Josefina Hatunen

Moved from Finland to US 1912

Back to Victor;

His mother born 1883 was an intellegent free-living woman who wrote poems and plays. When she was 17 she had her first poem published in the (Viipuri News) and by 18 her first play was produced in Viipuri and Helsinki...according to Lee's father's journal. She was active with a half-secret Finnish Society for Freedom of Finland. One while Victor's mother worked in the household of Grand Duke of Sergei,who was a high ranking officer in the Russian Army (son of Constantin,Tsar Alexander Ist next brother down who didn't want the throne). Before she started working there her connections with the revolutionary societies was discovered. The Grand-duke saved her from being executed or sent to Siberia, but in revenge she was made his mistress for awhile and got pregnant before he left for Manchuria (Russo-Japanese War). He was killed in the siege of Port Arthur and after his death the Secret Police started hunting her down because of her political activities. She after that never stayed too long in one spot. Victor thinks he was born in Viipuri 1905, but his aunt says Petrograd 1903. When he applied to come to this country he chose 1905 because he wouldn't be under too much suspicion of having been in the Red Guard, which he was...anyway he says he has Romanovs blood in him. Victor doesn't know when Toivo (David) Hiltunen came into his mother's life but thinks it's shortly after he was born. They broke up in 1907 and had an on-off relationship till she left for America in 1912. Victor said he was living with his step-father Hiltunen when his mother showed up to say good-bye

äääääääVictor's mother (Lee's grandmother )came here in 1912 and lived in New York,the Finns lived in either Brooklyn or Harlem. Victor said her diary from 1912-13 was missing so only knows that she was fond of writing short stories,plays and poems.In Feb 1914 she wrote saying she had written another story for the New York News (a Finnish Newspaper)and was finishing writing a play. By March 1914 she had met a Finn "Kusti" that she was close to,a year later she was pregnant by him but was living alone,he wanted to marry her but she wanted her freedom. She was always hoping to go back to Finland to see her two loves, Victor and his step-father Hiltunen,but now the coming war stopped that. Somewhere because of her play writing and being involved with the theater group she met the Hills, they were an older couple who were childless. He had a good Insurance Co job in Indianapolis,an apartment in New York and a summer place in Norwich Vermont(north of New York City ). Nov. 29th,1915 Victor's half-sister was born and by June 1916 the Hill's had adopted her.

Her diary dated May 30th 1916 said "Waldemar came to Rochester New York". That's the first time we hear of grandfather being with Fanny...who knows when they started their affair. He was one who enjoyed writing poems but maybe it started with love letters to her. Because the Hills adopted her daughter they had a family friendly relationship. Waldemar and Fanny would visit them in Vermont or wherever they saw the Hills. Grandfather and Funny were deeply in love, work as a carpenter was hard for him to find so as he moved temporarily to cities above New York she would follow and stay for awhile at least between the trips back and forth to Brooklyn. In December 1916 she writes that she had written over 40 poems in the last half of that year and that in almost every edition of the paper she has had at least one printed,very often two or three. The Christmas issue of the "Viesti" (Finnish Monthly Magazine)printed two of her stories. In her Jan.25,1917 entry, she said it was one of the worst days of her life because she found out that Waldemar had six children and a wife in Finland.

Waldemar(Ivar Valdemar Koskinen) came to America in spring 1913. My grandmother was determined to get to America because life was tough in Finland and no future in sight.She already had two brothers living in northern California so that's what encouraged her. One of her brother's sent a blank personnal check to Finland for her to pay for her husband's ticket. My youngest uncle Nils,who still lives next to his uncle's property, saw the cancelled check years ago. Grandfather came into New York through Ellis Island and that's where the name was changed to Robertson. His father's first name was Robert,that's how mine became Robert Waldemar Robertson. He was little-bit too good looking and not much of a worker so we imagine he had alot of idiol time. The family heard from him at first but the letters became fewer till by 1917 they didn't hear from him at all. In Fanny's June 18 1917 entry Victor says she and Waldemar used pen names when signing their published poems, and that his translated was (Dusky Boy). Victor said it started before they met and that led to their meeting. In June 1918 the first copy of "Sirusia" is sent to her by the printers...it is a soft copy book of poems written and published by her. That summer Victor's mother mentioned she took-up painting and sold some paintings. Victor writes; Oct.1,1918 Mother is still in New London Connecticut,she seems to move around alot. Sometimes to follow Waldemar in his work,sometimes on her own way. Right now Walde is still working in Philadelphia,and she is wondering if she should go there or New York. She also notes how many people are dying of the Spanish Flu.