During the last one hundred years, a little over 1.25 million Finns have emigrated; out of these, approximately half a million have done it before World War II and the remaining 725,000 or so have done it after the war. Before the war, the majority of the emigrants moved to North America and, after the war, about 75 per cent went to Sweden.[1]
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Finnish emigration to AmericaFinnish emigration to America
A significant wave of emigration from Finland to America began in the 19th century. This was fueled by the development of steamships, which significantly shortened travel time, and new communication technologies such as the telegraph, telephone, mail, and newspapers, which enabled rapid information flow. The journey of Finnish emigrants often went from Hanko to Copenhagen, then to England, and finally to New York.
Background of the emigrantsBackground of the emigrants
The majority of emigrants were 15–35-year-old, mostly unskilled men from rural areas. Many of them were landless and left for America in hopes of a better life. The areas of strong emigration can be roughly defined as the entire coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, extending from the Pori rural municipality to Liminka. Inland, emigration spread to the areas of Saarijärvi, Viitasaari, and Kiuruvesi. Between 1870 and 1914, over half of the emigrants came from the Vaasa province. However, even outside this main emigration area, there were places where emigration was significant. The Tornio River Valley and Koillismaa lost a lot of population due to emigration. From the 1920s onwards, the proportion of people from southern and eastern Finland in the emigrant population began to increase.
The journeyThe journey
The journey to North America took about two weeks, and the routes varied over time. In the 1870s and 1880s, the journey usually started from Vaasa or another port on the Gulf of Bothnia, from where people traveled by coastal ship to Stockholm. From Stockholm, the journey continued by train or ship to Gothenburg, then by train or ship to Hull, England, and finally by train to Liverpool. The transatlantic journey began in Liverpool, and Finns most often arrived in the United States at Ellis Island in New York or in Boston, and in Canada at Quebec. Portland (Maine) and Philadelphia (Pa) were also popular landing places for Finns. From the 1880s onwards, traveling via Hanko to Stockholm became more common, and in 1891, the Finnish Steamship Company began regular emigrant transport from Hanko directly to Hull.
Some emigrants traveled via Germany or Denmark. German companies transported emigrants from Stockholm and directly from Hanko by ship to Copenhagen or Lübeck, from where they continued by train to Bremerhaven, where they transferred to an ocean liner.
Reasons for departureReasons for departure
There were both push and pull factors for leaving for America. In Finland, population growth, land inheritance practices, and poor livelihoods encouraged people to seek better opportunities elsewhere. In America, free farmland, gold discoveries, job opportunities, and the possibility of social advancement were attractive.
Settling in the new landSettling in the new land
Finns arrived in America later than many other Europeans, so the best lands had already been taken. Many Finns ended up in factories and mines, which made social advancement difficult.
Finnishness in AmericaFinnishness in America
By the 1930s, an estimated 33 million Europeans had emigrated to America, of which about 350,000 were Finns. Today, at least 600,000 Americans have Finnish roots. Finns have held onto their traditions and culture, and Finnishness is still strong in many communities.
Finnish emigration to other countriesFinnish emigration to other countries
Although emigration to America was significant, Finns also moved to other countries. For example, 620,000 Finns moved to Sweden, and a considerable amount of emigration also went to Canada, Australia, and other European countries.
Emigration has been a significant part of Finnish history, and its effects are still visible both in Finland and in the emigrants' new homelands.
Researching emigrantsResearching emigrants
There are plenty of different sources available for researching emigrants to America. Research can be started from church records or population registers, where it's possible to find out when a person left as an emigrant. With this information, one can search for information about the passport issued to the emigrant in chronological passport lists. Until 1960, a passport for travel abroad had to be applied for from the provincial government. According to the 1862 Passport Decree, passports could also be issued by magistrates of certain cities, the Crown Bailiff of Åland, and the Crown Servants of the Lapland district. The application was usually made to the provincial government of the home province, but according to the decree, it could also be applied for from the provincial government of the place of temporary residence. The passport had to be used within 60 days of issuance, otherwise, it would expire.
Almost all provincial government archives and some city magistrate archives contain passport lists. The provincial government archives also contain varying amounts of certificates of no impediment related to passport applications, which usually reveal the destination of the journey, the planned duration, and the traveler's personal information. In the Vaasa Provincial Government Archive, which is kept at the National Archives' Vaasa office, certificates of no impediment from 1911 to 1938 have been alphabetized, so information about a specific person can be searched for by name.
Finnish emigration to Russia and the Soviet UnionFinnish emigration to Russia and the Soviet Union
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There have been various reasons for Finns' migration to Russia and the Soviet Union at different times. The most important of these have been Russia's sparse population, especially in the border areas and northwestern regions of Finland, the role of St. Petersburg as the capital and a major city, and Russia's need for educated labor and specialists. Finns moved to Ingria as early as the 17th century when the area was part of the Swedish Empire, which led to the birth of Ingrian Finnish parishes.
St. Petersburg has attracted Finnish labor from the beginning. Especially during the period of autonomy, migration to Russia was significant. Already in the 1840s, so many Finns lived in St. Petersburg that their number exceeded the population of almost all Finnish cities, with the exception of Helsinki and Turku. Finns worked in many different fields, such as servants, craftsmen, nurses, surveyors, and engineers. The contribution of Finns to the Russian officer corps, where thousands of Finns served, was particularly significant.
Finns have also moved to the Murmansk, Amur, and Siberian regions of Russia, both as voluntary and forced settlers. Migration to the Russian territory has often been movement within or near state borders and cannot always be considered actual emigration. An estimated 25,000–30,000 Finns moved to the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1939, especially during the Great Depression. A large number crossed the border illegally. In addition, thousands of Finnish Americans moved to Soviet Karelia in the 1920s and 1930s. Finding information about those who crossed the border illegally and without a passport can be difficult in official archives. However, the archives of the Central Criminal Police and the State Police, such as personal card indexes, may contain information about these defections.
The National Archives' five-year research project "Finns in Russia 1917–1964" (2020-25) will publish more information about Finns who moved from Finland to the Soviet Union and their fates as the project progresses.
The Migration InstituteThe Migration Institute
The Migration Institute also assists genealogists by managing the Emigration Register, which contains information on hundreds of thousands of Finns who have moved abroad. The register's main databases are available online. The Emigration Register can be found here.
A particularly important source is the passenger lists of the Finnish Steamship Company. The company had a near-monopoly on ship transport for emigrants for decades.
See alsoSee also
Explore more about Finnish emigrationExplore more about Finnish emigration
References
- ↑ Korkiasaari , Jouni; Söderling, Ismo. Finnish Emigration and Immigration after World War II