This Laurila family are the great great grandparents of my children. They are buried in Evergreen Cemetery. Oscar had one daughter in his first marriage, Viva Laurila Caine who was my children's great grandmother. Laila lived in the San Francisco area. Gail

Gail, How exciting! Several things have fallen into place since I received the name Laurila in a letter yesterday from my new-found relatives in Finland. Laurila is the married name for the Tilda Rapakko I had written to this list about previously. From your note, I would understand that Tilda was not the mother of Oscar's daughter Viva - is that correct? In Ellis Island records of 1906, I find Oscar and Tilda Laurila with baby "Lila" and a "Tenna" Laurila, age 10. Would Tenna possibly be Viva? Laila visited my mother in Duluth, Minnesota a few times when I was little, but I couldn't remember her last name, and didn't know how she fit into the family history. I thought only that my mother had referred to her as a cousin. My mother's mother (Tilda's sister, Emma Rapakko) died very young (age 29 in 1907) in Leadville and my mother and two little brothers were sent back to Finland where they lived until 1916. As a result, I think that her ties to the Rapakko-Laurila's in the States were somewhat weakened. But I do recall Laila visiting a few times and I thought she had come from Colorado. Since yesterday I found record of Laila's death 29 August 1989 in San Mateo, California. Also, apparently Oscar died in California, though he is buried in Leadville. Would you have record of the other children in the family? Was there a boy named Edwin, born in 1907? I received a picture yesterday thought to be Tilda. Do you, by chance, have pictures of the family that you would be willing to share? This picture shows her with a young adult lady and two children, possibly Laila and ?. I am desperately searching for a picture of my grandmother Emma (Tilda's sister) - so I am trying to determine if the young woman in this picture could be her, with the children being my mother and her brother at 3 and 1 years of age. Perhaps I should scan it to you to see if you can identify the people? Thank you so much for the information that you sent. I appreciate whatever help you can give! Carole Johnson At 9/19/2001 02:06 AM, you wrote: >This Laurila family are the great great grandparents of my children. They >are buried in Evergreen Cemetery. Oscar had one daughter in his first >marriage, Viva Laurila Caine who was my children's great grandmother. Laila >lived in the San Francisco area. > >Gail