Juho Niskanen
Juho Tanelinpoika Niskanen was a passenger on the Titanic.
Early life[]
Juho Tanelinpoika Niskanen was born in the Hietala croft, in Saarijärvi, on May 15, 1873. His parents, crofter Daniel Niskanen and Mathilda Eriksson, had moved to Saarijärvi from Kivijärvi, where the family returned in 1889.
Juho left the farm to become a carpenter’s apprentice. He married Anna Leena Ruuska on 16 maart 1895 in Karstula, Vaasa and they initially had four children. They were: Poika, born in 1895, followed by Hilma Maria in 1896. Ido Sofia came after her in 1899. Väinö Valdemar was next, conceived in 1901.
Juho Niskanen first embarked for America in 1905. He lived in Boston, Massachusetts and worked as a miner and as a lumberjack. Juho returned to Finland after less than three years, where he and his wife were blessed with two more children in 1908 and 1910: Taavetti, followed by a sister, Kerttu Taipale
In 1912, Juho decided to take his entire family to America. He sold his share of the home farm and bought the tickets. At the time of departure, one of his children caught an eye infection and Jussi decided to travel in advance by himself. The rest of the family would follow later.
Titanic[]
Juho Niskanen boarded the Polaris in Hanko on April 3, 1912 to sail to England. On April 10 he was in Southampton, from where he sent a postcard with a picture of the Titanic to his wife in Karstula. Which would arrive on the day Titanic had sunk. Juho was 38 years old at the time.
On the Titanic he shared his Third Class cabin with Juho Strandén from Kitee. He had bought a ticket to Boston. During the voyage, Juho Niskanen got to know Erik Jussila from Jalasjärvi.
On April 14, Titanic had come into contact with an iceberg. After the impact, Strandén woke up Juho Niskanen, who in turn went to Erik Jussila to warn him. On April 15, the captain had started the evucation shortly after midnight when inspection had learned that Titanic couldn’t be rescued. She would sink.
Juho Niskanen and Strandén reached the Boat Deck and were both rescued, probably into lifeboat 9. Juho Niskanen arrived in New York on the RMS Carpathia on April 18, 1912. He asked for £50 in compensation for his lost luggage.
Later life[]
Juho Niskanen remained in America, first in Boston and finally in Graniteville, Vermont. His family was only notified of his rescue several months later. Juho was forever afraid of the sea: he would not let his family travel to America overseas and he was unable to board a ship to return to Finland.
In 1915 Juho heard about the discoveries of gold in California and moved there. He bought a small ranch in Cazadero and spent some of his time weaving multi-colored ribbons and ties. Being a miner as well, he searched for gold on his ranch.
Juho seemed to have become a bit of pyromaniac in 1924, when he was aprehended by the law, as his neighbour, Mrs. Emily Jenner complained about gunshots through the night and accused Juho of having started fires. When she took action in her own hands to hide his rifle from him, he was onto her and had threatened her with a knife at the moment he caught her stealing his weapon. A case was heard but he got away with it and was set free, allowed to go back to Cazadero.
He died on August 13, 1927 at the age of 54, under highly suspicious circumstances. He was found burned and shot in the head in the ruins of his own cottage. Rumor has it that Juho had commited suicide. It was told he possessed a hoard consisting of several kilos of gold.
Sources[]
- https://www.russianriverhistory.org/guerneville-cemetery/titanic-survivor/