The family of KK's mother's mother Saimi Vaara


The parents of Saimi Vaara (Paturi), 24.1.1881-8.4.1969, here are Kalle Paturi (originally Eerola; was adopted), 9.4.1845 (Janakkala?) - 3.4.1911 (Turenki; hanged himself) and Maria Talvinen, 6.2.1853 (Jämsä)-15.4.1927 (Turenki).

Guess from the looks who was the boss in this family! She weighed 120 kg. After she sold the estate in Turenki to her youngest child Altti in 1916, this is what she got as one year's support.

Maria Talvinen's brother was Kalle Kustaa Talvinen:

19.9.1843 (Jämsä) - 17.8.1905 (Koivisto, now Primorsk in Russia). He was an elementary school teacher in Koivisto in 1874-1905, graduated from the Jyväskylä Seminar in 1868 Here he is partying in 1868 with the students Andersson, W. Mannström, Axel Weckman and Talvinen (lower right in the middle pic). Unfortunately only Talvinen's name can be found in the directory of the Jyväskylä Seminar so that there is no data on the three additional people.
On 2 Oct 2011 I realized that I have in my possession Talvinen's some 15 notebooks from the time he was studying in Jyväskylä seminar: algebra, geometry, chemistry, anatomy, religion, pedagogy. These were being carried to the dust bin when my sister's attick was being cleaned, but fortunately I came around and rescued the box containing the unbelievably dusty and sooty notebooks. They have an inherent value in that they are the oldest, soon 150 years, documents from my family. Of course, they are not personal, much more interesting in this sense is Talvinen's diary from his boat trip from Koivisto to Newcastle. All these documents were in Nov 2015 deposited in Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, www.finlit.fi.

Talvinen's pedagogical methods were, to say the least, somewhat old fashioned, as were those of his coworker (or girlfriend, claimed Sirkku Kajantie) Elida Mölsä. One of his pupils in his first job in Tuulos in about 1870 reports in Hämeen Sanomat in 1949 that "Opettajamme Kalle Kustaa Talvinen oli ankara pokstaavin mies, jos hyväkin".

Talvinen was a batchelor and his niece Saimi Paturi was sent to him in 1887 as a helper when she was only 6 years old. In 1904, Vihtori Vaara, who just had graduated from the Sortavala Seminar came to Koivisto to his first job as an elementary school teacher. He made it sure that he would get Kalle Talvinen's job by marrying Saimi; after getting it he actually went to Helsinki for lengthy periods to continue studying. Koivisto was left for good only in 1914. On 4 July 1914 they auctioned off almost all of their belongings, obtaining some 500 marks. The whole family then moved to Helsinki on 1 August 1914, when the first world war started. Two horses were used to transport everything to Uuras, a harbor close by. From there by boat (Ainamo) to Viipuri and then by train, guarded by soldiers with bayonetted rifles, to Helsinki. A big item in the removal was Kalle Talvinen's extensive library of Finnish books which I (KK) now have. Here is a list "Luettelo K.K.Talvisen omaamista kirjoista" of the books written by Talvinen himself, unfortunately the page containing book numbers 150 to 211 is missing (rotate view to read properly). I myself long ago started writing a list of Talvinen's books, but this is still quite incomplete.

One may note that at Talvinen's death his one cow was valued at 100 marks, his pig at 30 marks and his library at 207 marks.

Maria Talvinen's second brother was Johannes Talvinen, 1851-1929. He is here with his wife and his daughter with her two daughters. Genuine rural people!

The father of Maria Talvinen was Karl Bertilsson, 13.12.1810 (Alho, Kännö) - . He moved to Talviala in 1836 and was married on 15.4.1841.

The mother of Maria Talvinen was Eeva Stiina Johansdotter Talviala :

8.8.1821 (Moiskala, Talviala) - 23.8.1896 (Koivisto). She gave her farm in Jämsä to one of her children and moved to Koivisto to stay with her son Kalle.