Evert and Ida Huuskonen from Vesanto and Rautalampi, Finland

For years, we wondered about why Grandpa Evert Huuskonen moved from Rautalampi to Vesanto in Finland. The two towns are about 45 km apart. After learning the history of Rautalampi Parish and its daughter parish, Vesanto, we concluded that the Huuskonens did not move at all, but that Evert Huuskonen and his wife Ida simply were transferred to the rolls of the Vesanto Parish in 1893.

Vesanto Parish was  formed when a new church was built in the small town of the same name near the Huuskonen farm. The new parish was formed because the Rautalampi church was 45 km (about 28 miles) away, a long way to travel to church on the very primitive roads of the late 19th century. The Huuskonen family simply chose to maintain affiliation with Rautalampi Parish even though there was a church much closer.