The Terras Family originates from Estonia, a small country sitting by the south shores of the Baltic Sea across from Finland, between Russia and Latvia. It's not far from St. Petersburg, Russia, and only a ferry-ride from the Finnish capital, Helsinki.
Please note that I have used the administration districts and counties of 2007 below, whereas various villages and rural areas may have belonged to different regions in the past. Today, many of the locations below are located in the commune or parish of Pala, Jõgeva County in Estonia or in Tartu County.
Jogeva County (Estonian: "Jõgeva maakond") is one of fifteen modern-day counties in Estonia. It is located at the western shores of Lake Peipus in the eastern-central part of Estonia. Pala commune (Estonian: Pala vald) is one of rural municipalities located in this county. Note, that the rural municipalities are called "vallad" in Estonian and are sometimes translated as "communes" or "parishes" in English.
Tartu County includes the parish of Alatskivi where the village of Torila is located. Tartu County neighbours Jõgeva County to its north. Torila is situated on the boundary line between these two counties.
The "Kodavere Congregation" is listed, rather than a specific church or building, because the parish registers usually only name the larger congregation. Kodavere is also located in Pala, Jogeva, Estonia.
Generation No. 1
1. Jakob TERRAS was born July 27, 1849 (another date in error: March 27, 1849) in Tedreküla village, Pala, Jõgeva, Estonia. He married Juula TOLLMAN on March 11, 1873 in the Kodavere Congregation in Estonia. Juula TOLLMAN was born September 26, 1855, in Sassukvere village in Pala, Jõgeva, Estonia.
Children of Jakob TERRAS and Juula TOLLMAN are:
i. Mina TERRAS, b. April 15, 1874 in Torila village, Pala, Jõgeva, Estonia. On February 7, 1899, she married Annus' son Johannes Kuuslap in the Kodavere Congregation, also located in the commune of Pala. My grandmother Agnes said she had three children.
ii. Joosep TERRAS, b. March 3, 1879, in Torila village.
iii. Johannes TERRAS, b. January 1, 1883, in Torila village. Died as an infant on January 16, 1883 in the same place and buried by the Kodavere Congregation on January 20, 1883.
iv. Villem TERRAS, b. December 13, 1885, in Torila village. Died as a toddler on January 20, 1886 and buried three days later.
Generation No. 2
1. Joosep TERRAS was born March 3, 1879, in Torila village and died in Estonia. On April 28, 1902, he married Sohvi TIIT in the Kodavere Congregation. Sohvi TIIT was born November 11, 1879, in Torila village. They became the parents of Joosep TERRAS of the next generation. Note: According to oral family history, this family has many military officers, apparently some judges and politicians also. However these have not yet been confirmed or verified.
Children of Joosep TERRAS and Sohvi TIIT are:
i. Alide/Elfride "Lüde"(?) TERRAS, b. January 31, 1903. At least from 1915 to 1918, she was a member of the Kokora commune, now in Alatskivi, Tartu, Estonia. Note: My grandmother Agnes only remembers her husband Hugo having one sister and I believe my grandmother called her "Lüde."
ii. My grandfather, HUGO TERRAS, b. October 14, 1904 in Kokora manorial district (estate). He died in 1963 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Note that I also have another birth-date for him. The one posted here is based on the Estonian parish records.
Generation No. 3
1. Alide/Elfride "Lüde"(?) TERRAS, b. January 31, 1903. She married LAUMETS.
Child of Lüde TERRAS and LAUMETS is:
i. Private, born in Estonia. He married, had two children, and lives in Estonia.
2. Hugo Richard TERRAS was born October 14, 1904 in Kokora manorial district (estate), A
latskivi, Tartu, Estonia, and died 1963 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. In Estonia, he married my grandmother, Agnes (who is a first cousin of the Estonian literary figure Aleksander Aspel). Hugo Terras originally served as a military officer in the Estonian Army, but became a refugee as a result of World War II. They migrated to North America in the 1950s.
Children of Hugo Terras and Agnes were:
i. Udo TERRAS, a.k.a. Erwin Terris (miner, later businessman), b. January 14, 1931, Estonia. He died December 01, 1994, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
ii. Riho TERRAS, Ph.D. (Mathematics). Riho was born in Estonia on June 13, 1939 and died in California, USA, on November 28, 2005.
Generation No. 4
1. Udo TERRAS was born January 14, 1931 in Estonia, and died December 01, 1994 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He married my mother on September 16, 1951 in St. John's Lutheran Church, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. They are both buried in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada.
Child of Udo Terras and my mother:
i. Astrid TERRAS. I have three children.
NOTES
TERRAS: My grandmother Agnes once stated that the Terras family was once upon a time "Teras" (meaning "steel" in Estonian), but the German overlords "germanized" the spelling at some point. The "Terras" spelling has been used and retained in North America (Astrid's note Jan 6/97).
LINDE: My grandmother (born Agnes Linde/Lindenau) always said and recorded her maiden name as "LINDE" as did her Estonian sister Valli back in Estonia. However, church records show their surname as LINDENAU. (Astrid's note Feb 4/07).
NAMES: For simplicity, I have here tried to use only the Estonian version of the given and surnames. However, the names in the parish and other Estonian records were often kept in other languages.
This is only a small sample of the large Terras family tree. Please contact me for more information.