Eldest son inheriting the farm

[Lynette1]

I am trying to figure out at what age the eldest son Henrik would have inherited the family farm.
Henrik Eriksson’s father (and grandfather) both died in 1814 when he was 16 years old. His mother, Greta Eriksdotter, married Tobias Andersson, a much younger man who was a lowly farmhand. Tobias is listed on this page as the farm owner (quite the move up for him).

Was there a specific age that Henrik would have taken over the farm? Or was it at the time of his marriage? I would think that it must of been upsetting to him to see a farmhand take over in his father’s place.

In later records, Tobias is a farmhand again. (Greta died in 1829).

According to the sources that I have found, the eldest son inherits the farm and the remainder of the children were given an amount of money but it doesn’t give any specific age or circumstances when this inheritance takes place.

I understand in Sweden that some sons took over the farm and cared for their elderly parents until their death - undantagsman. I assume this also happened in Finland. But of course, this is not the case here.

I am wondering specifically about Henrik’s situation.

Thank you for any information
Lynette Case

https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 486&pnum=8

[u18188]

Here are just some reflections:

Before a widow/widower can get married again, there must be an estate inventory.
If there are children under age, they must have a guardian to see to their rights.
The widow/-er inherites by marriage. The children are the direct heirs. The part of an inheritance depends on whether you are a son or a daughter. The value of a daughter's part is only half of the value of her brother's part.

Previous Communionbook, to establish who Greta Ericsdotter was married to:
SSHY Alajärvi CB 1779-1817; part 1810-1817, p. 196;
https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 9&pnum=102 .

SSHY Alajärvi Death Records 1754-1814, 52.jpg, left side (Eric Johansson, died 9.3.1814, bur. 13.3.);
https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 02&pnum=52 .

Estate inventory/Administration of the estate of Eric Johansson.
(The four sons inherited almost equal shares, the daughters half ...):
Digihakemisto; Tuomiokirjat;
> Keski-Pohjanmaan alisen tuomiokunnan arkisto > SAAPUNEET ASIAKIRJAT > Ea Perukirjat
> E1a Kuortaneen ja Alavuden käräjäkunnan perukirjat 1805, ... Tiedosto 30;
https://astia.narc.fi/uusiastia/viewer/ ... 1131771489 .

You mentioned a source ... what source, which date? Was it perhaps a contract of sale between the siblings?
Maybe there is yet to be found the administration of the estate of Greta Ericsdotter (1829?)?
Birgit S.

[Lynette1]

Thank you for your reply. Especially thank you for the link to the estate inventory. What a wonderful document to have! I have tried to navigate through the archives, but never found the estate inventories.

I was just stating that in general I have read about the eldest son inheriting the farm. I did not know that it was possible for all of the sons to inherit equally. So thank you also for clarifying that.

Do you know if other years are available for estate inventories? I would love to find Erik Eriksson Anttila’s estate inventory. He died on February 14, 1866. His son, my great-grandfather, Henry Eriksson Anttila immigrated to the United States. I am trying to figure out where he go the money for the voyage.

Thank you so much,
Lynette

[Kimpula]

Before a widow/widower can get married again, there must be an estate inventory.
If there are children under age, they must have a guardian to see to their rights.
The widow/-er inherites by marriage. The children are the direct heirs. The part of an inheritance depends on whether you are a son or a daughter. The value of a daughter's part is only half of the value of her brother's part.

The property the widow/er gets is not inheritance, it's naimaosa (literally "marriage-part").
Before 1864 all women were always under the guardianship of some man (husband, faher, brother, uncle...), so although daughters inherited, their guardians decided what to do with the inheritance.
Daughters inherited half in countryside, if the property was in cities, daughters and sons inherited equally.

In 1864 and after unmarried women 25 years old or older did not need a guardian anymore,
married woman were released under the guardianship of their husbands in 1920.

[Kimpula]

Tobias is listed on this page as the farm owner (quite the move up for him).

That's what the genealogy guides say, but that is not quite true. The guides do not say that the "farms" in church records are not farms in the modern meaning of the word but administrative units of tax collection, like I have written before. What the person really owned can be found in the estate inventory. Here are examples of my ancestors.

Owned half of a farm (that is, the administrative unit of tax collection) number...

1/8 of a farm number...

31141/66528 of a farm number...

31/66 of a farm number...

Ovnership is always given as a portion of the administrative unit of tax collection.

[Lynette1]

Thank you for clarifying this.
The concept of the Finnish farm is a bit confusing to me. For example the name of the farm changes from one generation to the next, from Sihtala No 6 to Anttila No 6. I am trying to figure out where those names come from and why they change. My great-grandfather who immigrated to the USA used Anttila as his surname and settled in Maple, WI where he received 80 acres of land through the Homestead Act.

[Kimpula]

The concept of the Finnish farm is a bit confusing to me. For example the name of the farm changes from one generation to the next, from Sihtala No 6 to Anttila No 6. I am trying to figure out where those names come from and why they change. M

I have not seen that the name of the "farm" (the administrative unit of tax collection) changes, but I have seen that the different parts of the "farm" can have different names in church records. So perhaps those two names refer to two different parts of the "farm".

[Lynette1]

https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 86&pnum=87

https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 7&pnum=112

The farm changes its name from Sihtala to Anttila when it is passed from father to son. Anttila is written on the father’s page above his name.
I do not understand this name change.

Thanks,
Lynette