Matti Pohto was born in Ylistaro, in the Vassa province of Finland, on October 21, 1874 to Jaakko Kaarlonpka Pohto
and Anna Kaisa Jaakontr. Kuoppala.  Matti's mother died October 11, 1882 and Jaakko remarried to Anna's sister, Amalia Jaakontr. Kuoppala.

Matti's father and stepmother, Jaakko and Amalia Pohto, about 1900

A map of the United States from the Eteenpain newspaper showing Finnish settlements and professions; every dot on the map represented 1000 Finns. 

There were many Finnish communities set up along the Great Lakes and in New England with Finnish immigration increasing greatly in the 1890s through the 1920s. 

Matti was a Finnish war veteran according to his obituary.  At the age of 24, he immigrated to America.

Matti Pohto boarded the Polaris on November 18, 1899 for a trip from Finland to England.  On December 16th, he embarked for New York City aboard the Oceanic (pictured above).  He arrived at Ellis Island and from there traveled to Fairport, Ohio, where his brothers, Karl, Jacob, and John, and his sister, Anna Maria, had already settled.  

The Oceanic was a 28,500 ton ship that carried 410 first class, 300 second and 1000 third class passengers.  Her maiden voyage was earlier that same year, on January 14, 1899, when she traveled from Liverpool, England to New York City.  The Oceanic was converted to an armed merchant cruiser in 1914 and was stranded on Foula Island on September 8th of that year, later being broken up from scrap.

The Oceanic

Matti and Maria Pohto, about 1900

Matti married Maria Justiina Träskelin September 22, 1900 in Painesville, Ohio.  She had emigrated from Finland earlier that same year from the same village in Finland as Matti had come from.  They settled in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, where there was a large Finnish populaton.  Matti was a member of Woodmen of the World, a fratenal organization, and attended the Finnish National Lutheran church

Matti and Maria had ten children during their marriage, eight of whom survived to adulthood.

Construction of the Diamond Alkali company

Diamond Alkali company

Matti died October 12, 1935 in Lake County Memorial Hospital in Painesville, Ohio

Maria died July 7, 1948 in Fairport Harbor.  Matti and Maria were buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Painesville, Ohio.