Rauma Parish, Turku-Pori, Finland Genealogy

Guide to Rauma parish, Finland ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
Rauma is a town and municipality on the west coast of Finland, 57 miles north of Turku, and 31 miles south of Pori. Rauma was granted town privileges on 17 April 1442 when it was under the rule of Sweden. In the 14th century, before being declared as a town, Rauma had a Franciscan monastery and a Catholic church. In 1550, the townsmen of Rauma were ordered to relocate to Helsinki, but this was unsuccessful and Rauma continued to grow. The Swedish name is Raumo.

The Rauma parish is a joint rural and urban parish. The city of Rauma received its privileges in 1442, but had existed long before that. The congregation is also assumed to have been born before 1450, which is the first known sources. The Lapland chapel that belonged to Eurajoki was moved to Rauma in 1558, but was separated with the foundation of the keep in 1622.

Record Loss
The former so-called "Holy Trinity" church was destroyed by fire on 1/5 1639 or 1640. The rectory burned down in 1537. The town burned down on 12/9 1536 and 20/6 (not 23/6) 1682, when also the church of the "Holy Cross" (monastery town) and the belfry burned. Only the roof and a couple of doors were destroyed in the church. In the fire of 1682, the entire archive of the monastery must have been destroyed. The church was looted during the great hatred (Iso Viha). During the great hatred, part of the church library, which Reverend Ståhlberg sent with his daughter to Sweden, was lost there. The roof of the rectory caught fire on 15/7 1924, but the fire was extinguished. O. Durchman, "The Destruction of Church Archives. Supplement II." Genos 3 (1932). "Supplement IV." Genos 4 (1933). "Supplement VI." Genos 5 (1934). "Supplement VIII." Genos 15 (1944).

Villages
As of 1939 the following villages were found in this parish: Kolla, Kortela, Rauma, Sorkka, Syvärauma, Unaja, Uotila, Vasarainen, Vermuntila, Voiluoto.

Place Names
To see what kind of place it is you will need a Finnish gazetteer.

Surrounding Parishes
Eurajoki (Euraåminne), Lappi, Kodisjoki, Laitila (Letala), Pyhäranta

Church Records

 * 1538-1943 (*); Rauman seurakunta at FamilySearch Catalog &mdash; images
 * 1640-1860 (*); Rauman seurakunta at FamilySearch Catalog &mdash; images
 * 1657-1890 at FamilySearch &mdash; How to Use This Collection; index
 * 1657-1915 at FamilySearch &mdash; How to Use This Collection; index & images
 * 1682-1892 at FamilySearch &mdash; How to Use This Collection; index
 * 1724-1867 (*); Rauman seurakunta at FamilySearch Catalog &mdash; images
 * 1725-1909 at FamilySearch &mdash; How to Use This Collection; index
 * 1853-1900 (*); Rauman maalaiskunta at FamilySearch Catalog &mdash; images
 * 1864-1900 (*); Rauman seurakunta at FamilySearch Catalog &mdash; images
 * Rauma - Raumo at Finland's Family History Association (FFHA) (Suomen Sukuhistoriallinen Yhdistys ry) &mdash; images
 * Rauma - Raumo at HisKi, Genealogical Society of Finland (Suomen Sukututkimusseuta) &mdash; index. More information about the church

Emigration and Immigration Records

 * 1900-1920 at FamilySearch &mdash; How to Use This Collection; index

Taxation Records

 * 1809-1915 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images