Hilma Johanna Benjaminsdotter Kiviniemi, aka Hilma Johanna Stone

This is my 2nd attempt at this blog.  I had a full blog written last night but went to publish it and it wouldn't.  I rebooted my laptop, figuring my browser would reload as it always does and it did, with just the title of the post.  Needless to say I'm more than irked by that.

Anyway, I've already blogged twice about Hilma, once about some new information that was found about a sibling we didn't know about and once about her sewing machine.  It's time for a post dedicated to just her information.

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Hilma Johanna Benjaminsdotter Kiviniemi was born at Gamlakarleby Finland 21 Jun 1879 to Benjamin Henriksson Kiviniemi and Lisa Greta Johansdotter Känsäkangas.  She had a sister Anna Elisabeth born right around when her dad apparently left the family and vanished, allegedly to America.  Her mother went on to have a daughter Selma born out of wedlock and then a son (that's for another blog).  I have found no correspondence for Hilma with either parent, but all indications are that her mother stayed in Finland.

I haven't been able to find a ship log for Hilma or her sister Anna coming to America but the same gentleman that found Emil's ship log for me did find this record of her passport being issued 19 Aug 1897 so I assume she left for America shortly after that.  Given that she's listed in a communion record with Emil's family and came before her sister I assume that she came here to reunite with him.

This document was folded inside one of the bibles that my grandpa's cousin Shelly gave me.  I posted a picture of it on a Finnish genealogy Facebook group and this is the translation that was provided:

The text is in Swedish (used as official language before in Finland). It says:  Lodger Hilma Johanna Benjaminsdotter Kiviniemi (Finn. Hilma Johanna Benjaminintytär Kiviniemi), from the Storby (Finn. Isokylä) village of this parish, born 21.06.1879 here, is eligible for Holy Communion in this Evangelical-Lutheran parish, is vaccinated and is enjoying trust as a citizen. In Gamlakarleby (Finn. Kokkola), August 18, 1897. F.W. Neunstedt, Pastor.

Given that this is dated one day prior to her passport being issued, I'm guessing she needed this to get the passport.

This photo came from Hilma's grandson David Johnson (1930-2018), who was the adopted son of her daughter Ellen.  He lived a few streets over from my grandpa and would occasionally walk over and say hi.  My grandpa brought me over to his house once and he showed me a gallon sized Ziploc bag of photos that had one belonged to Ellen.  He let me bring them home to scan them and when I returned them I asked if I could keep this one to put in my acid free photo album to protect it (and he agreed).  I think he'd have given me the whole bag if I had asked - he was a great guy.

Emil and Hilma married 5 Dec 1899 at Ashland Wisconsin and although I have a plethora of photos of them, I don't have a wedding photo.  This one could be her in her wedding dress, although having seen the photo of her sister's wedding I tend to believe she'd have been in a more elaborate outfit with a decorative headpiece.  I'll never know but it's still a great picture of Hilma as a young woman.


So why do I have an aka for Hilma?  She is a Kiviniemi in every single Finnish record found, even those written in Swedish.  My grandpa wrote a family tree and listed her as "Sten", which is Swedish for stone.  So how did they get Stone from Kiviniemi?  "Kivi" in Finnish means......you guessed it, stone.  So it makes sense that Hilma adopted the Americanized version when she came to America.  If her dad came to America I believe he probably lived as Benjamin Stone and perhaps started a 2nd family, just as Hilma's mother did.  He is a ghost who may be destined to never be found.

Hilma holding a ghost-faced child	With daughter Ellen and possibly Ruth
Mildred Jennie Phyllis, Porkos wife, Evelyn Ellen Hilma (seated) Burke	Hilma on the left.  The other 2 woman are in quite a few photos but I have no idea who they are.  If you do, please contact me!
With sister Anna 18 Aug 1946	Is this the royal blue velvet couch Shelly referred to?
1952 - from my grandpa's photos	Photo says Jan 1969 - perhaps taken Christmas 1968.  This is the last known photo of Hilma.

I still don't have Emil or Hilma's death certificates, but will be getting them next time I make a trip to Muskegon.  From her record of funeral she passed away at the age of  91, 21 Sept 1970 in Muskegon of "gangrene of left foot".  She was laid to rest next to Emil and their son Arthur at Oakwood Cemetery in Muskegon.







 I find it strange that my grandpa had her funeral card but not Emil's, as it's definitely something my grandpa would have kept.  I know he went to Emil's funeral as his signature is in the funeral register.

Muskegon Chronicle 22 Sept 1970

I have several more blogs to write that are Hilma-related (so stay tuned).  I have more photos, documents and memorabilia for her than any other 2nd great-grandparent.  She only died a little under 7 years prior to my birth so was easily my last 2nd great-grandparent to pass.  That said, I wish I had asked my grandpa more.  He was obviously close with them, and even lived in Muskegon for a bit as a child.  I've gotten wonderful help from his cousins and have a pretty decent picture of their life but I just wish I knew more.  My dad remembers them both (he says Emil was so old he scared him) and that Hilma was always baking.  In the color video she pushes her hair back and he told me he remembers she did that all the time.  My grandma remembers that Emil had some sort of character that was a guy's head and he "smoked" a pipe (it blew bubbles) but Hilma hated that it depicted smoking and hid in the attic, in spite of Emil thinking it was hilarious.  Stories like that can really complete the picture and I feel like I had ample opportunity to ask my grandpa more and just failed to do so.

"Guest" blog entry regarding the Burke family

I'll admit to being a touch lazy with this post but it's not because it's something I wasn't going to do.  I have sorted through what I want to post about Hilma but I'm simply too tired to put the thought into posting it yet but I want to get a blog up this week so I'm posting this post early.   

A couple of years ago I asked my grandpa's cousin Shelly to write her remembrances of Emil and Hilma.  She's a published author and has an appreciation for family history so I figured she'd be willing and to date, is the only relative that I've asked to write memories that has actually come through for me.  As stated in my blog about Emil I appreciate her help with the Burke family more than I'll ever be able to repay.  I post this entry (as written except I added the links for the bread recipes, that are undoubtedly not the same as what Shelly remembers) with her blessing:

Grandma and Grandpa Burke

Grandpa Burke

I don’t have a lot of memories of Grandpa Burke, but I do remember he liked to sit on the royal blue velvet couch just to the left of the front door in Grandma and Grandpa’s living room. He’d look out the window onto the street or sit on the front porch and people-watch. In his later years, he slipped into dementia, and I remember my father trying to correct Grandpa’s actions in Swedish. The only words I remember are flicka (girl) and poiken (boy).

Grandma told me that all the girls in the lumber camp chased Emil, but she was the one that caught him. She always told that story with a big smile and great pride.

Grandma Burke

Of course, my memories of Grandma are from a child’s perspective. I loved her baked goods—delicious frosted cinnamon rolls and limpa and bula breads. Sweet, white bula was my favorite. I loved to layer it with butter and eat slice after slice as I followed Grandma around the kitchen. I was fascinated by her huge flour bin that was built into the cabinets Grandpa had built. I was almost as big as me and tilted outward into the room. My mother and her friends didn't have anything like it. Mom always measured flour out of a five pound bag with measuring cups. But Grandma scooped flour out of the bin with her hands and threw it onto the counter. From my perspective, Grandma’s baking was magical—she didn't measure anything and simply added ingredients and mixed them until they felt “right” in her hands. Her linoleum floor and kitchen counters were always covered with a dusting of flour, and Grandma’s house always smelled like yeasty fresh-baked bread. I loved it.

Grandma was known to be tight with money. One of her favorite phrases was “too much penga, or money. But whenever I visited, Grandma would always give me a quarter to buy candy at the dime store across the street. She always had pink peppermints and anise candy in dishes around the house, but those weren't my favorites. I couldn't wait to slip across the street to buy a handful of Pixie Stix or a few candy necklaces, compliments of her generosity.

I also remembered that Grandma loved to watch Rex Humbard on TV and send him occasional financial gifts. I’m pretty sure my dad didn't have a high opinion of Rev. Humbard, and he certainly didn't wants Grandma sending him her hard-earned money. But it was important to her, and I remember her as a person who cherished her Bible and hymnal. In her earlier days, she attended one of the Swedish churches in Muskegon, and from what my dad has told me, I believe she took her children to church there because she believed it was important for them to know about the God of the Bible and believe in Him.

From the stories I've heard from my dad and his siblings, Grandma wasn't a warm and fuzzy parent, but I believe she loved her kids. I also believe she gave everything she had to provide for them during the years of the depression—taking in laundry and baking in order to provide extra income. I know things weren't easy for her. And I believe she loved the indulgences that came in later years from her grandchildren—like beautiful dresses from my cousin Ruthann and gifts from her adult children, as well.

It was a challenge for me to share my bedroom with Grandma when I was a teenager. We didn't always see eye-to-eye on fashion or music or dating. But I've never regretted that my parents cared for her in our home. Their decision shaped my own caregiving choices and commitment to care for others, in spite of the cost.

Emil Burke continued

I mentioned in my last blog that there was a lot to blog about regarding Emil and Hilma.  I don't have as many items of Emil's to share as I do of Hilma, but there are still a couple items that are pretty neat.  I also want to share more photos of Emil and even a couple videos of him.

These are notes from a blue notebook that Emil wrote as he studied to become a U.S. citizen.  I didn't know he ever became a citizen so I need to find those documents still.  I don't know when these were written but there were only 48 states at the time, given that he wrote that there were 96 senators.  Other than his signature on the Social Security application from the previous blog, this is the only handwriting of Emil's that I have.

Emil was a cabinet maker and this is a little wooden box that Emil made.  It's only about 10 inches long and about 2 inches high but it's nice to have a piece that he made by hand.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it but someday when I get the room I want to put my genealogy stuff in, it will have a place in the room.



Most of the photos I have of Emil and Hilma came from Paul Burke's daughter Shelly and I got some photos from Mildred Burke Thomas' grandson John.  John has also sent me 2 of the 3 videos I have of them.  Shelly has been a phenomenal genealogy connection (and a great person) who I've met with several times.  I've never met John but he's also been a great contact.  I can't thank either of them enough!

	Ashland Wisconsin
My favorite picture of them	Looks like Clark Gable

With brother-in-law Erick Newman
	With cousin "Porko"
Sons Carl and Paul, brother-in-law Erick	1948

There are several Burke family group photos - this family loved to get together and photographed many of them.  Many of these photos were in their daughter Ruth's possession and she would send copies that she labeled.  My grandpa was in a few of them so it's nice to see that he stayed in contact with his mom's family.

This photo was probably taken in White Cloud and was provided by Melvin Burke, grandson of Emil's brother Herman.  Back row starting on the right is Elmer Burke, Judith Burke, Carl Burke on car bumper, Paul Burke,  Hilma Burke, Emil Burke, Homer Fry, Edwin Burke, Sophia Burke, Alice Terwilliger Fry , unknown lady, unknown man.  Front row starting on the right is Tura Burke, unknown girl, Herman Burke, Evelyn (Edwin wife) Burke.  In the back row on the left the unknown woman looks similar to a photo I've seen of Hilma's mother's sister Maria - if Emil's brother and his family that wouldn't make sense but......

Left to right (written by Ruth Burke Warren) - Paul Burke, Donald Maynard (Ruth's son), Paul's wife Phyllis, Emil, Hilma, Arnold Burke, Mildred Burke Thomas, Ruth Burke Warren, Ellen Burke Johnson and her husband Charles - behind Arnold his his wife Evelyn Trimmier Burke and their son Arnold Burke Jr.  My grandma and grandpa are behind Ruth.

Al Delora (Jennie Burke's husband), Charles Johnson (Ellen Burke's husband), "Porko", Orville Thomas (Mildred Burke's husband), Carl, Emil and Arnold Burke.

This last photo disappoints me a bit since this was held at my grandpa's aunt Ellen's house, just a few blocks from where my grandparents lived and they aren't in the photo.  I'll have to assume they were busy/out of town and that's why they didn't attend.  Handwriting is again Ruth's.

"Porko" from the photos is Andrew Burk 1875-1949.  He was born Anders Karlsson Porko in Finland, son of Greta Sofia Magdal Lillhonga and her 2nd husband Karl Johan Johansson Porko-Saarukka.  Her 1st husband was Johan Johansson Björk, brother of Emil's mother.  That means they weren't related but the families were obviously close.

This video is from Mildred's grandson John.  Mildred and Orville are helping Emil with the puzzle.

This video was from my grandpa's old films.  I'm not sure who took it since he and my grandma are in it.

The thing that has always struck me about Emil is that he never went gray.  In the 2nd video he's 85-86 years old and still has jet black hair (and even his eyebrows).

Well, that's all I have for Emil - on to Hilma next.

Anders Emil Andersson Hällis - Emil Burke

I've been debating how I want to blog about Emil and Hilma, my grandpa's mother's parents.  Due to my grandpa having a few items and several helpful descendants of Emil and Hilma, I have a ton of photos, documents and other items for both of them.  I'll just see where this goes.  😀

Left side, 3rd record

Anders Emil Andersson Hällis was born 14 Aug and christened 18 Aug 1872 at Gamlakarleby, Finland, the 2nd out of 6 children born to Anders Gustaf Andersson Hällis Björndahl (1852-1884) and Greta Sofia Johansdotter Hällis Björk (1849-1887).

His siblings included:
Edla Sofia (1871-1949)
Ester Elin (1878-1894)
Leander Herman (1880-1881)
Johan Herman (1881-1937)
Anna Irene (1883-1908)

I don't know much about Emil's life in Finland.  Quite a bit of his family made it to America so I'll probably dedicate a blog to them eventually as the connections fascinate me.

There are some good resources available online for Finnish research which I could write an entire blog about but I do need to mention a few sites including The Finnish Family History Association, of which I've become a member, the HisKi project and The Finlander Forum.  I was given a family tree many years ago that took the family generations back but didn't have any documentation.  I began asking questions at the Finlander Forum and the people there are so incredibly willing to help.  There is a woman named June Pelo, that is in her mid 90s but extremely active helping people discover their Finnish roots.  She pointed me in the direction of Alan Maki, who is very fluent in finding records and has been a massive help to me as well.  Most of the records available online are church records such as these that were found for Emil's family. 

1875-1882 Communion Book, village of Såka, farm Hällis

Because Gamlakarleby is on the far western edge of Finland, it's people often speak Swedish (Emil and Hilma did).  These people are referred to as "Swede-Finns".  Records are often in Swedish and this is a wonderful resource to learn how to read these records.  It's by the Swedish Finn Historical Society.  The Finlander Forum I previously referenced is also slanted towards the Swede-Finns.  

The Wenelius family recorded above Emil's family is a sister of Emil's dad's mother Anna Brita Andersdotter Björndahl (1834-1916). 

1885-1904 Communion Book, village of Såka, farm Hällis

After the death of their parents I'm not sure who raised the children (I can't read the name at the head of this family but the surviving children are all there).  

The real interesting thing about this communion book is the fact that Emil's future wife Hilma is listed with their family (I do not understand the significance of the space between his family and her).  They didn't marry in Finland but obviously knew each other before arriving in America.

The Finnish are very interested in what happened to the Finns that left Finland and their descendants.  I've not found the same level of interest with my Dutch, Swedish or German ancestry but the Finns seem to genuinely have interest.  I mentioned Alan earlier - he found Emil's record of obtaining a passport to leave Finland and the ship log for his arrival for me.  Emil obtained his passport 6 Apr 1896 and listed his destination as America.  

Line 16 "Emil Halles"

Emil left Finland on the SS "Bothnia" via Liverpool on 16 Apr 1896 and arrived in Boston Massachusetts 10 days later, 26 Apr 1896.  His name is spelled wrong as Emil "Halles" and his residence spelled "Sockan" instead of Såka.  He lists his destination as White Cloud Michigan.  His mother's brother Karl came to America and then summoned for his nephews Herman and Emil.  Herman followed Emil, arriving 20 May 1899 in New York.  They were all involved in lumbering in the White Cloud area.  

I don't know when Emil changed his last name to Burke but it was an Americanized version of his mother's surname Björk (which matched his uncle who I assume he was quite close to).  My grandpa told me that Emil thought Hällis sounded too much like Hell so he changed it.  I know it was changed by 5 Dec 1899 when Emil married Hilma Johanna Benjaminsdotter Kiviniemi at Ashland Wisconsin.  I do not know why Emil and Hilma were in Ashland, other than that is where Hilma's sister Anna and her husband Erick Newman made their home.  Anna and Erick married 12 May 1900 at Ashland so weren't married when Emil and Hilma married.

Right side, 3rd record from bottom

What is interesting is that a marriage bann was found for Emil and Hilma 6 Mar 1901 in Finnish records.  When Alan sent it to me he told me it's the "1st time ever" that he's found a marriage record with the woman's name written first.  Not sure the significance of that either but it's apparently unusual.  2 records above Emil and Hilma's record here is the bann of her sister Anna.  They also didn't marry in Finland so unsure why this is recorded like this. 

Emil and Hilma had the following children (also listed in the blog about Anna):

Ellen Irene 1900-1992 (married Charles Johnson), adopted son David Lee Johnson 1930-2018.

Jennie Johanna 1902-1985 (married Alfred DeLora), sons Jack, Kenneth and Roger (all deceased).

Elmer Evald 1903-1926 (died single of tuberculosis, which was a scourge of the Burke family).

Arnold Walfred 1905-1992 (married Evelyn Trimmier), son Arnold 1931-2001.

Anna Elizabeth 1907-1953 (my great-grandmother - subject of her own blogs)

Arthur Wilhelm 1909-1933 (died single of tuberculosis).

Ruth Esther 1911-1999 (married Archie Maynard), 1 living son.  Remarried to George Warren.

Carl Emil 1914-1997 (married Helen Doppel), 4 sons and 1 daughter - 3 still living

Mildred Marie 1916-1987 (married Orvil Thomas), 2 sons and 1 daughter - 1 still living

Paul Edwin 1921-2016 (married Phyllis Stewart), 1 son and 1 daughter, both living.

I absolutely can not find Emil and Hilma in the 1900 census.  They married in Ashland, Hilma's sister was in Ashland and they had their first 3 children in Ashland so I can't imagine they weren't living in Ashland.  The 1st photo doesn't identify the baby so it's possible it was taken after Emil and Hilma left Ashland, but I believe it's probably them with their first born Ellen.  The 2nd photo is them with Ellen, Jennie and Elmer, and is the best photo of them as young adults. 

By 1910 the family was living in Wilcox Township, Newaygo County MI.  Hilma listed that she had given birth to 6 children, all still living.  Emil listed his occupation as farmer (which I wasn't expecting since I thought he was still working as a lumberman by now).  Emil also listed that he's naturalized by 1910, so I need to find that paperwork.  The farmhouse was built by Emil and my grandpa wrote on the back "Emil Burke built the house.  Burke family farmhouse Catalpa Ave.  1st house north of east baseline road on west side of road White Cloud Mich.  Creek is on north side of house".  One of Emil's brother Herman's great-grandson's was living in the house in the late 90s, early 00s and my grandpa ran into his dad while in the area.  He arranged for us to come up and tour the house.  My grandpa called me the morning of and informed me that the house had burned down overnight.  He still drove up and checked it out and brought me back a charred piece of wood from it.  Sure wish I could have walked through a home that Emil built.  EDIT: I found another photo that my grandpa wrote on that said the house was at 211 North Catalpa Rd and that the creek was "Flinton Creek" and the Flinton family were neighbors of Emil and Hilma, "no doubt friends of theirs".

In 1920 they are living at 563 Wood Avenue in Muskegon, Muskegon County MI.  He and Hilma list their mother tongue as Swedish (no surprise there).  He's listed as a "machine hand" doing wood working.  Interesting to see that his 3 eldest children are also employed, down to the 16 year old working as a "grinder" in a machine shop.  Times sure are different.

In 1930 they are still living in Muskegon, still listed on Wood St but now at 1751 Wood St.  Emil built this home.  They now state that they spoke Finnish before coming to America.  Emil lists his occupation as cabinet maker and I think it says "school furniture" after that.

The house pictures are 1751 Wood St, at the corner of Larch.  The house burned down around 1990 according to my grandpa.  The family photo was also taken in 1930.

Writing by my grandpa, Anna's only child

On 2 Dec 1936 Emil applied for Social Security, listing E.H. Sheldon & Co. as his employer and absolutely giving no thought to the names of his parents.  This is the only signature of Emil's that I've been able to find, although I do have more writing that I'll share in the next blog.

In 1940 they are still living at the home on Wood Street, with son Paul being the only child still at home.  Emil is 67 and still listed a cabinet maker for "School Furn Mfg".  According to this article, the E.H. Sheldon Co was a leading manufacturer of vocational school equipment.  Neat to see a photo of the factory that Emil worked in for so many years.

I don't know the context of this photo but Emil is 3rd from the left and on the back is written "Pa was 71yrs old + still working".
In 1949 Emil and Hilma celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  The clipping was given to me by my grandpa.  I assume it's from the Muskegon Chronicle but I don't know what date.  The photo is an 8x10 and was hanging in Emil and Hilma's son Paul's home.

My grandpa gave me the photo on the left - it's dated 3 Nov 1952 but I don't know what the occasion was.  The picture on the right is labeled 1955.  There are no other photos that show Emil older that I'm aware of.

I don't yet have Emil's death certificate but I do have his record of funeral.  He passed away 26 May 1963 in Hackley Hospital in Muskegon, having reached the age of 90 years.  His cause of death on this document is a chronic urinary infection.  My grandpa's cousin Shelly was 8 when he passed and remembers him but said he was suffering from dementia and she never knew him when he was in his right mind.  He was laid to rest at Oakwood Cemetery in Muskegon, next to his sons Arthur and Elmer who died of tuberculosis when younger.  Hilma joined him in 1970.

This copy of his obituary was found in his funeral book, which was given to me as well.  There are quite a few more photos and other odds and ends I want to share about Emil but this is probably a good place to stop this entry.  Stay tuned.........