Roots: Simelius-Poutiainen

The Simelius-Poutiainen branch of the family are the grandparents of my mother on the side of her mother Aili Ingrid Poutiainen.

The Simelius-Simojoki family coat of arms

So much has gone into the genealogical research of the Simelius family by the Simelius-Simojoki families, it is hard to decide where to start, but I need to start somewhere... I believe the deciding factor will be photographic evidence, so as far as I know it starts with my great great grandfather Jacob Simelius and his wife Matilda Simelius (nee Slottsberg) who are the parents of my great grandmother Aina Hedwig Emilia Simelius. I've had the following picture of an old grey-haired lady in a box for so long but I never knew who she was. I have now discovered that she is in fact Matilda.

Matilda Amanda Simelius (nee Slottsberg) my great great grandmother

Jacob and Matilda Simelius with Jacob's handwriting!

Matilda with relatives playing Croquet in the yard

Matilda's husband Jacob Simelius (died of heart failure in 1886) was the son of Jacob Simelius and second wife Cecilia Pekantytar Mankinen. They would be my great great great grandparents! I have the family tree of the Simelius/Mankinen family going back to the 16th century but let's keep that for some other time as it confusing as is!

Oldest picture I have: Matilda? Not sure... could it be Cecilia?

Grave of Jacob and Cecila Simelius in Paavola, my great great great grandparents.

Gravestone of Matilda Amanda Simelius buried in Tampere with daughter Jenny and Katariina. Jenny died of cancer a week after her mother's sudden death.

This following picture was the missing link: this is a family reunion photo made on the 80th birthday of Matilda Simelius (nee Slottsberg) in 1924, the year before she died. On it you will find not only Matilda and her daughter Aina, my great grandmother, but also a young Aili (front row, second from left) who is my grandmother, together with some of her brothers and sisters. A similar photo was taken on the 80th birthday of Aina in 1951 (see below) which included my mother Leena. History repeated.

Aina and Antti

On to my great grandparents. I was told that Antti Poutiainen was one of the founding members of the Kansallis-Osake-Pankki, now better known as the Nordea Bank, one of the leading Scandinavian banks. Documents dated 29th of June 1889 have been found stating he was on the initial board of directors and a year later entrusted as the bank's accountant. He was also the owner of a large commodity shop often appearing in the local Tampere newspaper advertising his goods. He also seems to have been involved in local politics as he was a member of the city's parliament and later after moving to Viipuri, a newspaper article states he received eight votes in the parliamentary election in the second electoral district in Pantsarlahti, a district of Viipuri. What is sure is that he was a prominent member of the local Tampere and Viipuri society.

Tampere newspaper 1889 - front page

A painting of the Kansallis-Osake-Pankki back in around 1900

This is what's left of this once so prestigeous building, located on Torkkelinkatu 8 (now called Prospekt Lenina)

Antti was born near Sortavala in the village of Hympölä in Finland on 28.02.1851 to parents Antti Poutiainen (Anders Poutinen) and Britha Behm. The Poutiainen tree can be traced back all the way to early 18th century to this exact place. The whole region was later ceded to the Soviet Union following the Winter War and Continuation War in 1944. Antti was a leading figure in the Tampere Fennoman movement, yearning to raise the Finnish language and Finnic culture from peasant status to the position of a national language and a national culture. His involvement with the Kansallis-Osake-Pankki bank and his founding membership with the Finnish Club all lead show he was a strong advocate of this cause. He later died in Viipuri on 13.09.1916.

Antti Poutiainen's grave, or at least, what's left of it, in Sorvali

The recovered grave site of my great grandfather Antti Poutiainen a few meters behind the tree, in Sorvali, Viipuri

Purchase act for two grave parcels paid by Aina, Antti's wife in 1916. Sad that history never allowed them to be buried together.

Antti's grave is located at parcel number 431 and 432.

I visited Helsinki with my daughter Lena, in November 2021, and, unable to sleep one night, I started typing in family members into findagrave.com. To my surprise, I found the grave where Aina and oldest daughter Kaisi, my grandaunt, are buried. The next day, we visited the Malmi cemetry, just north of Helsinki, to pay our respects. The gravestone also mentions Antti's name, so I am guessing that a family member added his name to the gravestone, so that they could be remembered together (unless his remains were moved, but that is unlikely).

Aina Simelius was born on 13.08.1871 in the northern Finnish town of Haukipudas which is located in the province of Oulu and part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. She went to school with Aino Sibelius who was Finland's National Anthem's composer's wife Jean Sibelius. Other illustrious family members include Sakari Simelius, the Finnish Chief of Defence of the Finnish Defence Forces between 1959 and 1965, and Martti Simojoki, the archbishop of the Finnish Lutheran Church.

The old Haukipudas church today.

Aina and Antii had 9 children, one of which was my grandmother Aili Ingrid who was born in Sortavala on 31.01.1907 (and not 23.02.1908 as stated on her US death certificate. The date on her death certificate is not her birth date but the date she was baptized).

Kaisi was the oldest daughter (*22.08.1894 Tampere + 06.08.1971 Helsinki). As the oldest she helped widowed Aina taking care of the children.

Hertta (*15.11.1895 Tampere + 12.06.1981 Helsinki) was in Germany in 1938 where she married Alfred Stufen. Suffered harsh interrogations by Soviet forces during the war. Her husband Alfred later died in 1945 in a Finnish POW camp.

Paavo (*17.08.1898 Tampere +15.12.1970 Helsinki) was the oldest son and was an engineer by profession. Completed the mechanical engineering course of the Tampere University of Technology in 1918 and furthered his studies in Berlin's Charlottenburg University in 1924. Worked for the telegraph service from 1925-1965 in Viipuri and later Helsinki. Was given a special recognition by the Olympic Committee in 1952 for his contribution to the Summer Olympic Games. He also received several photography awards. Paavo was also recommended for his deeds in rescuing wounded during the Suinula massacre. In this massacre seventeen unarmed men, who had already surrendered, were killed on January 31, 1933 in Suinula, near Kangasala, by communist revolutionaries.

Lauri (*25.05.1901 Viipuri +25.09.1986 Joensuu) worked for Esso and was in charge of the Viipuri and Joensuu areas. He participated in both the Winter War and the Continuation War as a Captain in the Finnish forces. After the war he continued work for Esso as the representative in Kuopio. He was also an avid singer! Married to Tyyne Pesu.

Tauno (*25.11.1903 Viipuri +16.10.1986 Lappeenranta) was a teacher. He taught the Koivisto Vatnuori, Säkkijärvi Heinlahti, Ruokolahti and Imatra Tainionkoski schools, the latter from 1931 until his retirement. Closely involved in the civil guard and reserve officer activities. Married to Elizabeth Irja Pekkanen.

Sirkka (*02.12.1905 Sortavala +13.04.1977 Helsinki) was the first of the children to be born in Sortavala after the family returned there. They lived on a farm just two kilometers away from the station. In 1913 when Sirkka was eight years old the family moved back to Viipuri. Sirkka went to the Finnish school and later to the Swedish girl's school. After school she worked for the "Southern Finnish Remote Telephone Company" until 1927 when she married. After being evacuated in 1939 from their hometown of Valkjärvi, the family moved often and to many different places: Viipuri, Kajaani, Vuottolahti, Itis, Taipalsaari, Mikkeli, Järvenpää, Riihimäki, Tampere, Pori and Helsinki. Married to Vilho Johannes Helenius who was a career military.

Aili (*31.01.1907 Sortavala +15.08.1987 Venice, CA, USA) was my loving grandmother. I have fond memories of her but unfortunately not so many as she lived on the other side of the Atlantic and I didn't see her as much as I would have liked to. I remember her as a kind and sweet lady but with failing health. She was nearly blind and had difficulties walking at a later age. She needed help getting around. I visited her a few times in the US and she would occasionally visit us in Belgium. As a young child I remember she taught me to count to ten in Finnish and taught me the 50 states in the USA. She also taught me a sentence in Russian. It didn't mean anything at the time but now it makes a lot of sense: "Ya ne ponimayu po russki" which means I don't understand Russian. I can only imagine why she knew these few words in Russian. She probably picked them up in Viipuri before leaving in 1939. Later on in life she worked as an accountant in a nursing home in California and was married only once, to my grandfather Kaarlo until the year of his death in 1942. She sadly died on August 14, 1987 in Venice, California, where she lived. I remember my mother Leena, who was already sick with cancer at the time left for California to arrange Aili's funeral. Aili's ashes were strewn over the Pacific Ocean. Four months after Aili's death my own mother succumbed to her illness. Again history repeating as a similar situation happened with Matilda Amanda Simelius, my great great grandmother and her daughter Jenny.

My grandmother Aili and my sister Ria at Christmas in the early 80s.

Veikko (*30.10.1909 Sortavala +16.10.1990 Helsinki) was a Commander in the Finnish Navy. Later he worked for the FinnPap, the Finnish Paper Mills Association. Travelled across the Atlantic many times and served on the Vesihiisi and Vesikko submarines until 1941. Was also a navy agent in Berlin between 1942-1944 and Helsinki naval station chief in 1945. His naval credentials are quite impressive. The Vesikko submarine has become a tourist attraction on the island of Suomenlinna near Helsinki and can be visited during the summer months. Another related document found online is this one of which this postcard below signed by Captain Lieutenant Veikko Poutiainen to his wife, Nanna. I am told by my father that it is probably he who organised the crossing to the USA for my grandmother Aili and my mother Leena on the SS Venezuela in 1957. Married to Anna-Lisa Aminoff.

Picture found on the internet: crew of the Vesikko in the 1940s.

I visited Helsinki with my daughter Lena in November 2021. Here is the Vesikko.

Lena standing below the Vesikko on Suomenlinna Island.

Vaino (*30.01.1911 Sortavala +04.12.1988 Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada) was the youngest of the family. He was a military man and was a Major in the Finnish army. Vaino later moved to Canada where he trained ski troops. Later, he engineered and designed roads. Used the name Matti Carelius. Married Meri Hokkanen and later Aune Auermaa.

Sortavala in 2011.

Back to the the timeline and my great grandmother's family...

Jenny Matilda Simelius, my great grandmother Aina's sister

Aina Simelius sitting pensively in the middle with her sisters

Old picture of interior. The Poutiainen or Simelius house?

This photo dates from approximately 1896. This photo was taken in Tampere where both Hertta and Kaisi were born. The family subsequently moved to Viipuri and later returned to Antti's hometown of Sortavala, where my grandmother Aili was later born. As he was a founding member of the KOP bank it could easily be possible he moved back to Sortavala to work in the newly opened Sortavala branch of the bank? Just a wild guess.

Proud parents Antti Poutiainen and Aina Simelius together with daughters Hertta and Kaisi.

My grandmother Aili (far left) with brothers and sisters in 1911. Remarkable how much she looks like my daughter Lena when she was about 4 or 5 on this picture. From left to right: Aili, Tauno, Lauri, Hertta (top), Veikko, Sirkka, Paavo,Väinö and Kaisi (top). For more information on Aili's sister Sirkka and her family including her son Olli Halkka, a renowned geneticist and his children, point your mouse here.

My grandmother Aili on the far left (standing) with all the Poutiainen children

Aina with Poutiainen children. Funny expressions!

Aili Ingrid Poutiainen with handwritten note

Aili Ingrid Poutiainen

Aina Poutiainen (nee Simelius)

Aina Poutiainen (nee Simelius) with unidentified individuals. Most likely close family members

This family photo was taken on the 80th birthday of Aina in August 1951, my great grandmother, sitting in the middle with the glasses. Sitting at front left is my mother Leena at the age of 14. Her mother Aili, aged 44, is sitting on the stool to the right. Back row (from the left): Antti Poutiainen, Tyyne Poutiainen (nee Pesu), Hannes Helenius, Sirkka Helenius (nee Poutiainen), Tauno, Paavo, Lauri and Veikko Poutiainen. Middle row: Annikki Poutiainen, Hertta Ståfen (nee Poutiainen), Kaija Poutiainen, 80 year-old Aina Poutiainen (nee Simelius), Kaisi Poutiainen, Irja Poutiainen (nee Pekkanen), and Aili Veikkolainen (nee Poutiainen). Front row: Eija Helenius, Leena Veikkolainen, Mikko, Matti and Torsti Poutiainen and Nanna Poutiainen (nee Aminoff).

This picture shows a later Poutiainen family reunion. The kids seem to have grown a bit. My guess is that it stems from just after the passing of Aina on 08.06.1953 as she is no longer in the picture and most people are dressed in black. My mother Leena is the young girl sitting to the left with her mother Aili right above her.