A Mining Family Named Jarvi

                                                                Walter and Eunice Jarvi

The First mention I find of the Jarvi name is when John Jarvi has an unclaimed letter listed in the Philipsburg Mail in 1894 and then, in 1896 Mrs. John Jarvi gave birth to a girl. This girl was named Sima as her death certificate gives a birth date of November 19th. John was born in Finland on December 31, 1862 and immigrated to the United States in either 1883 (1900 census) or 1880 (1910 census). 

In 1889 he married Ina (Ida) whose maiden name was either Haidala or Sandeen. She was born in Finland about 1870 and immigrated to the United States before 1889. They originally lived in Michigan where the first son Mathew was born on July 4, 1889. A Federal Census was not conducted in 1890 and by 1900 they were living at Granite where John was a miner for the Bi-Metallic. Besides Mathew, they had son John Emil known as Emil in 1892; daughter Helma 1893 and Sima 1896; daughter Jennie 1898; son Arthur in May of 1899 who died at the age of 14 months on July 2, 1900 and was buried in the Philipsburg Cemetery. Then daughter Laura was born in 1903; son Edward (Edmond) in 1907 and Walter the youngest five years later according to the 1920 Federal Census. 

John died from a second pulmonary hemorrhage due to Miner’s Consumption on April 22, 1914 and son Emil provided the information on the death certificate. This left Ina widowed with Emil age 27 helping her raise Laura, Edward and Walter according to the 1920 Census. Emil was employed as a miner. Ida (Ina) at an unknown date married John (Jack) Salo and she died in 1947 with burial in the Philipsburg Cemetery.

Mathew married Jennie Berg in Missoula on December 23, 1919 and lived in Philipsburg, mining silver. By 1930 Mathew and Jennie had moved to Michigan where he was mining Iron. They had daughters (Arlove) Carol and Kathleen M. In 1940 Mathew was in Hot Springs, Alaska where the archive text stated he was a proprietor. Wow he had changed from a miner to a business owner!. But inspecting the actual census document shows he was a prospector at a placer site. Apparently Jennie had remained in Michigan, because he was listed as married. Mathew died in Ironwood, Michigan on October 4, 1946 and is buried at the Lakeside cemetery. Carol’s son John still lives on the Ironwood homestead. 

 Photo :Emil Jarvi, Lizzie Adams Edwards, Maggie Adams Jarvi, Ebbe Millis and Jean Gallagher

                                          Photo courtesy of Mary Kay Bennett from Facebook

Emil in the 1930 Federal Census was married to Maggie Adams who was born in Oregon and they lived at Moose Lake, next door to Maggie’s sister Elizabeth and husband Harry Edwards. They were busy mining gold and running trap lines. Emil as stated previously assisted in the search and recovery of Moose Lake Johnson in 1941 and on February 27, 1942 died at his cabin at Moose Lake “from over exertion on a trap line in heavy snow”. The story goes that friends believed he had a heart attack the winter before and suffered another one while trying to get through the snow. He made it back to his cabin where he collapsed. His wife Maggie moved to the Harvey Hotel in Helena and lived there 18 years before dying the 24th of May 1960 before her 72nd birthday. 

Sima born in Granite married Emil Elo and they lived in Milltown where they had a daughter Ellen. She died a widow in Hillside Nursing Home from Pneumonia on June 27, 1987 at the age of 90. 

Laura married Pavvo Posti in 1931 in Duncan, British Columbia, and died there in 1995. 

Helma (Davies) buried in Philipsburg died in 1967. Her children were Barbara and Bryan. 

Edward was married to Lyyte (age 39) and immigrant from Finland, in the 1940 Census and was, of course, employed as a silver miner in Granite County. Jean Jarvi Weissenfluh recalls visiting Ed in Portland, Oregon in 1952 and his wife was Simi. Research has failed further information. 

Walter, on December 25, 1935, married Eunice McLees, the adopted daughter of Samuel and Catherine (Katie) McLees, born in Helena in 1912. Following the family tradition, Walter spent his life working in the mines around Philipsburg. Born to this marriage were daughters: Joan (Roberts) who died on December 22, 2009; and Jean (Weissenfluh) who lives in Colorado and sons: Walter Wayne born November 9, 1943 who died April 17, 1945 and Bill who lives in Opportunity, Montana. 

Walter died in March 21, 1969, about 14 miles west of Philipsburg at his home on Rock Creek. Eunice died on June 5, 1975 in San Diego, California. They are survived by their children plus grandchildren: Debbie, Cindy, Misty Roberts Morgan, Julie Gammons , Mark Weisenfluh and Wayne Jarvi. They are both buried next to son Walter Wayne in the Philipsburg Cemetery.