Johanna Vilhelmina Johansdtr Correll June 17 1821

[Ron1]

I have been able to find out much information about my great-great-great grandmother but am interested to see if I can find out more information. Her parents die when she is very young, by age 11, and she becomes a service person and migrates from Eura to Säkylä at age 15 with an older woman (lines 63 and 64).

https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut/ ... 0&pnum=117

She settles in Lampala in 1836 and in 1843 marries Johan Anderson Stenberg a man 39 years older. I assume she became a maid on his farm, but not sure. He dies soon after in 1847 and marries who I believe is the farm hand Wilhelm Mosisson Rehn and he becomes a Stenberg. They then move to Eura I think -- I guess women couldn't inherit farms?

I'm interested if there are any records to help further explain what happened to her, as she has such an interesting, but challenging, life.

[u18188]

I assume you have followed Johanna's fortunes in Säkylä to this CB page?:
SSHY / FFHA Säkylä CB 1861-1867, p. 161; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 89&pnum=85 .

They never made it to Eura.
On their return to Säkylä there is an explanation on their certificate that they were refused entry to the Eura parish by the Social Welfare Board (because of poverty?, or 'an open wound on the left foot'? or other reasons presented to the board?).
SSHY/ FFHA Säkylä Moving Certificates 1860-1869; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 04&pnum=19 .
SSHY/ FFHA Säkylä Moving Records 1859-1887, No 1/1861; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 85&pnum=15 .

You can continue your search for Johanna's fortunes from this CB page:
SSHY/ FFHA Säkylä CB 1861-1867, p. 207; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 9&pnum=108 .

Birgit S.

[Ron1]

Thank you -- I was looking for them in Eura. I didn't know you could be denied entry to another Parish.

That's awful that they couldn't move back to her home area.
So they return to the Jaakola farm in Vähä Säkylä as hired hands.

According to this record, Johan Erland their son dies in 1861. Are there any records for Johanna when she was a service girl/maid? I haven't had any success filling in the seven years from 1836 to 1843 when she marries Johan Stenberg. Not sure how she comes to marrying Johan a man so much older.

Was it Finnish custom when a farmer died and his wife survived, was she required to give up the farm? I think she had a working farm as her next husband Gustaf was the farmhand.

She does end up dying June 7 1895 in Säkylä on her son Isaak Mettämäki's farm. The two sons Isaak and Gustaf end up farming next to each other for a few years. Isaak dies in 1904.

[Ron1]

Interesting -- they have Johan Erland marked as being born in Eura, so on the ill-fated trip to Eura she was very pregnant, denied entry, but while there gave birth. Sadly he only lives a short time after returning to Säkylä. Things just go from bad to worse for Johanna.

[u18188]

SSHY Eura CB 1815-1825
- (1819-1825) p. 148; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 8&pnum=153 .
SSHY Eura CB 1826-1832, p. 137a; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 9&pnum=141 .
SSHY Eura CB 1833-1839,
- p. 145; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 0&pnum=149 .
- p. 138; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 0&pnum=142 .
- p. 126; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 0&pnum=130 .
SSHY Eura Moving records, No 64/1836, to Säkylä; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 0&pnum=106 .

SSHY Säkylä Moving Certificate, 4.12.1836/No 19; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 1&pnum=142 .
SSHY Säkylä Moving Records; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 82&pnum=48 .
SSHY Säkylä CB 1827-1839,
- (1833-1839) p. 303; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 3&pnum=154 .
SSHY Säkylä CB 1840-1853,
- (1840-1846) p. 134; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 74&pnum=70 .
- (1840-1846) p. 102; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 74&pnum=54 .
- (1840-1846) p. 118 [62.jpg]; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 74&pnum=62 .
- (1847-1853) p. 70 [190.jpg]; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 4&pnum=190 .
SSHY Säkylä CB 1854-1860, p. 157; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 75&pnum=82 .

I tried to get all in chronological order. There are probably a lot of pages you already found.

I have not yet looked at Johannas first husband, which was a widower.
SSHY Säkylä Marriage Records 1790-1887,
- 21.5.1843 (second entry, left); https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 77&pnum=31 .
- 4.11.1849 (right, last but one); https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 77&pnum=33 .

About the birth of Johan Erland, the whole family migth have been in Eura for some time before that date, and the paperwork was made in arrears.
Birgit S.

[Ron1]

This is amazing -- I had only found a few of these records and tried to piece it together. So Johanna moves Nov 9 1836 from the Soupas Farm to Säkylä to the Lampala Farm (I still can't figure out how a 15 year old decides to move so far away from Eura, did the Church relocate service people?) and moves to another farm St Wommala in 1840 and then in 1841 to Koppala Farm where she crosses paths with Johan Stenberg in 1843. I can't read the Priests notes about him on page 54 but she shows up on p. 62 no longer a maid and living on the Mikola farm with Johan, who's wife had died Oct 27 1842. Johan and Johanna married May 21 1843 as noted by the Priest on Koppala Farm.

So she wasn't a maid on the Mikola Stenberg farm, but the Koppala and Mikola farm must have been close together for them to have met. Johan is 39 years older than Johanna and dies a few years later July 18, 1847. Johanna remarries a few years later in 1849 to Wilhem Mosisson Rehn and Wilhelm changes his name to Stenberg.

I have tracked Johan Stenberg's family back to the Anders Andersson as they were a well documented family. Originally I thought I was a descendent of this family as the name of Stenberg was all I had. It wasn't till I was pointed to a book about the Stenberg's that I found that Johan Stenberg never had children with Johanna.

It's an interesting book that a Finnish relative was able to translate for me that was told by a storyteller about the life of the Stenberg's -- Erkki Mäkitalo's book "Vähäsäkylä and its inhabitants"

It made me redo this part of my Family Tree as almost all of the story I have verified.

[u18188]

I cannot emphasize enough that one must always oneself check every date and information in the ORIGINAL (historical, in chronological order) Birth, Marriage and Death Records, as experience proves that you cannot trust that the priests have copied every entry in the Communionbooks correctly!
I myself had to correct some errors I made earlier above!
Always check the index of the Communionbooks: the farms in Säkylä were Lampala, Stor Wimmala, Koppala ... etc.

You asked some questions about the circumstances in Finland circa 200 years ago.
In those days you had a different type of social network and a 15-year-old only did what others had done before her. Maybe some older maids or farmhands on the same farm had moved to a neighbouring parish and Johanna Wilhelmina Corell also tried her luck, to find a better place (in life). November 1st was the date to make a new 1-year-contract as maid or farmhand. People often moved in November-December. Perhaps it was easier to travel wintertime, to walk over frozen lakes and especially frozen marshlands, which were not traversable in summertime.
How she ended up marrying an old widower we don't know. (In her notes is written "Förelyst med Inh:s Johan Stenberg" = the weddingbanns were read in the church for them.) Maybe it was practical and she had a safer life and better status in society as married. And maybe even in 1843 a 61-year-old man had something to offer. One must also note that the wars reduced the malepopulation.
You asked about the widow inheriting the farm. But in this case there is no farm to inherit!
I checked the history of Johanna's first husband to see if there were children from his first marriage. There weren't any.
And when Johanna Wilhelmina Corell marries Johan Andersson Stenberg, he is registered as "Inh.k.", "inhyseskarl" or "inhyses", which is a person who has no fixed employer and who is housed at a place owned by somebody else. At the time of his death, I would guess that their only belongings were the clothes on their back, some simple householdequipment and tools, if they hadn't been sold because of debts.
As a maid or farmhand you had to work almost "24/7", sometimes some freetime of course, for example to visit church on Sunday. The remuneration (?) was meals every day, a place to sleep, certain articles of clothing (or cloth and yarn)/year and a modest sum of money once a year. This is just a generalization and someone visiting this SSHY/FFHA Forum will perhaps tell some more details.
As Johanna marries Wilhelm Mosisson he is mentioned as "inhyses", but in the margin is written "Torpare å Ala-Sonta". As crofter you payed rent to the landowner for a small "torp"/croft and a piece of land to farm. To pay the rent, you worked for the landowner x days/year. To get the work done on your own land, you had to work nights under the "crofter's sun", i.e. the moon! If you were fortunate you got good crops and could pay your rent and taxes. Wilhelm Mosisson and his family weren't perhaps so lucky and therefore they tried to move to Eura.
On their return 1861 he is mentioned as "Sockne försvarskarl", someone who depends on the parish. Later as "Arb.karl", working-man.
(And to add on their misfortune they had a stillborn boy Dec 18th 1863, according to HisKi.)

I hope this answered some of your questions.
Birgit S.

[Kimpula]

15 year olds moving form one place to another...

I have a case from 1830s where a 9 year old girl was considerd to be "old enough to earn her own living" (direct translation from a source). Thus no church aid to her, and so she started to move from one "farm" to another as a "piga" – and married when she was 17 years old and stared to make babies.

[Ron1]

This is such amazing information and fills in many of the pieces. I had assumed Johanna had married Juho Stenberg because he had a farm, thanks for clearing this up. He did have a piece of land given to him by his first wife's father -- a Mikola -- but this must not have been his to keep after her death. From the storyteller in the book, he was marked as an independent. The storyteller then goes on to describe Ville (Wilhelm) as coming from Yläne to Pelli's house (not sure who this is) as a hired man. I had assumed he was a hired hand on the Stenberg farm, but this must be wrong as there was no "Stenberg farm" as such. Ville (Wilhelm) is also described as a "trusted man" (youti) as he came to the chaplain's house. He then marries Johanna about two years after her husband Juho had died and changes his name from Rehn to Stenberg. I thought the name change meant there was a farm by that name, but that must not be the case. Johanna and Ville (Wilhelm) have three children, Johanna (1851), Kustaa (1854) and Iisaki (1856), and Johanna Correll spends her last days living with Iisaki's family, who has now become a Mettämäki. Kustaa moves to deepest forest Korpi, and begins a farm Korvenpää, near Mettämäki farm.

Thank you for finding out so much information -- I'm still amazed that a 15 year old girl would travel from Eura to Säkylä for work, how in the world she even knew there would be a job for her! Then to marry a much older man, who appears to be penniless from what you describe. And then marry another man, who again appears penniless. Not sure why her second husband changes his name from Rehn to Stenberg, so many mysteries!

I have found much information about Kustaa and his life, as the storyteller has much to say in the book. He is my great-grandfather and his son, Johannes, emigrates to Amerika.

[Ron1]

I'm trying to fill in the what happened the years 1845 to 1849 for Wilhelm Mosisson to see if I can find out how he did meet Johanna, now that I know he didn't work on her "farm". In 1840 he can be found on the Pelli farm as a Drengen:

https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 74&pnum=86

(The tie to the Pelli farm and the Rehn family goes way back to 1781 when Sold. Henric Rehn and Johan Simonsson Pelli were witnesses for Anders Granbacks child)

https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut/ ... 30&pnum=18

In 1843 Wilhelm moves to the Snikhari farm where his brother Johan (Juho) had farmed and then leaves in 1845 for a new farm -- I can't make out the name of it in the comments section. His brother left for Lil Wimmala in 1840 so they weren't together at Snikhari. It's interesting that the brother Johan keeps his name Rehn in the records -- maybe older men were allowed to keep their names?

https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 25&pnum=79

Can anyone make out the name of the farm Wilhelm moves to in 1845? It looks like Kap??? something quite lengthy so I know where to look next?

[Ron1]

Found him - it's a farm called Kapellans bohl and he stays there until 1847

https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 4&pnum=201

When he leaves for someplace called Prestgärden (I think)

Interestingly Johanna was at Kapellans bohl as well but earlier in 1840-41 and she moves to Koppala farm in 1841 before marriage in 1843 to Stenberg. She continues to live on the Mikola farm Torp Stenberg after Johan's death in 1847 and before her marriage to Wilhelm according to the Communion books.

https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 5&pnum=196

(Lots of writing in the comments section that I can't read, do these documents ever get rescanned?)

Prestgärden translates as Parsonage or clergy, not sure if this is correct translation.

According to the book, Wilhelm came from Yläne in 1845 to Pelli's house (farm I think is a better translation) as a hired man (although I can't find any connection to Yläne). Thru Snikhari's house (farm) Wilhelm came to the chaplain's house as a trusted man (vouti). With this title he married the widow Johanna Stenberg and settled in the original Stenberg and began using the name Stenberg.

Not sure how I find members of Prestgärden as I can't find a listing in the Communion books.

[u22006]

Wilhelm , Säkylä rippikirja 1840-1853 (JK431 I Aa:10) Sivu 78 Stor Säkylä, Prästegården ; SSHY http://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut/j ... 5&pnum=204 / Viitattu 15.03.2024

Married , https://hiski.genealogia.fi/hiski?fi+t7787052
Number 8. Säkylä vihityt 1837-1885 (MKO85-86 I Eb:1) Sivu 62 1848/1849 ; SSHY http://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut/j ... 138&pnum=6 / Viitattu 15.03.2024

[Kimpula]

Prästgård = a place where the priest of the parish (kyrkoherde/kirkkoherra) lives.


https://www.saob.se/artikel/?unik=P_2055-0395.9tj1&pz=3

[u18188]

There is already a new version, AP (from 2016), with images from the original "alkuperäinen" records.
Always check the AP-version, if possible. Sometimes the index is better in the old version, so check both.
SSHY/ FFHA Säkylä; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... p?plid=528

About the surname, e.g. Stenberg, in churchrecords it was perhaps more of a definition of the croft, or at whose place you were housed.
The 'surname' differs according to where you lived. It can be quite confusing when you read the Birth Records!
Earlier I referred to a Moving Certificate. I don't know if you "turned the paper", that is if you checked the backside of the certificate on the next page? The next certificate is the Birth Certificate of Johan Erland Nov 22, 1860 and there is the fathers name Wilhelm Mosesson Niinikorpi of Eura, Mestilä village, christened in Hinnerjoki parish. (The mother's name is incorrect!);
FFHA Säkylä Moving Certificate; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 04&pnum=19 ,
next page; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 04&pnum=20
FFHA Hinnerjoki Birth Records; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 68&pnum=12 .

Wilhelm's journey, backwards in history:
FFHA Säkylä CB 1840-1853 AP (period 1847-1853),
- p. 70 Lill Säkylä, Stenberg (-'s torp/croft); https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 4&pnum=190 (Wilhelm is suspected of theft, but in lack of full evidence he cannot be convicted. The wife was suspected of complicity in the crime mentioned.)
- p. 78 Stor Säkylä, Prästegården (/vicarage) (Kyrkoherden/vicar); https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 4&pnum=198 (Wilhelm was accused of 'sleeping around', but defended himself, took an oath on it on June 10, 1848 and was acquitted.)
FFHA Säkylä CB 1840-1853 AP (period 1840-1846),
- p. 136 Stor Säkylä, Wimmala Kapellans bohl (/chaplain's residence); https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 74&pnum=71
- p. 146 Stor Säkylä, Snikkari; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 74&pnum=76
- p. 166 Stor Säkylä, Pelli; https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 74&pnum=86
- p. 144 Stor Säkylä, Lill Wimmala, Rehn (-'s torp/croft); https://www.sukuhistoria.fi/sshy/sivut_ ... 74&pnum=75

Birgit S.

[Ron1]

So much great information to research!
Yes, the constantly changing last name is extremely difficult to follow, as people sometimes don't change their name, or only go by their first two names, or sometimes have names that have nothing to do with the farm/croft where they move to. Challenging.

I did "turn the page" on the Moving Certificate, but with the two parent's names being so incorrect I thought it was either a huge mistake, or an illegitimate child. Johan Erland dies a short time later 28 Apr 1861 so I stopped trying to find out why the records were so far off.

Thanks everyone for all the help with this topic, I'll close it now as I have what I need.