Caren's Comments

Hi Caren,

I came across your post looking for information on your great-grandfather from Pori, Finland. I took a look at the parish records for Pori and found the following:

Robert Nestor, b. 26 Nov 1888 on the Yyteri farm; chr. 29 Nov 1888.
Father: Frans Nestor Osterlund
Mother: Edla Aurora Juhantytar [daughter of Juhan], age 25

Other children I found (your great-grandfather's siblings):

Frans Ribert, b. 9 Mar 1884 on the Yyteri farm; chr. 16 Mar 1884
Father: Frans Nestor Osterlund
Mother: Eda Aurora Juhantytar, age 21

I also find the following marriage record:

Village of Maaseurak
Yyteri Farm
Groom: Frans Nestor Osterlund Trenki
Bride: Edla Aurora Juhantytar Piika
Date: 8 Nov 1883

Frans Nestor's original family surname may have been Trenki (the Finns changed their surnames a lot!), but more likely this is a reference to the place or farm on which he was living at the time (same goes for Piika...This is what makes Finnish research such a mind-blower, LOL!). His wife was Edla Aurora, daughter of Juhan (Johan in Swedish). Her age at the birth of their oldest son in 1884 puts her birth year at about 1863. Frans was probably about the same age. So I then went looking for birth records for Frans Nestor and Edla Aurora.

I had no luck finding Frans Nestor's record, but did find Edla's birth record in Pori parish that gives her correct surname but, unfortunately, does not give her mother's maiden name:

Edla Aurora, b. 10 Mar 1863, village of Yttero; chr. 15 Mar 1863
Father: Johan Heikkila
Mother: Maria, age 27

It appears that Frans Nestor was born in the neighboring parish of Noormarkku (Norrmark in Swedish):

Frans Nestor, b. 11 Jan 1862, village of S:mark [Sodermark]; chr. 12 Jan 1862
Father: Gustaf Osterlund
Mother: Vilhelmina Johansdotter [daughter of Johan, Swedish version], age 37

Other children born to this couple (Frans Nestor's siblings):

Johan Gustaf, b. 8 Aug 1849, village of S:mark, Praka farm; chr. 12 Aug 1849
Father: Johan Gustaf Henriksson (son of Henrick)
Mother: Wilhelmina Johanssdotter (daughter of Johan), age 24
(This child died in 1853, and another of the same name is chr. in 1855)

Issac Victor, b. 16 Jan 1853, village of S:mark; chr. 16 Jan 1853
Father: Gustaf Johan Henricksson Osterlund
Mother: Wilhelmina Johanssdotter, age 27
(This child died a few days before his brother above)

Johan Gustaf, b. 20 Aug 1855, village of S:mark; chr. 22 Aug 1855
Father: Gustaf Johan Henricksson Osterlund
Mother: Wilhelmina Johanssdotter, age 30

Isak Victor, b. 10 Nov 1859, village of S:mark; chr. 13 Nov 1859
Father: Gustaf Henricksson Osterlund
Mother: Mina Johanssdotter, age 34

Gustaf and Vilhelmina were married in the same parish:

Parish: Noormarkku
Groom: Gustaf Johan
Groom's Residence: Village of Sodermark, Praka farm
Bride: Vilhelmina Johanssdotter
Bride's Residence: Village of Sodermark, Kuuri farm
Date of Marriage: 4 Aug 1849

Here's a summary of what I found:

Generation One

Henrick1 OSTERLUND, b. abt 1800-1805, Western Finland; d. UK, poss. Noormarkku parish. Married to UNKNOWN SPOUSE (b. abt 1800-1805, Western Finland; d. UK, poss. Noormarkku parish) abt. 1825-1828 in Western Finland. Children of Henrick OSTERLUND and UNKNOWN SPOUSE:

1. Gustaf Johan2 Henricksson OSTERLUND, b. abt 1825-1835, Western Finland; d. UK, Western Finland (poss. Sodermark, Noormarkku parish).

Notes for Henrick OSTERLUND: It is not presently known when the family adopted the OSTERLUND surname, or whether Henrick used this surname.

Generation Two

Gustaf Johan2 Henricksson OSTERLUND, b. abt 1825-1830, Western Finland; d. UK, Western Finland (poss. Sodermark, Noormarkku parish). Married to Vilhelmina Johansdotter UNKNOWN (b. abt 1825-1830, Western Finland; d. UK, Western Finland, poss. Sodermark, Noormarkku parish; daughter of Johan UNKNOWN) on 4 Aug 1849 at Sodermarks, Noormarkku parish, Western Finland. Children of Gustaf Johan2 OSTERLUND and Vilhelmina Johansdotter UNKNOWN:

1. Johan Gustaf OSTERLUND, b. 8 Aug 1849, Praka farm, Sodermark, Noormarkku parish, Western Finland; d. 12 Apr 1853, Sodermark, Noormarkku parish, Western Finland.

2. Issac Victor OSTERLUND, b. 16 Jan 1853, Sodermark, Noormarkku parish, Western Finland; d. 9 Apr 1853, Sodermark, Noormarkku parish, Western Finland.

3. Johan Gustaf OSTERLUND, b. 20 Aug 1855, Sodermark, Noormarkku parish, Western Finland; d. UK, prob. Western Finland.

4. Isak Victor OSTERLUND, b. 10 Nov 1859, Sodermark, Noormarkku parish, Western Finland; d. UK, prob. Western Finland.

5. Frans Nestor3 OSTERLUND, b. 11 Jan 1862, Sodermark, Noormarkku parish, Western Finland; d. UK, prob. Western Finland.

Generation Three

Frans Nestor3 OSTERLUND, b. 11 Jan 1862, Sodermark, Noormarkku parish, Western Finland; d. UK, prob. Western Finland. Married to Edla Aurora HEIKKILA (b. 10 Mar 1863, Yttero village, Pori parish, Western Finland; d. UK, prob. Western Finland; daughter of Johan HEIKKILA and Maria UNKNOWN) on 8 Nov 1883 at Maaseurak village, Pori parish, Western Finland. Children of Frans Nestor3 OSTERLUND and Edla Aurora HEIKKILA:

1. Frans Ribert OSTERLAND, b. 9 Mar 1884, Yyteri farm, Pori parish, Western Finland; d. UK, USA.

(Note for Frans Ribert: After immigration, changed surname to ALVE and was known as Rupert ALVE).

2. Robert Nestor4 OSTERLUND, b. 26 Nov 1888, Yyteri farm, Pori parish, Western Finland; d. UK, USA.

(Note for Robert Nester: Surname changed to OBERLUND.)

I suspected that the surname change might be the reason you haven't been able to find your great-grandfather's immigration record. Indeed, he immigrated through Canada:

Canada-US Border Crossings
Ships Manifest

Ship: S.S. Corsican
Departed: Liverpool, England on March 23, 1911
Alien: Robert Osterlund
Age: 22
Occupation: laborer
Read & Write? yes, to both
Nationality: Finland
Race or People: Finnish
Country of Departure: Finland
City or Town of Departure: Pori
Name of Nearest Relative in Home Country: father, Frans Osterlund, Pihlava, Finland
Destination: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

I also found Frans Nestor's immigration record:

Ship: S.S. Bergensfjord
Departed: Kristiania, Norway on 14 Dec 1917
Arrived: New York on 25 Dec 1917
Alien: Osterlund, Frans Nestor, age 57 & Edla Aurora, age 55
Occupation: farmer
Able to read & write? yes, to both (Frans & Edla)
Nationality: Finland
Race or People: Finnish
Home City or Town: Pori, Finland
Nearest Relative in Home Country: brother, Isak Viktor Osterlund, Noormarkkun, Sormarkun, kyla T.P.L.

It looks like Robert's brother, Frans (Rupert) was the first to immigrate in 1904, and his immigration record explains his name change:

Ship: S.S. Campania
Departed: Liverpool, England, 22 Oct 1907
Arrived: New York, 29 Oct 1907
Alien: Frans Osterlund
Age: 20
Occupation: laborer
Nationality: Finland
Race or People: Finnish
Last Residence: Finland
Destination: Meriden, Connecticut
Passage: $10, paid by self
Relative or Destination in U.S.: uncle, Frank Alves, Meriden, Conn.

On the family story of Frans and the 'evil stepfather,' I'm not sure that I was able to support the story with the records I found. Frans did have two brothers (in addition to the two that died in infancy), and Frans' immigration record indicates that at least one of them (Isak) was still living in 1917.

I hope this helps you in your family research!

Yours in history,

Karyn