Kotka Parish, Kymi, Finland Genealogy

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

History
Kotka is a city and municipality of Finland. Kotka is located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of Kymi River and it is part of the Kymenlaakso region in southern Finland. The city centre of Kotka is located at Kotkansaari island. The Port of Kotka is a major Finnish sea port that serves the foreign trade of both Finland and Russia. The municipality is officially unilingually Finnish.

Villages
As of 1939 the following villages were found in this parish: Hovinsaari, Kotka, Metsola, Tiutinen.

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

Gamla Ångsågen, Glasbruk, Gutzeiska sågen,

Halla, Hallaholmen, Hietanen, Hovinsaari, Hovinsaari Ångsåg,

Kivisilta Ångsåg,

Lasitehdas,

Kymmene,

Norska sågen, Norskan saha,

Wanha saha,

Öhlbryggerier

Surrounding Parishes
Haapasaari - Aspö

Hamina - Fredrikshamn

Kymi - Kymmene

Pyhtää - Pyttis

Online Church Records: A Major Source for Birth, Marriage, and Death Information
Different collections cover different parishes, so it is important to check every collection.


 * The HisKi Project. Choose a specific parish or click on "All" to search the entire country. This collection is a partial database of indexed births, marriages, and deaths. It does not have data from the communion books and pre-confirmation books.


 * Finland's Family History Association--SSHY (Suomen Sukuhistoriallinen Yhdistys). Click on "Church Records" in the left sidebar.  Select your parish from the list that comes up. Some of the features of this website are available at no cost. It appears that the paid subscription version (which is very reasonable) gives access to additional records not found with the free version.


 * Digihakemisto (Digital Directory). In the left sidebar, select your parish. This is a partial directory to parish records found in the Finnish National Archives. The index changes between the Finnish version and the English version. If you cannot find a parish, switch to the original Finnish.


 * The parish records are available online at the National Archives of Finland. This is the most complete collection, but it is more complicated to use. Use it when the records you need are not in the simpler indexed records above. Choose the parish you need from the "Tree View", which is a list of parish archives.

Online Communion Books (Rippikirjat/Kommunionböcker) and Preconfirmation Records (Lastenkirjat/Barnböcker)
Perhaps the most important genealogical record, Communion Books list the inhabitants of a parish by village, farm, and household. They are called communion books, because a person's records are added to them beginning with their confirmation and first communion. These records greatly simplify the research process by grouping individuals into family units. These records make it possible to follow the lives of ancestors from birth to the grave by providing, in one place, references to birth, marriage, and death dates, as well as moving information and other personal items. Pre-confirmation Records list each residence, the parents, and the children who had not yet been confirmed (usually all children younger than about age 14). After their confirmation, the children were transferred into the communion book. These records list each residence, the parents, and the children at the residence who had not yet been confirmed with their birth dates and, ultimately, their confirmation dates. Vaccinations are also noted. If a child died before confirmation, the death date is given. The records often include notation of blindness, disabilities, or other personal data.


 * MyHeritage.com: Finland Church Census and Pre-Confirmation Books, 1657-1915. "Census books" here refers to communion books.


 * Digihakemisto (Digital Directory). In the left sidebar, select your parish. A menu for the parish will show these records, in addition to births, marriages, and deaths.


 * Finland's Family History Association--SSHY (Suomen Sukuhistoriallinen Yhdistys). Click on "Church Records" in the left sidebar.  Select your parish from the list that comes up. Some of the features of this website are available at no cost. It appears that the paid subscription version (which is very reasonable) gives access to additional records not found with the free version.


 * In the Finnish National Archives these records are in the church books for each parish.Choose the parish you need from the archives listed in the "Tree View".

Reading the Records

 * Since Finnish was not an official language in Finland until 1863, most records were written in Swedish. To do research in these records, you will need to know some Swedish and Finnish key words and phrases (such as born, died, mother, father, etc.), but you do not have to be fluent in the language.


 * Key words and a glossary of somewhat less common words are found in the Finnish Genealogical Word List and the Swedish Genealogical Word List. This interactive dictionary allows you to enter a word in the search box and receive the translation: Swedish Historical Dictionary Database, SHDD.


 * Online lessons are available to teach you how to read old Scandinavian handwriting:
 * Scandinavian Handwriting
 * Scandinavian Handwriting, part 3 - No part 2 available
 * Reading Gothic Handwriting for Swedish Genealogy, Lesson 1
 * Spelling and Phonetics for Swedish Genealogy, Lesson 2 — Names, dates, and key genealogical words
 * Reading Gothic Handwriting for Swedish Genealogy: Put It All Together, Lesson 3
 * Birth and Christening Records for Swedish Genealogy
 * Instructions, document examples, and translations are given for:
 * Reading Swedish Birth and Christening Records 1717
 * 1752
 * 1771
 * 1792
 * 1803
 * 1834
 * 1854

Search Strategies
When you begin using church records, it is usually best to first verify the information you already have before you try to find new information.

The following steps may be helpful as you use Finnish church records:


 * 1) Find a person’s birth record. Write down the name of the parents and the place where the family was living. You will then be able to find the person in more records.


 * 1) Search the communion records and pre-confirmation rolls of that parish for the date when the family was there for the birth you just located. Note all information about the family, including names, birth dates, birthplaces, marriage and death dates, and moving information. You will now have much more information about the family.


 * 1) Search the birth, marriage, and death records to verify the information you found in the communion and pre-confirmation books.


 * 1) Search the communion records and pre-confirmation rolls for all the years the family lived there. Start with the year of the parents marriage and go until the family dies out.

Repeat steps 1 to 3 for the person’s parents, siblings, or other persons of interest.

If you do not find earlier generations, search neighboring parishes.

These step-by-step case studies with illustrations show how to apply these strategies:


 * Finland: A Case Study Using HisKi and Digitized Online Church Records


 * Finding Records of your Ancestors, Part A Finland Before 1900
 * Beginner’s Guide to Finnish Family History Research

Taxation

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