Records Petsamo and Finland

[Linnthk]

I’m new here, so please bear over with maybe stupid questions. I’m Norwegian, so I understand Swedish, but nothing in Finnish.

Looking for information about my great great grandmother Brita Maria Kustaantyttär/Gustavsdotter Alatalo, born April 15th 1854 in Sodankylä, Lappi, Finland. I know she lived in Norway about 1882-1887 and 2-3 children where born there, among them my great grandmother Maria Kristina. Then they all moved to Petsamo and back to Sodankylä, perhaps. That is birthplaces of the children found in My Heritage, but I do not have any sources.

Can someone guide me in how and where to find her confirmation and marriage and baptisms of the children? Would really like to find out when she died also.

Her husband was Gustav Herman Johansson Kumpula (last name in Norway also Kombola and Gombola). He is supposedly dead in Petsamo 1926, but I don’t have any source.

[Linnthk]

Is it possible to search in censuses in Finland?

[tutkija30]

I believe this is Brita Maria: https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/kirjat ... 69/319.htm
Here is the birthrecord at the bottom of left page: https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/kirjat ... 371/35.htm

[Linnthk]

Thank you! Is it her parents wedding date to the far right in the first link?
How can I find and search in these records my self?

[tuulacu]

Yes, it is Gustaf's and Anna Sofia's marriage date on the right. As Anna is from Saarim..., Kuolajärvi, the marriage is maybe in Kuolajärvi (also known as Salla) marriage records, but alas, there are none... you have to go and look at the Rippikirjat (main books, whatever they are called in Norwegian).

In the later books in Sodankylä the Saari.. is clear and it says Saariniemi. So it should be easier to find her in Kuolajärvi/Salla with this. I am not familiar with the area at all, and could not find her right away. It is advisable you go through all the pages until you find her, sorry.

The places where you find Finnish churchbooks:
https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/index_sve.htm - from the left Kyrkoböcker and then the parish you need to look at
(if you want later books than found here, you must be a member in FSHF; costs 10 euros to join + 17 euros per year; not much)

all of the FInnish church books from earlier times (often until about 1860), also other things, are found in Digihakemisto
https://sv-dot-digihakemisto.appspot.com/
- this is the same material that is available directly from the Finnish National Archives but easier to find in Digihakemisto
- some pictures are better in FSHF, also taken from original books, some are better here
- e.g. Sodankylän seurakunnan arkisto - Rippikirja 1859-1881, jakso 163, sivu 160: Kemikylä och Alaperä, Inhyses etc (A) -; Kansallisarkisto: http://digi.narc.fi/digi/view.ka?kuid=7835949 / Viitattu 27.3.2020

A good search is HisKi, which is made of births-marriages-deaths records BUT a warning: these should always be checked in original books as the material is rewritten twice and not fully done at all, until 1850 in most parishes. But you should be able to trace people with its help and also get an idea of the parishes and their locations: http://hiski.genealogia.fi/historia/indexr.htm
and http://hiski.genealogia.fi/hiski/f78t4l?se+A19 and more specifically Sodankylä http://hiski.genealogia.fi/hiski/f78t4l?se+0499 and more on the parish (if there are books) in Uppgifter om församlingen.

I hope some of the people who know Lapland books better will help you further!

Tuula K

[Linnthk]

Thank you, Tuula!
Getting to find out more. All of my Finnish ancestors are from Lappi.

[Kimpula]

Is it possible to search in censuses in Finland?

No. First Finnish census was taken only in 1950. I believe it will become available in about 2050.

Instead you must use church records (rippikirjat, historiakirjat) and tax records (henkikirjat, maakirjat;
mantalslängder, jordböcker).

They are not censuses although many genealogy guides claim that they are.