A Sailor In The Family

Jacobus Mathiasson Hummelholm (1786-1825) was my 1st cousin five times removed, and his occupations in Pedersöre, Finland were both carpenter and sailor.

I suppose there is nothing really unusual about either occupation. Still, I was quite pleased to discover I have a relative from the past that was not a farmer. There is nothing wrong with being a farmer, and I am proud to come from a long line of farmers, but it was nice to finally discover a different occupation in my family history.

From what I am able to learn, Jacobus was not a sailor in the navy, but a regular sailor.

Jacobus was born in Esse, Finland, and moved to Pedersöre, Finland, where he married in 1810 to Susanna Mattsdotter Wästersund. Jacobus died in 1825 of bröstsjuka, which was usually pneumonia.

Jacobus and his wife Susanna had six children in their 15 years of marriage. Apparently Susanna remarried after the death of Jacobus. That husband was also a sailor.

Jakob (or Jacob) is the Swedish version of Jacobus, and I suspect that is the name he went by. Jacobus is the Latin version of Jakob, and some clergymen entered births in the church books using the names in Latin. Jaakko is the Finnish version of the name, but my ancestors were from the Swedish speaking part of Finland, so it is more likely he would have used the name Jakob or Jacob.

Although Hummelholm is the farm name he was born on, he was later listed as Hummel, and beginning with the birth of his daughter Caisa Greta in 1812, I find his surname listed as Westerlundin for the births of his other children.