As the story goes, one of our ancestors moved in the early 1700s from Lestijarvi in Finland to a farm near Rejpelt to work. He married the farmer's daughter and adopted the name of the farm, "West." It was customary at the time to adopt the name of your location. The West family lived on the West Farm for five generations. Around 1840, Hans West moved to Jakobstad, presumably because an older sibling had inherited the farm, and changed his name to "Westerholm." Thor Westerholm emigrated with his family in 1959 to White Plains, New York.
![]() Hans, Helena and family, 1869 |
Hans Westerholm |
Karl Gustav Westerholm
Thor Viktor Westerholm |
![]() Location in Mausoleum |
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