During my family research i came across baptism records for a son of John and Maria Panula in East Tawas, Michigan. I know through tracking the at the family was indead in East Tawas between 1896-1900. I found a reocrd saying that John and Maria were witnesses in another child's baptism, at the local Abigail Lutheran Church, and i can indeed, find they are members of that church. I have found a record of the birth and baptism of a son of theirs. The problem is is seems to be that of Jaakko Arnold Panula. It has a problem i am sure you can see:
Jacob (Jakob) Arnold Panula born 8 feb 1897, to John and Maria Panula, baptised on 17 feb 1987.
See the problem? No it's not the name, it's the ten-month difference in birth days.The exact ten months to the day. Someone suggested it could have been another son, who mayhaps died young, but no i don't believe that. There would be a death record if him, but i cannot find it. It would also be too damn close to give birth to two seperate children in ten months.
I can across a second record for the same child, though his name is spelled with a k.
I have come across a few select records finding that if a Finn went to America, had a child, it would be born with a Finnish name, and baptised with the closest English variation, and if that child went back to Finland, the parents could have changed his name, or could have kept the birth name, and discarding the baptismal record name. On a few Finnish and Swedish websites, it has said that Jaakko was born indeed, 8 feb, and baptised 17 feb 1897. What do you think?