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History of the Levälä Family

The roots of the Levälä Family go back to the Levälä homestead in the village of Ytterjeppo in Nykarleby, Finland. The village is located on the east side of the Lapua/ Nykarleby river about 5 miles south from Nykarleby city center and about one mile from the crossing of the highways # 8 and 19. Over the years the original homestead has been split into a number of smaller farms, which continue being part of the local and living rural countryside.
The documented history of the Levälä homestead can be traced back to the midseventeenth century, but the period prior to the Greater Wrath in the beginning of the 18th century is somewhat vaguely documented though. After the battle of Napue in Isokyrö in the early spring of 1714 a massive flight of the original population started from Österbotten, resulting in more or less completely abandoned villages. Many persons were captured by the Russians and found themselves as slave labor constructing the city of StPetersburg.
As early as in 1718 the homestead was taken up again and was sold by a member of the old Levälä family, who had not fled. The new owner was a resettled Erik Simonsson. Already in 1727 he sold it in his turn to another newcomer Zachris Eriksson. A son of his, David Eriksson, was married to Maria Hansson, a daughter of the Levälä family that had owned the Levälä homestead prior to the stora ofreden. In this way the old and the new branches of the Levälä family were united and knit together.
The new owner family is considered to have its origin from the Toppari homestead in Tiistenjoki, presently part of the city of Lapua.
The above mentioned David Eriksson is the ancestor of the present Levälä family. He was married twice and the family branches, as we know them today, originate from the children of these two marriages, as follows:

1. Anna, born ca 1726, Branch F
1. Maria, born ca 1730, Branch G
1. Anders, born ca 1732, Branch H
1. Erik, born ca1733, Branch B
2. Henrik, born 1740, Branch C
2. Johan, born 1742, Branches D and E
2. Margareta, born 1750, Branch K
2. Isak, born 1763, Branch L

The genealogy of the Levälä family has been charted by the two brothers Eugen and Pär- Erik Levlin. Eugen initiated the work during his years at the university in the nineteenthirties and continued until he died in 1977. Pär-Erik joined him gradually and continued the work fulltime after he had retired in 1980 to his death in 2008. He is without doubt the person who is the main contributor to the genealogical research, being also the prominent compiler of most of the genealogical literature available on the Levälä family. As stated, the roots of our family are to be found around the city of Nykarleby, where a large part of the family still lives. Family members are also to be found in many other parts of the world. In Finland large parts of the B-branch live in the Kajaana neighborhood. As a result of the immense emigration from Österbotten to America around the year 1900 a great number of family members live and work ”over there” today. Also the emigration to Sweden between 1950 and 1970 has contributed decisively to the geographical spread of the family. Even in Russia, in the vicinity of St Petersburg, a small branch of the family can be traced.
At the initiative of Pär-Erik in 1979 the Levälä Family Society was founded with the aim to support genealogical research and to serve as a uniting factor between family members. Over the years the number of members has varied between 600 and 800. New members are always welcome to join. Choose "Join the association" in the upper left and follow the instructions given there.