THE FAMILY SOCIETY OF PUHAKKA
You have come to the webpage of the Puhakka Family Society. There are about 170 members in the society around Finland and some in other countries. In Finland there are about 2000 persons who have the surname Puhakka and about 1000 persons with Puhakka as the former (maiden) surname.
The Family Society of Puhakka was founded year 1996 in Joensuu and registered the following year. The family crest was accepted in 2005. It was drawn by Harri Rantanen from a design made by Eeva Puhakka and Martti Puhakka.
WHERE DO WE COME FROM
The Puhakkas have traditionally been landed proprietors. They have been attached to the land. The members of the family have spread all over Finland. But they originate mainly from three regions.
There are the Jääski Puhakkas. They are from the Jääski area in South Karelia, from the Karelian Isthmus and the Viipuri area as well as from the Kymenlaakso region. The Karelian Isthmus and the city of Viipuri (Viborg) were ceded to Russia in World War II. The eldest known ancestor of the Jääski line is from the 18th century.
Then there are the North Karelian Puhakkas that are divided into Eno Puhakkas, Kontiolahti Puhakkas and Ilomantsi Puhakkas. These Puhakkas have lived in the North Karelian region since the beginning of the 17th century. They have arrived to North Karelia from the Kainuu region. But from where they have arrived to Kainuu is uncertain.
And finally there are the Puhakkas living in the Oulu area, between Oulu and Kuusamo, in Northern Finland.
The Puhakkas are supposed to be of the same origin, but the information has not yet been verified. According to an unverified legend the Puhakkas have originally come from Germany.
THE FAMILY GATHERINGS
Though there were men and women of Puhakkas who tried to organize a gathering in the beginning of the 20th century, due to the situation in Finland at that time the gathering never took place. The first family gathering was held on 31st of August 2003 in the regional center of Kontiolahti in North Karelia. To the organizers’ surprise and delight there were about 120 people. At first we thought we could organize a smaller gathering because there was not much time to tell people about the event. But the family “jungle drum” began to work exceedingly well and so we had a gathering of 120 instead of about 40 people.
The second gathering was held on 11th of July 2004 in Joensuu, North Karelia. There were a lot of new people to meet. The organizers had also put together a photo exhibition. There were many old pictures of Puhakkas.
The following gatherings have been held as follows; 2005 in Lappeenranta, South Karelia, 2006 in Liperi, North Karelia, 2007 in Kontiolahti Mönni, North Karelia, 2008 in Imatra, South Karelia, 2009 in Kontiolahti Lehmo, North Karelia, 2010 in Joensuu, North Karelia, 2011 in Helsinki, 2013 in Koli, Noth Karelia, 2015 in Mikkeli, Southern Savo, 2017 in Kontiolahti, Northern Karelia, 2019 in Ilomantsi, Northern Karelia and 2021 in Eno, Northern Karelia.
HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER AND MEMBERSHIP FEES
If you wish to become a member in the family society, please send your name, postal address, email address, cell phone number and tell shortly about your connection to the Puhakka family by email to the chairman of the society. (Click this link)
The members receive annually three or four member letters (in Finnish only), have the right to take part in the family gatherings and can buy family products (Click the link SUKUTUOTTEET). The members also can buy copies of the genealogical researches.
The annual individual membership fee is 20€, the family fee 30 € (two parents and children under the age of 18 years). .
PUHAKKAS’ DATABASE
At the moment Puhakkas are scattered into different genealogical researches. In order to help us and the generations to come there is a plan to write Puhakkas into a common database. The goal is to combine all the researches and get all the Puhakkas into one database and later publish our very own book. This is not possible without the help of those who have written knowledge about Puhakkas. Please let the chairman of the society know your own information of the Puhakka family.
TOIVO PÖLÖNEN’S BOOK ABOUT THE NORTH KARELIAN PUHAKKAS
Toivo Pölönen has written a book about the Puhakkas of Eno, Kontiolahti and Ilomantsi (in Finnish only). Those who are interested in this book can contact the chairman of the society. The price is 25€ plus postage.