Kusti Simila

1880 - 1958  (77 years)

• Name	Kusti Simila
  Born	19 Jan 1880	Muhos, Oulun Laani, Finland
  Gender	Male
  Died	1958	Mohawk Michigan
  Person ID	P279	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	16 Jul 2014

  
  

  Father	Aapo Simila,   b. 21 Jan 1840, Muhos, Oulun Laani,Finland ,   d. 16 Sep 1915, Muhos,Oulun Laani, Finland  (Age 75 years)
  Mother	Valpurri Karhusaari,   b. 16 Jan 1846, Muhos,Oulun Laani,Finland ,   d. 3 Apr 1888, Muhos,Oulun Laani, Finland  (Age 42 years)
  Family ID	F138	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Maria Esther* Kero,   b. 21 Oct 1888, Haukipudas Finland ,   d. 4 Oct 1961, Mohawk Michigan  (Age 72 years)
  Married	3 Nov 1906
  Children	1. Toivo Simila,   b. 1907, Calumet Michigan ,   d. abo 1922, Makinen Minnesota   2. Edwin Simila,   b. 9 Sep 1908, Calumet Michigan ,   d. 16 Jun 1974, Highland Park, Wayne, Michigan  (Age 65 years)   3. Carl Simila,   b. 1 Jun 1910, Calumet Michigan ,   d. 7 Aug 1956, Chicago, Ill.  (Age 46 years)   4. Eino Simila,   b. 23 Jul 1912, Calumet Michigan ,   d. 24 Apr 1986, Milwaukee WI  (Age 73 years)   5. Uuma A Simila,   b. 29 Apr 1914, Calumet Mi ,   d. 4 Mar 1958, Bellingham WA  (Age 43 years)   6. Oiva Armus Simila,   b. 26 Dec 1917, St. Louis County Minnesota ,   d. 4 Jan 2006, Richmond, Virginia  (Age 88 years)   7. Esther Simila,   b. 15 Dec 1919, Eveleth,St Louis,Minnesota,USA ,   d. 1 Dec 1998, Cleveland,Cuyahoga,Ohio,USA  (Age 78 years)   8. Martha Simila,   b. 23 Oct 1922, Makinen Minnesota ,   d. 5 May 2012, Mohawk Michigan  (Age 89 years)   9. Arthur Ilmar Simila,   b. 2 May 1926, St. Louis County Minnesota ,   d. 25 May 2012, Mohawk Michigan  (Age 86 years)   10. Mary Simila,   b. 30 Sep 1927, Mohawk Michigan ,   d. 7 Sep 2014, Wisconsin  (Age 86 years)   11. Mayme Simila,   b. 17 Apr 1930, Mohawk Michigan ,   d. 15 Feb 2019, Mohawk Michigan  (Age 88 years)   12. Beatrice Marline Simila,   b. 18 Aug 1932, Mohawk, MI ,   d. 24 Dec 1932, Mohawk, Mi  (Age 0 years)
  Last Modified	18 Oct 2019
  Family ID	F137	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		Grave of Kusti and Esther Simila Taken at Lakeview Cemetery outside of Calumet Michigan in June 2013.
  		Kusti, Esther, and Toivo Simila done in Calumet Michigan Wathercolor/Sketch of Kusti, Esther, and their first son Toivo. Probably done in 1907-1908 Calumet Michigan.
  		Kusti Simila and Esther Kero Wedding Photo
  		SS Bavarian. The ship that Kusti Simila arrived in Halifax on, March 1905. Screengrab taken from http://www.clydesite.co.uk/
  		Kusti Simila Calumet, Michigan 1906-1907.
  		Farm land outside of Makinen Minnesota. I went up to Makinen Minnesota to try and take a photo of the original Simila Farm...my best guess is that this land is currently swamp land. This picture was taken about 0.5 miles to the west of the original Simila Farm.
  		Wilson Road Farm near Makinen Minnesota. This is a farm off the road where the original Simila Farm was. My guess is that this is to the west of the original farm. Note the road - it looks identical to the one in Hankasalmi Finland where Farm#2 was located.
  		1914 map of Sections 11 and 12, Township 56 R16, St. Louis County, Minnesota Kusti and Esther Simila had their farm in Section 11, Township 56, R16 St. Louis County Minnesota. It was on this farm that our mother Esther Simila was born in 1919. Note that in Section 12 is the property of Thomas Flom Kero, the uncle of Esther Kero.
  		Location of Simila Farm in Makinen Minnesota, 1913 - 1923. This is my best guess to where the Simila Farm was. The records indicate it was in Township 56 Range 16, which would in this area.
  		Location of Simila Farm, as seen from the west. This is my best guess as to where the Simila Farm was located, looking from the west. "Downtown" Makinen is to the west.
  		Gust Simila with the kantela. This photo was sent to me by Bonnie Miller, whose grandparents were neighbors and friends of the Simila's in Corbin/Makinen Minnesota. The guess is that this photo is from around 1920 - 1925.
  		Simila Family around 1926-1927. From left to right the girl is Esther Simila, the baby is her brother Arthur. Holding the baby is Esther Kero Simila. The boy standing is probably Uuma. The man is Kustti Simila, and the boy to his side is probably Eino (maybe Oiva).
  		Italian Hall Memorial in Lakeview Cemetery, Calumet Michigan. A memorial for some of the victims that were murdered at the Italian Hall in Calumet Michigan on December 24, 1913.
  		Sign at the Italian Hall Memorial, Calumet Michigan. Site of the Italian Hall Disaster, where 73 people were murdered. I have wondered if my grandfather Kustti Simila attended the Christmas party at the Italian Hall, along with his family. They lived 1.2 miles away, and had three children at the time. Maybe they didn't attend because Esther was pregnant with her fourth child at the time (Uuma). The answer is unknown, but the next year the family left Calumet to move to Makinen Minnesota.

  
  

  Documents » Slide Show		Kusti Simila Alien Registration Form Page 1 In 1918 all resident aliens had to fill out an Alien Registration Form. This is page 1 of this form. At the bottom he lists his first residence in the United States - Mohawk Michigan in 1906.
  		Kusti Simila Alien Registration Form Page 2 On Page 2 he lists his residence as "40 acres in Section 11, Township 56-R16, in St. Louis County Minnesota".
  		Kusti arrives in North America. He arrived in Halifax Nova Scotia in March, 1905 on the Bavarian. He is listed on Line 15.
  		Kusti Simila World War I Draft Card Here he lists his emplyer as "Fayal Mine" and address as 213 Grant Ave. Eveleth Minnesota.
  		Journal of Finnish Studies, Volume 14, Number 1, Summer 2010 Article of Hilary Virtanen on the recordings of Kusti Simila made by Alan Lomax.
  		1920 Federal Census for Simila Family in Minnesota. Listed on lines 81-89. Living in Township 56 Range 16. On line 89 is listed 2 month old "Elvira" - our mother.
  		1930 Federal Census for Simila Family. Now living in Mohawk. Esther Simila Holmberg is listed on line 19.
  		1940 Census for Simila Family. They are listed on lines 3-13. Still living at 361 Center Street, Mohawk(Fulton) Michigan.
  		1910 Federal Census for Gust Simila and Family - Page 1. Listed on Page1 of this document are Gust and Esther Simila. Living in Calumet Michigan, occupation Copper Miner.
  		Calumet Michigan City Directory - 1910. Gust Simila is listed about 1/2 way down on the left. Address is 238 2nd, Cent. Heights. Occupation is miner.
  		Finnish Birth Record for Kusti Simila Located on left side, near bottom.
  		Kusti Simila and Esther Kero marriage record. Marriage record from 1906, on line 66. Notice that they were married by John K. Nickander. He was the first president of Suomi College in Hancock Michigan.
  		1910 Federal Census for Gust Simila and Family - Page 2. Listed on the next page are Gust and Esther's first 2 sons - Toivo and Edwin.
  		Gust Simila Employment Card. Employment Card from the Mohawk Mine, It shows he worked as a miner at the Mohawk Mine from 1905 - 1914 (when the family left for Minnesota). He returned to work at the mine in 1926, when they came back to Mohawk.
  		1950 U.S. Census for Simila family in Mohawk Michigan. This census form shows Gust and Esther along with son Edwin (age 41) still living at home, daughter Mayme age 19, and granddaughter Rita age 11.
  		Gust Simila living in Virginia Minnesota in 1930. Gust probably moved back to Virginia Minnesota in 1930 for work purposes. It was at the height of the Depression.

  
  

  Histories

  Kusti Simila relationship chart. Kusti Simila is our maternal grandfather.

  
  

  Recordings » Slide Show		The Archive of American Folksong Recording AFS2392 Side A. Part 1 of the recording done by Alan Lomax on the evening of September 28. 1938, in the home of Kusti Simila, Fulton Michigan. If using the Safari Browser on MacOS, click here to play.
  		The Archive of American Folksong Recording AFS2393 Side A. Part 3 of the recording done by Alan Lomax on the evening of September 28. 1938, in the home of Kusti Simila, Fulton Michigan.If using the Safari Browser on MacOS, click here to play.
  		The Archive of American Folksong Recording AFS2393 Side B. Part 4 of the recording done by Alan Lomax on the evening of September 28. 1938, in the home of Kusti Simila, Fulton Michigan.If using the Safari Browser on MacOS, click here to play.
  		The Archive of American Folksong Recording AFS2392 Side B. Part 2 of the recording done by Alan Lomax on the evening of September 28. 1938, in the home of Kusti Simila, Fulton Michigan.If using the Safari Browser on MacOS, click here to play.
  		Yli kymmenen vuotta Korpiinissa oli jo asuttu / Ten Years We've Lived in Corbin This is the recording from "Folksongs of Another America", created from the original recording done by Alan Lomax on September 28, 1938.If using the Safari Browser on MacOS, click here to play.

  
  

• Notes

  Kusti came to the U.S. in 1905, going first to Calumet Michigan. He married Esther Kero on November 3, 1906. In 1915 he moved the family to a farm southeast of Makinen Minnesota.