The Internet has opened many doors to information about my immigrant ancestors from Finland. In 1996, I sent an inquiry to Matti Pyykkonen of Tampere, Finland who was born in Suomussalmi, Finland. My letter to him was based on two items found in his resume---his surname Pyykkonen and Suomussalmi, his birthplace. Suomussalmi was the place my great-grandparents had immigrated from to Michigan in 1881. Their surname was also Pyykkonen. As a result of my inquiry, I received an e-mail response from Juhani Juntunen, who teaches at the Suomussalmi lukio. Over several months of correspondence, Juhani and I exchanged a great deal of data. I learned about Juntunen relatives in Suomussalmi that I had not previously known. Juhani connected with relatives in the United States. In the summer of 1997 at a Juntunen reunion in Hancock, MI, several of Juhani's aunts had a joyful and tearful meeting with their first cousins. The cousins were in Hancock on a North American trip sponsored by the Juntunen Family Society of Finland.

At the Hancock reunion, I learned that the Juntunen Family Society of Finland, headed by Kalle Juntunen of Hyrynsalmi, had commissioned a noted Finnish genealogist, Matti Kankaanpää, to write Volume 1 of 3 planned books about all known Juntunens in Finland from the year 1550 to 1900 onward. Volume I of the series, which will include information from 1550-1800, will be published this fall. I have become the North American agent for this volume. Information on ordering can be obtained by clicking here. We anticipate that the books will become collectors items. The book will be written in Finnish, but a major portion of the book will contain valuable genealogy lists understandable to the English reader.

In Hancock at the Juntunen reunion, I also joined a committee to coordinate research for an English-language series of North American Juntunen books. These future books will tell the stories of Finnish Juntunen immigrants and their families in America. They will complement the 3 books being produced by the Juntunen Family Society of Finland.

In the past year, Juntunen Project volunteers have researched immigrant border crossing records for many Juntunen immigrants from Finland. This work has been done at the National Archives in Washington, DC and elsewhere. Enthusiastic detective work continues as word spreads about our search for information about North American Juntunens. Several Juntunen descendants have already contributed genealogies, family stories, poetry, and photographs.

The North American Juntunen Project has high hopes of collecting wide-ranging genealogy data for more than 300 Juntunen immigrants who have spread from coast to coast and north to south. If you are a Juntunen descendant or related family member interested in this research project, we welcome your help! A newsletter and information to assist you in collecting your family data can be found on our Internet web site at Juntunen Family History Project.

Write by e-mail or regular mail to the Project coordinators for Project guidelines and copies of blank family pages for recording and submitting your Juntunen family's genealogy. Contact John and Ruth Stierna, volunteer North American Juntunen Project coordinators, via e-mail or regular mail: 2600 Wiley Terrace, Haymarket, VA 20169-1501. Contact Margaret Smith by e-mail or regular mail: 7255 E. St. Joe Hwy, Grand Ledge, Michigan 48837-9124.

The North American Juntunen Family History Project is now linked on the Internet to the Juntunen Family Society of Finland's web site. This communication link is bringing together former strangers who are having great fun becoming friends and family!

A version of this article has been submitted for publication in several Finnish-American newspapers. Copyright 1998 Margaret Smith

Over the Net and through the home page
To our Juntunen's house we go….
The family tree is the way
To connect our dates, though they could be hard to know!

Over the Net and through the Web Site
We wish you Thanksgiving Joy!
Hurrah for our Project, Will it ever be done?
Hurrah for new friends we've found!

With Thanks to You!

Our North American Juntunen Project is now 18 months old. We'd very much appreciate you're taking a few moments this holiday season to let us know how your part in the project is going. Through this web site we'd enjoy sharing the experiences and challenges that you are encountering in searching out your part of the Juntunen family roots, and your comments about the amazing family connections you have found. We are truly interested in feedback or questions from all of you dedicated friends and family members who are working on behalf of this Juntunen Project.

During the winter, we will continue research for the many Juntunen's we are finding in US Customs, immigration, and census records. With several Project submissions already in and a rather comprehensive listing of Juntunens that entered the U.S., we hope to produce the Project's first book within the next two years or sooner. In order to get this accumulating material into your hands at the earliest possible time, we plan to publish a series of North American Juntunen books over the coming years. That way as research continues, we'll publish new information as additional stories, genealogies, and family photos are submitted. A hearty "thank you" to everyone that has helped or expressed interest during these first 18 months of the Project!

If you wish to provide a gift to the Juntunen Family History Project to help with up front expenses for publication, please send them to John and Ruth Stierna, Thunder Ridge, 2600 Wiley Terrace, Haymarket, VA. 20169. Although not tax deductible, all gifts will be acknowledged on the Juntunen Project Web Site in March and September. We are most grateful for your interest and assistance for the Juntunen Family History Project.