Ahlainen Parish, Turku-Pori, Finland Genealogy

Europe Finland  Turku-Pori County Ahlainen parish

Guide to Ahlainen parish, Finland ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
Vittisbofjärd is the Swedish name for Ahlainen parish.

Place Names
To see what kind of place it is you will need a Finnish gazetteer.

Antora, Bastuhalme, Haapajärvi, Heikkilä, Härky, Isokorpi, Juhola, Kaarankorpi, Kankaanpää, Kataristo, Kielfiera, Knuttila, Korkiakoski, Lambaluoto, Leppäkari, Mannila, Mauluna, Mäkelä, Peinto, Peltomaa, Pirttijärvi, Santala, Takala, Takkaluoto, Vaikela, Viikas, Viitaniemi, Vuorenpää.

Online Church Records: A Major Source for Birth, Marriage, and Death Information
1. First search for your ancestor on these websites. Different collections cover different parishes, so it is important to check every collection.
 * The HisKi Project. Choose a specific parish or click on "All" to search the entire country. This collection is a partial database of indexed births, marriages, and deaths. It does not have data from the communion books and pre-confirmation books.
 * MyHeritage.com: Finland Church Census and Pre-Confirmation Books, 1657-1915. "Census books" here refers to communion books.
 * Finland's Family History Association--SSHY (Suomen Sukuhistoriallinen Yhdistys). Click on "Church Records" in the left sidebar.  Select your parish from the list that comes up. Some of the features of this website are available at no cost. It appears that the paid subscription version (which is very reasonable) gives access to additional records not found with the free version.
 * Digihakemisto (Digital Directory). In the left sidebar, select your parish. This is a partial directory to parish records found in the Finnish National Archives.

2. The parish records are digitized online in the Finnish National Archives. This is the most complete collection, but it is more complicated to use. Use it when the records you need are not in the simpler indexed records above. Choose the parish you need from the "Tree View", which is a list of parish archives.

Online Communion Books (Rippikirjat/Kommunionböcker) and Preconfirmation Records (Lastenkirjat/Barnböcker)
Perhaps the most important genealogical record, Communion Books list the inhabitants of a parish by village, farm, and household. They are called communion books, because a person's records are added to them beginning with their confirmation and first communion. These records greatly simplify the research process by grouping individuals into family units. These records make it possible to follow the lives of ancestors from birth to the grave by providing, in one place, references to birth, marriage, and death dates, as well as moving information and other personal items. Pre-confirmation Records list each residence, the parents, and the children who had not yet been confirmed (usually all children younger than about age 14). After their confirmation, the children were transferred into the communion book. These records list each residence, the parents, and the children at the residence who had not yet been confirmed with their birth dates and, ultimately, their confirmation dates. Vaccinations are also noted. If a child died before confirmation, the death date is given. The records often include notation of blindness, disabilities, or other personal data.


 * MyHeritage.com: Finland Church Census and Pre-Confirmation Books, 1657-1915. "Census books" here refers to communion books.
 * Digihakemisto (Digital Directory). In the left sidebar, select your parish. A menu for the parish will show these records, in addition to births, marriages, and deaths.
 * In the Finnish National Archives these records are in the church books for each parish.Choose the parish you need from the archives listed in the "Tree View".

Microfilms of Records for Finland
Microfilms of the original records used for developing the online databases are also available for research. You will find additional records that have yet to be digitized. These microfilms may be viewed at a Family History Center near you. Click on this link to see a list of "records for Finland, Turku-Pori". Next, click on "Places within Finland, Turku-Pori" and choose your parish.

Writing to the Local Parish
The Family History Library does not have recent church records. You can obtain this information by writing to the local parishes in Finland. If you do not speak Finnish, you may write your letter in English. In your letter, include a statement that you are willing to pay for the services you request. You will be billed when the research has been completed.
 * Parish Contact Information
 * Finland Letter Writing Guide

Help Reading Finnish and Swedish Records

 * Since Finnish was not an official language in Finland until 1863, most records were written in Swedish. To do research in these records, you will need to know some Swedish and Finnish key words and phrases (such as born, died, mother, father, etc.), but you do not have to be fluent in the language.
 * Key words and a glossary of somewhat less common words are found in the Finnish Genealogical Word List and the Swedish Genealogical Word List.
 * This interactive dictionary allows you to enter a word in the search box and receive the translation: Swedish Historical Dictionary Database, SHDD.
 * For help with reading the column headings found in more recent records, see [[Media:Swedenish_Par_Reg_and_Exam_headings.pdf|Swedish Parish Register and Household Exam Roll Headings]].
 * Instructions, document examples, and translations are given for Reading Swedish Birth and Christening Records 1717, 1752, 1771, 1792, 1803, 1834, 1854.

Help Reading Old Handwriting

 * Online lessons are available to teach you how to read old Scandinavian handwriting:
 * Reading Scandinavian Gothic Handwritten Records Lesson 1: Scandinavian Gothic Letters
 * Reading Scandinavian Gothic Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Names, Words, and Dates
 * Reading Scandinavian Gothic Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Handwritten Records


 * Reading Gothic Handwriting for Swedish Genealogy, Lesson 1
 * Spelling and Phonetics for Swedish Genealogy, Lesson 2 — Names, dates, and key genealogical words
 * Reading Gothic Handwriting for Swedish Genealogy: Put It All Together, Lesson 3
 * Birth and Christening Records for Swedish Genealogy

Help Choosing Research Goals

 * First find the birth and baptism record of your ancestor. Once you know his date and place of birth and his parents' names, you can locate the family in the communion and pre-confirmation records.
 * Search every communion and pre-confirmation record that your ancestor appears in (from birth to death). You will pick up valuable clues along the way, find children who died young, and establish correct family member relationships.
 * All birth, marriage, or death dates found in communion and pre-confirmation records need to be verified in the actual birth, marriage, or death records.
 * Pay attention to relationship titles, occupations, military status, and remarks.
 * Do the same study for each earlier generation, gathering every communion, pre-confirmation, birth, marriage and death record.
 * If the family moves to another parish, it will be noted in moving-in-moving-out records and the communion books.