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Mon, 07 Apr, 2014 03:18:53 AM FTimes-STT Report, April 7  Research Coordinator Johanna Leinonen is an example of modern-day migrants. She did her doctoral thesis in the United States. Photo Lehtikuva. Although a population survey revealed that about 600,000 people in the US had Finnish ancestry, specialists have said in reality the number was estimated to be around a few million.
Auvo Kostiainen, a professor of history at the University of Turku, said the number was higher because not everyone knew about their ancestry, while not everyone would disclose that their grandparents were from Finland.
The history professor said nearly 400,000 people were thought to have emigrated from Finland to the US. The vast majority of this group immigrated to the US at the end of the 1800s and towards the beginning of the 20th Century.
Kostiainen has compiled a comprehensive book on the essence of Finnish Americanism. One of the author is Keijo Virtanen, a former rector at University of Turku.
Virtanen said that only other Nordic countries were well placed to explore migration like Finland. According to Virtanen, information could be obtained from church records and passports as well as from passenger lists.
Also, in the 1960s and 70s, Finns did extensive research work in America which was now of indispensable help.
Kostiainen also gave a hint that there was still plenty to explore on immigration. He said that over 100,000 Finns had immigrated to Canada and research on their history would be a working site.
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Finland Times
| Tuesday, 30 April, 2024 |
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