In the summer of 1948 one sunny afternoon, our dad called my brother, Paul, seven years old, and me eight, to hop in our 1947 black Ford. This did not seem unusual. Often on a Sunday afternoon, he would take us for a long drive around the Eastern Townships. However, this was not a Sunday. We both gave each other a quizzical look and wondered, “What’s up?”

Dad soon explained. We were on our way to the Richmond train station, about fifteen miles from home to meet an important person. “Who could this person be?” Our curiosity was aroused. Before long Dad had us reciting a Finnish greeting: “Hei isoaiti.”

We were on our way to welcome our grandmother.

As life would have it, this was the only opportunity I had to spend time with my grand-mother, Ida Susanna Karhu. She lived in Ashtabula, Ohio, far from Asbestos, Quebec. Over the years she visited her son, Karl, my dad, only twice. The second time in 1954 she visited the family with her third husband, Gust and his son, Elmer..

Ida was born in Isokyro, Finland in 1886 and emigrated at nine. In 1903 at sixteen, she married, Johan Hjalmar Lindell, nine years her senior. During their forty-one years of marriage, they had eight healthy children and their ninth child lived only 4 days.

Johan and Ida

Grandfather Lindell was a blacksmith with four forges and shod the horses of large brewery wagons that were drawn by these very large strong horses.  With the advent of trucks, automobiles, and the Temperance League, circumstances forced him to close shop.

 Johan began working in a munition factory. In October of 1944, he was tragically struck by a forklift and ultimately died due to his injuries.

     

Johan Herman Lindell’s 1944 death certificate

Two years after Johan’s passing in 1946, Ida married Heman Haapala from Ashtabula. He had been employed as a car repair man for the railroad company. They were both in their sixties and in good health. This allowed them to travel to Florida during the winter months.  Alas! this union lasted a few short years. Herman died of lung cancer in February 1951.

Ida and Herman’s Marriage Record

Herman’s Death Record

Ida found herself a widow once more. However, not long after Herman’s passing, only after a few brief months, she met a Swedish dairy farmer from Cook, Minnesot, Gust Gustafson. He had been widowed twice. How they met is a mystery. Perhaps they knew one another from their traveling days. Together they embarked on their third marriage, June 16^th of 1951.

Ida and Gust (circa 1952)

The dairy farm in Minnesota

In 1954 Ida, Gust, and his son Elmer visited Mom and Dad at their recently acquired farm in Asbestos.

Ida and Gust were together for many years. Just how many is a bit of a conundrum. At this point, I can only speculate as to the outcome of their marriage. I surmise that perhaps my grandmother decided to visit California. Her children, my Uncle Milton and Aunt Helen Lindell Lev had settled there with their families. Ida always enjoyed travelling and visiting her children.

Had she moved to be closer to family or was she visiting? While in California she died on December 17, 1967, In Belleflower. She was eighty-one years old at the time of her death and had led a full and interesting life. She had been active in the Ashtabula community, Bethany Lutheran Church, and the Ladies of Kavela, while raising her family, and in later years enjoyed travelling.

She is buried in Edgewood Cemetery in Ashtabula, Ohio beside Johan Hjalmar, her first love and husband of forty-one years.

Gust Atiel Gustafson born in 1884 lived another 4 years after Ida’s passing. He died at the age of 86 in the spring of 1971 and is buried in Cook, Minnesota beside his first wife, Josefina

Sources:

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/G94G-2DJ/ida-susanna-karhu-1886-1967

accessed Feb 22.2024

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L1BR-WT1/kaarlo-victor-%22karl%22-lindell-1905-1998 accessed Feb 22.2024

https://www.myheritage.com/names/gust_gustafson#col_a_1

Accessed March 1, 2024

Find a Grave       Accessed March 4, 2024  

Note:

Below is a link to a previous story about Ida Susanna Karhu, my Finnish grandmother, written in 2017 for Genealogy Ensemble: “Sisu, Saunas and Ida Susanna”. More records about her life’s pursuits have become available since that first story was written.

https://genealogyensemble.com/2017/04/20/sisu-saunas-and-ida-susanna/