, leaving 10 children, 8 sons and 2 daughters.
CHILDREN OF JOHAN AND HEDVIG
1858 Margareta (died at birth)
1860 Margareta (died at 17 months)
1862 Kaarle Kustaa, Karl Gustav, our Grandpa
1864 Matti
1867 Juho, John
CHILDREN OF JOHAN AND LIISA
1869 Jaako, Jack
1872 Maria Margareta
1874 Oskar Vilho, Ville
1877 Isak
Emil, Iika
1879 Elisabet Vilhelmina, Miina
1882 Vihtori Nikolai, Victor
1884 Frans (died at 3 months)
1886
Herman (died at 1 month)
1888 Evald Adiel, Eli
Leaving for America
"The small rented croft house with no land could provide little real future. After having reached the age of 18, the
children started packing for America."
Karl Gustav was the first to leave Finland for the Harbor
in 1880.
Matti left in 1885 at 21 years old for Red Canyon, Wyoming where it is believed he died in a mining
accident 6 years later. Matti's wife took the children back to Finland and later remarried. One of these children was Miss
Ida Ollila, who visited Ohio and was a friend of Alma Saari. Those are familiar names. K.T. says Ida was "a devoted
speaker for family traditions and a teacher and rector of a textile, handicraft and household school".
John
left at 19 in 1886 for Fairport Harbor, Ohio.
In September 1888, father Johan died at age 50. K.T. tells
the story that "Johan was very ill. Probably it was a lung disease. As nobody could give suitable treatment in his
home village, he went with his horse to see a doctor, somewhere in the neighbouring region in Harma. Then, the horse brought
his dead body back after some time."
After their father died, Jaakko left for Quincy Massachusetts
in 1890. Maria went to Gloucester, Mass, in 1893.
When Mother Liisa died in 1898, Miina went to Concord,
New Hampshire at age 19 and Ville left for Fairport Harbor at age 25 in 1899.
Victor, age 18, went in 1900
to Virginia, Minnesota, an iron mining town on the Mesabi Range.
Eli visited America, but later moved
in 1914 to India to work as a missionary in Darjeeling near the Himalayas until 1946.
Timeline Leaving Finland
1880- Karl, Ashtabula Harbor, Age 18
1885- Matti, Red Canyon, Wyoming, 19
1886- John, Fairport Harbor, 19
1888-
Father Johan died, 50
1890- Jack, Quincy, MA, 21
1893- Maria, Gloucester, MA, 21
1898- Mother Liisa died,
53
1898- Miina, Concord, New Hampshire, 19
1899- Ville, Fairport Harbor, 25
1900- Victor, Virginia, Minnesota,
18
1914- Eli, Darjeeling, India
All of the young Ollilas left for America, except one
Isak Emil,
called "Iikka", was the only Ollila who did not leave Finland. Iikka was a very good shooter and he joined the Vaasa Rifle
Battalion in 1895. Because of his reputation, he was hired by rich Tampere industry-owners and bankers who wanted to establish
a hunting club in Lempaala, 20 km south of the city of Tampere. There, he became a famous professional hunter or 'master of
hunting'".
K.T. is Iikka's great grandson. He had a very close relationship with his grandmother, Iikka's daughter.
It is because of this bond that we have the treasure of the Ollila stories and our friendship with family in Finland.
Just this May 2005, Kari has sent us these two pictures of the Ollila
farm on the River Kyro, in Isokyro, about 1908.
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| 1908 |
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 Edward and Hilma, Charlie, John, Emma. )