Jakobstad, Finland in 60 Seconds

Come see Jakobstad-Pietarsaari in Finland with me in 60 seconds! My husband Josh and journeyed far (2 buses, a mile walk, 2 planes and 1 car) to see this small Finnish town, the birthplace of his great grandparents. This morning, we ended up in the Jakobstad Museum's basement searching through old parish records and thanks to the local historian and archivist Jans, we received a special drive to see the fields in Graag where Victor Alfred Sundqvist was born. His wife Anna Emilia was born a few miles down the road but they met at a lumber camp in Michigan once they moved to the United States.

The archivist at the Jakobstad Museum quickly found where Josh's family came from!

Jakobstad, known as Pietarsaari in Finnish, is a charming and historically rich coastal town located in Ostrobothnia, on the west coast of Finland. It's a particularly interesting place due to its strong bilingual character, with a significant Swedish-speaking majority (around 54%) and a substantial Finnish-speaking population (around 30%). The Finnish name, Pietarsaari, refers to the old parish of Pedersöre. It was really special to come here and see how the Sundquists may have lived before immigrating to the states. I think Victor would have been very proud of his great grandson.