Mrs Antila third class passenger

[Hildo Thiel]

I found some information concerning a Mrs. Aino Antila, on the Ellis Island site. This Mrs. Antila was traveling on the Laconia on the 16th of August 1914, she had with her two young boys named Carl, age 4 and John, age 3. John is the English version of Jan. Her nationality is given as finnish and that of the boys as US citizen. They were traveling to Michigan.

The confendential report said that they were deported passengers and had the Russian nationality.

Is it possible, that this are the same persons or not?

Regards,

Hildo

 

[Geoff Whitfield]

Hildo,

Yes, this was the same family. Can't think why they were being deported however unless it was something to do with their being hospitalised upon arrival at Ellis Island. Maybe nobody was able to support them, Mrs Antila gives the name of a friend to whom she was travelling - not a husband.

 

[Hildo Thiel]

Hello Geoff,

Thanks for the information.

regards,

Hildo

 

[Hildur Panula-Heinonen]

Her name is quite Finnish, is there proof of where she was born and where her sons were born?

 

[Peter Kelly]

Hi Hildur,

Mrs. Antila was Finnish, but, as you probably know, Finland was ruled by Russia in 1915 and therefore her nationality is listed as Russian. She had a sister named Marja living in Oulu, so maybe she came from this area

Peter

 

[Zachary Schwarz]

Hi Peter,

You mentioned Mrs. Antila's sister. Do you happen to know what her maiden name was?

Thanks!

Zach

 

[Zachary Schwarz]

Just in case you're confused, I meant the maiden name of Mrs. Antila, not her sister.

 

[Peter Kelly]

Hi Zach,

The only information I can give you is that Mrs. Antila's sister was Marja Myllyla. I do not know if she was married, or single, so therefore do not know if this was her maiden name.

Sorry I can not be of more help, but if you can find out more, I would appreciate you letting me know.

Regards,

Peter

 

[Zachary Schwarz]

Hi Peter,

No problem. I was just curious. I did a quick search for Marja Myllyla and a Maria Myllyla (B. 1883) died in Michigan, according to the Social Security Death Index. I thought this was interesting because this was the destination listed on Ellis Island for Mrs. Antila and her sons.

Thanks!

Zach

 

[Peter Kelly]

Hi Zach,

Yes, that is interesting. I do not know how common the name "Myllyla" is in Finland, but maybe some more information could come to light in the future, which might be relevant.

Of course, it is a possibility that this woman you found might have been Mrs. Antila herself. It was not unknown, then or now, that deported people who wanted to go to a country they were deported from, would adopt the name of a relative, or even a ficticious name. Obviously, it is much more difficult today with photo, fingerprint, and DNA records, but back then, well....

Sorry, I am probably only complicating the issue, but if you learn any more, I would be interested to know about it, and if I uncover anymore details, I will contact you.

Take care, Zach,

Peter

 

[Zachary Schwarz]

Hi Peter,

It has already been complicated. I actually did a search on Ellis Island too and I found ANOTHER Maria Myllyla bound for her father in Michigan. She is too young to be the Maria Myllyla in the Social Security Index. Apparently Michigan was a popular place to settle for Finnish immigrants and ladies named Maria Myllyla!

Zach

 

[Geoff Whitfield]

Just to compound matters, I notice a Jan Anttila born in Oulu, Finland on 24th June 1912 to Mikko Antilla and Maria Myllyoja Anttila! What puzzles me is that the passnger list is stamped with "Deported" upon their arrival in 1914 - yet they were not returned until 1915! Also, according to the manifest, both children had been born in the U.S. - thereby making them citizens of that country?

Geoff

 

[Zachary Schwarz]

That sounds a lot like the Jan Antila from the Lusitania. The age even fits.

I thought the same thing too when I read of them on Ellis Island. Several other third class passengers had children born in America, making them American citizens while their parents were still British.

I wonder if we will ever know who exactly the Antila family really were!

 

[Peter Kelly]

Hi Zach & Geoff,

This seems to be one of those threads where fact is stranger, or maybe more mysterious, than fiction.

In relation to your last sentence, Zach, maybe there is some Finnish member who might like to try his or her hand at detective work and see if they can find anything that might solve the mystery.

Any takers......Anyone???

Peter

 

[Zachary Schwarz]

To make things even more difficult, Ellis Island gives Aino's place of birth as Hameenlinna. This Finnish city is toward the south of Finland while Oulu is more toward the middle of Finland.