Tornio Valley Connections, Volume I

by Virginia Mattson-Schultz

Overview

A large number of our Finnish-American and Swedish-American immigrants came from the Tornio Valley region, way in the north of Sweden and Finland where the two countries meet at the Tornio River. There has been very little information about this particular area, even though there has been quite a bit of information about Sweden and Finland as a whole, usually concentrating on the southern and central parts of the countries. It is such a unique and wonderful place! I really wanted to open up the Tornio Valley for my readers.

I want to help you find your ancestors from this area but also to give you the information you want to picture what kind of life they had. This book, the first in a set of two, tells about the history and geography of the Tornio Valley, the cultures that combined to make it even more unique, as well as its wildlife.

Each of the parishes along the river are described in detail, withsome history and the kinds of people who settled in each, with dates going back to the early 1400's in some cases.

I hope after you read my book, you'll want to book a ticket and go visit the villages your ancestors came from!

Product Details

BN ID:	2940012471468
Publisher:	Virginia Mattson-Schultz
Publication date:	05/14/2011
Series:	Tornio Valley Connections , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Virginia Mattson-Schultz was fascinated by the immigration stories she heard as a child and became interested in genealogy in her twenties. She spent many years researching her own family history, and also working both as a professional genealogist for others and a high school language teacher. Her Finnish and Swedish roots encouraged her study of Finnish and Swedish history and their immigration to America. Given that and her strong background in foreign languages combine to make her uniquely qualified to write this book.

Her first book was Far Northern Connections, published in 2007. She has also written articles for The Finnish American Reporter and the journals Árran and Báiki.

She grew up in Trempealeau, Wisconsin, and earned a B.A. from Macalester College and a master’s degree from the University of Colorado. She currently lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia, with her husband David and golden retriever Sunny.

Editorial Reviews

Tornio Valley Connections . . . is a very clean manuscript that makes sense, is informative and educational, and simply should be published.
Dr. Borje Vahamaki, University of Toronto. Finnish studies

Borje Vahamaki