Everything about Finnish American totally explained
Finnish Americans are Americans of
Finnish descent, who currently number about 700,000.
History
Finns first started coming to the
United States in large numbers in the late 19th century, and continued until the mid 20th century. However, there were some Finns in the United States beforehand; in particular, they were instrumental in the development of the
New Sweden colony on the
Delaware River, later absorbed into
New Netherland. Many townships were established by Finnish Americans, including Herman, located in
Baraga County, Michigan. The town is named for
Herman Keranen, of
Ylivieska,
Finland. A significant number of Finnish immigrants also settled in Northern
Minnesota, often working in the region's iron mines. A number of the Finns fleeing the
Russification efforts also emigrated to many of the mill towns of New England where they became known for their woodworking skills.
Demographic concentrations
Today, the greatest concentration of Finnish Americans is in Michigan's
Upper Peninsula, where they form 16% of the population, and are the largest ancestral group in the peninsula's western counties.
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The largest Finnish community in the United States, and the largest outside of Scandinavia, is in
Lake Worth, Florida, north of
Miami (External Link).
Notable individuals
John Morton
An early
Ethnic Finn was
John Morton, signer of the
Declaration of Independence. The original name of the family was Marttinen, of which Morton is an anglicized version. The Marttinen/Morton family came originally from
Rautalampi municipality in the
region of
Northern Savonia,
province of
Eastern Finland.
Eero Saarinen
Product designer
Eero Saarinen emigrated to United States in
1923 when he was thirteen years of age and grew up in
Michigan. He studied architecture at
Yale University and graduated in
1934. After touring
Europe and
Africa for couple of years he returned to the States and become a citizen in
1940. During the
Second World War Saarinen worked for
Office of Strategic Services which later became the
CIA. Saarinen was well known from his furniture and architectural designs and one of the best known designs is the
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Gateway Arch) in
St. Louis%2C Missouri.
Eija Merilä
is one of the well known Finnish American singers. In
1971 she recorded
Lynn Andersons
Rose Garden which became a great success. After being born again in mid 1970's Eija left her career as an entertainment singer. However, she continued singing
christian music and one of her albums,
Konsta Jylhän hengellisiä lauluja, sold a (means: Diamond record, Highest music award in Finland based on quantities sold). In 1990's Eija and her family moved to
Florida where she's a music pastor in Finnish American church,
Kotikirkko.
Other notable individuals
Notable Finnish Americans also include an actor
Matt Damon, historian
Max Dimont, writer
Alex Steffen and
U.S. Communist Party leader
Gus Hall (originally Arvo Gustav Halberg).
Culture
An annual festival is held to celebrate Finnish heritage. The festival is called FinnFest and has been held in a different city each year since the festival was established in 1983. There have also been two FinnGrandFests where American and Canadian groups consolidate their festivals. The next FinnFest is going to be held in
Ashtabula, Ohio, July 26-28, 2007.
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Finnish American culture is also celebrated at
Finlandia University in Michigan, formerly Suomi College, which has been the only Finnish American institution of higher learning in the United States since the closing of
Work People's College in Minnesota in 1941. Finlandia is operated by the
Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Finnish American'.
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