Iisakki Isakki Antonpoika Äijö-Nirva
Isakki Antonpoika Äijö-Nirva was a passenger on Titanic.
Early life[]
Farmer Iisakki Äijö (later Äijö-Nirva) was born in Kauhajoki, Finland on December 24, 1870. He was the son of Antti Samuelinpoika Rinta Äijö and Hedvig Vilhelmina Juhontytär.
Iisakki had many brothers and sisters. Two or three of them died at infancy. He had 3 elder siblings. The first child of the family was Samuel Antinpoika, born in 1864. Next was a sister, Kaisa Sofia, born in 1866. She was followed by Juho Antonpoika in 1868.
Iisakki’s younger siblings were: Antti, who passed away within a year. It’s unsure if he was born in 1877 or 1881. Then there were 3 girls: Aurora Helena, Matilda Vilhelmina and Roosa Aurora, born in 1882, 1884 and 1855 respectively. Aurora Helena appears to have survived less than 3 years, she died in 1884.
Like his father, Iisakki became a farmer when growing up. He married Maija Liisa Salomonintytär in on August 2, 1891 and they had seven children. That same year, Hilda Sofia was born to them. Another girl, Sigrid Maria, came in 1893. She was followed by a boy, Jaako Salomon in 1896. Their third daughter was Hilda Justina, she was conceived in 1897. Feeliks Antero was next, born in 1898. In 1900, Hulda Elzabeth was born.
Iisakki Äijö embarked for America for the first time in January 1901 and then again at the spring of 1909. Their last child was Viljo Isakki, born in 1911.
Iisakki sold his farm in Finland in 1912 with the intention of emigrating to Sudbury, Ontario, Canada for good. He boarded SS Polaris in Hanko on April 3, 1912, together with Nikolai Kallio, Matti Mäenpää and Matti Rintamäki, all from Kauhajoki. This ship would take the most Finnish passengers to Hull in England, after docking in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Titanic[]
On April 10, in Southampton, the grandest and most luxurious ocean liner would leave after noon and was waiting for her passengers that morning. Isak and the others boarded her in Third Class.
On April 14, something occured that would change the world forever. The unsinkable ship, on the late night, had to steer clear of the sudden appearance of an iceberg, which was spotted at the last moment. She couldn’t go past completley and scraped her hull against it on starboard side. This was a lethal blow as the damage underneath the water line now meant seawater was entering the ship at a rapid pace.
On April 15, the captain had been informed by the ship designer and they were now certain that Titanic was doomed. She would sink. Shortly after midnight, he gave the order to prepare the evacuation. Titanic lasted over 2 hours before she foundered at 2:20 A.M. Many passengers and crew were dropped into the ice cold water and died within the half hour.
Iisakki Äijö-Nirva and his traveling companions died in the Titanic disaster and their bodies were never found. Iisakki’s widow was paid £250 in compensation later.