Virginia af Forselles

Born in Sweden in 1759, she became the manager of the ironworks in the municipality of Ruotsinpyhtää in Finland in 1790 after the death of her husband Henrik Johan af Forselles, who left her with two children.

In 1808, during the Napoleonic wars, Russian troops crossed the border (which was near her estate during that time) and plundered the village and the ironworks and made her pay for the upkeeping of a detachment of soldiers.

Sometimes she used questionable methods to get what she wanted; in 1816 she had to face the court for illegally removing timber from the nearby forests.

Virginia was concerned about the low quality of craftsmanship especially after the death of the last guild-trained master smith which left no one who could train apprentices.

Virginia died in 1847 leaving her eldest son, the almost 62-year-old Jacob Henrik af Forselles, as the manager of the ironworks.