Family Roots
This page shares a longer version of our Perry and Hakala family story – where William and Irene came from, and the parents and grandparents behind them in Cornwall, New York, Finland, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
It’s still a work in progress. If you spot dates we should double-check or have photos or stories to add, please let Sarah know so we can keep building this together.
William Henry Perry Sr. & Irene Marie (Hakala) Perry
- 1910 – William born in Crystal Falls, Michigan
- 1911 – Irene born in Princeton (Forsyth Twp), Michigan
- 1939 – Married in Ishpeming, Michigan
- 1939–1952 – Nine children born in Marquette County
- 1950 – Family in Ely Township (iron-ore mine pumpman)
- Late 1960s – Move to Farwell, Clare County
- 1970 – William dies in Farwell; buried in Ishpeming
- 2006 – Irene dies in Lansing; buried in Ishpeming
William Henry Perry Sr. was born 31 March 1910 in Crystal Falls, Iron County, Michigan, the son of Andrew Stevens Perry (1886–1940) and Annie (Perry) Perry (1888–1967). He grew up in mining communities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, including Crystal Falls, the company village of Alpha, and later locations near Spurr Township and Ishpeming.
As a young man William followed his father into the mines. In the 1930 census he appears at the Imperial Mine Location in Spurr Township, Baraga County, living with his parents and siblings and working in the iron-ore district. By the late 1930s he was in Ishpeming, Marquette County, employed in the local mines and boarding with his parents on Excelsior Street.
Irene Marie (Irja / Irria Maria) Hakala was born 4 February 1911 at Princeton Location in Forsyth Township, Marquette County, Michigan. Her birth certificate records her as Irria Maria Hakala, daughter of Jacob Nestor Hakala (1887–1957) and Maria Eliina (Eliina / Elina) Oja (1891–1955), both Finnish immigrants who had settled in the Princeton and Forsyth farming district along what is now Highway M-35.
On 11 October 1939, William and Irene were married in Ishpeming, Michigan. Their marriage record lists Irene as a resident of Princeton and William as a resident of Ishpeming, with Roy Anderson and Irene’s sister Ellen Hakala as witnesses. Shortly after their marriage they lived with William’s parents at 140 Excelsior Street in Ishpeming, where the 1940 census shows William working as a miner, Irene as a homemaker, and baby William Jr. as a seven-month-old.
In the 1940s and 1950s the family moved a short distance to rural Ely Township, Marquette County. The 1950 census lists William as a pumpman in an iron-ore mine, working 40 hours per week, and Irene as “keeping house” at a home along County Road C, with their first eight children at home.
Together they raised nine children:
- William Henry Perry Jr. (1939–2015)
- Edwin Stevens Perry (b. 1940)
- John Alan Perry (1942–2025)
- Garry Bruce Perry (1944–2007)
- Nancy Jane Marie Perry (b. 1945)
- Gladys Arlene Perry (b. 1947)
- Joyce Ellen Perry (b. 1949)
- Elizabeth Ann Perry (1950–2018)
- Karen Lynn Perry (b. 1952)
In the late 1960s, William and Irene left the U.P. and moved to the Farwell area in Clare County, Michigan, where family stories recall them running a small gas station and store near a lake. William died in Farwell in March 1970 after a lifetime of mining work and is buried in Ishpeming Cemetery. Irene later lived for many years at 3220 Birchfield Drive in Midland, Michigan, before moving to live with daughters in Illinois and Lansing. She died in Lansing on 30 March 2006 at the age of 95 and is also buried in Ishpeming.
Through William and Irene, the Perry family story connects Cornish mining heritage and Finnish immigrant roots with the iron ranges of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a lakeside country store in mid-Michigan, and the many branches of their nine children and descendants.
Andrew & Annie Perry – From Cornwall & Carmel to the Iron Range
- 1886 – Andrew born in Lelant, Cornwall, England
- 1888 – Annie born in Carmel, New York, USA
- 1899 – Andrew emigrates with family to the U.S.
- 1907 – Andrew & Annie marry in Wisconsin
- 1908–1914 – Four children born in Crystal Falls & Alpha
- 1930 – Family at Imperial Mine Location, Spurr Township
- Late 1930s – Move to 140 Excelsior Street, Ishpeming
- 1940 – Andrew dies in Ishpeming; buried there
- 1967 – Annie dies in New Jersey; buried in Netcong
Andrew Stevens Perry was born 24 February 1886 in Uny Lelant, Cornwall, England, to William Thomas Perry (1852–1904) and Elizabeth Ann (Stevens) Perry (1853–1901). He grew up in a Cornish mining family in a parish shaped by tin and copper mining, alongside siblings Selina, John, Mildred, Adelaide, and Thomas.
In October 1899, 13-year-old Andrew left Cornwall with his family, sailing from England on the St. Paul and arriving in New York. By 1900 they were in Mahanoy City, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the anthracite coal region, where Andrew appears in the census as a slate picker in the mines. His mother died there in 1901 and his father in 1904, leaving the Perry children as young adult immigrants in a hard coal town.
Andrew later moved to the iron ranges of northern Wisconsin and Michigan. On 2 September 1907 he married Annie Perry in Florence County, Wisconsin. Annie was born 10 September 1888 in Carmel, Putnam County, New York, to Henry James Perry (1859–1926) and Annie Jane (Roach) Perry (1866–1925). As a girl she moved with her family to Crystal Falls, Iron County, Michigan, where she appears in the 1900 census with siblings Elizabeth, Beatrice, Winifred, Thomas, Frances, and Gladys.
Soon after their marriage Andrew and Annie settled in Crystal Falls, where Andrew worked as a blacksmith in the iron mines. The 1910 census lists the young family under the surname Derry—a mis-reading of the Perry name—with “Andrew Derry” and “Annie Derry” recorded alongside sons Loyd R. and Raymond H. Later records, Michigan birth registrations, and Andrew’s death certificate confirm that this is the same family known as Perry.
Andrew and Annie had four children:
- Richard Lloyd Perry (1908–1973)
- William Henry Perry Sr. (1910–1970)
- Jean Elizabeth Perry (later Wainio) (1912–1989)
- Muriel Gladys Perry (later Anderson) (1914–1978)
Through the 1910s and 1920s, Andrew followed mining work across the Upper Peninsula. The family lived in Crystal Falls, the company village of Alpha, and later in Marquette. By 1930 they were at the Imperial Mine Location in Spurr Township, Baraga County, where Andrew was a naturalized English-born blacksmith at the mine, living in a rented company house with Annie and their children.
In the late 1930s the family moved within the iron range again. City directories and the 1940 census place Andrew and Annie at 140 Excelsior Street in Ishpeming, along with their daughter Jean, son William, daughter-in-law Irene, and grandson William Jr. Andrew died there on 23 April 1940 at age 54 from a coronary occlusion and is buried in Ishpeming Cemetery. Annie remained in Ishpeming into the 1950s and later moved to New Jersey, where she died in December 1967 at Budd Lake, Morris County, and was buried at Stanhope Union Cemetery in Netcong.
Andrew and Annie’s lives link Cornwall, New York, Pennsylvania coal country, and the iron mines of Michigan and Wisconsin. Their son William Henry Perry Sr. carried that story forward into the next generation.
Jacob & Maria (Oja) Hakala – Finnish Farm and Mine Life
- 1887 – Jacob born in Kauhajoki, Finland
- 1891 – Maria born in Finland
- 1897–1898 – Maria’s family immigrates to Michigan
- 1906–1907 – Jacob emigrates from Finland
- 1908 – Jacob & Maria marry in Marquette County
- 1909–1932 – Nine Hakala children born in Princeton area
- 1920–1950 – Family farms and works mines in Forsyth Township
- 1955 – Maria dies in Princeton; buried at Bakkala Cemetery
- 1957 – Jacob dies in Princeton; buried at Bakkala Cemetery
Jacob Nestor Hakala was born 8 July 1887 in Kauhajoki, Finland, to Jaakko Iisakinpoika Laurila and Hedda Sofia Samuelintytär Hangasluoma. He grew up in a large Finnish family with many brothers and sisters and emigrated from Finland around 1906–1907, part of a wave of young Finns leaving for North America.
Maria Eliina “Mary” (Oja) Hakala was born 10 April 1891 in Finland to Anselm M. Oja and Louise (Lovisa) Kompse. As a child she emigrated with her parents and brother Alfred, appearing in the 1900 census in Ishpeming Ward 4 as Elina Oie, age eight, newly arrived from Finland and living on Daves Street. The Oja family later moved to the Princeton area of Forsyth Township in Marquette County.
On 23 November 1908, Jacob and Maria were married in a ceremony recorded in Ishpeming and Negaunee. The marriage records list her parents as Anselm and Louise Oja and his parents as Jacob and “Hetafoya” Hakala, reflecting Finnish naming and spelling variations. After their marriage they settled in the Princeton / Forsyth area, where Jacob worked in the iron mines and on a small farm.
Jacob and Maria’s children included:
- Aune S. Hakala (1909–1995)
- Irene / Irja Maria Hakala (1911–2006)
- Ellen Susan Hakala (1913–2002)
- Irving John (Urho Johannes) Hakala (1916–1984)
- Rudolph Nestor Hakala (1918–2000)
- Alfred George Hakala (1921–2004)
- Oiva Waldemar Hakala Sr. (1923–2013)
- Edwin Robert Hakala (1926–2013)
- Donald R. Hakala (b. 1932)
Their daughter Irene’s birth certificate records her as Irria Maria Hakala, born 4 February 1911 at Princeton, Marquette County, to Jacob Hakala and Eliina (Elina / Eliina) Oja, capturing both the Finnish and Americanized versions of her mother’s name.
Census records from 1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950 show Jacob and Maria in Forsyth Township and along Highway M-35, combining farm life with mine work. Jacob appears as a miner and later a repairman in an iron mine, working long weeks while owning a small farm. Maria is consistently listed as his wife, born in Finland and naturalized, “keeping house” and raising their large family.
Jacob’s World War I draft registration lists him as Jacob Nester Hakala, born in “Finland, Russia,” of medium build with light brown hair and dark blue eyes, living in Marquette County. His World War II registration in 1942 gives his address as Princeton, with “Mrs. Maria Alena Hakala” as his next of kin.
Maria’s parents, Anselm and Louise Oja, also made their home in Princeton, where Anselm died in 1928 and Louise in 1931. Maria died in Princeton on 2 March 1955. Jacob died two years later, on 31 August 1957. Both are buried at Bakkala Cemetery in Forsyth Township, a small rural cemetery along M-35 that holds many local Finnish families. Maria’s grave appears in cemetery records as Maria Eluna Hakala, maiden name Oja.
Through Jacob and Maria, the Perry reunion connects back to the Finnish countryside around Kauhajoki and to the Finnish-American communities of Princeton and Forsyth. Their daughter Irene joined that story to the Perry line when she married William Henry Perry Sr. in 1939.