author
S. (Salomon) Ilmonen
1871–1940
A Finnish American pastor and self-taught historian, he devoted much of his life to recording the story of Finnish immigrants in the United States. His books helped preserve community memories that might otherwise have been lost.
2 Audiobooks
Amerikan ensimäiset suomalaiset : Eli Delawaren siirtokunnan historia
by S. (Salomon) Ilmonen
Abraham Lincoln raittiusmiehenä ja lyhyitä piirteitä hänen elämänkerrastaan
by S. (Salomon) Ilmonen
About the author
Born in Ilmajoki, Finland, in 1871, he moved to the United States in 1891 and later studied at Suomi College in Hancock, Michigan. He became known in Finnish American communities as a Lutheran pastor, but also as a careful collector of historical material about immigrant life.
His lasting reputation rests on that historical work. Writing in Finnish, he documented the lives, institutions, and cultural efforts of Finns in North America, including early settlement history and broader accounts of Finnish American society. Because he gathered stories, records, and local knowledge from within the community itself, his books remain important sources on Finnish immigrant history.
He died in Fort Bragg, California, in 1940. Reliable pages found during this search confirmed his importance as a pastor and historian, but I did not find a clear, verifiable portrait image on the pages I checked, so no profile image is included.