This summer my husband and I traveled to Ironwood and the Keweenaw Peninsula for our vacation. His Eklund and Kivi ancestors settled there after arriving from Finland, most of the men working in the iron ore mines.
The Ironwood Daily Globe is fully searchable at Ancestry.com for the years 1919-1977. This has been an invaluable resource. Every little activity in the surrounding area (Gogebic County, MI and Iron County, WI) was recorded, including church socials, hospital stays, and visiting relatives. Below is an example of a treasure I found in the Thurs., Feb. 7, 1946 issue. Matt/Matti Kivi is my husband’s great-great grandfather.
Matt Kivi (seated), his son William (left), his grandson Carl (right), and his great-grandson Jack
Our first stop (after the hotel) was Riverside Cemetery, which is right on the border with Wisconsin, across the Montreal River. A kind person posted a very useful map at Find-A-Grave, which helped immensely in this surprisingly large cemetery, as did the clerk’s office of the city of Ironwood (call them if you want to know where a relative is buried in the cemetery). The first gravestone we located was for Matti Kivi (1873-1950) and his wife Wilhelmina (1874-1943) – maiden name Halvas or possibly Parkari. Their son Arvid M. (1901-1995) is also buried there and has a military gravestone as well. Matt and Wilhelmina are the parents of Mayme Kivi, wife of Leonard Eklund (my husband’s great-grandparents).
Matt and Wilhelmina Kivi tombstone in Riverside Cemetery
Below are articles about the Kivi’s in the Daily Globe, including their obituaries which were on the front page of that day’s edition. Click to enlarge the images.
50th Anniversary, Dec. 24, 1942
Mrs. Kivi’s Obituary, Wed. Dec. 22, 1943
Matt Kivi’s Obituary, Tues. Dec. 12, 1950
Below is a photograph I found at this helpful genealogy site, Skinnar(i) > Kivi Family.
Some of Matt Kivi’s family, about 1899 in Ironwood, MI
Next time, I’ll discuss the Eklund family we found in Ironwood.
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