Genealogy

I've been interested in genealogy for over 25 years. Everything started with a family tree assignment in middle school. Later in 1993, I downloaded a genealogy software program from a BBS (Bulletin Board System) and started entering information I knew about my ancestors. During high school, I took a genealogy course at the local community college. After it, I had enough courage to visit The National Archives of Finland in Helsinki. From those days in the mid-1990s, genealogical research has become somewhat easier.

My own family roots are mainly in Northern Savonia, and partly in Ostrobothnia and Kainuu. All of them are regions in Finland. Over the years, I've done also a lot of research concerning other parts of Finland and other countries. I have a specific interest in Finnish immigrants and their life in the United States and Canada. I have been able to help many people on a voluntary basis, especially if there's a common interest.

For the past few years, I have been particularly interested in genetic genealogy. I have coordinated or assisted regarding the research needs and DNA results. The challenges have concerned finding family connections through paternal lines and search for unknown ancestors. The main tools have been paternal line (Y-DNA) tests, but also so-called family finder (autosomal) tests.