From Finland to Fairport, Part 4

As I explained in Part 1 of this series of blog posts, the Finnish Heritage Museum in Fairport Harbor, Lake County, Ohio, is preparing a Memory Book to accompany the Spirit of Finland sculpture being dedicated this month on September 15. The sculpture commemorates all Finnish immigrants to the USA. For the museum's Memory Book I wrote about my own ancestors who immigrated from Finland. Because the infomation is so dense, I'm presenting my Memory Book essay in several parts on this blog.

Today continues the information about Matti Hietanen Jr. and introduces Edla Susanna Salo Hietanen:

Matti Hietanen Jr. and Edla Susanna "Edna" Salo Hietanen

Their son Matti Hietanen Jr. built the pulpit at Suomi Zion Lutheran Church in Fairport where on 10/10/1903 he married Edla Susanna “Edna” Salo (4/27/1884-8/15/1961). They lived at 316 Sixth Street, Fairport, for the rest of their lives and had nine children. Matti was a police patrolman. On the night of 10/28/1921, during Prohibition, he died in a shooting affair at Andrew Szabo’s pool room on High Street, Fairport. Newspaper accounts claim Matti committed suicide. Family tradition says he was murdered. Edna outlived him by four decades before dying of a heart attack. Both are buried in Suomi Zion Lutheran Cemetery.

Here's how they're related to me:

Matti “Matt” Hietanen Jr. is my great-grandfather, my mother’s father’s father (you can read about his death here)

Edla Sussanna “Edna” Salo Hietanen is my great-grandmother, my mother’s father’s mother

Progress on the Spirit of Finland sculpture and its installation in front of the Finnish Heritage Museum has been updated with plenty of new photos on the museum website here. If you’d like, you can still donate to the sculpture fund. You can also become a member of the museum.

Next are Isakki Salo and Helvi Serafiina Saaminen Salo.