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by Sunna Olafson Furstenau Continuing the North America Icelandic settlement theme, Sunna addresses the many areas of North Dakota our ancestors called home, even temporarily. Many towns and villages, although mostly abandoned or forgotten, uphold an enduring legacy binding their past to our present. When people think of Icelandic settlements in North Dakota, they usually think of Mountain and Gardar first. Perhaps Akra and Cavalier come to mind as well. But the Icelandic sto

By Sunna Olafson Furstenau Through the month of July, we've focused on the North Dakota settlement areas of our ancestors. Their stories come to life more readily when one has an opportunity to travel and see the sites for ourselves. Here are some suggestions for northeast North Dakota: Click on the image to enlarge details. The content of the above inserted tour details and driving map are duplicated below: Icelanders who settled in the area known as Fjalla mostly came fro

By Jason Doctor Our Interesting Icelander for July, Páll Þórlaksson, is one of the most familiar names heard when learning about the early settlement of Icelandic emigrants in North America. Jason Doctor presents the profile of Páll Þórlaksson as we explore the North Dakota settlement. Additionally, if you happen to be in Mountain, ND for August the Deuce on Friday, 31 July, 2026, Jason will also be presenting at the Friday Forum held in Mountain Community Center. Be sure to

By Greg McNeill Photo Credit: @honest_agency and Icelandic Festival of Manitoba/Íslendingadagurinn Icelandic Roots will once again be at Íslendingadagurinn in Gimli, Manitoba, during the weekend of July 31st to August 3rd, 2026. Come join the festivities and learn more about your Icelandic genealogy!!! Íslendingadagurinn translates to “Day of the Icelanders” and has a similar mission to Icelandic Roots in promoting and sustaining interest in Icelandic culture and descent.

By Doreen Borgfjord McFarlane Members of Icelandic Roots who read the newsletter are usually interested in finding and following their Icelandic relatives and ancestors. I was the same. But, to my total surprise, my research revealed much more than I was looking for: a genuine, well-documented family ghost! Now, so that you too can learn this ghost’s story, I have written a book entitled Leirarskotta: Memoir of an Icelandic Immigrant Ghost. This ghost, a never-dull entity nam

by Doreen Borgfjord McFarlane As we review the settlements in Winnipeg and the New Iceland area, no doubt many of us have reflected on the life our ancestors experienced. But what of our own life in these Icelandic settlement areas? One of our IR volunteers and author, Doreen Borgfjord McFarlane, reflects on her growing up in Winnipeg as a Canadian with Icelandic heritage. Doreen Borgfjord McFarlane There are not too many advantages to being what you might call “pretty old”

By Brian Borgford The following is a series of excerpts from the memoir of Thorsteinn Borgford (I464972), written in 1947 when he was in his 70s. His grandson, Brian, transcribed his typewritten manuscript. Thorsteinn tried to present his story in the third person, but his writing occasionally shifted into the first person. In addition, spelling and other errors that did not impact the meaning of his story remain unchanged. Brian has selected excerpts relevant to our theme

By Gerry Stefanson Gerry Stefanson is a member of the Icelandic Roots Author’s Group, and we are pleased to share his musings through poetry, a craft he has honed in more recent years. Many of Gerry’s poems have been previously published in our Newsletters. He has also published poet “Chap Books” through Spillwords. You can see more of his work, including Passages and Bouleversant HERE. For June, we are profiling the New Iceland area on Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba as part of our

By Becky Byerly-Adams, Brian Borgford, and Cathy Josephson This month's interesting Icelander is a tribute to William Jon Holm, more commonly referred to as Bill Holm. He is revered as many things, with poet, author, teacher and musician among them. This special collaborative article shares contributions from three Icelandic Roots volunteers and writers, Becky, Brian and Cathy. They tell us about Bill, but more so, they reveal more of the person he was. Join us in remembering

By Jody Arman-Jones This month Icelandic Roots explores the Icelandic settlements in Minnesota. The challenges faced were similar to many other settlements, but perseverance and hope prevailed. Their legacy lives on. The journey to Minnesota was not an easy one for Icelandic emigrants of the 19th century. As described in They Chose Minnesota, A Survey of the State’s Ethnic Groups, (6) and again by Cathy Josephson in her aptly named presentation, Rails, Trails, Rivers and Tr

Halldóra Guðmundsdóttir, an Icelandic immigrant who was a midwife and caregiver in Duluth Minnesota.

By Shaune Jonasson Keeping with the 2026 theme of settlements in North America, we close April with offering you a driving tour to the Icelandic sites in Nova Scotia. The communities settled were short-lived; however, some families did remain. Their descendants have lived there since the 1880s. With a keen interest in the history of the Icelandic communities, a group of dedicated individuals created The Icelandic Memorial Society of Nova Scotia, which was incorporated on July

Are You Related? The Snorri West Program is pleased to announce three Icelanders who will be taking part in the 2026 trip to the “Pacific Corridor” of British Columbia, with an additional, optional week in Washington State. The trip to explore the lives of Western Icelanders, visit historic settlements and see how the Icelandic heritage is kept alive in North America will take place June 18 - July 16, 2026. Locations to be visited include Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo and Kelo

By Phyllis Smith Continuing with the Icelandic Roots settlement areas we take you to a location in Ontario: Keewatin. A small community of proud and hardworking Icelanders called this place home. When the editorial team brainstormed all the possible Icelandic settlements across North America for this year’s newsletter articles, Keewatin, Ontario, didn’t make the top ten list. It’s not surprising. Keewatin (1) was and still is a small community in Northwestern Ontario. Now par

The goal for many Icelandic emigrants to Canada was to get to Gimli, Manitoba and join those who left before them. The plan was to establish Nýja Ísland , where the immigrants could be close to friends and family, and preserve their culture, traditions, and language. However, the first Icelanders to Canada settled in Ontario. In The Icelanders of Kinmount, Don Gislason referred to it as an “experiment in settlement” because it largely failed. Only a few families chose to s

By Shaune Jonasson This book review presents The Young Icelander – The story of an immigrant in Nova Scotia and Manitoba . A classic in Iceland that has been translated and published in English, offering insight to the challenges of emigration and settling in a foreign land. The emigrants are resilient. Their spirit, motivated by hope and determination, molds their greatest desire of creating a better life for their families. In 1899, Jóhann Magnús Bjarnason wrote the story

by Becky Byerly-Adams Wisconsin was the chosen settlement area for many Icelandic emigrant families in the 1870s. Becky provides background and insights from the areas of Milwaukee and Shawano. These settlements were not without challenges; many relocated while others remained. Their preservation of Icelandic life and culture remains their legacy. We still celebrate them today. Wisconsin Map 1866. Image sourced from Maps of the Past MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN Milwaukee, Wisconsi

By George T. Freeman This month's Interesting Icelander article featuring Hjörtur (Chester) Þórðarson/ Thordarson was written by Hjörtur's great-great-nephew, George Freeman. Arriving in North America as a young lad of six, we learn about Hjörtur's life and legacy. Icelandic Roots is sharing this article with permission. THE VIKING HALL AT WISCONSIN’S ROCK ISLAND STATE PARK Hjörtur Thordarson (I481526) Icelanders and their descendants enjoy tales of the accomplishments of o

By Jason Doctor Public Webinar on Friday, 27 March 2026 : INDIGENOUS AND ICELANDIC INTERACTIONS AT THE EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS Our Icelandic Roots Host, Jason Doctor, welcomes guest Hildur Sigurbergsdóttir, historian and Snorri West alum. We will be discussing the complex story of the encounters between the Icelandic settlers and the existing Indigenous populations as part of an extended celebration marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of New Iceland and Minneota.

By Gay Strandemo Settling in the Wisconsin area, our Scandinavian ancestors left their mark. A strong sense of literacy and the preservation of historical records has offered enhanced understanding of their cultures, traditions, languages and more curated by the Department of Scandinavian Studies, which has a history unto itself. Established in 1875, the Department of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the oldest Scandinavian Studies department in