Käsmu families
When I started researching my family’s history fifteen years ago, I quickly ended up in Käsmu, a small village on the north coast of Estonia.
Both my grandfather, Johannes Kaaman, and my grandmother, Juliane Pruun, were born in Käsmu.
And once in Käsmu, it was not far to Mäe Eerik Kaarend, my grandfather’s nephew, who became my most important source and inspiration in the continued work.
In the following years I mapped all the Käsmu families descended from Preediku Jüriska Jüri (1712-1775) and Pällu Mart (1683-1751).
These family trees, which also include intermarried families, have so far existed in a separate searchable database on the Internet. Unfortunately, there is no longer enough time to keep that website up to date and it has therefore been taken down.
Instead, family trees with the 23 oldest Käsmu families and their descendants have been moved to the Käsmu Maritime Museum and can be viewed there as pdf documents.
The same family trees are now also available here on my own website
For the family trees here, there is a searchable document with about 1,600 personal names that shows in which family tree or trees the person appears.
Note that the family trees only show the descendants of the person in question. Out of consideration for personal integrity, now living descendants are not shown. The ancestors of the person in question are also not included.
If you are interested in them, ask me. They may be found in the unpublished material.
My sources for the family trees have been many. Especially the church records in Estonia, Sweden and Finland have been of great help.
In addition to Eerik Kaarend I have had the help of printed material by or conversations with:
Gunilla Borgmark, Elina Einholm, Sean Flinn, Kersti Heinsoo, Mari-Anne Heljas, Denise Hellström, Endel Isop, Katrin Kimmel, Eneli Kristenbrun, Helen Ludlow, Kristel Luige, Mart Maandi, Heino Perkström, Liis Karin Pettersson, Gerli Randma, Beatrice Reinikainen, Sara Sbinati, Ain Seeblum, Olavi Sooman, Egon Tamm, John Andres Tamm, Eedo Tamme, Õlme Tiedemann, Eva Vabasalu, Tia Maria Vene, Elma Vilu, Lii Välkmann, Bill Wolson and several others.