Ironwood Genealogy Trip – Eklund Family

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.

Last time, I discussed the Kivi family, related to my husband’s great-grandmother Mayme. This time, I’d like to talk a little about the Eklund family, relatives of my husband’s great-grandfather Leonard. The Ironwood Daily Globe is fully searchable at Ancestry.com for the years 1919-1977 and has been an invaluable resource. Ancestry also has a U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 collection, which includes Ironwood’s Luther L. Wright High School, where Leonard attended.

Leonard Eklund’s senior picture from the 1927 yearbook, the Hematite

Leonard’s parents and sister are buried in Riverside Cemetery in Ironwood. His father Erick Eliasson Eklund came to the U.S. in 1896 and, in the 1900 census, worked as a mine laborer in Ironwood living with his brother Emil, sister Sofia and her husband Andrew Mattson. On November 23, 1901, Erick and Johanna Sofia Nelson (maiden name also possibly Stenbacka) were married in Ironwood.

Erick and Johanna Eklund, 1901

They had a daughter, Helmi, in 1906 and a son, Leonard in 1910. In 1918, Erick worked as a surface laborer for the Oliver Iron Mining Company. The family lived at 228 E. Ash Street in Ironwood. According to his death certificate, Erick died on January 4, 1929 of pulmonary tuberculosis, which he had been suffering from for three years.

Erick Eklund’s Obituary from the Ironwood Daily Globe, Jan. 5, 1929

Here is a recent photo of the house on E. Ash St. where the Eklund family lived since at least 1918. In 1910, they were living on E. Oak St. Notice the garage, which Johanna received a permit to build in 1941.

228 East Ash Street

Article from the Daily Globe on Oct. 25, 1941

Johanna Eklund died December 29, 1955 at 228 E. Ash, where her daughter Helmi and her husband Warren Ekman were living. The funeral was held Tuesday, January 3, 1956.

Johanna Eklund’s Obituary from the Ironwood Daily Globe (Click to enlarge)

Article about Johanna’s funeral from the Jan. 4, 1956 Daily Globe

Johanna’s gravestone in Riverside Cemetery

Ironwood Genealogy Trip – Kivi Family

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 (I haven’t quite grasped Swedish/Finnish surnames). 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.

Wedding Wednesday – Mr. and Mrs. Erik Eklund

From the Ironwood (Mich.) Daily Globe, Wednesday Evening, Nov. 24, 1926:

Wedding Anniversary
“Mr. and Mrs. Erick Eklund were pleasantly surprised at their home in the Norrie location last evening, by a group of friends.  The occasion was their twenty fifth wedding anniversary.  At 10:30 o’clock refreshments were served to about 30 guests.  Mr. and Mrs. Eklund were the recipients of several beautiful gifts.”

Erik and Johanna Eklund

Eklund

I have a whole new family to research!  I got married in October 2012 and now my last name is Eklund!  Here is a photograph of Erik Eklund and his wife Johanna.  They were Swedish-Finns who came from western Finland.  They married in November 1901 and  lived in Ironwood, Michigan where Erik was a miner.  He died in 1929.  They are my husband’s Great-Great Grandparents.