Matti Fredrik Kivela (Hoglin) - Matti Fredrik Kivela in Canada

I appear to have a distant connection, too. Fred is my 6c2r, through Collan/Storkåll in Pedersöre.

Matti Fredrik Kivela is my great grandfather! My grandfather is Matti Fredrik Kivela’s oldest son John Fredrik Kivela. Married Philyss Green in Naniamo. Also oldest daughter Vienna married James Bevis. They stayed in Canada. The rest of the family moved to Russia/Karelia in the 1930’s

Hi Lene! We are 7th cousins once removed. I have come across the Kivela name several times in researching my family and until Geni, I wasn't sure if they were related or not. Geni shows Fred is my great grandmother, Adolphina Hägg (Koskela/Passi)'s 4th cousin once removed and his wife Sanna is her 5th cousin once removed. There may be a closer relationship, but at the moment, this is what Geni shows.

As I mentioned in my message above, both the Häggs and Kivelas lived in the same community near Nanaimo. My g-grandmother came from Kauhava which is 15 km from Lapua. She also immigrated to the Nanaimo/Chase River area the same year as Fred (1911). Her husband John Hägg came out the year before. My g-grandparents were around the same age as your g-grandparents.

I have found a picture of the women's auxillary for the Finnish Lodge in Chase River with both my g-grandmother and a Mrs. Kivela (not sure which one).

My g-grandmother's sister, Miina Koskela and her husband John Kojola along with their two children also returned to Karelia - exactly one year after Fred and family went back. I am sure Fred and John Kojola knew each other as they were both miners and lived in the same area in Nanaimo (according to different sources). John, Miina and their 2 children are on the Missing in Karelia list - as is Fred (which I am sure you know).

I don't know what happened to them. I have only been able to find a single record of John and Miina's daughter Aivi (Ivy) after their return to Karelia. In a book there is a little blurb about Aivi in which she was overheard talking about how she missed Canada and wondered why her parents moved to Russia. A neighbour reported this "anti-soviet" statement to the authorities and Aivi was sentenced to 10 years in prison. She was 17 years old. I also have a letter which I found in my mom's papers from Aivi written in 1934 from Petroski, Russia. She would have been around 14. I wonder if Fred & family and John & Miina were friends. Miina would be cousins to both Fred and Sanna just as my g-grandmother was.

If you want to connect further, please send me a message under my profile.

Hi Laurel, It would be lovely if you could add the photo of your grandmother and mrs. Kivelä to their profiles. I just learned of Sanna-Liisas, my third great aunt's faith today, and it would be wonderful to see her.

Hello my 7th cousin 1x removed. I do have pictures of my grandmother and great grandmother attached to their profiles, but in regards to Sanna, I am not 100% sure the picture I have of Mrs. Kivela is the correct Mrs. Kivela. Also as it is not my picture (it is on a Facebook group) I do not have the rights to it.

If you would like to see it, send me your email through a message under my profile and I will email it to you.

I have photos I can post just have to dig them out as I am away at the moment this is very exciting!

That would be great Lene!

That would be wonderful!

Hi I have uploaded some photos of my great grandparents matti Fred Kivela and family

Fantastic. Those are some great documents to have in your possession. The picture I have (that I mentioned in a comment above) is definitely not a picture of your grandmother. The Mrs. Kivela in my picture is most likely your grandparents daughter-in-law - married to the son that stayed in Canada.

First, sorry: Many things here in Finnish. Hope you can undrstand something. I am gathering material for Finnish National Archives about poeople, who were assasinated near of Petrozavodsk in 1937, 1938. Here you can see everything I have about Fred Kivelä:

Kivelä, Fred (Matti Fredrik; main. Heikki), s. 29.6.1889 Lapua Suutalan kylä, k. 26.2.38 (ammuttu) Petroskoin lähellä. Vht mäkitupal. Juho Yrjönp. Kiviniemi ja Kaisa Matint. Pso Sanna Liisa Juhontytär s. Nikkari. Lapset Vieno Katherine (s. 11 Lapua), John Frederik (s. 12 Lapua), Sylvia, Veikko. Kaksi vanhinta lasta jäivät Kanadaan. "Korkeakoulusivistys". Nanaimo BC. Läksiäiset Vancouverissa 11.5.33, 4-henkinen perhe lähti Halifax 22.5.33, kirje Vapaus 4.7.33. Lososiinan autotalous, työläiskomitean pj., Äänisenrannan piiri Maasjärvi Lohijärven metsätyömaan ammattiliittokomitean pj., mekaanikko (metsätyöl.). Ei puolueen jäsen. Vang. 16.1.38, NKVD:n tuom. 13.2.38 (§ 58/10). Nl:n korkeimman neuvoston puhemiehistön ukaasin perusteella reh. 89. Ystäväperhe: Wester ja Hulda Sillanpää.
Sources: Vapaus 1933:118, 123, 124, 140, 155; 1934:38. C 6/1991 s. 186. Sevander 1996 s. 127. Sevander 2000, 143, 195. Lahti-Argutina 2001, 224. ru.openlist.wiki base.memo.ru lists.memo.ru HisKi
About traveling: Matt Fredric K., lähti Seinäjoelta ja sitten Hangosta 25.11.11 Uranialla ja Englannista 1.12.11 Empress of Irelandilla määränpäänä Phoenix BC Kanada. Matka maksoi 402 Smk. Source: Siirtolaisrekisteri.

If you have something for archives mentioned, you can send me or there (suomalaiset.venajalla@kansallisarkisto.fi)

Aimo Ruusunen

+ 358 50 431 3510